Luke 23:1-25
Jesus is handed over to Pontius Pilate. Then Jesus is turned over to King Herod. In verse 8, Herod was glad to meet Jesus, hoping to see a miracle done by Him. The desire to see a miracle was more entertainment to Herod, not a desire to know the glory of God. Herod’s men mocked Jesus after Jesus refused to answer Herod’s questions, then sent Jesus back to Pilate. Jesus, the King of the Jews, was mocked by Herod’s men, the King of Rome. From that day, Pilate and Herod let bygones be bygones.
The ones that demanded his death were Jesus’ own countrymen. They didn’t know what they were doing, but it was God’s plan for Jesus to be crucified.
1 Kings 3-5
God appeared to Solomon in a dream. Does God do that? Yes, He does.
In the dream, God asked Solomon to request what he wanted.
In 1 Kings 3:9, Solomon asks for understanding. The Hebrew word is sama (8085) and it means, “to hear, to listen, to obey, to understand.” Solomon asked for more than human wisdom; Solomon was asking that he would be able to hear what God wanted for the nation. Then, hearing from God, he would be able to discern between what was right and what was wrong. Like David, Solomon led by faith, an obedient reliance on God.
In verse 7, Solomon compares himself to a little child, not knowing what to do on his own. He speaks of how great and numerous the nation of Israel has become. He acknowledged his need, and then Solomon asked the Lord for His help. This pleased the Lord, and God promised to bless Solomon.
Then Solomon woke up from the dream, went to Jerusalem and stood before the ark of the covenant, offered burnt and peace offerings, and fed his servants.
In 1 Kings 3:16-28, all of Israel recognized that God was at work in Solomon with an anointing to rule with justice. It was first seen in the dispute between two mothers, where one of the women was falsely claiming a baby was hers. This is a portion of Scripture that God used to speak to me at a time in my life when the enemy was trying to take what God had given to me. Another person was speaking against us, but the love of God for the people was gripping my heart. Always look to love.
In 1 Kings 4:29, we read that God gave Solomon a “largeness of heart,” or we might say a big heart, or a heart that was wide and broad to receive a greater capacity of the Spirit in compassion, wisdom, and understanding. The Hebrew for “heart” is leb (3820), and it means, “the inner man,” and it can refer to the spirit or the soul.
In chapter 5, Solomon recalls the desire of his father to build a permanent house of worship for God. He didn’t want something portable anymore; he wanted something established in the land. David was unable to build the temple because of the enemies around him that needed to be defeated. Solomon experienced rest because of the work his father accomplished. Solomon was able to build the Lord a temple, a place to abide in Israel.
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