A Legacy of Spiritual Blessings {1Chronicles 28-29}
11:48 PM
My husband and I were both raised by single working mothers. Both our
mothers’ motto was: “You won’t receive any wealth from me, except your
education”, so they both focused on helping their children graduate from
college and they succeeded, which made them feel proud and grateful! Of course
my husband and I are forever grateful to them for all their love, dedication
and effort, but there was something they missed while bringing us up: teaching
us the fear of the Lord according to the Scriptures. But none can give what he
has not. Over the years both my husband and I recognize the great blessing
we’ve had as parents to be able to raise our children with Jesus and His Word
as our foundation. Our focus and prayers
have been that our children would have a passion and commitment for God and His
precepts!
David knew the importance of this and in today’s reading, as he
assembled all the leaders of Israel in what would be the "passing of the
torch" ceremony to Solomon, he spoke these words:
“8 Now therefore, in the sight of all Israel, the
assembly of the Lord, and in
the hearing of our God, observe and seek after all the commandments of
the Lord your God so
that you may possess the good land and leave it as an inheritance to your sons
after you forever.” (1 Chron. 28:8)
He first spoke
to the leaders and the people of Israel. We as parents (leaders) should also
consider these words:
Be careful to seek out all the commandments of the
LORD:
- Be careful, in the sense
that they had to regard this responsibility as important and worthy of
attention.
- Seek out the commandments
of God, searching the Scriptures diligently.
Then he speaks
to Solomon, his son. I believe we can also take these words to our children:
9 “As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of
your father [have personal knowledge of Him, be acquainted with, and understand
Him; appreciate, heed, and cherish Him] and serve Him with a blameless heart
and a willing mind; for the Lord searches
all hearts and minds, and understands every intent and inclination
of the thoughts. If you seek Him [inquiring for and of Him and requiring Him as
your first and vital necessity] He will let you find Him; but [b]if you abandon
(turn away from) Him, He will reject you forever. 10 Consider this carefully, for the Lord has chosen you to build a
house for the sanctuary. Be courageous and strong and do it.”
(1 Chron. 28:9)
- Know the God of your father:
David's exhortation to Solomon begins with the most important aspect -
emphasizing a genuine commitment to a real relationship with the living God. This is something David pursued and was even
recognized as a man after God’s heart (Acts 13:22).
- Serve Him with a loyal heart
and with a willing mind: David also exhorted Solomon to serve God
with both his heart and mind. Both of these are
important to truly serve Him!
We notice that the command to know came before the command
to serve. "To know God is to serve Him. All failure in service is the
result of loss of vision of God, misapprehension of Him, due to some distance
from Him." (Morgan)
David gave Solomon a reason to commit
his heart and mind to God: for the LORD searches all
hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts (Jeremiah 17:10). When we
truly understand God and His omniscience we will much more naturally serve Him
as we should.
May we as parents continue to trust the life of our children to our
Heavenly Father, as we commit ourselves to seek him and serve him with all our
hearts! May we be able with His help and
guidance, to model a strong faith for our next generations!
May we as families yearn to build that spiritual temple from which will
flow all the Spiritual blessings that He has prepared for those who love him!
(1 Corinth. 2:8-10)
“The temple must be a sacred thing, and a type
of Christ; it must be framed by Divine teaching. Christ is the true temple, the
church is the gospel temple, and heaven the everlasting temple; all are framed
according to the Divine counsels, and the plan laid in the Divine wisdom,
ordained before the world, for God’s glory and our good.” M. Henry
Blessings my sisters!
Mari
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