Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Do Humans Have Glory? | The Life of Solomon | 1 Kings 5.6

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life in the time it takes to get to work. I'm Keith Simon. And I'm Patrick Miller. Also, if you want to connect with us, follow us on Twitter at TMBT Podcast. You can also check out our hashtag, hashtag, Ask TMBT, where you can ask us anything, and we'd love to connect with you. What will be written on your tombstone? William Carey, he's the guy who began the modern missionary movement. and because of his pioneering work, the gospel reached hundreds of countries around the world.

Starting point is 00:00:40 So let's ask the question, what did his tombstone say? Maybe it said, pioneering missionary, or evangelist to the ends of the earth, or maybe the man who made the Great Commission great again. Nope. It didn't say any of those things. This is what William Carey's gravestone said. It said, a wretched, poor, and helpless worm on thy kind arm. I fall. That's what you expected, right? Probably not. Although it fit how Christians assessed themselves in this era. Just think about the lyrics of Amazing Grace, which say this, Amazing Grace, how sweet the

Starting point is 00:01:17 sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found, twas blind, but now I see. It's a classic song, but have you ever noticed how it has a dark view of humans in their sinful nature? According to the song, we're wretched, lost, and blind apart from Jesus. We are poor and helpless worms. Do you agree with William Carey? Do you agree with amazing grace? Are those sentiments right? Because the opposite seems to be being discussed a lot lately. I saw a tweet just yesterday from a popular Christian author who said this, you are enough. It made me think of Rachel Hollis's book, Girl Wash Your Face, and she says something really similar in there. She says, because you and only you are ultimately responsible for who you become and how happy you are.

Starting point is 00:02:08 She goes on to explain how you are enough, you are glorious, you are perfectly suited to make your life something amazing. According to Rachel Hollis, the problem with your life isn't that you have problems. The problem with your life isn't that you're wretched and wormish. The problem with your life is that you're not being true to the glorious you. the inside. So who's right? Are humans ruins or humans' glories? Should you be true to yourself, or should you be skeptical about yourself? Solomon's story should make us ask, have we framed that entire question wrong? Do we really have to pick between humans are glories and humans

Starting point is 00:02:54 are wretches? Is there a different option out there? In 1st Kings 5 to 6, we read the story of the temple's construction. Now, if you're a Bible nerd, you can't help but go back to Exodus 35 to 39 when the Israelites were constructing the tabernacle. But if you compare the construction of the temple to the construction of the tabernacle, well, that comparison doesn't vote so well for Solomon. Let's look at some of the differences between these two stories. In the tabernacle, the spirit of Yahweh empowers workers with wisdom and skill and craftsmanship. But in the temple, Solomon relies on the skill and craftsmanship of a pagan nation who worship idols. In the tabernacle, the Israelites give materials willingly to the tabernacle, and they serve willingly in its construction. But in the temple, Solomon conscripts

Starting point is 00:03:45 workers into forced labor. We read this in 1st Kings 513. King Solomon conscripted laborers from all Israel. Let's just pause. If you don't know what that means, this is forced labor. This is slavery. So he conscripts it says 30,000 men. He goes on, he sent them off to Lebanon, which is a different country, in shifts of 10,000 a month, so that they spent one month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adonirum was in charge of forced labor. Solomon is forcing free Israelites into labor, and he's sending them off to a pagan foreign country to go do their work. And apparently, If we read the rest of kings, Adonirum, he wasn't a very kind taskmaster, because later on, the Israelite workers, they hate him so much that they rise up and they stone the guy to death.

Starting point is 00:04:34 But don't you see that this highlights the biggest difference between the tabernacle and the temple? The Israelites were freed from forced labor during the Exodus in order to build the tabernacle. But in the era of the temple, the Israelites are enslaved by their own king to build the temple. I know that it's easy to judge Solomon. Maybe you say, look, I've never done anything like that. But when we look at the construction of the temple, it tells us something profound about human nature. It says, look, even when we're building these big, glorious, amazing things, it's precisely in that moment that we are also wretched, blind, and lost.

Starting point is 00:05:13 You might not have the power to enslave your peers. But how often do you use your peers for selfish gain? How often is your spouse there just to serve your interests? How often do you get angry at your kids for not doing which you want? How often are you frustrated with your coworkers? Not because they've done anything wrong, but because they haven't agreed with your plan or served your goals. How often do you treat employees or interns like servants who exist to do your bidding? How often do you treat friends and roommates like servants who need to clean up after you and take care of your stuff?

Starting point is 00:05:50 You see, you are just like Solomon. You are a selfish wretch. I'm a selfish wretch. If you can't see your own wretchedness, well, that's possibly the best sign out there that you're far more wretched than you could imagine, so wretched that you can't even see it. And yet, I want you to know there is also a glory in you. In chapter six, we learn about the temple's dimensions and its physical appearance.

Starting point is 00:06:17 And again, if you're reading it, you can't help but compare it to the tabernacle and the comparisons are numerous. But this time the comparisons are positive. The temple really has been designed the way that the tabernacle was. It's designed to be a suitable house for Yahweh. The temple has the exact same proportions as the tabernacle. The temple's designed to look like a garden just like the tabernacle. A veil protects the holiest place from everybody else in the temple. And that's exactly the way it was in the tabernacle. The temple, the temple, is built using the finest materials in wood and stone to show that Yahweh is glorious and set apart. And in the exact same way, the tabernacle was built out of fine materials to show that Yahweh was glorious

Starting point is 00:07:02 and set apart. And I'm saying this because you have to understand the temple really was glorious. In Yahweh, he really does choose to dwell in it, despite all the problems that we've talked about. And so the temple points us towards the glory of humanity. You see, Solomon, he follows, God's instructions and he ends up making something worth making. And the same thing is true of your life. You are not glorious when you follow your personal designs for your life, but you are glorious when you follow God's design for your life. Solomon's story shows you that humans are both glorious and wretched. You are glorious when you live with the grain of God's design and you are wretched when you disavow it.

Starting point is 00:07:48 Here's the good news. God chose to dwell in Solomon's temple, even though it was both glorious and wretched. And in the end, that's what gave the temple its deepest, truest, most beautiful meaning. You see, so maybe it's no surprise that the apostle Paul calls you and me and the entire body of Jesus, the church, a temple. You see, we are the place where God is present, and there's an amazing glory in that. according to Paul that amazing glorious presence of God in us it should make us turn away from our most wretched

Starting point is 00:08:20 behavior so what will your tombstone say how about this a wretch without God and a glory through his grace a worm without Jesus's design and a wonder through his guidance where do you need to confess your own ruin your own wretchedness do it right now knowing that you not only receive God's forgiveness, but also his spiritual presence, the presence that transforms you from a wretch into a glory. Thanks for listening. If you've enjoyed this content, please subscribe and give us a rating. That helps other people find this podcast more easily. Also, ask yourself, who could you share this podcast with? Texting an episode to a friend or a family member is a great way to help them grow spiritually. If you want to be a person,

Starting point is 00:09:13 If you want to go deeper, check out our show notes for book recommendations.

Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Do Humans Have Glory? | The Life of Solomon | 1 Kings 5.6

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