[Ohio-Communities-of-Faith] DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR THURSDAY APRIL 7

[Donnie Parrett]

DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR THURSDAY APRIL 7

WORD OF WISDOM

You know you're a bad driver when GPS says, "in 400 feet, stop and let me
out!"??

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DAILY DEVOTION

Scars Tell Your Story


For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus.
(John 15:5, NKJV)

	 While life brings its share of physical scars from injuries, there
are also inner scars that come from what somebody said, from a breakup, from
a failure we made, from the loss of a loved one. So often we try to hide our
scars from those wounds. They remind us of the hurt. But you need to see
your scars in a new light. God allowed that scar to remind you of what He
brought you through. Don't think of the pain, think of the grace of God. The
scar means the wound has healed, the pain is over, and you're moving
forward.
You can be at peace with your scars. Those scars tell your story. No one in
the Scripture fulfilled their destiny without battle scars. We all get
wounded. The scar is proof that God healed you. The scar reminds you of the
greatness of God. Sure, you have a scar, but you've come through healed,
restored, vindicated, blessed, and fulfilling your purpose.
	 
A Prayer for Today

"Father, thank You that You have borne our griefs and carried our sorrows
and by Your stripes we are healed. Thank You that the scars tell the story
of what You've done in my life and of Your greatness. I am at peace with my
scars. In Jesus' Name, Amen."

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DAILY BIBLE READING

1 Kings 4-6 New King James Version
Solomon's Administration
4 So King Solomon was king over all Israel. 2 And these were his officials:
Azariah the son of Zadok, the priest; 3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of
Shisha, [a]scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder; 4 Benaiah
the son of Jehoiada, over the army; Zadok and Abiathar, the priests; 5
Azariah the son of Nathan, over the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan, a
priest and the king's friend; 6 Ahishar, over the household; and Adoniram
the son of Abda, over the labor force.

7 And Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel, who provided food for
the king and his household; each one made provision for one month of the
year. 8 These are their names: [b]Ben-Hur, in the mountains of Ephraim; 9
[c]Ben-Deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan; 10
[d]Ben-Hesed, in Arubboth; to him belonged Sochoh and all the land of
Hepher; 11 [e]Ben-Abinadab, in all the regions of Dor; he had Taphath the
daughter of Solomon as wife; 12 Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach,
Megiddo, and all Beth Shean, which is beside Zaretan below Jezreel, from
Beth Shean to Abel Meholah, as far as the other side of Jokneam; 13
[f]Ben-Geber, in Ramoth Gilead; to him belonged the towns of Jair the son of
Manasseh, in Gilead; to him also belonged the region of Argob in
Bashan-sixty large cities with walls and bronze gate-bars; 14 Ahinadab the
son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; 15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali; he also took Basemath the
daughter of Solomon as wife; 16 Baanah the son of Hushai, in Asher and
Aloth; 17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar; 18 Shimei the son of
Elah, in Benjamin; 19 Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, in the
country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan. He was the
only governor who was in the land.

Prosperity and Wisdom of Solomon's Reign
20 Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea in multitude,
eating and drinking and rejoicing. 21 So Solomon reigned over all kingdoms
from the[g] River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of
Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

22 Now Solomon's [h]provision for one day was thirty [i]kors of fine flour,
sixty kors of meal, 23 ten fatted oxen, twenty oxen from the pastures, and
one hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl.

24 For he had dominion over all the region on this side of [j]the River from
Tiphsah even to Gaza, namely over all the kings on this side of the River;
and he had peace on every side all around him. 25 And Judah and Israel
dwelt[k] safely, each man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan as far
as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

26 Solomon had [l]forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and
twelve thousand horsemen. 27 And these governors, each man in his month,
provided food for King Solomon and for all who came to King Solomon's table.
There was no lack in their supply. 28 They also brought barley and straw to
the proper place, for the horses and steeds, each man according to his
charge.

29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and
largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. 30 Thus Solomon's wisdom
excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt.
31 For he was wiser than all men-than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman,
Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the
surrounding nations. 32 He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were
one thousand and five. 33 Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of
Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of
animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. 34 And men of all
nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came
to hear the wisdom of Solomon.

Solomon Prepares to Build the Temple
5 Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, because he heard that
they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram had always
loved David. 2 Then Solomon sent to Hiram, saying:

3 You know how my father David could not build a house for the name of the
Lord his God because of the wars which were fought against him on every
side, until the Lord put [m]his foes under the soles of his feet.

4 But now the Lord my God has given me rest[n] on every side; there is
neither adversary nor [o]evil occurrence.

5 And behold, [p]I propose to build a house for the name of the Lord my God,
as the Lord spoke to my father David, saying, "Your son, whom I will set on
your throne in your place, he shall build the house for My name."

6 Now therefore, command that they cut down cedars for me from Lebanon; and
my servants will be with your servants, and I will pay you wages for your
servants according to whatever you say. For you know there is none among us
who has skill to cut timber like the Sidonians.

7 So it was, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly
and said,

Blessed be the Lord this day, for He has given David a wise son over this
great people!

8 Then Hiram sent to Solomon, saying:

I have considered the message which you sent me, and I will do all you
desire concerning the cedar and cypress logs.

9 My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon to the sea; I will float
them in rafts by sea to the place you indicate to me, and will have them
broken apart there; then you can take them away. And you shall fulfill my
desire by giving food for my household.

10 Then Hiram gave Solomon cedar and cypress logs according to all his
desire. 11 And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand [q]kors of wheat as food
for his household, and [r]twenty kors of pressed oil. Thus Solomon gave to
Hiram year by year.

12 So the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as He had promised him; and there was
peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty together.

13 Then King Solomon raised up a labor force out of all Israel; and the
labor force was thirty thousand men. 14 And he sent them to Lebanon, ten
thousand a month in shifts: they were one month in Lebanon and two months at
home; Adoniram was in charge of the labor force. 15 Solomon had seventy
thousand who carried burdens, and eighty thousand who quarried stone in the
mountains, 16 besides three thousand [s]three hundred from the chiefs of
Solomon's deputies, who supervised the people who labored in the work. 17
And the king commanded them to quarry large stones, costly stones, and hewn
stones, to lay the foundation of the [t]temple. 18 So Solomon's builders,
Hiram's builders, and the Gebalites quarried them; and they prepared timber
and stones to build the [u]temple.

Solomon Builds the Temple
6 And it came to pass in the four hundred and [v]eightieth year after the
children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of
Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of [w]Ziv, which is the second
month, that he began to build the house of the Lord. 2 Now the house which
King Solomon built for the Lord, its length was sixty cubits, its width
twenty, and its height thirty cubits. 3 The vestibule in front of the
[x]sanctuary of the house was [y]twenty cubits long across the width of the
house, and the width of [z]the vestibule extended [aa]ten cubits from the
front of the house. 4 And he made for the house windows with beveled frames.

5 Against the wall of the [ab]temple he built chambers all around, against
the walls of the temple, all around the sanctuary and the [ac]inner
sanctuary. Thus he made side chambers all around it. 6 The lowest chamber
was five cubits wide, the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was
seven cubits wide; for he made narrow ledges around the outside of the
temple, so that the support beams would not be fastened into the walls of
the [ad]temple. 7 And the temple, when it was being built, was built with
stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool
was heard in the temple while it was being built. 8 The doorway for the
[ae]middle story was on the right side of the temple. They went up by stairs
to the middle story, and from the middle to the third.

9 So he built the [af]temple and finished it, and he paneled the temple with
beams and boards of cedar. 10 And he built side chambers against the entire
temple, each five cubits high; they were attached to the temple with cedar
beams.

11 Then the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying: 12 "Concerning this
[ag]temple which you are building, if you walk in My statutes, execute My
judgments, keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform
My [ah]word with you, which I spoke to your father David. 13 And I will
dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel."

14 So Solomon built the temple and finished it. 15 And he built the inside
walls of the temple with cedar boards; from the floor of the temple to the
ceiling he paneled the inside with wood; and he covered the floor of the
temple with planks of cypress. 16 Then he built the twenty-cubit room at the
rear of the temple, from floor to ceiling, with cedar boards; he built it
inside as the inner sanctuary, as the Most Holy Place. 17 And in front of it
the temple sanctuary was forty cubits long. 18 The inside of the temple was
cedar, carved with ornamental buds and open flowers. All was cedar; there
was no stone to be seen.

19 And he prepared the [ai]inner sanctuary inside the temple, to set the ark
of the covenant of the Lord there. 20 The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits
long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid it with pure
gold, and overlaid the altar of cedar. 21 So Solomon overlaid the inside of
the temple with pure gold. He stretched gold chains across the front of the
inner sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold. 22 The whole temple he overlaid
with gold, until he had finished all the temple; also he overlaid with gold
the entire altar that was by the inner sanctuary.

23 Inside the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten
cubits high. 24 One wing of the cherub was five cubits, and the other wing
of the cherub five cubits: ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of
the other. 25 And the other cherub was ten cubits; both cherubim were of the
same size and shape. 26 The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was
the other cherub. 27 Then he set the cherubim inside the inner [aj]room; and
they stretched out the wings of the cherubim so that the wing of the one
touched one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall.
And their wings touched each other in the middle of the room. 28 Also he
overlaid the cherubim with gold.

29 Then he carved all the walls of the temple all around, both the inner and
outer sanctuaries, with carved figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open
flowers. 30 And the floor of the temple he overlaid with gold, both the
inner and outer sanctuaries.

31 For the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood; the
lintel and doorposts were [ak]one-fifth of the wall. 32 The two doors were
of olive wood; and he carved on them figures of cherubim, palm trees, and
open flowers, and overlaid them with gold; and he spread gold on the
cherubim and on the palm trees. 33 So for the door of the [al]sanctuary he
also made doorposts of olive wood, [am]one-fourth of the wall. 34 And the
two doors were of cypress wood; two panels comprised one folding door, and
two panels comprised the other folding door. 35 Then he carved cherubim,
palm trees, and open flowers on them, and overlaid them with gold applied
evenly on the carved work.

36 And he built the inner court with three rows of hewn stone and a row of
cedar beams.

37 In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, in
the month of [an]Ziv. 38 And in the eleventh year, in the month of [ao]Bul,
which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its details and
according to all its plans. So he was seven years in building it.

Footnotes
1 Kings 4:3 secretaries
1 Kings 4:8 Lit. Son of Hur
1 Kings 4:9 Lit. Son of Deker
1 Kings 4:10 Lit. Son of Hesed
1 Kings 4:11 Lit. Son of Abinadab
1 Kings 4:13 Lit. Son of Geber
1 Kings 4:21 The Euphrates
1 Kings 4:22 Lit. bread
1 Kings 4:22 Each about 5 bushels
1 Kings 4:24 The Euphrates
1 Kings 4:25 lived in safety
1 Kings 4:26 So with MT, most other authorities; some LXX mss. four
thousand; cf. 2 Chr. 9:25
1 Kings 5:3 Lit. them
1 Kings 5:4 peace
1 Kings 5:4 misfortune
1 Kings 5:5 Lit. I am saying
1 Kings 5:11 Each about 5 bushels
1 Kings 5:11 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX, Syr. twenty thousand kors
1 Kings 5:16 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX six hundred
1 Kings 5:17 Lit. house
1 Kings 5:18 Lit. house
1 Kings 6:1 So with MT, Tg., Vg.; LXX fortieth
1 Kings 6:1 Or Ayyar, April or May
1 Kings 6:3 Heb. heykal; here the main room of the temple; elsewhere called
the holy place, Ex. 26:33; Ezek. 41:1
1 Kings 6:3 About 30 feet
1 Kings 6:3 Lit. it
1 Kings 6:3 About 15 feet
1 Kings 6:5 Lit. house
1 Kings 6:5 Heb. debir; here the inner room of the temple; elsewhere called
the Most Holy Place, v. 16
1 Kings 6:6 Lit. house
1 Kings 6:8 So with MT, Vg.; LXX upper story; Tg. ground story
1 Kings 6:9 Lit. house
1 Kings 6:12 Lit. house
1 Kings 6:12 promise
1 Kings 6:19 The Most Holy Place
1 Kings 6:27 Lit. house
1 Kings 6:31 Or five-sided
1 Kings 6:33 temple
1 Kings 6:33 Or four-sided
1 Kings 6:37 Or Ayyar, April or May
1 Kings 6:38 Or Heshvan, October or November