Putting GOD FIRST in our lives!

May 2 Bible Reading: 2 Chronicles Chapters 1-3

Putting GOD FIRST in our lives!

"Then Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for the tabernacle of meeting with God was there, which Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness. And Solomon went up there to the bronze altar before the Lord, which was at the tabernacle of meeting, and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it." (2 Chron 1:3, 6)

After the death of King David, his son Solomon started his rule upon the right priorities that he had learned from his father – he began his reign with a pious, public visit to God's altar. The altar and the tabernacle were enclosed in the ark of God inside a tent in the midst of Jerusalem (2 Chron 1:4-5). Solomon went to the bronze altar before the Lord at the tabernacle of meeting and offered a thousand burnt offerings upon it (v. 6). Actually God did not require Solomon to offer more than one burnt offering as a token of his appreciation to God. However, Solomon wanted to express his appreciation to God profusely and offered a thousand burnt offerings at the very beginning of his reign. He had truly put God first in his life – before anything else. God was so pleased with Solomon that He appeared to Solomon that very night in a dream and offered him back anything that he wanted! Solomon then asked for wisdom and understanding, and he received everything else that he needed – including riches, wealth and honor – to rule over the people of Israel superbly (v.7-12).

There is a very important message for us here – when we put God first in our lives, He will provide to us all the other needed resources for our lives. Our Lord Jesus Christ has told us a powerful life principle: "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (Matt 6:33). Instead of making the pursuit of success, fame and wealth as our priority as the worldly people do, we need to seek God and His will first and foremost in our daily life routine. Then God will provide us everything that we actually need in our lives, and even more in abundance as in the case of Solomon.

We need to understand that God is waiting for us to seek Him earnestly: "The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God." (Psalms 14:2). Let this be our desire for today and all the days of our lives: “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.” (Psalms 27:4)