Solomon

At Gibeon the LORD came to me in a dream and told me to ask for whatever I want. I said: you’ve made me king in my father’s place, but I’m only a little child. I don’t know how to do this. And here I am in the middle of your people, too many to count. So give me a heart that listens, so I can lead them and tell right from wrong.

Replying to @solomon

He was pleased I asked for that. Not a long life, not money, not my enemies dead. So he’s giving me a wise, discerning heart, like no one before me and no one after. And what I didn’t ask for as well: riches and honour.

Replying to @solomon

Then I woke up. It was a dream.

Give the living baby to the first woman. Don’t kill him. She’s his mother.

To Hiram, king of Tyre. My father David couldn’t build a house for the LORD; there were wars on every side. Now the LORD has given me peace all round, so I’m building it. Please have cedars cut in Lebanon for me. My men will work with yours, and I’ll pay whatever you say. Nobody here can cut timber like your Sidonians.

The LORD said he would live in thick cloud. And LORD, I’ve built you a magnificent house, a place for you to live for ever.

A priest at the temple dedication@priest.dedicationThen we came out, and a cloud filled the house of the LORD. We couldn’t stay in there to do our work. The glory of the LORD had filled his house.

Praise the LORD, the God of Israel. What he promised my father David with his mouth, he’s done today with his hand. My father wanted to build this house. The LORD told him: your son will. And here it is.

Nathan@nathan.prophetThat night the LORD sent me back to David. He isn’t the one to build a house for the LORD. The LORD will build David a house: a son after him, and a throne that will last for ever.

LORD, God of Israel, there’s no God like you in heaven or on earth. But will God really live on earth? The heavens, even the highest heavens, can’t hold you. How much less this house I’ve built.

When your people pray towards this place, hear from heaven, where you live. And when you hear, forgive.

And the foreigner who isn’t one of your people, who comes from a faraway country because they’ve heard of you, and prays towards this house: hear them too. So every people on earth will know your name.

When they sin against you, and there’s no one who doesn’t sin, and you let an enemy carry them off to a land far away: if they come to their senses there and turn back to you with all their heart, hear them. Forgive them. And make their captors kind to them.

Praise the LORD, who has given his people rest. Every good promise he made through Moses has come true. Not one has failed. Not one.

Joshua son of Nun@joshuaI haven't got long left. And you know it deep down: not one of the good things the LORD your God promised you has failed. Not one.

That night at Gibeon. What I asked for was wisdom and knowledge, so I could lead this people. Who could govern a people this big otherwise? He said I’d have them. And riches and honour on top, like no king before me or after.

Solomon@solomon · GibeonAt Gibeon the LORD came to me in a dream and told me to ask for whatever I want. I said: you’ve made me king in my father’s place, but I’m only a little child. I don’t know how to do this. And here I am in the middle of your people, too many to count. So give me a heart that listens, so I can lead them and tell right from wrong.

To Hiram, king of Tyre: send me cedar, like you did for my father David. I’m building a house for the LORD my God, and it’ll be great, because our God is greater than all gods. Though who can build him a house, when the highest heavens can’t hold him? Who am I?

Now come, LORD God, to your resting place, you and the ark that shows your strength.

The LORD appeared to me at night. He’s heard my prayer, and he’s chosen this place. He said if he shuts the sky or sends locusts or plague, and his people, the ones called by his name, humble themselves and pray and look for him and turn from their wicked ways, he’ll hear from heaven. He’ll forgive their sin and heal their land.

Replying to @solomon

He also said: if you turn away and serve other gods, I’ll uproot Israel and throw this house out of my sight. It’ll be a ruin, and people walking past will ask why the LORD did this. And the answer will be: they left the LORD.

My wife, Pharaoh’s daughter, won’t live in the house of David king of Israel. Anywhere the ark of the LORD has been is holy. She’s moving to the house I’ve built for her.

A prayer for the king: may he rescue the needy who cry out, and the poor with nobody to help them.

Replying to @solomon

The note at the end of mine says that's the end of the prayers of David son of Jesse. My father.

Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders are wasting their time. Up early, up late, working hard for your bread. Pointless. He gives sleep to the people he loves.

Replying to @solomon

Speaking as someone who's built a house or two.

Start here. The fear of the LORD is where knowledge begins. Only fools look down on being taught.

Son, if people try to talk you into it, hiding out to jump someone and splitting whatever they take: don't go.

Replying to @solomon

They think they're setting a trap for someone else. They're the ones it catches.

Trust the LORD with all your heart, and don't lean on your own understanding. Put him first in everything you do, and he'll make your paths straight.

Don't resent it when the LORD corrects you. He corrects the ones he loves, like a father with a son he delights in.

Don't say “Come back tomorrow” when you can help them now.

Above everything else, guard your heart. Everything you do flows from it.

Go and look at the ant, you lazy thing. No boss, no supervisor, and she still gets her food in all summer.

Replying to @the.slacker

Sure. A bit more sleep, a bit more napping, a bit more lying there with your arms folded, and poverty turns up like a robber.

Six things the LORD hates. Seven, actually: 1. Proud eyes. 2. A lying tongue. 3. Hands that kill the innocent. 4. A heart that plots evil. 5. Feet that run to do wrong. 6. A witness who lies. 7. Someone who stirs up trouble between brothers.

Looking out through my window at dusk, I saw a young man with no sense heading down the street to a certain woman's house. She came out, grabbed him and kissed him. Her husband was away on a long trip, she said. He followed her like an ox to the slaughter, not knowing it would cost him his life.

Replying to @folly

What her guests don't know: they're already in the depths of the grave.

Correct a mocker and he'll hate you. Correct a wise person and they'll love you for it.

Hatred stirs up fights. Love covers over every wrong.

A beautiful woman with no sense is like a gold ring in a pig's snout.

Refresh other people and you'll be refreshed.

A good person looks after their animals.

Worry weighs a person down. A kind word cheers them up.

Hope that keeps getting put off makes you heartsick.

No oxen, empty manger. But it's the strength of the ox that brings in a big harvest.

There's a way that seems right to a person, but it ends in death.

Even while you're laughing, your heart can ache.

A gentle answer turns anger away. A harsh word stirs it up.

A bowl of veg with love beats a fattened calf with hatred.

Plans fail for lack of advice. With plenty of advisers, they work.

You plan your route. The LORD decides your steps.

Pride comes before destruction. Arrogance comes before a fall.

Better to be patient than a warrior. Better to control your temper than capture a city.

You throw the lots into your lap, but how they land is up to the LORD.

Better a dry crust in peace and quiet than a house full of feasting and fighting.

A friend loves at all times. A brother is born for the hard times.

A cheerful heart is good medicine.

Even a fool looks wise if he keeps his mouth shut.

The name of the LORD is a strong tower. Good people run into it and they're safe.

Answering before you've listened: foolish, and embarrassing.

The first person to tell their side always sounds right. Until the other one turns up and starts asking questions.

The tongue has the power of life and death.

There's a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Be kind to the poor and you're lending to the LORD. He'll pay you back.

Wine makes a fool of you. Beer starts fights. Anyone who gets carried away by them isn't wise.

“Rubbish. Total rubbish,” says the buyer. Then off he goes, bragging about the deal he got.

Young people's glory is their strength. Old people's splendour is their grey hair.

Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a wife who picks fights.

Replying to @solomon

Actually, the desert. The desert's better.

A good name is worth more than great riches.

Start a child off on the way they should go, and even when they're old they won't turn from it.

The right word at the right time is like apples of gold in a silver setting.

Don't be round your neighbour's house too often. They'll get sick of you.

If your enemy's hungry, feed him. If he's thirsty, give him a drink. You'll heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.

Good news from far away is like cold water when you're thirsty.

Don't answer a fool the way his foolishness deserves, or you'll be just like him.

Replying to @solomon

Answer a fool the way his foolishness deserves, or he'll think he's wise.

Like a dog going back to its vomit, a fool goes back to his foolishness.

A door turns on its hinges. A lazy man turns in his bed.

Getting involved in someone else's argument is like grabbing a passing dog by the ears.

Like a madman firing flaming arrows: someone who lies to their neighbour and then says, “I was only joking.”

No wood, and the fire goes out. No gossip, and the arguing stops.

Don't boast about tomorrow. You don't know what a day will bring.

Let someone else praise you. Not your own mouth.

Wounds from a friend can be trusted. An enemy's kisses are fake.

Bellow a blessing at your neighbour at the crack of dawn and they'll take it as a curse.

As iron sharpens iron, one person sharpens another.

The wicked run when nobody's chasing them. The good are as bold as a lion.

Hide your wrongs and you won't get far. Own up and turn from them, and you'll find mercy.

Where there's no vision, the people run wild.

Fear of people is a trap. Trust the LORD and you're safe.

Song of Songs. The best song there is.