Beautiful thoughts in Solomon's dedicatory prayer

1 Kings 8:13 - I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.

1 Kings 8:27-29 - But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day: That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place.

This verse comes after Solomon lists the possible physical plagues that might come and prays for deliverance but then mentions a potent plague:

1 Kings 8:38-40 - What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;) That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.

Solomon's gifts: an understanding heart and riches?

King Solomon built the temple that David wanted to build. David has the plans and the material, but was commanded not to build the temple. When his son Solomon became king, building the temple was a singular focus. Well, really it wasn't too singular on the temple, he just decided that he needed to build a house for himself that needed to be bigger than the temple and furnished richly. Because of course you would need a large home to house 1,000 wives and concubines, it's just reality. More on that later.

Something I find interesting about Solomon is that when the Lord asked him what gift he wanted, Solomon told Him "an understanding heart." What a great thing to ask for! He received this gift which was helpful in determining the mother of a poor baby and probably many, many more issues. But, what is interesting is that along with the gift of an understanding heart, the Lord blessed him with great riches. Riches would eventually be the means of his spiritual downfall. So, the Lord gave him a spiritual gift and the Lord gave him a temporal gift. I suppose the spiritual gift could've become a downfall - pride, but it didn't.

I just think it's interesting that we are told over and over in the scriptures that if we keep the commandments we will be blessed with all sorts of things that the Lord sees fit to bless us with. Is the spiritual gift a reward for our faithfulness and are the temporal gifts and challenge to become better, to receive more spiritual gifts? Perhaps that the perspective we should have: Our spiritual gifts are gifts to use with the guidance of the spirit. Our temporal gifts are not to be seen as rewards, but gifts for us to be shepherds over, also to be used with the guidance of the spirit. Temporal gifts are tools to help us help others. Solomon seemed to use his temporal gifts, riches, to make a name for himself, in the name of the Lord. The temple was dedicated for and to the Lord, but the way it was decorated and furnished was more than the Lord needed, it was what Solomon needed.

I couldn't help thinking of how simply beautiful our temples are. They are really not something that other's seem to want to pilfer. But they are simple and beautiful and peaceful. Just what we need.

Amazing Messianic Psalms

I think these Messianic Psalms are amazing! They are fulfilled word for word at times and at least use the same words in getting the point across. How amazing it is that the Spirit revealed to the Psalmists (sometimes David, sometimes not) exact phrases and detailed events of the life and crucifixion of Christ. When Christ utters these words, it's like he's quoting himself! Enjoy!

Prophecy	Fulfillment
Psalm 107:23–30	Matthew 8:23–27. Jesus calmed the winds and the waves.
Psalm 69:8	John 1:11; 7:5. Jesus was not received by his own people.
Psalm 41:9; 55:12–14	John 13:18, 21. Jesus was betrayed by a friend.
Psalm 69:20	Mark 14:32–41. Jesus suffered alone in Gethsemane.
Psalm 22:7–8	Matthew 27:39–43. Jesus was mocked.
Psalm 22:16	Mark 15:25. Jesus was crucified.
Psalm 22:18	Matthew 27:35. The soldiers cast lots for Christ’s clothes.
Psalm 22:1	Matthew 27:46. Jesus asked the Father why he had forsaken him.
Psalm 69:21	John 19:28–30. Jesus was given vinegar for his thirst.
Psalm 34:20	John 19:33–36. None of Jesus’ bones was broken.
Psalm 31:5	Luke 23:46. Jesus commended his spirit to the Father and died.
Psalm 16:10	Acts 2:31–32; 13:34–35. The Savior’s flesh did not see corruption, being raised up in the Resurrection.

David is all royalty and loyalty

I mentioned a few weeks ago in class that David was a good example of enduring to the end, but I was wrong. I had read three or four conference talks regarding enduring to the end and studied in the scriptures about it and was making my case and looking forward to a good discussion and them I read in the Old Testament study guide these exact words: David is not a good example of enduring to the end. My balloon popped and I’m grateful the Spirit popped it because it was my balloon (Lisa's doctrine) and not the Lord’s.

The definition of one who endures to the end is one who merits (with the overwhelming aid of Christ) eternal life. David was responsible for taking Uriah’s life, which does not merit eternal life.

However, I have been overwhelmed at David’s persistence in praising the Lord for mercy and justice. How often have we seen in out study of the Old Testament the people leave gospel teaching and worship, they turn to idolatry, to other Gods who they made to rationalize and justify their wickedness. David does not do this. David repents and implores the aid of the Lord of the earth. He commits two horrible sins affecting many other lives, but he continues to worship the one true Lord.

Is this hypocrisy?

We are all hypocrites at one time or another, so let’s not condemn each other of such a judgment for that would be hypocritical, right? It is the life of a human and it is the life we are asked to take part in. Whether our circumstances come because of other’s choices or because of our own short-sighted choices, we are asked to repent. It’s part of the plan: we can repent and allow others their repentance as well and not condemn them.

In Psalms 51:12-14, David tells the Lord that after he is forgiven he will teach the people about the one true Lord and about Salvation. This is the same sentiment we see in The Book of Mormon when the people of Alma are converted and when Alma the younger is converted and many others. David does quite a good job with this for the people of his time (he ruled and judged Israel according to gospel principles) as well as recording the Psalm to help convert us.

Despite the demands of justice, of which David is aware, he still sees his life as his time to prepare to meet God and HE DOES NOT GIVE UP ON THIS even though he has broken covenants. He maintains hope that the only God of the people who has power to save him is the Lord. Not only does he maintain hope in the Savoir for his own life, but he promises to teach others about it. Us, namely.

I see David either authoring or agreeing with this statement in Psalms 84:10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand [ftnt:anywhere else]. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. What wonderful eternal perspective and an example of hope and faith.

So, while David did not technically endure to the end, his loyalty remained with the Lord, and as we see in Psalms 86 (David’s soul redeemed from hell) he is blessed for it.

Psalms, not so intimidating

The reading for this lesson is all 150 Psalms. I tried, but only got through 100 then the highlights after that. I learned a lot from what I read and feel that I need to rejoice more than I do. After this post I am going to post about David.

The Savior testified of the importance of the Psalms, specifically because of the Messianic prophecies contained within the book of songs and poetry. When he met the two apostles on the road to Emmaus and joined them for the sacrament this is what he tells them

Luke 24:44-48

The Lord specifically names the book of Psalms and something the apostles should be familiar with. Therefore, so should we.

It is interesting that even his apostles didn’t grasp the meaning of the prophecies or their fulfillment, which is not to say that they were dense, but they were just not ready. How blessed are we to have the two accounts, the prophecies and the fulfillment thereof, so that if we choose to be ready, the information is there.

It has been a blessing fro me to read through all of these Psalms, though they are not the easiest to read, one after another because there is not much of a storyline or context. But here is what I learned.

· Principle doctrines regarding personal salvation are in Psalms. For instance: faith, repentance, priesthood, scriptures, prayer, personal relationship with the Lord, sins to avoid, judgment, mercy

· Praising the Lord needs to happen more often, this is not just a recitation of blessings, though that is a powerful and gracious reminder, it is what the Lord has done for your salvation

· Hebrew words like “selah” or “neginoth” are not meant to be intimidating words to stop us from understanding. They indicate what to do in the song concerning voices and instruments

· New Testament quotes the Psalm over 115 times, often to indicate fulfillment of the prophecies given in Psalms

Where does jealousy come from?

The story of Saul, David and Jonathan is one in the Old Testament that is not hard to figure out how to apply. There are many lessons within this soap opera situation, but the general themes seem to be jealousy, friendship and loyalty.

It is so interesting to think about where Saul's jealousy comes from. If we take the account sequentially, Saul is not aware (that we know of) of David anointing to be King after Saul, until after David slays Goliath at least. So, our first indication that Saul is jealous of David comes after Saul appoint David to lead his armies and there is another Philistine battle, where David slays more than Saul. Saul jealousy begins with David slaying more than Saul and didn't have much to do with succession of the throne at this point. (1 Sam 18:5-9).

Saul was chosen by the Lord to be the first King in Israel. He was admired by the people and had many talents and was very tall. He was anointed to be captain over Israel, though he was later called King. The anointing was a symbol of the endowment of the spirit from God and the monarchy became a Divine Institution to help fulfill the purposes of God.

It did not take long for Saul’s power to go to his head. And while he tried to do the right things, he did them without proper authority. He offered sacrifices without holding the proper priesthood, he did not wait for Samuel to come and preside over the sacrifices. This was inexcusable in the Lord’s eyes and from this point lost the endowment of the spirit and was rejected by the Lord. When Saul was confronted by the prophet Samuel, Saul said that he "feared the people and obeyed their voice" (1 Sam 15: 24). Saul asked for forgiveness, but sacrificing without proper authority was unforgivable. He was rejected of the Lord and the gift of the spirit was withdrawn.

This is where I believe Saul's jealousy began. It began with shame and guilt for doing something against the Lord's will. The jealousy of David became the manifestation for this. Jealousy tends to turn focus from changing and improving oneself to blaming others. Saul could never overcome this. He tried, he even swore not to kill David. But he could only focus on things that he didn't have instead of things that he did have (which is how Heavenly Father sees us according to Joseph Smith).

President Ezra Taft Benson gave a life-changing talk "Beware of Pride" he said that with prideful people, the praise of men rings more loudly than the praise of God. I have thought a lot about this. It is obvious what the praise of men is, but how do we recognize the praise of God for us and what do we do with that recognition. It almost seems incorrect to say that God has praise for me, but I really believe that he does. Not only does he have praise for us, but recognizing that praise is essential in our well-being, image and peace. It is not something that we have to report to anyone, in fact we should probably be like Mary and ponder it in our hearts, just letting that confirmation rest between me and the Lord. But if we can figure out how to recognize praise from the Lord, I think we can avoid the jealousy trap that Saul was in.

Samson, Samson, Samson

I thought I had posted on Samson the week I taught that lesson, but apparently I didn't. Here are belated thoughts on Samson:

I will be honest, the story of Samson frustrated me. I had such a hard time figuring out what to teach in this lesson. It seems pretty straight forward, but it really didn't make spiritual sense to me. Here's why: The Lord blessed Samson with great physical strength and was foretold to deliver Israel from their oppressors. His mother dedicated him to the Lord as a Nazarite, with specific covenants and laws to keep to show his dedication (cannot cut hair, cannot drink strong drinks, and cannot be around dead bodies). Samson grew with great strength, spiritually and physically. But then Samson made a choice to break a covenant with the Lord. He married outside of his tribe/faith.

But even though he did this, the scriptures tell us that the Lord was still with Samson and he was able to perform great feats of strength. In fact, every time Samson showed physical strength, it says "and the Lord was with him." In between each strength, Samson did something else that violated covenants or law, yet the Lord was still with him. This does not make any sense to me. The only way this makes sense is that Samson had a purpose to fulfill and the Lord allowed him to maintain his strength until His will was fulfilled. After pondering this and feeling pressure to figure out how to present a lesson that just didn't make sense, here's what makes sense to me:

Samson is an antithetical type of Christ:

Both births were announced by angel

Both given a purpose of deliverance – both spiritual and physical

Both grew up dedicated to God

But when given the chance to keep his covenants and covenants of Israel, Samson chose differently:

Samson killed, Christ helped live

Samson focused on self, Chirst focues outward

Samson gave in the temptation, Christ did not

Samson set aside covenants, Christ live the covenant even though he was to fulfill it

Samson’s motives were revenge, branching from pride (shouldn’t be treated this way)

Christ’s motive were love, even for those who did wrong to him.

It seems to me that Samson's purpose is: To show the world that you can’t deliver a people only physically (Samson), it must be spiritually as well (Christ).