1 Kings 6:11-22: a reflection

11The LORD’s word came to Solomon, saying, 12“Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in my statutes, and execute my ordinances, and keep all my commandments to walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father. 13I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.” 14So Solomon built the house and finished it. 15He built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar; from the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood. He covered the floor of the house with cypress boards. 16He built twenty cubits of the back part of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the ceiling. He built this within, for an inner sanctuary, even for the most holy place. 17In front of the temple sanctuary was forty cubits long. 18There was cedar on the house within, carved with buds and open flowers. All was cedar. No stone was visible. 19He prepared an inner sanctuary in the middle of the house within, to set the ark of the LORD’s covenant there. 20Within the inner sanctuary was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in its height. He overlaid it with pure gold. He covered the altar with cedar. 21So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold. He drew chains of gold across before the inner sanctuary, and he overlaid it with gold. 22He overlaid the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished. He also overlaid the whole altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary with gold.

As Solomon builds the temple, the account describes the lavish care and cost devoted to it: the walls lined with carved cedar, the whole interior overlaid with pure gold, the inner sanctuary covered in gold, no expense spared. He overlaid the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished. Nothing but the best was used for the house of God; the finest materials, the most careful work, the costliest gold, were devoted to it. The building of God's house was not done cheaply or carelessly, but with the best that could be given, reflecting that God is worthy of our finest, not our leftovers.

Notice the best that was devoted to God's house: the finest cedar, the purest gold, nothing spared. Solomon did not build the temple with cheap materials or careless work; he devoted to it the best, the costliest, the most carefully wrought, overlaying the whole with pure gold. The house of God was worthy of the finest, and Solomon gave it. This reflects a truth about how we approach God: he is worthy of our best, not our leftovers or our least. To devote the finest to God's house was to acknowledge his worth; the lavish care and cost expressed that God deserved the best that could be given. Nothing but the best was fitting for the house of God.

That is worth taking to heart, for God is worthy of our best, not our leftovers, in what we give and do for him. We can be tempted to give God our leftovers, our least, the cheap and careless, keeping our best for ourselves; but Solomon devoted the finest to God's house, sparing no expense, because God was worthy of the best. God deserves our finest, our best effort, our best gifts, not what is left over. Do not give God your leftovers or your least; give him your best, as Solomon devoted the finest to the temple. Give God your best, not your leftovers, in what you offer and do for him, as Solomon devoted the finest cedar and purest gold to the temple; for God is worthy of our finest, and to give him our best is to acknowledge his worth, while to give him our leftovers is to treat as common what deserves our best.

Lord, as Solomon builds the temple, the account describes the lavish care and cost devoted to it: the walls lined with carved cedar, the whole interior overlaid with pure gold, the inner sanctuary covered in gold, no expense spared. He overlaid the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished. Nothing but the best was used for your house; the finest materials, the most careful work, the costliest gold, were devoted to it. The building of your house was done with the best that could be given, reflecting that you are worthy of our finest. Show me the best that was devoted to your house: the finest cedar, the purest gold, nothing spared. Solomon did not build the temple with cheap materials or careless work; he devoted to it the best, overlaying the whole with pure gold. Your house was worthy of the finest, and Solomon gave it. This reflects a truth about how we approach you: you are worthy of our best, not our leftovers. To devote the finest to your house was to acknowledge your worth. Take that to my heart, for you are worthy of my best, not my leftovers, in what I give and do for you. I can be tempted to give you my leftovers, my least, the cheap and careless, keeping my best for myself; but Solomon devoted the finest to your house, because you were worthy of the best. You deserve my finest, my best effort, my best gifts. Keep me from giving you my leftovers or my least; help me give you my best, Lord, as Solomon devoted the finest to the temple, acknowledging your worth.