1 Kings 5 Devotional

Rest That Makes Room to Build

“But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or crisis.”1 Kings 5:4 (BSB)

Solomon tells Hiram why the temple can be built now. David had longed to build a house for the LORD's name, but his years were filled with wars on every side (5:3). Now the LORD has given rest, with no enemy and no crisis (5:4). Solomon sees his plan as the next step in what God had already told David, that David's own son would be the one to build it (5:5; 2 Samuel 7:12-13).

The work that follows is enormous (5:9-18). Yet the chapter keeps pointing past the effort to God. A foreign king blesses the LORD for giving David a wise son (5:7). The LORD gives Solomon wisdom, just as he had promised (5:12). The temple will rise by human hands, but it begins with God's rest and God's word. Rest is not the reward after the work. Here it is the gift that makes the work possible. Whatever God has given you to build, you can build it from the peace he gives rather than to earn it.

To think about: What work in front of you would look different if you began it from God's rest instead of working toward it?