Contemplative Bible Reading

1 Kings 15:11,14b (New Living Translation)

Asa did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, as his ancestor David had done…Asa’s heart remained completely faithful to the Lord throughout his life.

I break with tradition in this blog with how I quote the scriptures in this post. I skip a few sentences and add half a verse to emphasize how King Asa was faithful as David.

King David had many faults. He committed adultery with another man’s wife and had that man killed in battle. David lost faith in God’s power and took a census to ensure his power on earth. David lied and cheated.

Given all these faults, God cherished David for being faithful to Jehovah the God of Israel and worshiping no other Gods. We read here that generations later King Asa followed the example of King David in this respect: Asa was faithful to Jehovah God of Israel and did not worship any other gods.

King Solomon, David’s own son, was praised and rewarded by Jehovah God of Israel for asking for wisdom instead of riches. God rewarded Solomon with wisdom, riches, and peace in his 40-year reign. Solomon, however, fell to temptation and worshiped other gods.

After the split of the kingdom into Judah in the south and Israel in the north, the kings of Israel all worshiped other gods as did many of the kings of Judah. They neglected the ways of David for the ways of Solomon.

Loyalty to the one true God is pretty important. From these examples, I surmise that loyalty to the one true God is paramount. Thanks be to the grace of God and my family heritage, I don’t worship the god of the sun or of rain or hurricanes or blizzards. I have enough other troubles.