Build Your Altar - Part I
“Solomon loved the Lord and followed all the decrees of his father, David, except that Solomon, too, offered sacrifices and burned incense at the local places of worship. The most important of these places of worship was at Gibeon, so the king went there and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings.” 1 Kings 3:3-4
King Solomon was a young boy when he was placed on the throne of Israel after his father David died. He had probably gone to the temple to worship God and make animal sacrifices many times with his father, as was required by the Covenant of the Mosaic Law to forgive their sins, but he had probably never gone to the places of worship as the new king with a new weight of responsibilities on his shoulders. This was a whole new experience. Maybe he felt pressured to be like his father or to have the faith of a warrior winning battles just as his father did.
But, regardless of what pressure he felt from himself or others, Solomon knew he needed to set himself apart from his father to create his own faith in God and build his own altars of sacrifice for the Creator. Even at a very young age, Solomon knew he could not rest on the faith of his father to carry him through the struggles and trials of this life, and save him for eternity.
Just as Solomon built his own faith in God apart from his father and family, so God also wants each of us to chisel our own faith in Him so that when the storms come and the foundations of our lives shake we can know and have confidence that we have our own sure foundation in Him.
Reflections
How have you built your own faith apart from others in your life?
In what ways can you encourage others around you to have their own individual faith journey with God?
