WALK BEFORE ME FAITHFULLY

1 Kings 9:1-28

Key verse 4

“As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws,”

Introduction

When Solomon had finished building the temple of the Lord and the royal palace and had achieved all he had desired to do, God appeared to him and gave his words. God said that he had consecrated the temple and his eyes and his heart would always be there. He also said that he would establish Solomon’s royal throne forever as he had promised to David if Solomon would walk before God faithfully. But at the same time, God also gave him a strong warning that if Solomon or his descendants would turn away from God and disobey his commands, he would cut off Israel from the land and reject the temple. Through this passage, we can learn how we can keep the right relationship with God and live as his blessed chosen people in Jesus Christ.

1. Read verses 1-9. When did God appear to Solomon? (1, 2) What did God say about the temple? (3) What did he say about Solomon’s throne? (4, 5) What serious warning did God give? ( 6-9) What can we learn from God’s warning?

1-1. Read verses 1-9.

When Solomon had finished building the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had achieved all he had desired to do, 2 the Lord appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 The Lord said to him: “I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there. 4 “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, 5 I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’ 6 “But if you[a] or your descendants turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you[b] and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 8 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All[c] who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 9 People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why the Lord brought all this disaster on them.’”

1-2. When did God appear to Solomon? (1, 2)

When Solomon had finished building the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had achieved all he had desired to do,

· God appeared to Solomon a second time when he had finished building the temple of the Lord and the royal place and had achieved all he had desired to do.

- God appeared to Solomon when he had finished building the temple and his place and achieved other things he had desired. Based on 2Ch 7:11, we can know that it was the time when Solomon had finished the temple and the palace carrying out all he had in mind. When Solomon had finished the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the Lord and in his own palace, (2Ch 7:11)

- It also shows that the temple and the palace were built very successfully as Solomon had planned without missing anything.

- God blessed Solomon's work to build temples and royal palace as planned in his mind. Proverbs 16:9 says, In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps. (Pr 16:9)

· God appeared to Solomon in his dream as he had appeared to him at Gibeon(3:5,15)

- God appeared to Solomon for the first time when Solomon offered thousand sacrifices. It was a very important moment for Solomon because he had just begun his reign as king.

· Why did God appear to Solomon when he completed the temple and the palace?

- It was Solomon’s another important moment.

- Solomon needed the direction and the word of God about how to maintain the temple and his kingdom.

- Building up the temple and establishing his kingdom was important work but how to maintain them was more important.

- Also by the time Solomon built the palace, the prosperity of his kingdom reached its peak. His kingdom’s governing system was well established, and the kingdom became so rich through active trade and kept peaceful relationships with surrounding nations.

- It was the time for Solomon to be proud and get corrupted seeking luxurious and following sinful worldly culture.

- We have seen so many people get corrupted after their great success and fall down so miserably.

· God appeared to Solomon to give him His word and warning so that he and his kingdom may bear God’s blessing well and be blessed by God continually.

• God appears to his people at the very important moment of their life, at the time when they need God’s direction and help.

- When we think about Abraham’s life, we can see that God appeared to him at the very critical moment and gave him his word and directions.

- At important moments in our lives, God comes to us in many ways and gives us the direction and words we need.

- It is critical for us to seek God’s guidance at important moments, because listening to God's words, and following directions will have an absolute impact on our lives.

1-3. What did God say about the temple? (3)

“I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.

· ‘I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me’

- God heard seriously the prayer and plea that Solomon did when the temple was dedicated to God. 28 Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. 29 May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. 30 Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive. (1 Kings 8:28-30)

- It was God’s answer for Solomon’s prayer for the temple.

· “I have consecrated this temple, which you have built”

- God had consecrated the temple to be his holy temple.

- Only God can consecrate the temple and only when God consecrates the temple, the temple can become his holy temple. The temple became God’s temple because of his consecration for the temple.

- Jesus is the temple whom God established and consecrated for us.

· “by putting my name there forever”

- Name represents someone. By putting his name there means God made the temple the place of his presence.

- The temple became a representation of God’s presence.

- Since God’s presence in the temple, the temple became the place where God and his people meet together.

- God promised that he would put his name there forever. It means God would dwell among Israelites permanently and meet with them at the temple.

· “ My eyes and my heart will always be there”

- God promised that he would always pay his full attention to the temple and hear people’s prayers. Solomon prayed asking, “ Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. 29 May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day,(1Ki 8:28,29a)

- Temple is the place where his people cry to God and God hears his people’s crying. The temple is the house of prayer for all nations.

- It was a great blessing and amazing grace that God prepared a place where his people come to him and pray to him for help.

- Jesus is the temple in which we can meet God and pray to him all the time. God’s eyes and his heart are in Jesus always. ¹³ And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.( John 14:13-14)

1-4. What did he say about Solomon’s throne? (4, 5)

4 “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, 5 I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’

· “As for you” – After giving his promise about the temple, God gave his word about Solomon’s throne.

· “ if” : There is a condition that should be met for God to bless Solomon according to his promise.

· ‘walk before me faithfully’ : It means to live and act before God by fearing him always. Living and doing things before the presence of God is the beginning of righteous life.

· ‘with integrity of heart and uprightness’ : it means to live before God and serve him with sincere heart faithfully and wholeheartedly seeking his righteousness.

- King David showed good example of this: He was able to fight Goliath with is sincere faith in God.(1 Sa 17:25-27) He didn’t kill Saul out of fear of God.(1Sa 24:8-10) When he carried the ark of the Lord, he danced before the Lord with all his might.(2Sa 6:14) He struggled to live righteous life before God all the time. Vindicate me, Lord, for I have led a blameless life I have trusted in the Lord and have not faltered 2 Test me, Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind;3 for I have always been mindful of your unfailing love and have lived in reliance on your faithfulness.(Ps 26:1-3) and repented when he committed sin.(2Sa 12:13).

- King David’s life became the standard of being a good king. Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God. (2Ki 16:2) He (King Hezekiah) did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done. (2Ki 18:3)

· “do all I command and observe my decrees and laws”

- Keeping the right attitude and mindset, Solomon also had to do all God commanded and observe his decrees and laws.

· “I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised”

- God promised that David’ house and his kingdom would endure forever and his throne would be established forever.(2 Samuel 7:11-16)

· Even if God gave the great promise, he said that his promise would be kept only if Solomon and his descendants would walk before him faithfully and obey his commands and laws.

- God doesn’t bless people and keep his promise regardless how people live and obey his commands. He keeps his promise only when people obey his commands that he gave as he gave the promise.

- We should not mock God or deceive ourselves by expecting God’s blessing even if we don’t obey his commands.

1-5. What serious warning did God give? ( 6-9)

· “But if” : God promised his blessing but at the same time he gave serious warning as well.

· “if you or your descendants turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them”

- God gave warning for two sins:

1) Tuning away from God and going off to serve others gods and worship them.

2) Not observe God’s commands and decrees.

- Idol worshipping is the most serious sin before God which breaks the foundation of the relationship between God and his people.

- God revealed himself to Israelite as only and true God and commanded them to serve him only (Dt 6) God established his covenant with Israelites with the condition that they must serve God only. Idol worshipping is breaking the foundation of the covenant.

- God also established his covenant with the condition that his people must obey his command so that they may become his holy people. Disobeying his command is another cause of breaking the covenant.

- Serve God only and obey his commands were the basis of God’s covenant and all about what God wanted Israelite to do.

· “then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them”

- There were two components in God’s covenant for Israelites

a) God promised to make them a great nation with numerous people. 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,(Ge22:17)

b) God will be their God and give the Canaan land to them7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.” (Ge 17:7-8)

c) Israelites will be God’s precious holy people among all nations. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” (Ex 19:5,6)

- But if Israelite would commit sin before God, all the blessings that God promised to Israelites would be taken away. Instead they would fall to be most miserable.

- “I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them”: Israelites will lose the land that God gave them and wander in the foreign land.

- They will lose all the blessings that they enjoyed in the land.

· “will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name”

- God will not be among them anymore and cut the relationship with them and will not hear their prayer anymore. The temple will be a useless place.

· “Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples”

- Israelites are God’s precious people and highly honored and blessed to a kingdom of priests and holy nation. But they will be an example of shame and misery and object of ridicule instead of honor.

· “This temple will become a heap of rubble”

- When Israelites commit sin disobeying God, the temple will be useless and nothing place and destroyed completely.

- The temple was completely destroyed in B.C 586 because of Israelites’ sin (2Ki 25:8-10)

· All who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’

- People who see the destroyed temple will get shocked and horrified seeing complete destruction.

- People will scoff asking the cause of the destruction.

· People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why the Lord brought all this disaster on them.’”

- Israelites and the temple will be destroyed not because of other nations’ invasion or weakness of the nation, but because of their sins, idol worshipping and disobedience to God.

- They betrayed God’s love and salvation for them. Instead of serving God, they followed idols and served them and worshipped them.

- God saved them out of slavery and exalted them to be his holy people and gave them the covenant of love but they betrayed God and worshipped idols.

1-6. What can we learn from God’s warning?

· God’s covenant is a great blessing for us. We should bear the blessing well by walking before God faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness and obeying all his commands.

* The nature of God’s covenant is conditional.

- God’s covenant is a contract of promise: Both sides have responsibility.

- God’s covenant is a covenant of love. (8:23). His covenant is a covenant of blessing.

- God gave his first covenant to Adam (Ge 2:16, 17) The condition of the covenant was his obedience.

- God gave us an amazing covenant in Jesus Christ. God gave us the covenant to us with the condition; having faith in Jesus and obeying him.Even though the covenant was given to us by his grace, there are the parts that we should take care of, which is to serve God wholeheartedly and obey his commands. (Mt 22:27-38)

· When we love God and serve him wholeheartedly and live by obeying his command, we can enjoy fellowship with God and our prayer will be answered and live fruitful life in Jesus.

• Serving God with all our heart and obeying his commands are the key of our spiritual life.

• Even if we have a great covenant in Jesus Christ, if we serve idols and don’t obey his commands, we can't have the blessings of the covenant. Rather we can become byword and object of ridicule in this world losing our saltiness. (Mt 5:14,15)

- Without obeying God’s command, all our religious activities will be useless and God won’t hear our prayer. God said that obedience is better than sacrifice. (1Sa 15:22)

- Solomon built many buildings to protect his kingdom, but God is the one who can truly protect his kingdom. Those who listen to the word of God and obey his command are those who built their house on the rock. But those who don’t obey his command are the people who build their house on the sand and their house will fall terribly. (Mt 7:21-27)

· God called us to worship him and become his holy people.

- The purpose of God’s salvation is to let us know him and worship him and become his holy people by obeying his commands. But if we serve idols and disobey his command, all God’s great salvation work ends in vain. We have to remember the purpose of the covenant that God gave us in Jesus.

· By being united with Jesus through faith and obedience, we can serve God wholeheartedly and obey his command.

- When we have faith in Jesus and obey him, Jesus works in us with his power and enables us to love God wholeheartedly and obey his command well. We are united with Jesus through our faith and commitment to him. When we remain in him Jesus let us bear the fruit of love and obedience.

2. Read verses 10-19. What towns did Solomon give to Hiram, king of Tyre? (10, 11) How did Hiram respond? (12, 13) What did Hiram send to Solomon? (14) What did Solomon build? (15-19)

2-1. Read verses 10-19.

¹⁰ At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built these two buildings—the temple of the Lord and the royal palace— ¹¹ King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, because Hiram had supplied him with all the cedar and juniper and gold he wanted. ¹² But when Hiram went from Tyre to see the towns that Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them. ¹³ “What kind of towns are these you have given me, my brother?” he asked. And he called them the Land of Kabul,^[d] a name they have to this day. ¹⁴ Now Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents^[e] of gold.

¹⁵ Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted to build the Lord’s temple, his own palace, the terraces,^[f] the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer. ¹⁶ (Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire. He killed its Canaanite inhabitants and then gave it as a wedding gift to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. ¹⁷ And Solomon rebuilt Gezer.) He built up Lower Beth Horon, ¹⁸ Baalath, and Tadmor^[g] in the desert, within his land, ¹⁹ as well as all his store cities and the towns for his chariots and for his horses^[h]—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.

2-2. What towns did Solomon give to Hiram, king of Tyre? (10, 11)

11 King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, because Hiram had supplied him with all the cedar and juniper and gold he wanted.

· Solomon took 20 years to build two buildings- the temple and the royal palace.

· King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram King of Tyre because he had supplied him with all the cedar and juniper and gold he wanted.

- The twenty towns were located in the northernmost part of Israel, in the region of Galilee, the border area between Israel and Tyre.

- It seems that Solomon gave the land to the king as an additional payment because the building materials the king supplied was so great. When Solomon asked Hiram to supply timbers for temple building they made a contract that Solomon would give grains in return. (1Ki 5:10,11) But when Solomon built the royal palace he needed more timbers and gold and he might have to pay more for the extra materials.

2-3. How did Hiram respond? (12, 13)

..he was not pleased with them. 13 “What kind of towns are these you have given me, my brother?” he asked. And he called them the Land of Kabul,..

· Hiram was not pleased with the towns.

- ““What kind of towns are these you have given me, my brother?” Hiram got disappointed with the lands and expressed his complaint.

- He called the towns the Land of Kabul. ‘Kabul’ means ‘good-for-nothing’ He called the towns the useless lands without value.

· Hiram might want to receive different towns that produced what he wanted.

- The towns Solomon gave were mountain area lands that couldn’t produce that much grains. Hiram might have wanted to receive different lands that could produce a lot of grains that his country needed.

- Later Hiram returned the towns to Solomon and Solomon rebuilt the towns (2Ch 8:2).

· It shows that Solomon had financial difficulty doing a lot of constructions.

2-4. What did Hiram send to Solomon? (14)

· Now Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents of gold.

- It shows that the 20 towns were the payment for the gold.

2-5. What did Solomon build? (15-19)

· Forced labor: Canaan people whom the Israelites could not exterminate. They work as slave labor (20,21)

· Solomon constructed many buildings beside the temple and palace.

· The terraces- citadels made of earth and stones. Used military purpose to depend on castles.

· The wall of Jerusalem: Solomon extended and rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem.

· Hazor- Strategically and for military purpose, the city was very important. He built it to defend the northern border of his kingdom.

· Megiddo – it was a military fortress, a transportation hub. Many battles took place in the region.

· Gezer - Pharaoh King of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire. He killed its Canaanite inhabitants and then gave it as a wedding gift to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.

- Solomon rebuilt Gezer. He built and defended the southern border of his kingdom.

· Lower Beth Horon : fortress.

· Baalath and Tadmor in the desert, within his land- Oasis area, were store cities that supported the north and east area of the kingdom.

· All his store cities – The cities stored necessary supplies to support people, king’s property, and foods. They were fortified cities.

· Towns for his chariots and for his horses: The towns kept the materials for the war.

· Whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.

· Solomon constructed buildings for the purpose of national defense, storage of the national treasury, operation of the state, and supplying of the people.

· Even if he built the buildings for needed purpose, the construction became a big burden for his people. (1Ki 12:4)

3. Read verses 20-28. What did Solomon do with the people of Canaan whom the Israelites could not exterminate? (20, 21) How did Solomon treat the Israelites? (22a, Lev 25:39-43) What did the Israelites do in his kingdom? (22b-23) What else did Solomon do? (24-28)

3-1. Read verses 20-28.

²⁰ There were still people left from the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites (these peoples were not Israelites). ²¹ Solomon conscripted the descendants of all these peoples remaining in the land—whom the Israelites could not exterminate^[i]—to serve as slave labor, as it is to this day. ²² But Solomon did not make slaves of any of the Israelites; they were his fighting men, his government officials, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and charioteers. ²³ They were also the chief officials in charge of Solomon’s projects—550 officials supervising those who did the work.²⁴ After Pharaoh’s daughter had come up from the City of David to the palace Solomon had built for her, he constructed the terraces.²⁵ Three times a year Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar he had built for the Lord, burning incense before the Lord along with them, and so fulfilled the temple obligations.²⁶ King Solomon also built ships at Ezion Geber, which is near Elath in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea.^{[j] 27} And Hiram sent his men—sailors who knew the sea—to serve in the fleet with Solomon’s men. ²⁸ They sailed to Ophir and brought back 420 talents^[k] of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon.

3-2. What did Solomon do with the people of Canaan whom the Israelites could not exterminate? (20, 21)

· There were still people left from the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites (these peoples were not Israelites).- Solomon conscripted the descendants of all these peoples remaining in the land—whom the Israelites could not exterminate( Judges 1:21-36) —to serve as slave labor.

3-3. How did Solomon treat the Israelites? (22a, Lev 25:39-43)

· But Solomon did not make slaves of any of the Israelites

· ³⁹ “‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to you, do not make them work as slaves. ⁴⁰ They are to be treated as hired workers or temporary residents among you; they are to work for you until the Year of Jubilee. ⁴¹ Then they and their children are to be released, and they will go back to their own clans and to the property of their ancestors. ⁴² Because the Israelites are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt, they must not be sold as slaves. ⁴³ Do not rule over them ruthlessly, but fear your God. (Lev 25:39-43)

· God told Israelites not to make fellow Israelites work as slaves because Israelite are God’s servants and his precious people.

· King Solomon obeyed God’s command instead of treating God’s people for his benefits.

· We should treat other fellow Christians preciously recognizing them as God’s precious children and people.

3-4. What did the Israelites do in his kingdom? (22b-23).

· They were his fighting men, his government officials, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and charioteers. They were also the chief officials in charge of Solomon’s projects—550 officials supervising those who did the work.

3-5. What else did Solomon do? (24-28).

· After Pharaoh’s daughter had come up from the City of David to the palace Solomon had built for her, he constructed the terraces.

- King Solomon constructed the terraces, citadels at the City of David after building a palace for Pharaoh’s daughter.

· Three times a year Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar he had built for the Lord, burning incense before the Lord along with them, and so fulfilled the temple obligations.

· The three times a year refers to three major festivals: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles (2Ch 8:13)

· “Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.¹⁵ “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread; for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv, for in that month you came out of Egypt.“No one is to appear before me empty-handed.¹⁶ “Celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field.“Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.¹⁷ “Three times a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord. (Ex 23:14-17)

- Feast of Unleavened bread/Passover – to celebrate the Exodus from Egypt.

- Feast of Harvest: Celebrate the harvest/Pentecost : Celebration of harvest

- Feast of Ingathering/ Tabernacles: To remember 40 years of life in wilderness.

· Solomon observed God’s command faithfully fulfilling temple obligation- Even if he was busying do many works to manage the kingdom, but he still served God according to his commands faithfully. (2 Ch 8:12-15)

· King Solomon also built ships at Ezion Geber, which is near Elath in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea.^[j] And Hiram sent his men—sailors who knew the sea—to serve in the fleet with Solomon’s men. They sailed to Ophir and brought back 420 talents^[k] of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon.

- King Solomon built many ships at Ezion Geber, which is near Elath in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea. Ezion Geber and Elath were important port cities which were well known for trade. He built the Ezion Geber for maritime trade.

- Hiram sent sailors who knew the sea to serve in the fleet with Solomon’s men. Solomon formed a fleet for maritime trade and Hiram’s people who had good sailing skills worked for the fleet.

- Solomon’s people sailed to Ophir and brought back 420 talents of gold to King Solomon. Ophir was famous for gold production. (1Ch 29:4, Job 22:24, Ps 45:9)

- 1 Talent: 34.3kg. 420x34.3= 14,406kg, about $824 million

- Maritime trade was one of main sources of Solomon’s wealth. Solomon made huge wealth through the trade.

Conclusion.

God gave us a great covenant through Jesus Christ and he meets us and hears our prayer in Jesus. To keep the right relationship with God and be blessed and live fruitful life we should love him wholeheartedly and obey Jesus’ commands by faith in him. But if we fail serving God and obeying his commands worshipping idols, we will experience the disasters that God mentioned in his warning. Worshipping God and obeying his command is the critical key and core of our spiritual life. May God help us to meditate on the word of God day and night and walk before God faithfully by putting the words into practice so that we may have deep fellowship with God and live a blessed life in Jesus.

One word: Walk Faithfully!