Here are my thoughts and highlights from I Kings as I continue my journey through the Bible:

  • Solomon suggested these three attributes characterized his father’s life: he lived faithfully to God, his relationships were just and his heart was right. Those are pretty good attributes.
  • Listening to God is an ingredient for good leadership.
  • It’s interesting that God decided to bless Solomon with wisdom, riches and longevity. The world doesn’t think you can be smart and follow Christ. Many Christians don’t think you can be wealthy and follow Christ. I don’t believe God blesses everyone the way he did Solomon, but obviously God isn’t opposed to wisdom or wealth.
  • Solomon was wise, but he was also a simply strategic guy. He developed a leadership structure with defined roles including a priest, secretaries, a historian, a commander of the army, someone over regional managers and a manager of the palace.
  • Solomon wrote over 1,000 songs. I believe that’s even more than Billy Joel. Billy Joel is a better piano player, but Solomon had better lyrics.
  • God follows through on his promises.
  • "Your lives must be totally obedient to God, our personal God, following the life path he has cleared, alert and attentive to everything he has made plain this day."
  • "They started out celebrating for seven days–and then did it another seven days! Two solid weeks of celebration!" God loves a good celebration.
  • Solomon collected a lot of things. 1,400 chariots. 12,000 horses. 700 wives. 300 concubines. Guess he liked horses better.
  • As Solomon got older, he became unfaithful. He didn’t stay true to God. That’s a great reminder for us that we need to always finish strong.
  • "If you will be a servant to this people, be considerate of their needs and respond with compassion, work things out with them, they’ll end up doing anything for you." That formula still works for leaders today.
  • Elijah offered an interesting challenge to the people. He said, "How long are you going to sit on the fence? If God is the real God, follow him; if it’s Baal [some other God], follow him. Make up your minds!"
  • Elijah was a very sarcastic guy. I think Elijah and I would have enjoyed each other’s company.
  • Ahab, on the other hand, was quite a bad dude. He also had a poor taste in clothing. Apparently he owned some "coarse burlap pajamas." I don’t think The Buckle carries those.
  • "Before you do anything, ask God for guidance."

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