In 1 Kings 7, Scripture relates the events of Solomon building first the Temple of the Lord (which was denied his father David) where the Lords' Spirit would come to dwell - as well as his own house - the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon where Solomon, his harem and his ego would come to dwell. The Lord spoke strongly to me of the comparison between the two structures, the way they were built and how they were adorned. Basically, Solomon loved the Lord, but practically right next door he builds his own house, which is way bigger than the Temple, more grandiose and pretentious. Then he built its duplicate for his wife - Pharoah's daughter. Seriously. Who did he think he was? Well...in his own mind, he was the king and deserving of certain perks according to tradition, his heart's desire and the influence of surrounding peoples.
It appears to me that Solomon made everything bigger and better than what God had ordained for Himself. Who in their right mind does that? Perhaps it's my small mindedness, or one's perspective changes when you've got untold wealth to play around with, but 90 feet long and 30 feet wide and 45 feet high is good enough for the King of Kings, it seems like a hint to me.
The key for me is that I don't believe that it was Solomon's heart to elevate himself. He just did it cuz he could. How often do I do things just because I can? I can talk myself into all sorts of 'perks' with the reasoning of "I deserve it, look at how well I've done, or how hard I've worked or how the Lord has blessed me with favour..."

I dunno, just some thoghts on a Tuesday night.
Thanks for the 'hangers-onners' who've stuck around after my blog hiatus...I jsut need a bit of a warm-up.

In Jesus' Holy Name.