Just like Carl Linnaeus

I spent a bit of time recently reading about the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot and Security Prison 21. It is really terrible what human beings will do to one another when they are given the chance. I wonder how long it will take before our country votes someone of extremist views into the presidency and we start heading towards this type of situation. As the country is upset with the current president and he has taken all the stops away from the accountability designed into his position, it makes me really worry sometimes for my children and the country that they might live in.

From I Kings 4-7:

1. I noticed that Azariah son of Zadok became the priest. I also noticed that Ahimaaz, who had helped king David (at least I assume it is the same one) was not a priest, but rather was one of the district governors.

2. It is amazing the amount of wealth not only in the country, but also with Solomon himself. Just looking at the list of things that they used for the palace and Solomon's daily provisions, it makes one wonder how they could possibly ever keep up that amount of provision.

3. Solomon's wisdom was very great. I Kings 4 tells that Solomon described plant and animal life. I don't know that many people were clued into this until Carl Linnaeus started classifying plants and animals with names that science now uses to recognize them. It also talks of all of Solomon's proverbs. I wonder how many proverbs or sayings other great philosophers wrote.

4. It is interesting that there was to be no noise of chisels or hammers at the temple building site. It kind of reminds me of build-outs within our building. No one is to make a noise during the day, but they have to keep moving forward on the project.

5. If I were Solomon, I think I would worry about my dedication to the Lord very much after having spent thirteen years on my own palace and only seven years on God's temple. (Not that it was wrong for Solomon to do this, but it should have been a warning to make sure to keep God first.) And one of the clues should have been the fact that a whole lot of the building time probably was spent on the palace that he built for his wife who was Pharaoh's daughter.