Promises Kept
1/8/26 Bible Thought (1 Kings 4)
God is both a promise-making and promise-keeping God; this is the story of the Bible.
A Look at 1 Kings 4
In today’s chapter, we see a time of great prosperity in Israel. There’s a long recounting of all of Solomon’s officers, followed by a fascinating summary statement:
“Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea” (1 Kings 4:20a).
It was the best time to be an Israelite. They ate and drank in abundance (1 Kings 4:21b). No more were the Midianites or other peoples picking on them as in the days of the judges. Furthermore, they had peace from all their enemies (1 Kings 4:24b).
In the days of Saul, the Philistines were a perpetual problem that eventually cost him his life on Mount Gilboa. In the days of David, there was war between the Philistines, Ammonites, Syrians, and Moabites pretty much on every front. David earned peace through warfare, yet Solomon inherited peace through sonship. His kingdom stretched all the way to the river Euphrates, and no threats were on the horizon.
With all these wonderful things, we must recognize that they were simply promises fulfilled by a gracious God.
A Necessary Historical Backdrop
Back in the book of Genesis, God chose a man named Abraham by unmerited grace and promised to do great things for him and through him.
Firstly, God promised him descendants. God promised that He would make of him a great nation (Gen. 12:2). He promised Abraham offspring like the stars of the sky (Gen. 15:5). In a final moment of promise, God assured him that his offspring would be as plentiful as the sand by the sea (Gen. 22:17).
Let us not forget that when God made His covenant with Abraham, Abraham was an old man without any children at all!
Even more, after God brought about the first installment of fulfillment by miracle with Isaac’s birth, in the time of Jacob, Abraham’s grandson, the Israelites went down to Egypt seventy in number. Hardly the innumerable descendants that were promised to him!
Secondly, God had promised the land of Canaan to his descendants (Gen. 12:5-7), which they nearly lost during the time of the judges. Lastly, God promised that through Abraham and his offspring, all nations of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 22:18).
Centuries later—and depending on scholarly assessment, perhaps as much as one thousand years later— we see the greatest fulfillment of these things in the days of Solomon.
Israel possessed the promised land of Canaan with no threats on any side. Truly, possessing the gate of their enemies (see Gen. 22:17). Israel was innumerable, just as the sand on the sea. Lastly, as people from all over came to hear Solomon’s wisdom, they were blessed.
God’s promises to Abraham, although taking centuries to fulfill, were fully coming to pass because God is a promise-keeping God.
Bringing it Home
Let us never lose sight of the fact that God keeps His Word, even if His actions seldom align with our preferred timeline.
Consider that He has promised that Christ would return and set up His Kingdom. He has promised us new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Pet. 3:13), yet we are still here with the same old sin-stained fallen world two thousand years later! Or, if you look at it with God’s eyes, it hasn’t even been a week (see 2 Pet. 3:8).
God has not forgotten. He has not failed. He has not been negligent. He simply works on a different and altogether better schedule. So then let us put our trust in Him.
Challenge for today: Do I ever doubt God’s plans because of His delays? Let us take heart that His timing is perfect.