The Good Times Never Last?

Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and rejoicing. 1 Kings 4:20

We are warned often in the word of God to watch the times and to be ready for the ending. During times of war and distress we think that we are more ready, and indeed suffering does loosen our grip on this worldly life a bit. Times do not always seem so close to that 'soon' our Lord says will happen near the end. Judah and Israel were, in our verse for today, at the peak of the good times when a nation is fat and happy. David had reigned and conquered most of the promised land, and his heir Solomon reaped the blessings of the Lord God with the wisdom given to him. The people entered a time of great rejoicing. We may know from experience that this sort of thing leads to times of great temptation.

We look around, things are going great, obviously we must be living right, right? A little gratitude to the Provider of the feast is forgotten in the rejoicing of the moment and the downward trend begins. Pride comes as God's place in our plenty doesn't gain the attention from us our Lord deserves, and so on down, down we go. It has happened to many a kingdom and nation; are we so different?

Let those who believe in our Lord Jesus remain faithful to the Father and give Him our gratitude. Amen.

Bucky