II Chron. 8:1-17:  “At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon build the temple of  the Lord….”

Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase, “Work before Play.”  This is more than just good advice, it is a biblical principle (Proverbs 6:6-11).  If you want life to work you need to align your priorities aright; “Work before Play.”  There is another biblical principle that trumps the former – it is demonstrated in the text before us, “Worship before Work.”

As a king, you know Solomon had a lot of pressures. One cannot weigh the significance of his responsibilities. The passage listed above refers to just some of them; international trade and millions of dollars changing hands, Solomon’s building projects and nation infrastructure improvements, national security issues and arms development. This all happens in chapter eight.

What happened in II Chronicles chapters one through seven? These chapters have been about one primary thing:  the temple.   As king, Solomon first gave his energies and the national attention to the worship and honor of God.  He put this ahead of military security, technological advancements, the production of wealth.  He gave his mind and heart to the worship of God before the making of money or personal security.

Solomon had (at least, in his early years) his priorities aligned with heaven.  The most important – the first – was his God.

The first prayer of the king; the first affection of the king; the first building project of the king; the first parade, holiday, gathering, public announcement was all about his and his people’s relationship with God.  And one doesn’t get the impression that he was forced or guilted to do this.  He embraced the Worship Before Work principle.  And his work benefitted.  Chapter eight lets us know a sample of some the things that Solomon accomplished.  Solomon did accomplish a lot of things.   But maybe, part of the reason why he accomplished what he did was that he lived this principle, “Worship THEN Work.”    When our work is in its proper relationship to our Worship ~life goes much better!