“TEACH THEM THE GOOD WAY WHEREIN THEY SHOULD WALK”

I Kings 8:36  “Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon the land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.”  This is part of Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple.  He is telling God that when His people sin and are smitten by their enemies because of their sin and confess and turn away; then hear from heaven and teach them the good way to walk.  He knows that the result of living a sinful life is destruction.  So he pleads that God forgive them and send rain upon their land (blessing) and teach the people how to live.  Sin is the opposite of God.  Follow sin and walk away from God.  So, once the children of Israel confessed their sin and turned back to God, they needed to know how to walk.  Solomon prays that God teach them the good way.  There are many ways to accomplish a task but if we learn the “good” way, it will be easier and better.  God’s way is always the best even if we would rather go a different way.  The bottom line is walking away from sin and letting God show us the good way.  The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.  The world’s way is very crooked.  God’s way is the straight and narrow.  Oh, teach us the good way wherein we should walk. One day everything God has been doing will be done.   He will come for us and we will go home.   We know the story of Enoch.  He walked with God for 300 years and “he was no more for God took him.”  What an ending to walking in a good way.