Devotionals - Marketplace Meditations 8/3

How Solid is Your Foundation?

August 3

"At the king's command they removed from the quarry large blocks of quality stone to provide a foundation of dressed stone for the temple" (1 Kings 5:16-17).

Several years ago I visited Jerusalem, the ancient city in Israel where Jesus walked. It was an incredible experience. One of the most memorable things I saw was the actual stones used to build the foundation of the temple. These stones lay beneath the ground and can be accessed only by going into an underground tunnel.

The stones are massive and they are perfectly rectangle in shape. The Bible says the stones were moved to the temple area in a quiet manner in respect of the Holy site. It says the foundation was of a "quality stone."

All these structures, from the outside to the great courtyard and from foundation to eaves, were made of blocks of high-grade stone cut to size and trimmed with a saw on their inner and outer faces. The foundations were laid with large stones of good quality, some measuring ten cubits and some eight. Above were high-grade stones, cut to size, and cedar beams. The great courtyard was surrounded by a wall of three courses of dressed stone and one course of trimmed cedar beams, as was the inner courtyard of the temple of the LORD with its portico (1 Kings 7:9-12).

Do you see the effort put into the type and quality of stone that would be used to build the temple of God?

In order to achieve anything worthwhile in life you must lay a quality foundation. Everything else is going to be impacted if that foundation is not laid with the best materials and the finest craftsmanship. The Bible says that Jesus must be the foundation from which we build everything in our lives ( I Cor. 3:11). Anything else will result in a weak foundation.

Are you building on a solid foundation that will last? If not, begin today to shore up your foundation.