May God Be with Us
A blessing pronounced for our learning
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May the Lord our God be with us, as he was with our ancestors. May he not abandon us or leave us. May he make us submissive, so we can follow all his instructions and obey the commandments, rules, and regulations he commanded our ancestors.
1 Kings 8:57-58 (NET)
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This is part of the blessing that King Solomon proclaimed over the people of Israel after dedicating the temple.
A very powerful moment.
Some of these are a little odd, on first read.
Not the first one — may God be with us — that makes sense.
Something I’m thankful for about the Bible we get to read is that we have all of these accounts of God’s faithfulness.
Abraham didn’t have that.
Moses didn’t have that.
Sure, they probably had some oral stories passed down through the families of God’s faithfulness, but not written down for them to go back and read.
What a blessing it is to have the Word of God written down for our learning!
Now, what about this submissive blessing?
Well, I think it has to do with the blessing we have when we follow the authority of God and align ourselves with His plans.
Of course this is a general principle, not making God my genie.
We understand that God made the world in wisdom and it’s wise to align ourselves with His design because it most often leads to His blessing.
Ultimately, the blessing of eternal life comes to us who submit to Christ as King, while we’re living here on the earth.
— Ricky Ketchum
Copyright © 2025 by Ricky Ketchum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible® copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from the ESV®Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright© 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.