1 Kings 9:25

1 Kings 9:25 says, And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the Lord, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the Lord. So he finished the house.  Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to God on the altar he built three times a year.  Matthew Henry points out that this was in addition to the normal times of worship.  We need to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to God daily, but we also need gather together and offer our tithes and offerings to God regularly and this should be more than three times a year, yet many professed Christians only come to church on Christmas, Easter, and maybe for a funeral.  Then, Solomon had completed the building of the Temple.  Though the physical temple was done away with when Jesus Christ came and died for our sins, if we are Christians, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and we should always be working to improve our obedience to Him, so in that respect, this temple will never be complete until He calls us home to Heaven.  Verse twenty-six adds, And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom.  Solomon then began to make ships for a navy.  He had completed the work on God's house and on his palaces, so now he turned to building for the defense of Israel.  We should be more concerned about building our relationship with God than we are about the things of this earth.  No army or navy is ever going to bring us everlasting salvation.  Only a personal relationship with Jesus Christ can do that, so we need to establish that relationship first.  Verse twenty-seven continues, And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.  Once again, Hiram sent help to Solomon, sending men from his navy to help those of Solomon's navy learn about the sea and sailing.   When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, we may need the help of fellow Christians to show us how to live a successful Christian life.  I know we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, but it is still helpful to have other Christians showing us the way.  God does work through other people to grow His kingdom.  Verse twenty-eight concludes, And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.  The ships were also used in trade, and the first trading venture brought Solomon a profit of four hundred and twenty talents of gold.  Of course, we as Christians should not work just for material rewards, but using our God given talents under the leadership of the Holy Spirit may lead to material success.  Still, I believe that if it does, we need to use what God blesses us with for His glory and not just for personal enrichment.