What Happened?
Todays Reading – 1 Kings 10 – 12
How did Israel get from being on top of the world in capter ten to a divided nation in chapter 12? In chapter ten we have Solomon at the very peak of his reign as king of all of Israel. The Bible tells us that he has an enormous amount of wealth ($ 1 Bil in annual gold income per year alone); he has under his belt a great deal of accomplishments (the Temple, his house, and several cities built); and he has a kingdom full of happy, contented people. What could go wrong?
Chapter eleven gives us the answer. Look at verse 4:
For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.
Pastor Charlie Horton has always said that there are three things that will destroy a preacher: liberalism; lucre (money); and ladies. I quess that applies here to Solomon. The wisest man who ever lived allowed his lust for women to lure him out of the will of God; and remember it was God who gave him the wisdom; and it is God who took the wisdom away. Solomon at the end of his life begins to do some dumb things. He begins to worship the gods of the heathen; and he even allows their idols to be set up in Jerusalem.
In chapter twelve we see the kingdom being passed down to Solomon’s son Reheboam; and here we learn that the people were no longer too happy with Solomon at the end of his reign. They felt that Solomon was too demanding of a ruler; and now they are asking his son, Reheboam, to relieve some of their burden, which he refuses to do (an indication that he wasn’t very wise either). As a result, all of the tribes of Israel, save Judah, declare their independence from Reheboam’s kingdom.
So, in a few short years, Solomon and his family go from “having it all” to having very little. All because he allowed his love for women to pull him away from his love for God. What is pulling you away from the will of God? Is it lust?; greed?; power?; laziness? Whatever it is, you’d better remove it before it is too late.
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with 3 comments.
Thanks Dad! This is awesome. This goes to show you that anyone, no matter who they are or what title they hold, can fall. Sometimes I get to thinking that I “cant” fall or that I “wont ” fall. All this time I fail to realize that I am trusting in myself to stay strong, therefore placing myself as the “god” of my life. Too many times we allow the people around us and the philosophies of the world persuade us to do things we know are not right. Solomon had so much wisdom and yet his “ladies” were able to sway him. The wisest choice we can make is to stay as close to the Lord as possible because it is perfectly clear that we cannot do this trusting in our own wisdom. Have a good day everyone! <3
Solomon forgot.
He forgot that the Lord had warned him what would happen if he took unto him strange wives.
He forgot who put him on the throne as king of Israel.
He forgot who gave him all the wisdom that impressed the queen of Sheba.
It’s like our great nation: The United States of America.
Founded on the Word of God, His principles.
Then gradually we drifted away, removing God’s Word from our schools and government buildings.
We gone a whoring after ourselves, fulfilling our own lusts, doing things in our own power.
Solomon forgot how to open his eyes and see what was happening to him, just as “We the people” need to open our eyes and see what’s happening to our country.
Kids killing kids, children having babies, suicide packs, runaway inflation, job loss, businesses going bankrupt, and the government thinks they can stop all this by forcing a law on us.
Think again…
“Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.” (Jeremiah 6:16).
It’s sad.
I have learned that we must be able to go through humility in order to be humble. Through past experiences, I have gone bad times, and I wondered why me. I had to go though the experience to understand why I was being tested. This experience has taught me that we do “fall” and must rely on G-d to get us through the good and the bad times. The lesson here is to learn that we can trust G-d and doesn’t hurt to speak to our pastors, rabbi’s and other clergy for guidance so we do sway away from the true meaning.