Something Borrowed

Some of this is from me...some is from a devtional I read. The bold stuff is mine. The rest is borrowed. I just thought it was good and wanted to pass it on.

August 16, 2008

New Living Translation online…Bible Study…Topical Studies
Solomon: A Disturbing Story
Jack Klumpenhower
8/8/2008

Deuteronomy 17:14-20; I Kings 3:12, 10:9, 11:4; Deuteronomy 17:17; 2 Chronicles 8:11; Matthew 12:42

“In a moment I’ll tell you why Solomon’s story disturbs me. But before I take questions, let’s be clear that there’s much to like about him. He was king of Israel at the height of its prosperity. He collected tons of gold in tribute from lesser kingdoms. He traded with distant lands to amass still more treasure. And he formed alliances with powerful neighbors, even marrying the princess of Egypt.

Solomon also had godly wisdom. He asked for it early on, and God replied, “I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have!” (1 Kings 3:12). Indeed, much of Solomon’s wisdom and poetry is recorded in the books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs.

Solomon was spiritually gifted and devoted to God. He used his riches to build and furnish the Temple in Jerusalem. At the Temple’s dedication, he led Israel in one of the most heartfelt prayers recorded anywhere in the Bible (read it in 1 Kings 8).

God used Solomon as a witness to the world. The queen of Sheba visited Solomon to test him, but could find nothing to be snooty about. She ended up praising God, telling Solomon, “Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king so you can rule with justice and righteousness” (1 Kings 10:9).

QUESTION: So why does Solomon story disturb you?

Well, if anyone might seem a sure bet to remain faithful to God all his life, it would be prayerful, devoted, most-wise-and-understanding-ever Solomon. But it didn’t happen. The Bible says Solomon married and loved hundreds of unbelieving women. In his old age, “they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord” (1 Kings 11:4). He even built shrines for two gods who were sometimes worshiped through human sacrifice. He put those shrines on the Mount of Olives, right across from the Temple he’d built in his early years.

Solomon’s story shows that no amount of spiritual giftedness is a sure sign of lasting faith. No service to God. No witness before the world. No godly wisdom or knowledge. If the heart goes astray, all else is proven false. It happened to Solomon, so it could happen to any of us. It could happen to me.

QUESTION: Then how can you firm up your faith?

I can start by being passionate about holiness. I simply must not allow sin to linger. A closer look at Solomon’s early years shows he should have resisted some “little sins” from the start. His riches served good purposes, but God had said a king “must not accumulate large amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself” (Deuteronomy 17:17).”

Passionate about holiness. How long has it truly been since I have been passionate about being holy? Do I even really know what it means to be truly passionate about holiness? What does that truly look like? What does Deuteronomy 17:17 tell me? Where my heart is, there will my treasure lie. Accumulate stuff, shows my heart is into stuff. Accumulate holiness, shows that my heart is in pleasing God in all that I do - in thought, action, word and deed.

“God had also forbidden marriage to unbelieving foreigners. We can tell that Solomon sensed his Egyptian wife was a defiling influence because he said, “My wife must not live in King David’s palace, for the Ark of the Lord has been there, and it is holy ground” (2 Chronicles 8:11). But to sense sin is not enough. Solomon seems to have tried to work around his sin or counterbalance it rather than truly stop it. His strategy proved disastrous. Little sins don’t fade away. Allowed to remain, they grow and overtake us.

So I must learn from this to become much more serious about dealing with my sin. I must root it out wherever I see it. I must do better than Solomon. Better than the wisest king ever.”

Sensing sin is just the beginning. Sins may start small, but soon they truly rule my life if not truly dug out. This is the key to holiness, I believe. Allowing God to root out of my life the things that hinder, the sin that entangles.

“QUESTION: Do you really have any chance?

Yes, I do. You see, I’m not better than Solomon but I know someone who is. When Jesus encountered people of weak faith, he warned them by recalling Solomon’s story: “The queen of Sheba will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomon is here—but you refuse to listen” (Matthew 12:42).

As great as Solomon’s kingdom was, I know a greater story to keep my heart true to God. So alongside my effort to resist sin I must listen in faith to Jesus. I must love the story of his cross and let it permeate my soul. And I must trust his Spirit given to me. In them is the power Solomon never knew—the power to break sin, and to be bound wholeheartedly and forever to God.”

Sin can be broken and resisted: listen in faith to Christ, love what he did for me on the cross…let that story become who I am. Then the Holy Spirit will be given to me as the power to conquer sin and to live only for God and God alone.

Read More: Read the entire passage of guidelines God gave for a king in Deuteronomy 17:14-20. What might Solomon have done to keep his heart tuned to God? How can we follow the same instruction?