March 24 - I Kings 10-12
Solomon is famous for his wisdom and his prosperity both of which were given to him by the Lord. The queen of Sheba is one person who came to see for herself, and she was very impressed. The sad thing is that in all of her conversations with Solomon we are not told that he told her anything about the Lord. She praised God for his wisdom and for God putting him on the throne, but Solomon is silent about spiritual things. He had such an opportunity to send her home with a full knowledge of the things of God, but there is no evidence that he did that.
I think this passage gives us at least two reasons he failed to speak of spiritual things. Solomon's materialism and his sin of marrying pagan wives seem to be his downfall. His mind was brilliant, but it was not on the Lord. Solomon was concentrating on riches and on women. He went so far as to build pagan temples for his wives. This is open rebellion to God's law. God decided to remove the kingdom from him because of his sin. He had told him that this would happen, so why did the world's smartest man not follow the Lord? Sin makes a person stupid. Sin made Solomon stupid. It cost his family the throne. It cost him God's real blessings. As much as he had, he could have had so much more, if he would have followed God's laws.
Notice the enemies that God raised up against Solomon because of his sin. God took away the peace and gave him trouble. This was God's way to wake him up, but he did not listen. We must realize that God often sends trouble to get our attention. We must be sensitive to what He is saying or we will continue to get farther away from Him like Solomon did.
Finally, Solomon died and his son, Rehoboam, took over. However, he did not act wisely in dealing with the people, and God used his foolishness to divide the kingdom. Jereboam, one of Solomon's enemies took the ten northern tribes for his kingdom. Rehoboam was left with Judah and Benjamin in the south. Why did he act foolishly? Yes, he did listen to the young advisers instead of the older ones, but more than that he had been raised around paganism, and his father had not passed on his wisdom, so he had no personal basis for making spiritual decisions. He failed, and God knew he would fail, because he had not been taught. He is still accountable for his failure, but some of the blame goes to his father.
Jereboam was the really unwise ruler. God told him He would bless him and his kingdom, if he would be faithful. Then, because of fear and politics, Jereboam sets up a false religion for the ten tribes. He makes idols to worship and changes the feasts. He knowingly turned from God. This would prove to be the downfall for the northern kingdom. It is the downfall of anyone who forsakes the Lord.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Kings 13-15.
I think this passage gives us at least two reasons he failed to speak of spiritual things. Solomon's materialism and his sin of marrying pagan wives seem to be his downfall. His mind was brilliant, but it was not on the Lord. Solomon was concentrating on riches and on women. He went so far as to build pagan temples for his wives. This is open rebellion to God's law. God decided to remove the kingdom from him because of his sin. He had told him that this would happen, so why did the world's smartest man not follow the Lord? Sin makes a person stupid. Sin made Solomon stupid. It cost his family the throne. It cost him God's real blessings. As much as he had, he could have had so much more, if he would have followed God's laws.
Notice the enemies that God raised up against Solomon because of his sin. God took away the peace and gave him trouble. This was God's way to wake him up, but he did not listen. We must realize that God often sends trouble to get our attention. We must be sensitive to what He is saying or we will continue to get farther away from Him like Solomon did.
Finally, Solomon died and his son, Rehoboam, took over. However, he did not act wisely in dealing with the people, and God used his foolishness to divide the kingdom. Jereboam, one of Solomon's enemies took the ten northern tribes for his kingdom. Rehoboam was left with Judah and Benjamin in the south. Why did he act foolishly? Yes, he did listen to the young advisers instead of the older ones, but more than that he had been raised around paganism, and his father had not passed on his wisdom, so he had no personal basis for making spiritual decisions. He failed, and God knew he would fail, because he had not been taught. He is still accountable for his failure, but some of the blame goes to his father.
Jereboam was the really unwise ruler. God told him He would bless him and his kingdom, if he would be faithful. Then, because of fear and politics, Jereboam sets up a false religion for the ten tribes. He makes idols to worship and changes the feasts. He knowingly turned from God. This would prove to be the downfall for the northern kingdom. It is the downfall of anyone who forsakes the Lord.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Kings 13-15.