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Commentary
1 Kings 11
Solomon Is Fallen
It was somewhat predictable that Solomon would be swayed by "batting of the eye" of the women in his life. Before I get into that fully, I do want to point out that God didn't address that Solomon had many wives, 700 in all, but He addressed Solomon when he began to love the women who followed after other gods. The women that Solomon had already in his life were apparently not enough for him. Solomon seemed to have a common character flaw that we see all around us today. He seemed to desire that which was forbidden, or off limits. I call this the Fruit of the Forbidden.
God did not simply snatch the kingdom from Solomon, as He surely could have. Instead, God warned him on two different occasions. Solomon, in all of his wisdom, did not heed to God's warning. Solomon already knew, even before he did it, that it was not okay to love the women of false gods. He already knew that God would be very displeased, to say the least. God is not slack concerning His promise. He will keep his Word to David, and He will also exercise his justice on Solomon.
As if Solomon had temporarily lost the good sense that generally come with wisdom, God even went on to send a human messager, Jeroboam. Solomon tried to kill him. What we do to others, especially one who carries a message of the Lord, we do as if unto God. Solomon was fully aware of what he was doing, and what he had done. He was the most wise man that ever was.
We can learn from Solomon's mistakes. We may find ourselves in a compromising situation, sometimes even unaware of how we got there. We don't all have Solomon's caliber of wisdom, but we can all yield to God's warnings. We can be as David and have a heart of repentance. We can choose to serve NO other god. We can be less than all that we can be, and still have favor with God, simply by continuing to try, with all our hearts, to continue in His way.
We learn God's way in much the same way that we learn the ways of our intimate partner, or our best friend, or even a new acquaintance. We interact with others, and we learn about them. We draw closer to them. We understand them. This is not Solomon's wisdom... this is common sense. We can find ourselves in a very strong position of favor with very influential people, and somehow "self-destruct" as Solomon had. OR, we can repent and know that God is forgiving. We can operate in His continual mercy and never see His justice. We need only to be truly repentant.
Friday, November 19, 2010 - 1:00 PM
