The Lord Which Had Appeared Unto Him Twice

     1 Kings 11:9-10

     "And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded."

     The Bible makes specific mention of the fact that Solomon was rebelling against the God "which had appeared unto him twice..." To Solomon, God was not some far away idea, He wasn't the "man upstairs". God has revealed Himself up Solomon in a way that few have ever experienced.

     Throughout the Bible we see this same occurrence though. Abraham talked and walked with a pre-incarnate Jesus Christ, and yet he went directly against what God had commanded him. Jonah heard God's voice and did exactly the opposite of the command he received. Adam and Eve walked in the garden with God on a daily basis and yet they fell.

     It's easy to wish that God would just literally speak to us, then we would know and of course we would obey! However history proves this is not the case. If we fail in obeying the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit and the commands of God's Word, the Bible, then we would also fail if God spoke audibly to us.

     Why? Because we are sinners, fallen humans with a flesh that wars for mastery. And anytime we operate in that flesh, we will fail in keeping God's commands no matter where that command comes from.

     Our only hope is abiding in Him, daily, moment by moment. The only hope is to live Him above everything else.

     God may have not spoken to you audibly, but He does speak to you. Do you listen and obey? If not, what stops you? What action can you take today to remedy the problem?