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?

The Source of Sin

1 Kings 11:2-3

"Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart."

If we as Christians could remove just one sin from our lives, which would we choose? Of course it would be different for everyone since we all have different struggles. But is there not a common strain that runs through each and every manifestation of sin in our hearts?

Let's look back to the first sin, when Satan fell. What was it that caused him to reject the One True God and rebel? Pride. "I will be like the Most High."

Let's look back to our parents in the Garden of Eden. What brought about their fall from perfection? Pride. "You will be like God, knowing good and evil."

What caused Solomon, the wisest person to every live, to stumble? Was it lust? No. It was pride.

God said do not intermingle with these ungodly nations. Solomon said by his actions, "I know better than God does. God is wrong. I am right."

And that is when he fell.

Is there any pride in my life? Seek it out and do all in the power of the Holy Spirit to root it out and destroy it.

All the Earth Sought His Wisdom

1 Kings 10:24

"And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart."

Jesus' command to His followers was to "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:" (Matthew 28:19) As believers it is our duty to go and seeking the lost in an active, purposeful manner.

While fulfilling this command of Christ of going to others, we must be careful not to overlook those who come to us. There is a longing in every lost soul for the peace and love that can only come from God. If the lost sinner sees what they seek in the life of a Christian, it is only natural that they will be drawn to that Christian, seeking an abatement of their thirst.

Is there wisdom, love and peace in my heart that is heavenly and worth the time of others to seek? Do I recognize seekers in my life? How do I respond to those who place demands on my time?

The Source

1 Kings 10:9
      "Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice."

 

      Solomon's wealth and wisdom did not cause the Queen of Sheba to glorify and praise Solomon. Rather, she realized the source of Solomon's greatness. The praise was given to its rightful owner - God, the source of every good thing and all wisdom.
      What is praiseworthy in my life? Good character does not happen automatically or naturally. Neither does virtue or morals. All these things have a Source.
      The question is, do I realize the Source and direct praise back to Him? It would've been very tempting for Solomon, if the Queen had not recognized the Source and praised the man instead, to merely accept the praise as his due, his ego inflated and God forgotten in the background.
      When doing good, our calling is to not let our left hand know what our right hand is doing. Good must never be done for praise of man, because that will end up being your only reward. And what a vain and fleeing reward it is in comparison to bringing praise, honor and glory to God.
What is my attitude to praise? Do I give God the glory when other praise me?

Hard Questions

1 Kings 10:1

"And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions."

The only way to know if something is real is to test it, repeatedly. In the airline industry, planes are pushed to their limits, far beyond what they will most likely encounter in real life. If they fail the test, they are scrapped. If they pass the test, the are deemed airworthy.

Could those planes get by with easier testing? Perhaps, but the only way you would know is if they failed during regular service after the easier test. You would not want to fly in a plane that couldn't withstand a storm even if you didn't plan on encountering a storm.

So it is with our faith. It is useless unless tested to the limit. Not only is it useless to us as Christians, it is useless to the rest of the world we are called to impact. It was Solomon's relationship with God that was the source of his wisdom and wealth. This is what the Queen of Sheba wanted to test - was this real?

Can my faith withstand hard questions? Do I know why I believe what I believe and can I express that? If you do not test it, you will not know until it fails.

Choose

1 Kings 9:9

"And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshiped them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil."

God is not ambiguous. He makes His commands very plain and obvious. He also make plain and obvious His promises. You never have to wonder about the consequences of an action you are pondering.

The choice throughout the Bible is: life or death, God's way or man's way, light or dark. Just as God said to Israel as they left the wilderness and were about to enter the promised land, He repeats now to Israel under a wise king - choose you this day who you will serve.

Who will you serve? Decide today.

There Is No Man Who Does Not Sin

1 Kings 8:46

"If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near;"

There is no one who does not sin. The Bible is consistent and always reliable. Through His teachings, Jesus reiterates the truths of the Old Testament, applying them to the New Testament, taking the truths of the law and showing how they tie into the law of grace.

This truth, that all men are fallen sinners, is fundamental to the Gospel message. If we have not sinned then Christ died in vain for there was nothing from which to save us. If only some sinned, then the message of the Gospel is not for the whole world as is indicated many times in the Bible.

Sin entered the world through the first Adam and had passed to all his descendants. Then the final Adam came to take the punishment for our sins once and for all.

Romans 5:12,14

"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:...But not as the offence, so also isthe free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, [which is] by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many."

Have I realized my sinful state? Have I realized the gift of salvation offered to me?