1 Kings 9-11
It was
Solomon’s personal mountaintop, his magnum opus, his greatest achievement: the
first, and perhaps the greatest temple, the house of God. God had honored Solomon’s labor and oversight
by filling the new temple with His glory, God’s khabod, which literally means “weight” or presence.
On top of
this, the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, re-establishing the covenant
He had made with David, and calling Solomon to faithful and obedient walk with
Him.
The rest of 1
Kings 9 and 10 extols Solomon’s majesty: his building projects, his forced
laborers, his faithful sacrifices, his famous wisdom, his great wealth and his
impressive military strength. He is the
only monarch of Israel, I think, to have built a navy (1 Kings 9:26-28) and the only Israelite monarch to have received a
commendation from the Queen of Sheba: Blessed
be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of
Israel! (1 Kings 10:9)
But with
great wealth and power come great temptations.
Solomon allowed his heart for the Lord to be compromised. His many foreign wives were the avenue by
which these temptations came. To keep
them happy, he had to build them worship places for their gods. In time,
he found himself drawn to some of the most despicable of these gods: Ashtoreth, Milcom, Chemosh and Molech.
The Lord’s
response to Solomon’s idolatry was sure; God raised a series of adversaries
against Israel, and eventually, one in particular against Solomon from within Israel. Because of Solomon’s compromised heart, God
had determined to end the united kingdom of Israel.
Think for a
moment: where is your life compromised?
Until tomorrow...when
the kingdom comes apart,
Pastor Gary
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