Deepening Your Christian Life XVI

I Kings 9-11

The story of Solomon is one of the great treasures and tragedies of the history of Israel. He is king during her greatest years. One book, Proverbs, is credited to him either as his own sayings or at least compiled by him and another two are traditionally linked to him (Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon). The temple is built during his reign and there was great prosperity. I Kings 10:23-25 describes him at his height of popularity:

"thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. The whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. Every one of them brought a present, objects of silver and gold garments, weaponry, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year."

But the previous chapter sets the stage, providing both a promise and a warning. The promise is given in chapter 9, verse 4, "As for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you...then I will establish your throne forever..." The warning follows in verse 6, "If you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut Israel off from the land that I have given them; and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight..." The truth is that what came true was the warning and not the promise and it was Solomon's behavior that made the difference. Chapter 11, verses 9-13 tell what would happen, mainly under the reign of his son, Rehoboam. His would be the last reign over a united Israel. And eventually the leaders and armies of both the North and Southern Kingdom are taken into exile in foreign lands and the temple is destroyed.

Solomon follows the ways of his foreign wives who followed other gods and the result is disaster for the nation. Some observations about ministry are worth noting. First, Solomon was obviously gifted and called of God to be King. And at first, Solomon saw his need for wisdom, which God gave him as a gift (I Kings 3). But as he grew in power and wealth, he began to become self-reliant and less God-reliant. This is the hazard of all positions of power, wealth and leadership. Second, Solomon moved from being primarily a spiritually anointed leader to becoming a political leader. Soon, he is less concerned about the holiness of the nation and the rightness of his leadership and becomes more concerned about the alliances he can make and the reputation he can establish in that part of the world. Woe to us in our ministry if we become more concerned about our strategies, tactics and bottom lines more than we are concerned about our connection to God and our God-given mission. Third, Solomon begins to believe the polls. He is sought after for his wise counsel and admired for having such a great kingdom of such opulence. People are always looking for heroes (especially rich and powerful ones)...so they can turn them into goats! Fourth, Solomon denies his vulnerability and falls into self-justification and self-deception. It's often at the top of our game, when we are "in the zone" (over-functioning), that we can be had by the smallest of temptations. Fifth, Solomon is convinced he is hurting no one with his sin, when he is actually doing great harm to everyone around him. As our ministries grow, inside and outside the church, we must be aware that the devil's greatest tool is put us in a place of compromised integrity and behavior. And of this you can be sure...all of us are vulnerable.