We read in 2 Corinthians 9:8, And God is able to give you more than you need, so that you will always have all you need for yourselves and more than enough for every good cause. (GNB)
As we complete this series we will look at one more important principle that we need to follow in order to retain the abundant blessings that God desires to pour on us, and not lose out on them.
Adam had everything in overflowing abundance in the Garden of Eden. Everything that Adam desired was readily available for him at his disposal. The other person in the bible who had such an abundance was King Solomon.
• Solomon was seated on the throne
We read about King Solomon in 1 Kings 1:46, “Solomon is now seated on the royal throne.” (GW)
Though King David had many sons, God granted the throne to Solomon only. The first ten chapters of 1 Kings describes the life and feats of King Solomon.
• Solomon’s throne was firmly established
In 1 Kings 2:46, we read that “...Solomon's power as king was now firmly established.” (GW)
As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ we too have the entitlement and honor to be called the sons and daughters of God. We are special and have the privilege to be part of the church, which is the family of God.
• Solomon had peace all around
We also read in 1 Kings 4:24, He controlled all the territory west of the Euphrates River from Tiphsah to Gaza and all of its kings. So he lived in peace with all the neighboring countries. (GW)
Solomon was in such a serene place where God so blessed him so that he had peace with all his neighboring countries.
• God gave Solomon unlimited wisdom and insight
We also read in 1 Kings 4:29, “God gave Solomon wisdom-keen insight and a mind as limitless as the sand on the seashore.”(GW)
The wisdom and insight that Solomon had was God’s special gift to him. That wisdom that King Solomon possesses was as numerous and limitless as the sand on the sea shore. There was no king who lived like King Solomon did.
• Solomon was blessed beyond measure
We read in 1 Kings 10:21, “All King Solomon's cups were gold, and all the utensils for the hall which he called the Forest of Lebanon were fine gold. (Nothing was silver, because it wasn't considered valuable in Solomon's time.)”
Every vessel that Solomon used was made of gold or fine gold. None of it was made of silver because silver was considered worthless during the reign of King Solomon.
All was well for King Solomon until the tenth chapter of 1 Kings.
We too must be cautious about every chapter of our lives. If we lived ten chapters of our life well and then if we messed up one we would have lost it all. That is exactly why we have to maintain our testimony and witness right to the end of our lives. God has given us so much, our families, children, parents, our work, income and all of it we should value and retain these blessings.
• Solomon went astray in his old age
We read about King Solomon in 1 Kings 11:4, “In his old age, his wives tempted him to follow other gods. He was no longer committed to the LORD his God as his father David had been.”(GW)
The wives of King Solomon made his heart lean towards other gods. Leaning is something that doesn’t happen overnight, but is a gradual process. For a while everything seemed normal though Solomon married heathen wives. This change happened so slowly that Solomon did not even realize that his heart had turned away from the living God.
God never stopped Solomon from marrying heathen women. Solomon knew the commandments of God which clearly mentioned that the children of Israel were not to intermarry with the heathen women around them. As Solomon began to do what God forbid him to, the consequence was that his heart turned away from God. The man who was recipient of God’s abundant blessings was suddenly the object of God’s wrath.
What are the things that draw us away from God?
The lesson we need to learn is to identify the things that lead us astray from God. For Solomon it was his wives but each of us have various issues that lead us away from God.
To some it is laziness. These are those who want to wake up late in the morning, and hurriedly rush off to work. Since they are late they will have no time to spend with God, and will make a deal with God that they will spend time with Him in prayer at night. Tiredness will overtake them again, and they will be unable to pray at night. Once again they will make a plan to wake up early in the morning, they will even set the alarm to wake up, but when the alarm goes off, they will snooze it, and once again get back to their hectic schedule.
To others they may have loads of friends, but there will be that one friend who will lead them away from God. That friend will be such a bad influence, but will be such a one that this person can’t break off ties with that friend. We should give no room for anyone who will make us lean away from God.
So also, we should never get addicted to any habit that takes us away from God. For many people their cell phones are their sole addiction. We must learn which apps to uninstall, and which persons to block so they do not become a hindrance to our walk with the Lord. Whatever, it may be that consumes all of our time, and attention hindering us from spending time with God. Whether it is the use of television or cell phone or any other thing, we should always have it under our control, and never allow these gadgets to control us. We can even cut off our cable connections if necessary, but should never lose our soul for eternity.
Let’s pray, decide and obey God’s voice to let go of every habit and every friendship that is causing us to drift away from God and our relationship with Him.
• God was angry with Solomon
We read in 1 Kings 11:9-10, “So the LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned from the LORD God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. God had given him commands about this. He told him not to follow other gods. But Solomon did not obey God's command.” (GW)
If we compare verse 4 and verse 9 there are two things mentioned in them. In verse 4 we read that Solomon’s wives tempted him to follow other gods and in verse 9 we read that Solomon’s heart turned away from God. The question may be, ‘Which one is true?’ Both are true. The fact is that his wives turned his heart towards other gods, and over a period of time his heart too turned away from God. This is like asking direction from someone who maybe is just a visitor, who has no idea about the directions himself. Yet, if we followed such a person and went in the direction he pointed out, we will certainly end up in the wrong place. That’s exactly what will happen to us if we follow the wrong people in our lives. They will lose nothing, but we will have lost our time, purpose, direction and our relationship with God.
Like Solomon we may consider ourselves wise and may have all the blessings of God, but if we are not watchful we can lose all of it.
Guard your heart
These are the words of Solomon in Proverbs 4:23, “Guard your heart more than anything else, because the source of your life flows from it.” (GW)
Think about it the man who wrote such wonderful counsel was himself unable to guard his heart. We can know God’s word much, but if we don’t put it into practice in our lives it will be of no use to us. Let us guard our hearts above everything else. Think about how much caution we take to keep our newly purchased vehicle or house safe. How much more should we guard our hearts?
If we want to maintain the abundance of God’s blessings in our lives, we must firstly guard our hearts. For all the decisions and choices we make, there will be no immediate consequence. It will take a while, but wrong decisions will have serious consequences.
What was the reason for Solomon’s glory and abundance?
1. Solomon honored his father and mother
We read in 1 Kings 1:17 "Your Majesty, you made me a solemn promise in the name of the LORD your God that my son Solomon would be king after you. (GNB)
Bath-Sheba the wife of King David requested that the throne be passed on to her son King Solomon. Solomon must have been a very obedient son which made his mother recommend that he be king in the place of his father David. The thing that made Solomon great was that he waited humbly for God’s timing to receive his elevation. David had many other sons, some who were more handsome than Solomon. However, when Bath-Sheba requested David chose to pass on his throne to Solomon. Adonijah, another son of David, who was more handsome, and a rightful heir too did not respect his father David, but declared himself king when his father was still alive. The end was that Adonijah was sent home, while Solomon was crowned king of Israel.
There are many who don’t want to wait, and who are not willing to live in obedience, and this is the reason why we miss out on God’s blessings. It is important that we honor our father and mother as God’s children and heed their godly counsel. No one will so fervently for a child as would their father and mother. There are many children who after their parents have done everything for them do not respect them or honor them as they should, not realizing all that their parents did for them to get to where they are.
Of all the Ten Commandments the only one that has a promise that goes along with it. It’s the commandment to honor our parents, so that it will go well with us, and we will live long on the earth.
2. Solomon desired a heart of wisdom
We read in 1 Kings 3:5, That night the LORD appeared to him in a dream and asked him, "What would you like me to give you?" (GNB)
When God appeared to Solomon that He would give him whatever he desired.
If we were to ask our children what they desired, they would probably want a bicycle when they are small, would like to have a motorbike or an i phone when they are teenagers.
However, after Solomon was enthroned as King he desired something so different.
We read about it in 1 Kings 3:9, "Here's what I want: Give me a God-listening heart so I can lead your people well, discerning the difference between good and evil. For who on their own is capable of leading your glorious people?" (MSG)
All that Solomon wanted was a heart of wisdom to rule the people whom God had entrusted to him. So we see that it was his heart of wisdom that took him to the heights and it was also a wayward heart that brought him to the depths. The lesson that comes out clearly from the life of Solomon is that if our heart is right everything else is right. While man looks at the outward appearance, God looks at the heart and seeks for a heart that is pleasing to Him.
The message bible translates the ‘heart of wisdom’ as ‘a God-listening heart.’ Solomon desired for a heart that could discern between good and evil. When we think about the Garden of Eden, God forbade Adam and Eve to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eve however, took that forbidden fruit, ate it and got expelled from the Garden. Solomon on the other hand sought God to give him a heart that could discern good from evil.
The Heavenly Father knows what we need, and He will give it to us. If like Eve we try to pluck it and have it, it will be of no use.
The Lord was pleased with Solomon
We read in 1 Kings 3:10, ‘The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this,’ and in 1 Kings 3:13, “I will also give you what you have not asked for: all your life you will have wealth and honor, more than that of any other king.” (GNB)
God was so pleased with this request from Solomon, that God gave him long life in addition wealth, honor and blessings more than any other king who reigned during his time.
In closing let us remember that we must guard our hearts. Our hearts are the seat of all our desires. If we can have hearts that please God, and seek after the things that are acceptable to Him, the Lord will give us everything else that we ever need.
If Solomon asked for money or wealth God would have given it to him, but the request of Solomon for a wise and discerning heart was truly pleasing to God. Irrespective of what age we are let us seek that God will give us a heart of wisdom and we will experience everything else in abundance. As we walk in daily obedience to God and listen to His voice, we will experience the abundant blessings of God for sure.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
