King Solomon

King Solomon

1 King 11:13 “I will not, however, tear away the entire kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”

What is going on in this chapter of 1 Kings is that God is talking Solomon, David’s son.  I am not sure how much you know about David, but the Lord loved David.  David was so good at first.  He was more or less a good king, although He did do some terrible things.  He was someone who followed the Lord and when he messed up, he was really good at turning back to the Lord and asking for forgiveness.  He was a Holy man who truly loved the Lord.  Now Solomon, David’s son, is King.  

Solomon does not follow the ways of the Lord.  The Lord said that His people were not to take foreign wives because eventually they would “incline your heart to follow their gods.”  However, Solomon didn’t listen, he had 700 princesses and 300 concubines.  Eventually Solomon’s heart was turned away towards the other Gods.  He built alters for these false gods and his wives where they offered sacrifices and burned incense to their Gods.  The Lord appeared to Solomon twice to get him to change his ways, but Solomon wouldn’t listen.  God was angry at Solomon and told him He was going to tear away his kingdom.  However, God had made a promise to David that after he was gone the Lord would raise up an offspring and establish a kingdom forever.  I was about to say, “Can you imagine the position that Solomon put God into?”  God promises to establish a kingdom with the offspring of David and then Solomon betrays God.  

The reason I said I was about to say that is because then I remembered, God knows everything before it happens.  Nothing is a surprise to God.  He has watched the movie of our lives and already knows how it plays out.  Solomon didn’t put God in any position.  God knew what Solomon was going to do.  Even though God knew what was going to happen I can imagine it was very frustrating for God to go to Solomon twice and show him the error of His ways, and Solomon refused to change his ways.

We are lucky that God’s ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are greater than our thoughts.  Can you imagine if the creator of the universe acted like we act?  We are lucky that God is able to have the patience that He has.  If you asked someone that you cared about to stop doing something and they didn’t do it, wouldn’t that make you angry.  God chose David to be King and he chose David’s off spring to lead His people.  God loved David and they had a good relationship.  They were very close.  David walked in the Lord’s footsteps and He trusted in Him.  David trusted in the Lord and tried to be faithful.  I wonder what David thought about the way his son Solomon was leading the people?  I wonder what he would think if he could see the person his son had become.  Solomon actually started off well.  The Lord told Solomon that he could ask for anything and Solomon asked for wisdom to be a good king.  He did not ask for riches or victory over his enemies, He asked for wisdom to be a fair and just ruler.  

So, where did everything go so wrong?  How does one that asks for wisdom, and receives it, then go against the heart of the Lord?  I wonder if it was because he married so many foreign woman?  Have you noticed if you surround yourself with people who do not understand your love of Christ then it is difficult to talk about Him when you are with them?  If everyone you hang out with goes out to brunch every Sunday while you usually are at church, you may start to skip mass so that you don’t miss out on brunch with friends.  What if you really like doing Eucharistic Adoration, but your spouse or kids hate that you are gone for that hour or two?  Have you ever noticed that some people get uncomfortable when you talk about God and the things He is doing in your life?  Also, there are the people that dismiss the miracles that are happening in your life and chalk them up to luck or coincidences.  Then you start to view things like this and you stop praising the Lord for all the extraordinary things He is doing in Your life.  

Can you see how this could have happened to Solomon?  Can you see why God warned His people to not marry foriegn wives?  Can you see how it might be difficult to surround yourself with people that believe in other God’s and not support them in their beliefs?  Are their things in your life that are getting in the way of your relationship with the Lord?  Is there anything that is pulling you attention away from the Lord? 

What I love is that even though Solomon strayed away from the Lord, The Lord still says that He will not tear apart the entire kingdom.  He tells Solomon that he will not take away the entire kingdom.  He says that he will give one tribe to Solomon’s son for the sake of David.  God could have taken everything from him and yet He chose to leave him at least one tribe.  This is why His ways are better than our ways.  If God were human then He would have most likely have let his emotions get in the way and may have taken the whole kingdom away, but He didn’t. I love that God is so fair and so just.  He is also so patient.  We keep messing up and He keeps forgiving us and giving us another chance.  I am so very thankful that God’s ways are higher than our ways.  I am not sure we would stand a chance if they weren’t.  

Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that you bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord, you are amazing and we are so thankful for all you have done in each of our lives.  Lord, help us to have the wisdom of Solomon, and help us to put it to good use.  Help us to stay faithful to you and to follow your ways.  Lord, help us surround ourselves with people who will be a good influence on us and who will help us to grow in our faith.  Help us notice those that are pulling us away from you and help us to stay strong against their attacks.  We love you Lord and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen.