The Very Dumb Wise Man

The book of Proverbs has never made me cry before, until today. This is a book of "wisdom", wise sayings by King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived. He learned many of these wise things from his daddy, King David, the "man after God's own heart". (Prov. 4:3)

He addressed "my son" many times, so I assume he was a relatively young man when he wrote these bits of wisdom. I read the first four chapters this morning and wished that Solomon had read his own writing when he was old, because it appears he forgot all he knew.

Here are two of his many "wise bits": 

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;

Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 1:7 nasb

My son, if sinners entice you,

Do not consent.

Proverbs 1:10 nasb

For the upright will live in the land;

And the blameless will remain in it;

But the wicked will be cut off from the land; 

And the treacherous will be uprooted from it.

Proverbs 2:21-22 nasb

As I read those words, I remembered all that happened when Solomon was old. His foreign wives enticed him to idolatry and he consented. (1 Kings 11:1-4) He built shrines for the idols and worshiped at them. He even worshiped Molech (the god to whom child sacrifices were made). 

He forgot his own wisdom.

Sinners enticed him and he followed like a lamb going to slaughter. Solomon became one of the wicked whose descendants were cut off from the land; he became one of the treacherous whose offspring were uprooted.

His sin led to a civil war that split the nation and accelerated Israel's descent into idolatry and eventual captivity by the Assyrians.

Solomon, like the church in Ephesus mentioned in the Revelation, had "lost his first love", and it cost his family and an entire nation a terrible price.

At Bible study Wednesday night, a man mentioned something he did when he was young. "Somehow, along the way, I'd quit doing that." He told of how he'd returned to his initial fervor for Christ. 

I wish that Solomon had regained his fervor. But he didn't. 

He was wiser in his own eyes than he was in God's eyes, and that arrogance came with an awful price.

This morning, I'm sobered by Solomon's experience and praying that I will embrace the wisdom from above, not from this world. Praying that, even when I'm older than I am now, I'll cling to Christ. Hold to my initial fervor. Love Him more than at the start.

Bill Gaither wrote a song that sums up how the Christian life should be. The Longer I Serve Him, the Sweeter He Grows.

Today, let's take a close look at our own lives. Have we lost our fervor? Are we wise in our own eyes or in the eyes of God? Let's turn back to the wisdom of God alone. Take a step closer if we've strayed away.

Let's determine to live for God every day for the rest of our lives. When "sinners entice", let's say no and press on. 

The decisions we make, day by day, determine the direction our lives take, down the road. Let's choose God's path and continue on that path for the rest of our lives.

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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: Sam the Snake Handler and the Big Adventure 
( http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2016/05/sam-snake-handler-and-big-adventure.html)
#wisdom #Solomon #faithlife

The Importance of Purpose

 

Why? Why? Why? Even as a child I wanted to know why. Why do things one way and not the other? Why do these words mean this and not that? Why is this right and that wrong? Why do things a certain way? Teachers and family grew tired of my incessant "why's", but I truly wanted to know.

And I still do.

I want to know the reason for actions, the rationale for thought processes, the purpose behind a certain path. Knowing my purpose has helped me keep the goal in sight and press on to achieve it.

King David, for the most part, understood who he was and why he was in leadership. He saw himself as a shepherd who was king, but he also knew his primary position was "servant of God". King David knew his job as the king-who-served-God was to shepherd God's people, and that's what he did.

I'm not sure Solomon ever understood his purpose in life. The more I read about him, the more convinced I am that Solomon served Solomon. He was king and he spent his life accumulating gold, and horses, and wives. He built houses and traveled, but he spent very little time worshipping God.

Except for the dedication of the temple, there is only limited evidence of Solomon having a heart for God.

I found it interesting to read the account of the Queen of Sheba's visit. Solomon spent time answering questions and demonstrating his wisdom. He showed her the things that mattered most to him. He revealed his riches and dined with her using goblets, plates, and utensils of gold. 

Queen Sheba was impressed with Solomon. Stunned by his wisdom. Astounded by his wealth. In some ways, though, she was far more wise than Solomon.

She summed up the visit with these words:

"Blessed be the Lord your God who delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel; Because the Lord loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness." 1 Kings 10:9 nasb

The Queen of Sheba understood what Solomon, perhaps, did not. God loved Solomon, but He didn't make him king to give him a storehouse full of gold. God made Solomon king to practice justice and righteousness in order to bless Israel.

We, too, have a purpose, and it is one of righteousness, obedience, and love. We are to love the Triune God, our Lord, with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and love our neighbor as ourselves. 

Our purpose is not to accumulate wealth or gain knowledge. Our purpose is, like David, to serve God. We may gain riches and wisdom along the way, but, when we die, we will leave all our accumulated treasure behind. 

Only our relationship with the Almighty will matter in eternity.

Today, let's stop and ask ourselves that little question that matters so much. Why?

Why do I do the things I do?

Why did God place me in this place at this particular time?

God's goal for us is a relationship with Him that results in righteousness and justice. That should be our goal, too.

Let's live in such a way that we pursue His goals, His righteousness all the days of our lives.

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The photo above is the field that once belonged to Boaz, the field in which David shepherded his sheep. It's also the field where the angels appeared to the shepherds the night Jesus was born.

In case you missed it, here's the link for yesterday's post: Prosperity Does Not Equal Godliness (http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2016/05/prosperity-does-not-equal-godliness.html)

For those doing the Hosea study, the Chapter Four lesson is now live and here's the link: Chapter Four 
(http://lessonsindiscipleship.blogspot.com/2016/05/hosea-chapter-four.html)

#purposeinlife #goals #disciple

If I Had Only Known

When King Solomon dedicated the new temple, he prayed the benediction to open the festivities. As I read through that prayer, I realized it was a kind of prophecy, in part addressing the coming captivity.

(Leanna Paraphrase) "When the people sin and are carried into captivity by their enemies, if they truly repent, please forgive them and help them in that place." from 1 Kings 8:46-48

It was, in a way, a surprising prayer. Since they left Egypt, the people had known great prosperity and military victory, with very little defeat, but Solomon was right. Sin would come and, along with it, consequences.

The most remarkable thing about his prayer is that Solomon, in a way, started the journey to captivity. He did the thing he prayed against.

He married many pagans wives and followed them into idolatry. He set up high places and shrines to the idols. He sacrificed to them there. He worshipped Molech, the idol to whom child sacrifices were made. 

Israel never recovered from it. Idolatry became widespread in the nation. Idols were a problem until, 250 years later, they were taken into captivity by Assyria. Just as Solomon had prayed.

As I read his prayer, I wondered what he would have done differently if he had known what his sin would cost him. What it would cost the nation. 

Would he have believed it?

I look back on my own life and see how the sins of earlier years have brought consequences and results years later. If I had known what those sins would cost me, would I have done them? Maybe not.

And yet, we do know. The law made it clear that sin has consequences. It made it clear what those consequences would be. Deuteronomy 28 is filled with the specific results of ongoing sin. If they persisted in their sin, and refused to repent after all God's disciplines, He would scatter them and send them back to slavery. (Deut. 28:64-68)

Solomon did know. Yet he sinned anyway.

And we do the same.

We know sin has a price, but we don't believe it will happen to us. Even when we're told ahead of time. I do it, and you probably do, too, but it's not wise.

We can, however, make a different choice. A better choice. 

"I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants." Deuteronomy 30:19 nasb

We can have blessings if we want them, but we have to choose them with our lifestyle. 

Since we know better, let's do better. Let's take a step closer to Christ and follow Him. Let's love God first, with every fiber of our being, and love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves. 

It's not just the right thing to do. It's the best way to leave a legacy of blessing for our children and grandchildren.
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In case you missed it, here's the link for yesterday's post: The Crummy Soil and the Traveling Plants (http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-crummy-soil-and-traveling-plants.html)

For those doing the Hosea study, the Chapter Four lesson is now live and here's the link: Chapter Four 
(http://lessonsindiscipleship.blogspot.com/2016/05/hosea-chapter-four.html)
  
Here's a link to another blog post about choosing blessings or curses: Blessings or curses: We can choose
(http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2016/03/blessing-or-curse-we-can-choose.html)

How to inherit eternal life, part 16: How the Samaritans came to be

But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.' (Luke 10:33-35 NASB)

Today, we are looking at the difficulty between the Jews and the Samaritans. It turns out that the problems between the Jews and the Samaritans were not at all what I had thought. 

The problem began during Solomon's reign. He had taken numerous foreign wives and they "turned his heart away" from the Lord. (1 Kings 11:1-13) When he began to build altars on the high places and worship idols, God appeared to Solomon again and basically told him, "I've already told you not to worship any God except Me, and I cannot let this go." God told Solomon that He would "tear the kingdom" from him. Because of his father, King David, who loved God with his whole heart, the discipline was softened. The kingdom would be split, but not until after his death. Because of David's love for God, two tribes would be left with Solomon's descendants. (The second tribe was insignificant and actually David's descendants would basically have only Judah.)

God moved quickly. The prophet Ahijah found Jeroboam (an industrious and upcoming soldier) on the road. Ahijah had a new cloak which he tore into twelve pieces. He told Jeroboam to take ten pieces for himself. God, he said, was giving ten tribes to Jeroboam and leaving the rest (Judah) with Solomon's descendants. Jeroboam would have to wait until after Solomon died, but if he did, and if he listened to God's commands and obeyed them, He would be with Jeroboam, give Israel to him, and establish an enduring house (lineage) as He had done for David. 

Wait. Listen. Obey.

All Jeroboam had to do was wait, listen, and obey, but Jeroboam was much like us. God had promised the throne to him, and he wanted it. Who wants to wait? We will see more of his waiting problem in the next post, but I suspect that Jeroboam began to talk (and likely brag) about what the prophet had said, because Solomon soon heard about it. King Solomon added more sin to what he had already piled up when he became enraged and tried to have Jeroboam killed. (It would have been a perfect opportunity to repent and seek God's face, but, instead, he chose more rebellion.) Jeroboam fled to Egypt and waited. 

One of the greatest sermons of the 20th century was preached by Dr. R.G. Lee and was entitled "Pay Day Someday". (My mother heard him preach this sermon, and never forgot it. She was still speaking of it, more than fifty years later, in the months before her death.) Dr. Lee was right. There will always be a pay day someday. No matter how rich or powerful we are, we will have to answer for our choices, our decisions, our sin. Even Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, had to answer for his idolatry and his disobedience, and the price was tremendous. His disobedience not only devastated the lives of his descendants, but also ripped a nation into shreds. 

It is easy to think that Solomon had "bigger" sins than we have, or "more" sins, or was disciplined because he was "more visible", but that is not born out by Scripture. Solomon refused to obey and God disciplined him. He was not the only one who was worshiping at the high places. He was not the only one who worshipped idols. He was not the only one disciplined. He is simply the one we read about. God always responds to sin. He always responds to rebellion. It is as simple as that, and should serve as a strong warning to us. 

We would do well to heed the instructions that the prophet gave to Jeroboam if we want to avoid the discipline of the Lord. Wait. Listen. Obey. What joy, what peace, what blessings we would find if we would only wait, listen, and obey. Dear ones, resolve to do that very thing. Be still and know that He is God, then live as if you believe it. 

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The "Pay Day Someday" sermon is worth reading. Click here to read it.