“The Lord was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10 He had warned Solomon specifically about worshipping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the Lord’s command.” 1 King 11:9-10
We tend to focus more on teaching people how to “make it, get to top positions and places of prosperity and wealth. We must balance this by teaching people how to manage wealth and position so that they do not become like Solomon, going from grass to grace and back to grass. Zero to hero and back to zero!
Solomon thought as a king he could do and undo with God’s resources without consequences. He could live a lifestyle he chose no matter whose ox is gored. Sorry, it doesn’t work that way. That is why we say God has no favourite, rather he is the God of love, wisdom and justice. He may deliberately choose you and prefer you and give you a position you don’t deserve which is what grace is about, but he would withdraw mercy(escaping the judgement you deserve)from you when He chooses.
God favoured Solomon amongst all the children of David to make him king. He appeared to Solomon twice, He gave him stupendous wealth and uncommon wisdom. It was from Solomon we learnt that the fact that you have wisdom does not mean you can use it for your advantage. Solomon wrote over 3000 proverbs, songs and words of wisdom which have helped all mankind of various faiths, but he didn’t learn himself.
Solomon went on to marry a thousand women either as wives or mistresses/concubine. I believe one of the most provocative steps he took against God was not only building houses for them even on Mount Olive but worshipping those false gods. “On the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem,he even built a pagan shrine for Chemosh, the detestable god of Moab, and another for Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. 8 Solomon built such shrines for all his foreign wives to use for burning incense and sacrificing to their gods.”1 King 11: 7-8
What the Holy Spirit Taught me this morning is that God responds. God is watching your activities. God is watching how you manage what he has given you. God came with the big stick to wipe sense into Solomon.
God gave him three “continuous lifelong lashes” for the rest of his life! The Bible says God raised three enemies against Solomon.
1. “Then the Lord raised up Hadad the Edomite, a member of Edom’s royal family, to be Solomon’s adversary” v14
2. “God also raised up Rezon son of Eliada as Solomon’s adversary” v23
3. “Another rebel leader was Jeroboam son of Nebat, one of Solomon’s own officials.” V26.
Beloved are you the Solomon of this generation?
At 25 years you have a doctorate, working with blue chip companies, or your company grew astronomically, your book is the number one bestseller, your ministry is number one on Google map, you win all the OSCARS, Grammys, among celebrities you are a celebrity, earning 8-10 figures and now you speak disparagingly against God. You make a mockery of Jesus. Splash your wealth pursuing women, sex, power and position at the expense of God and your soul. It is called mismanagement of position and wealth. Learn from Solomon. Solomon took God for granted. He did not expect God to deal with him so harshly. But that is what God of justice will do!
Conclusion: Don’t abuse the grace God has given you. You are a man or a woman of wisdom, use it to manage your personal relationships with human beings and especially God. When people think God is so merciful He will not punish, I remind them, yes, he is, but he created hell and heaven and gave you the ability to make your choices. It’s time for us to learn how to manage God’s resources to please God and not provoke God! Shalom–
O taste and see that the Lord is good.(Psalm 34:8). I have tasted and found that the Lord is good. I do testify that the Lord is good. Join me to taste him.
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