Solomon and Worldliness

Let's take a little history trip, a biblical history trip…come on,

it will be fun! It'll be quick, I promise..after all what is that saying again?

"You can't make an Omelet without breaking a few eggs…"

oh wait…that doesn't apply here.. oh yeah it's

"If you don't know history you are doomed to repeat it"

I want to talk about King Solomon, son of David. Most of us know Solomon is credited as the wisest man that ever lived, all to the glory of God of course. God gave him this wisdom(1 Kings 3:10-12) Solomon asked and he received. We see his wisdom in use throughout the life of Solomon in his judgments and his rule over Israel. More popularly we see it when we read "Proverbs" and even "Ecclesiastes"

both being credited to Solomon. We know that Solomon made Israel a beacon of light showing the glory of GOD, and Solomon in his early years was a fantastic and humble God honoring servant.

Solomon however started to turn away from God to other gods, which his many wives turned him to, not that I am blaming the wives at all. For Solomon is to blame for his wickedness, and for turning away from the one true GOD who gave him his wisdom in the first place! It is amazing to me that a man who was so humble who wrote things like…

The fear of the LORD [is] to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

Proverbs 8:13

I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.

Proverbs 8:17

The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of knowledge: [but] fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 1:7

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him,

and he shall direct thy paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this [is] the whole [duty] of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether [it be] good, or whether [it be] evil.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

FEAR GOD, and Keep his commandments! Solomon didn't do that when he took wives that he should never have taken in the first place. Solomon wasn't fearing

God and putting God first when he started worshipping false gods and Idols. You know what Solomon's problem was? He took the gift GOD gave him, which again was wisdom and put his trust in that, aka he put his trust in himself and not GOD.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 is a warning from Solomon to fear the LORD GOD, and to keep His commandments. Ecclesiastes is considered by most to be Solomons repentance for his wickedness against God, as some of the Psalms are contributed to Davids repentance of his sins. You may be asking my point, and where exactly am I going with this…

Solomon wisest man that ever lived, and ever will live, wasn't an innocent man, as none of us are. He was a man that you could very much so compare in a sense with

popular christianity today; which very much so is consumed with worldliness

…….

Did I lose you?

let me explain, many "Christians" or those who claim to be so, the people I call FAKE and the people Christ Himself would say are lukewarm, and he will spew them from His mouth, Do what? well, they conform to the pattern of this world all the while still claiming to be a follower…. right? They may have had a genuine experience, a softening of the heart, but somewhere down the line, like Solomon, they strayed away from GOD.

Like Solomon who wanted to appease his wives, these lukewarm unbiblical false christians try to appease the world. Solomon was suppose to be the LIGHT to

the darkness! he was suppose to lead his wives by example and lead them to the only GOD there is, instead he was lead astray by them into darkness.

Following me now?

The church now adays is trying to appease the world,

we are conforming to the pattern of this world (Romans 12:2) when we shouldn't be! we should be the light in the darkness, God blessed us and called us to be Holy and be the change in the world NOT BE CHANGED BY IT!

This is where someone i'm sure would quote Ghandi and say something like..

"Be the change you want to see in the world"

yeah that's nice and all, but change doesn't come unless you realize how to change you, and guess what? you can do all the meditating and introspective self therapy you want, even go find some far east mystic eastern philosophy about "finding the inner you" and "enlightenment"

go ahead i'll wait…

..

……..

Back now?

The fact is YOU…can't change…YOU! this is what the word of God is about! it's about utter reliance on HIMSELF! all for His GLORY, not yours!

Only Christ saves and only through Him are you saved and only by HIM can

you be CHANGED! You are either light or darkness, you are either following

Christ or you are following the world. If you take your eyes off of Him, if you start to stray from the path, If you don't ultimately rely on GOD, then you are going to fall! everything has to be laid to rest in Christ all thoughts and all deeds! EVERYTHING! all worry and stress,your body, and everything you are! on your knees at the foot of the throne!

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

2 Corinthians 10:5

Only by grace, and only in this way are you saved. Repentance and ultimate faith and reliance on CHRIST. If you seek to appease the world or appease your self for whatever reason, and you're not willing to surrender all to Christ then all the wisdom in the world wont SAVE YOU…and YOU WILL FALL and be LED astray just like Solomon! REPENT and turn to CHRIST!

Do not be LUKEWARM…! sure nobody will claim to be lukewarm but you are either on fire or you are not! FEAR THE LORD CHURCH! what are we doing?

What are we teaching? This world is corrupt and fallen a wicked generation unashamed of being so!

It's like we are Adam & Eve in the garden all over again. We stand naked and bare

with sinfulness we can not hide, only unlike Adam & Eve we are far from ashamed, we don't even try to hide our sins…in fact we don't even acknowledge it,

there's no weeping, no brokeness, no understanding of punishment and Holiness.

We have become what those without Christ have always been…SELFISH,

we stand naked in sin and we love it! token prayers and half hearted relationships with a savior we don't even try to understand.

"Justice and wrath you say? But I'm saved! even though I don't even understand from what exactly….BUT I believe in JESUS! that's it right? I'm finished,

I mean, I read the words in red! I accept Him for his death so I can go to heaven! now don't be so judgmental…Jesus Himself said not to judge, you know!

let me just go on liven for the world because I'm forgiven!"

"Lord I pray for prosperity, I pray for blessings."

Even though you deserve absolutely nothing?

"Your son died for me? cool, think you could hook me up with a little more money? my pocket's kind of seem to be running on empty"

The church has become like a bunch of deadbeat children who treat the father like crap all the while with their hands held out begging to get what they don't deserve.

Want to be of this world?

Want to be wealthy and rich?

claim to know ME, but live for your glory?

AWAY FROM ME I NEVER KNEW YOU! (Matthew 7:23)

And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;

2 Thessalonians 1:7-9

King Solomon

Solomon is credited as being the wisest King that ever lived..

Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked

long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself,

nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked

for yourself understanding to discern justice, behold,

I have done according to your words; see, I have given

you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not

been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you

arise after you.

And I have also given you what you have not asked:

both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone

like you among the kings all your days.

1 Kings 3:11-14

Solomon was David's son who's mother was Bathesheba.

Solomon was also the one who built the temple, the temple

David himself wanted to build for the Lord God, but God

told David that his son would build it. Solomon was so wise

that people from all over came to seek his advice, so well respected

was Solomon that he even had Pharaoh's daughter as his wife

(Well one of his wives).

You may be thinking so what? well...while it was popular in those times

to have marriages between other nations, as it was a way of creating

alliances between the two nations involved,(the idea being

that through the marriage the two nations became an extended family)

It was not something the Egyptians did, they were totally against giving

their daughters to foreign kings. So obviously Solomon was looked

at with great esteem by the egyptians because it would obviously

be looked at as quite the privilege for him to be married to Pharaoh's

daughter.

Probably the most popular story of Solomon's wise judgment

is the story of the two "harlots"...

Now two women who were harlots came to the king,

and stood before him. And one woman said,

"O my lord, this woman and I dwell in the same house; and I

gave birth while she was in the house. Then it happened, the third day

after I had given birth, that this woman also gave birth.

And we were together; no one was with us in the house, except

the two of us in the house. And this woman's son died in the night,

because she lay on him. So she arose in the middle of the night

and took my son from my side, while your maidservant slept,

and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.

And when I rose in the morning to nurse my son, there he was, dead.

But when I had examined him in the morning, indeed, he was not

my son whom I had borne."

Then the other woman said,

"NO! but the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son!"

And the first woman said,

"NO! but the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son!"

thus they spoke before the king. And the king said,

"The one says, 'This is my son, who lives, and your son is the dead one';

and the other says, 'NO! But your son is the dead one, and my son

is the living one.' "

Then the king said,

"Bring me a sword."

So they brought a sword before the king. And the king said,

"Divide the living child in two, and give half to one,

and half to the other."

Then the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for

she yearned with compassion for her son; and she said,

"O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!"

But the other said,

"Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him."

So the king answered and said,

"Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him:

she is his mother."

And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they

feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him

to administer justice.

1 Kings 3:16-28

Further more just as Solomon's father David was credited with writing

"Psalm's", Solomon is credited with writing "Proverbs" from the wisdom

granted to him by God. Israel thrived under Solomon and his wisdom..

And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding,

and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. Thus Solomon's

wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom

of Egypt. For he was wiser then all men- then Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman,

Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding

nations. He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand

and five. Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to

the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke of animals, of birds,

of creeping things, and of fish. And men of all nations, from all the kings

of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom

of solomon.

1 Kings 4:29-34

One person who came to see Solomon was the Queen of Sheba

(In modern times Sheba would be somewhere around ethiopia and

Yemen) showing that Solomon was obviously not just a wise man

to the Israelites and Egyptians, but just as the word of God says

he was considered wise amongst all nations that have heard

of him.

Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon

concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions. She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue,

with camels that bore spices, very much gold,

and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon,

she spoke with him about all that was in her heart.

So Solomon answered all her questions;

there was nothing so difficult for the king that he could not

explain it to her. And when the queen of Sheba had seen

all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built,

the food on his table, the seating of his servants,

the service of his waiters and their apparel,

his cupbearers, and his entryway by which he went up

to the house of the LORD, there was no more spirit in her.

Then she said to the king: "It was a true report which I heard

in my own land about your words and your wisdom.

However I did not believe the words until I came and saw

with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me.

Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard.

Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom!

Blessed be the LORD your God, who delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD has loved Israel forever,

therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness."

Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold,

spices in great quantity, and precious stones.

There never again came such abundance of spices as

the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

1 Kings 10:1-10

God promised Solomon that as long as he didn't turn away from him

and worship other Gods that God would bless Solomon and Israel.

It turns out that's exactly what happened in Solomon's old age....

Solomon had seven hundred wives...most of which came from

other nations that did not worship God, even still some came from

nations God warned the Israelites not to intermarry with, because

they would turn their hearts away to other gods. In the end

Solomon's heart was not right with God as he let his wives

turn his heart to other gods, even with all the wisdom and the wealth

that God provided for Solomon he still turned away. Should be

a lesson in there somewhere right? Gods wisdom is something we can't even begin

to even try to comprehend, even us calling God "Wise" is a joke

as our understanding of wisdom is extremely limited. Our wisdom

is like the size of a grain of salt compared to Gods almighty wisdom.

...you can know all there is to know, you can be the smartest

person on this planet, but if you don't know God...you know nothing,

your "wisdom" is pointless.

The FEAR of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: [but] fools

despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 1:7

Who said that? oh yeah......only the wisest king that ever lived.