Friday, January 18, 2013

A Valuable Lesson 206

"King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites.  They were from nations about which the  Lord  had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love.  As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the  Lord  his God, as the heart of David his father had been.  He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites.  So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the  Lord ; he did not follow the  Lord  completely, as David his father had done. The  Lord  became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the  Lord , the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.  Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the  Lord 's command.  So the  Lord  said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates."
1 Kings 11:1, 2, 4-6, 9-11

King Solomon was visited twice by God Himself, you'd think that would be enough to keep him on the path of righteousness, right?  Wrong. Solomon, known as the wisest man to ever rule a nation, was warned, over and over again, not to take foreign wives, not to intermarry,  because his heart would be turned away from God, but he didn't listen. The very heavy price paid was his loss of godly wisdom, and on his descendants his sins were visited: the splintering of the kingdom and a legacy of heartbreak and disaster, as the descendants of Solomon did evil, following idols instead of El Shaddai, who had delivered them, loved them, cut a covenant with them, and performed so many miracles.
Are so many of us not like Solomon? God Himself has delivered us from our own slaveries, loved us furiously, provided for us, healed us, sent His Comforter and Helper, the Holy Spirit, and yet...many follow Solomon's path embracing the world.
God's eyes roam the earth looking for those with lovesick hearts, those who hunger and thirst for Him;  He desires relationship with us, but yet so many in the  Eklesia have been diluted and polluted spiritually, loving the things of this present darkness, having opened doors that should never have been opened.  A floodgate of evil then is released- the equivalent of Solomon embracing and fusing himself with unholy things, even after hearing the voice of The Lord. Conscience and discernment becomes dull, hearts become hardened and cold, and before you realize it, you are so far away from God, just like the Prodigal Son, or Solomon here in 1Kings 11:11.
But there is hope! The Lord says, " Return to Me and I will return to you" Zech. 1:3
No matter where you are beloved, God is still waiting with arms outstretched towards you!
As you run towards Him you will find that He meets you-with even greater vigor.

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