Thursday, November 3, 2011

Slopes to Avoid

Here are two examples of Solomon’s slippery slope and ones we need to avoid:

PRESSURE
Solomon at first resisted the pressure of his 700 wives and 300 concubine to worship idols but eventually became corrupt and turned his heart away from God. "Now it came about when Solomon was old that his wives turned his heart away from God and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God as the heart of David his father had been." (1 Kings 4:4) Before we allow worldly pressure to overwhelm us we must counter-act it by overcoming evil with good and not simply co-existing with its influence, presence or philosophies.

What worldly influences and pressures are weighing on you?

POCESSIONS
Solomon accumulated things that gradually became his focus and captured his heart instead of God, His word and His will. Avoid thinking that you can stock up on things that will become your security, satisfaction and source of success instead of the Lord. Solomon spent his life hoarding the following:
(1) Gold and silver
Solomon accumulated enormous quantities of gold, and his kingdom had so much silver that it was counted as common as stones (1Kings 10).
(2) Thousands of horses
Solomon’s herd and trade in horses from
Egypt was huge (1Kings 10).

God anticipated the future desire of the nation to have a king. This law was to apply to every king, including Solomon. You will find it in Deuteronomy 17:14-20: 14 When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,” 15 be sure to appoint over you a king the LORD your God chooses. He must be from among your fellow Israelites. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite. 16 The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the LORD has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.” 17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.  18 When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. 19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees 20 and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in
Israel.

Are possessions, money and things putting you on a “slippery slope” with your relationship with God? Or the pursuit of these things?

Have a good Godly day.