Was Reading Chronicles Chapter 7 to 9 about how Solomon was someone that you would think has “no excuse” to have strayed away from God.

I was thinking to myself that if I prayed to God and fire came down from heaven to burn up my offering, and if God had appeared to me 2 times – and gave me wisdom and wealth and everything more than anyone in the entire world has ever had – would I still remember to worship him and him alone, and give him all the honour, glory and praise?

As I decided to open up Proverbs this morning to read about Wisdom – which was written by Solomon himself, the verse “The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of all wisdom” was humming in my heart when a startling thought came to me.

This was written by Solomon. He knew this. He HAD the wisdom of God. He KNEW that he should have the FEAR of the LORD! But Yet…what happened?

God is a covenant maker and so often we think that we can lay hold of all his blessings without keeping the conditions of his covenant ( even under the new one!) but all over the bible, I see that God made covenants with people and they were conditional.

God said to Solomon, “IF you walk before me…I will establish your throne as I COVENANTED with David …” , “BUT IF ! you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you, and GO OFF AND SERVE OTHER GODS AND WORSHIP THEM, then I will….. ” And we know what happened after that.

HOW did Solomon, KNOWING THIS that God had said this to him, and HAVING WISDOM, being the very one who wrote the book of Proverbs, that we have to fear God and “trust in the Lord with all our hearts” etc. end up building alters to idols and worshipping “other gods” ?

COVENANT RELATIONSHIPS. He started off with Pharoh’s daughter as the first, and went on to have 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. That is a THOUSAND women that he had a spiritual union, a covenant relationship with.

“As Solomon grew old, HIS WIVES TURNED HIS HEART AFTER OTHER GODS, and HIS HEART was NOT FULLY DEVOTED to the LORD his God”. Solomon “DID EVIL” in the eyes of the Lord.

Allow that to sink in.

This was the man who ‘HAD EVERYTHING’. He wrote Ecclesiastes and in it’s opening said “EVERYTHING IS MEANINGLESS”.

You can feast your eyes upon, own and use and build and possess everything, and it is meaningless. He came to the conclusion that ” a person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see , is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? “

” To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”

WHAT HAPPENS, when we pray to have it all and God gives it to us?

LESSONS FROM SOLOMON

1. Remember Your Encounters with God
Remind yourself daily and be thankful daily of what God has done in your life, what he has given you – remember that he is the one that gave it all to you and worship him alone.

2. What has God put on your heart
to use HIS wisdom, HIS wealth, HIS favor on your life, for?When we have gained it all and it remains all for yourself and “YOUR ” Kingdom, it will become very meaningless. What else, Who else can we bless?

3. Who are we in Covenant Relationships with?
Who do we surround ourselves with? Do they worship and Know God? Will they turn your hearts towards or AWAY from God?
This is the most dangerous because a man who had received so much from God and had very vivid and tangible encounters with God, who knew God’s word in the end did EVIL in the eyes of GOD.

4. GUARD OUR HEARTS and don’t forget our WHY….
When Solomon first asked for wisdom as a little boy, it was because he wanted discernment to administer justice and God said to him, ” Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have you asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for – both wealth and honor – so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings.

5. DREAMS can be GOD TALKING TO YOU.
“Then Solomon awoke – and realized it had been a dream” – I Kings chapter 3.