Speaking the Truth in Love
What Happened to King Solomon? (The Futility of Unused Knowledge and Wisdom)
What God gave King Solomon (part 1)?
· A wise and understanding heart (1 Kings 3:4-15, 4:29-33, 8:22-53)
· Riches and Honor (1 Kings 4:20-28, 34, 10:14-29)
· Any Desires (1 Kings 9:1-9) – God gives us all we need when we put Him first (Matthew 6:25-34). How about you?
What Mistakes did King Solomon make (part 2)?
· He did not keep his heart loyal and pure to God for his whole life. He let his desires and weakness for women become the idol of his heart that replaced God later in life (1 Kings 11:4, Ezekiel 14:3-7, Philippians 4:6-7, Revelation 2:10).
· He let his lust for women be more important than obeying God (1 Kings 3:1, 7:8, 9:24, 11:1-8, James 1:12-15).
· He was not content with an Israelite wife but rather he collected 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines of many nations the Lord instructed against (1 King 11:1-3, Exodus 34:10-17, Deuteronomy 7:1-5). Husbands and wives let us be completely content with our spouses (Proverbs 5:15-19, Hebrews 13:5)!
· Rather than a being a spiritual leader King Solomon ended up being a spiritual follower. The hardest part for me to understand is that he knew better. He was the wisest of all men, yet he did not use the knowledge, wisdom, and blessings that the Lord had showered on him. Rather he ended up being evil in the sight of God (1 Kings 11:6, 9-13). Solomon mentions the word wisdom over 40 times in Proverbs and 25 times in Ecclesiastes! He mentions knowledge over 40 times in Proverbs and 7 times in Ecclesiastes. Let’s look at a few verses from Solomon about wisdom and knowledge (Proverbs 1:1-7, 9:10, 15:2, 19:27, 23:12, Ecclesiastes 1:16). We need to realize that God’s wisdom and knowledge does us no good unless we use them! That wisdom should teach us that we need to flee things we know we are weak in or temptations that we struggle with (1 Timothy 6:11-16). Rather than flee temptations we sometimes flirt with them and then sometimes Satan gets us just like he got Solomon!
If King Solomon could fall, Christians need to be careful not to fall! Notice some wisdom from King Solomon and the Holy Spirit from Ecclesiastes 12:13-14. Have you kept the Lord’s commandments tonight (Matthew 28:18-20)? If you are not a Christian, please obey Jesus today. Believe Him, trust Him, confess that He is the Son of God, repent or turn away from your sins. Then humble yourself by being baptized into Jesus Christ by the authority of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to have your sins washed away! Then live all the remaining years of your life for Him (Galatians 2:20). Please heed the gospel call tonight! We also hope to see you next time on “Speaking The Truth In Love”.
