Solomon was anointed as king, being the chosen heir of King David, over Israel. He prayed to the LORD God for wisdom and understanding and whatever he asked, he was given. Despite being the wisest man on earth, he committed grave mistakes in his life that led him away from God. What are the reasons for his steep moral and spiritual decline that we can avoid in our lives?
Why did Solomon seek knowledge of going in and coming out? In the beginning, before anything was, ‘God created the heavens and the earth’ (Genesis 1:1). As per Scripture in heaven, He created the angels of various categories and blessed them with great beauty, intelligence and other qualities. As leaders, God created Archangels and there are three listed in the Word.
Lucifer was created ‘full of wisdom and perfect in beauty’ and the other details define his role (Ezekiel 28:12-13). ‘The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created’ for he was the worship leader to sing praises to God the Creator with a third of angels as part of his choir.
The second is Gabriel, who received and conveyed the Word of God to others. He is the one who came to Zechariah to tell him about the birth of a son in his old age (Luke 1:13 & 31) who became John the Baptist. He also informed Mary, about the birth of her Son who will be named JESUS, ‘the anointed One’. The same Gabriel came to Prophet Daniel with the Word of the LORD in answer to his fasting and prayer for 21 days for his people (Daniel 9:21-22). The Third is Michael who is a warrior prince and leads the angels in prayer to God. Each of the three archangels was leader of one third angels to perform their assigned roles. Michael came to help Gabriel in the battle against the king of Persia, when he was held up on the way to Daniel in answer to his prayers (Daniel 10:13).
Why did Lucifer rebel, and the others did not? Lord Jesus is the giver of life, for ‘in Him was life, and the life was the light of men’ (John 1:3). Anyone who does not have the Son of God or the living Word is devoid of life or a relationship with God, for separation from Him is death, as Adam and Eve suffered after their sin. In heaven Gabriel with his one third angels proclaimed the message of God to all others while Michael led in prayers. To pray one has to receive the Word of God first and Michael is a mighty warrior for he has the Word as well as closeness to God in prayer. Lucifer worshipped but did not receive the Word in to his heart and soul, nor did his group of angels, and they rebelled. Apostle Paul says, if I do not have love, ‘I have become a sounding brass or a clanging cymbal’ (1 Corinthians 13:1). God is love and Lucifer has become like the drums that are hollow and empty from within, but create a lot of noise. Only a balloon with a lot of gas goes high but anything anchored with weight remains low.
The psalmist thanked and praised God, saying, ‘Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path’ (Psalm 119:105). Without the Word of God, one is lost in his own world and the devil looked at himself more than God. Anyone, whose focus is more on self than God, is more keen on promoting himself than God and that was Lucifer’s sin. Gabriel and Michael are blessed to retain God’s Word and live accordingly and will never rebel. God created man with all the three parts in him. He is blessed with a tongue to worship and thank God, he has ears to hear the Word and grow in faith and he has access to God to pray. God visited Adam and Eve daily to answer their prayers and we have the Holy Spirit in us to teach us and pray for us (Romans 8:26).
David was well aware of this state and he was a great musician to sing praises to God, prophetically he could perceive God’s plans and declare that. And he was well versed in Scripture and was willing to submit to the Word of God received through Prophet Nathan and others. Before he went out to face the enemy, he sought the Word to receive guidance and help. He was called ‘man of God’s heart’ (1 Samuel 13:14) for he loved God more than anything and despite having married many women remained true to his love for the LORD. Solomon sought this blessing and became wisest man but did not follow the Scripture and married many pagan women who led him away from the worship of God into worship of other false gods. David fought many battles and was victorious in the power of the LORD God while Solomon fought no battle except the one within him and faltered in that.
How could David protect himself from all such attacks and even after falling into sin, recover? In most Psalms, though initially he started with complaints before God but finally always submitted to Him in thanksgiving and praise. He remained totally committed to his submission to the LORD God and sought Him almost always and when he sinned in ignoring God, he repented sincerely from deep within. He prayed, ‘God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory. Awake, lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn’ (Psalm 103:1-3). He sought to praise God among nations and this is not only as a form of musical presentation but from the soul, from deep within him. As a young shepherd boy, he would sing praises to God and meditate on His Word that as per legend, he learnt from his mother Nitzevet. In his most difficult situations, he turned to God and even when the Amalekites took everyone of his and the families of his followers, who ‘spoke of stoning him’. Then also, ‘David strengthened himself in the LORD his God’ (1 Samuel 30:6). Anyone who wants to draw close to God must know what He desires of His followers, for God declares, ‘I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind’ (Jeremiah 17:10).
Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden but did not accept the blame and Adam blamed ‘the woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate’ (Genesis 3:12-13). Eve’s answer was, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate’, and they hid from God rather than seeking Him for forgiveness. When confronted by Prophet Nathan about his sin with Bathsheba and killing of her husband Uria, David did not offer excuses but cried out to God, ‘I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight’ (Psalm 51:3-4).
After the sin of worshipping the Golden Calf, Moses first made the people acknowledge their great sin (Exodus 32:29-32). Second, he asked them to consecrate themselves to the LORD by turning back to Him and repenting of their evil deeds. Only then did he return to the LORD God to seek His forgiveness for them but in that also he revealed his love for his people. Though God wanted to destroy the existing generations of Israelites and to ‘make of you (Moses) a great nation’, he put his life till eternity with his people. He could dare to say to God, If You do not want to forgive them then they are destined to hell and ‘I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written’ and let me also be in the same state. Only one who could open his heart to God in complete submission and thus have a chance to gaze into God’s loving heart, could say this.
Why do disputes crop up in the Church? The only recorded prayer of our Lord reveals His heart and care for His followers. He prayed to God the Father, ‘I do not pray that You should take them (the believers in all ages) out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one’ or Satan (John 17:15), for he is always seeking ‘whom he may devour’ (1 peter 5:8). Why do we go into the Church? Is it to receive His blessings and answer to our prayers or to get close to the One who sent His Son to reveal Himself and to redeem us from the clutches of sin, demons and the devil? God in His mercy and grace has pulled us out of the filth of our sins and after forgiving and cleansing us, made us His children (John 1:12).
Lord Jesus’ command is clear, ‘you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength’ (Mark 12:30). He must rule our thoughts and not something evil, our desires must be oriented to please Him and be a blessing to others and our soul must be totally submitted through the spirit to the Holy Spirit for His teaching and guidance. Finally, we must commit to His service, all that He has given us as strength, physical, spiritual, financial and even social. All efforts of the devil are directed at spoiling our influence over others and this starts from the House of God and with it from the rulers. Any Church that has no opposition from within or from outside, the leadership must introspect to see whether they are making more noise and less dedication under the leadership of the devil.
Prophet Jeremiah delivered the message of judgement of God over Jerusalem and the Southern Kingdom. On hearing his message, Pashur the son of Immer, who was the priest and the chief governor of the House of the LORD, first hit him and then put him in the stocks (Jeremiah 20:1-2). The Jewish Chief Priests and other leaders of the Jewish People (members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Supreme Council) gathered ‘at the palace of the High Priest, who was called Caiphas, and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him’ (Matthew 26:3-4). These were the people who were to lead the people in all religious matters yet indulged in ding this evil themselves.
There could be three basic reasons for strife in a Church or a group of believers. First, preaching focused on worldly matters more than on the Scripture. Apostle Paul and other disciples stuck to the basic message of Lord Jesus’ crucifiction, resurrection and ascension and the resultant blessing of salvation to all believers. But he joined others in some ritualistic things also to win more people to the Lord. On this, he said, ‘I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some’ (1 Corinthians 9:22-23).
Second, personal ambition; The Son of God discussed the Scripture with the teachers in the Temple of God at 12 years of age (Luke 2:47 & 51-52). The group would normally have Jewish teachers, members of the Jewish Council and other religious scholars and ‘all who heard Him (Lord Jesus) were astonished at His understanding and answers’. But He went with His parents and ‘was subject to them’ till He attained the age of 30 years, the age for becoming a priest of God. During this period of submission, He ‘increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men’. Many people want to be on the pulpit and start preaching in any way, without any spiritual wisdom and understanding from God for personal glory rather than edification of the listeners.
Third, Financial gain – According to Josephus, the Jewish historian of the 4 BC period, during the days of Passover Festival, in Lord Jesus’ time, approximately 2,50,000 lambs were sacrificed at the Passover time. The Chief Priests were involved in the raising of these lambs in the Bethlehem area and any offering brought from any other source was rejected as being unfit and blemished. Many times the big donors are honoured in the Church and others ignored causing jealousy and resentment.
By strictly following the laid down command and statutes in the Scripture, King David could set a personal example of going into the presence of God in humble surrender. He could then be successful in all his works when he went out. While bringing the Ark of the LORD to Jerusalem, David ‘sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep. Then David danced before the LORD with all his might’ (2 Samuel 6:13-24). When Church leaders are submitted in such a manner as David, The LORD God steps in to bless the people. God is not only in us in the Holy Spirit but also specifically comes to bless the group where ‘two or three are gathered together’ in His name according to His ways. When we enter the Church with this realization all disputes become irrelevant and forgotten.
Living victorious under the indwelling Holy Spirit – Apostle Paul with full knowledge of the presence of the Holy Spirit in every believer, has taught, ‘Pray without ceasing’ (1 Thessalonians 5:18). This is a continuing dialogue with the God who has blessed us with His mighty presence in us despite all the failings and sins that we continue to commit. It is like a child moving around with his parents and wanting to talk about everything that he sees and feels. God as a loving Father is not aloof from our life for even the hairs on our head are numbered and known to Him (Luke 12:7).
Prophet Jeremiah himself practiced and preached, ‘pour out your heart like water before the LORD’ (Lamentations 2:19). Water from a pitcher flows without restraint and is about trusting God that He knows better. The three friends of Prophet Daniel refused to worship the golden image and were to be thrown into the burning furnace (Daniel 3:17-18). They confirmed their faith in God’s ability to save them and even if He did not, they were willing to die for their faith. Our conversation with God could then include our complaints, excuses or words seeking grace and help and reconciliation. It would also be about regret and repentance seeking His help to serve Him diligently and to learn about the obstacles in that, both within me and outside. Nothing is too big or small for this talk and is like opening your heart to a trusted friend, thus feeling God closer to my heart. Once this happens, we are never away from His presence and assured help and provisioning to face any situation.
God cannot be seen but only heard and we seek His help to be able to hear, understand and obey Him. Then no reply to prayer is also an answer, for He knows all about me and what I must not have or have. It is this state of ‘praying without ceasing’ that God desires from everyone of His children!
Lord Jesus first termed John the Baptist greater ‘among those born of women’ and then called the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven as greater than he. We have the indwelling Holy Spirit in us to teach, guide, strengthen and lead us in the right paths. Filled with faith in the finished work of our Saviour, the meaning and purpose of our life changes from defeat to victory over every situation we face.
