The Meaning Of Life

https://biblehub.com/nkjv/1_kings/11.htm

Has the Bible not taught that no one is perfect; no one? Since Eve succombed to temptation, we are all born sinners. We can’t help it. So all of the wisdom God gave Solomon, all of the wisdom Solomon shared with others, it all went down the tubes because of temptation. The temptation of women.

As a man, I know. I know very well. God made woman beautiful so that man would want to be fruitful and multiple. We would have long been extinct if man did not have a sex drive. But man also has to control that sex drive, and I believe God knew man would go into overdrive, if you will, or else He wouldn’t have issued the 7th Commandment.

From the days of Moses, God commanded the children of Israel to stay away from the Canaanites because He knew man would false into the seduction of their women. And they did. And instead of pushing all of the pagans out of the promised land, they began to intermingle, and it has given Israel problems ever since, even unto this day.

Solomon knew the rule. But he didn’t listen. He first took an Egyptian wife, and before it was over, scripture says he had over 700 wives and concubines.

Now I started off by saying we are all sinners, but there is a remedy. As one pastor said, “It is natural for man to begin to think immoral thoughts when he sees a beautiful woman; that can’t be helped. But immediately when these thoughts come into your head, you need self-discipline to turn your mind back to the good and stop from progressing further, before it is too late.

Solomon didn’t do that. Scripture says that God spoke to Solomon twice, warning him about intermarrying with those not of Israel heritage. But Solomon ignored God’s voice. Just flat out ignored it. And as God feared, the temptation of woman was too great, and Solomon began worshiping idols.

Once again, if you read scripture at face value, it appears as though God punished Solomon for his actions. You may not agree with me, but I don’t think God punishes; I’ve said this repeatedly before, I believe that when you separate yourself from God, as Solomon did, God’s hedge of protection is removed, and He allows Satan to do as he wishes. And it’s not an intentional thing either. I believe it’s like a fenced in yard, if you stay in the yard, close to God, you are protected. If you stray from the yard and away from God, you are on your own. And you don’t know what is lurking out there away from God.

This was the impetus for Israel being torn in two. From this point on for a long while, Israel will be divided; Judah will be one country, made up of the tribe of Judah, and the other tribes will remain unified, still being known as Israel.

There will also be two Kings, the King of Israel and the King of Judah. And as a warning, some of the names of the kings are very similar, and you will have to pay close attention to try to keep track of which one is king and which land they are over. And the Bible is specific about the transfer of kingship, you have to pay close attention because they change kings at different times.

If you’re like me, I had to make a chart to keep track. But that is beside the point. The point is, what lesson can we learn from this?

The lesson is, no one is without sin, but if we remain dedicated to Christ, we can stop our sin from progressing the second God convicts us and turn back. And it doesn’t matter how good you are, you can stray from the yard and away from God’s protection. When God convicts you, don’t ignore Him. If I’m looking at a beautiful woman and my mind starts to stray, and that little voice in my head says, “You should be doing this!”, I have the choice to set my mind on something else. But if I think, “One more little look won’t hurt.”, I’ve left the yard.

And trust me, it’s dangerous out there.

Well our study of the Book of King is once again interrupted because the chronological Bible tells me we now go to the Book of Ecclesiastes.

God bless you all.