1Ki 11:2 Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. 3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.
It amazes me that Solomon was so wise and yet in this one area he forsook God's wisdom and it was his downfall.
1Ki 11:9 ¶ And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, 10 And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded. 11 Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.
Solomon did not keep that which the Lord had commanded. In not keeping God's commands, he was turning away from the Lord.
Are there times when the Lord has showed me through His Word what I am to do and I have not obeyed? In not obeying, I am turning away from the Lord. This is convicting.
1Ki 12:8 But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him:
Rehoboam rejected the counsel of the older, wiser men, and went instead with he counsel of the younger ones. It didn't turn out well.
In our society and in our nation's government we are seeing more and more the older, wiser citizens being set aside as too old fashioned and the younger ones are giving advice to our president instead. It is turning out to be disastrous for our nation.
How do I treat the older folks? Am I respectful of them? Do ask for their advice? Do learn from their experience?
1Ki 12:12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day. 13 And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men's counsel that they gave him; 14 And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. 15 Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which the LORD spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
Once again I am impressed with the fact that God uses evil to accomplish His purposes. It says the king did not listen to the people to grant their request "for the cause was from the Lord". God is in control of the evil that comes our way. If our president and his cronies make life extremely difficult for us, we can still be confident that God is in control. He has a purpose for all of this and it is a good purpose...to purify His church, to separate the sheep from the goats, to test His people to see who will be faithful to Him and He probably has plans that only He knows and we just need to trust Him through this.
Lord,
Please help me to be willing to listen and learn from the older people. Help me, Lord to heed your commands and to not turn away from you in disobedience.
Help me to trust when I don't understand. Help me to be faithful to you if persecution comes my way.
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