S—So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.
H—In chapter 11 and 12 we see all the accomplishments of Solomon. With out a doubt he was one of the most envied men of his day. He had it all….power, wealth, status, wisdom. Folks would come from all over to bring him things just to have an association with him. From the outside looking in he was living the life. But yet this verse tells us that Solomon didn’t follow the Lord completely as his father. It seems that God is not impressed with all of Solomon’s accomplishments. After all, Solomon was set up for success; his accomplishments are not impressive to God. What God sees is that Solomon didn’t follow the Lord completely but had relationships with foreign women which led to the worship of foreign gods. This decision is the tipping point that divides the kingdom and the reality of exile becomes one step closer.
A—So often we look at someone’s life from the outside in and it seems they have it all together. We are so impressed with the accomplishments of the world and we become drunk upon these stories and want to just be associated with the Solomon’s of the world. In our infatuation we are blinded to the fact that God is not impressed with our worldly accomplishments. For most of us we are set up to succeed and these accomplishments are the norm and not the exception. What God is interested in is our complete devotion to him. God wants to know if we are “all in”; if we are going to follow Him completely? God wants to know if we are going to be another Solomon in the world or are we going to be a David after His heart? God is not impressed with our worldly accomplishments but defines us based upon our complete faithfulness toward Him.
P—Lord it is so easy for me to make a long list of my accomplishments and rationalize those accomplishments as a valid excuse for not completely following you. I confess to you this morning that the Solomon in me comes to life far to often then it should. I pray today that you would free me from thinking my accomplishments are an excuse not to be completely faithful. May you empower me today to not rationalize my sin but to be a man after your heart completely that you might cleanse me and mold me into the man you are calling me to be. Amen.
E—through the grace of God in Jesus Christ I am invited and able to follow God completely.
Peace from Pastor P
