In the life of Solomon Jesus has revealed almost every significant principle in the Bible. In this chapter I want to study the issue of whether one can come to Jesus and then be lost. There are several stories around the life of Solomon that reveal what Jesus thinks about people who commit to Him and then turn away from Him. Solomon’s story will answer this question.
King Solomon was the third king in the lineage of Israel’s kings. Kings Saul was first, then King David, and then Solomon, and the books of Chronicles and Kings lists out the rest of the many kings of Israel and of Judah. For this chapter I want to use just four kings – Saul, David, Solomon, and Jeroboam the son of Nebat. These four kings will be used to illustrate the principles mentioned before.
In the life of King Saul God has chosen to reveal many hard principles. Just prior to the anointing of King Saul Israel officially rejects Jesus from being their King. See I Samuel 8:1-9 "1And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.
2Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba.
3And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.
4Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah,
5And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
6But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD.
7And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
8According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.
9Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them."
As a result of rejecting Jesus as their King, Jesus was willing to pick a king that was after their heart and He would bless that king and assist him in any way that He could. God directs Samuel to anoint King Saul, of the tribe of Benjamin (I Samuel 10:1) and then gives King Saul a new heart and turned him into another man. I Samuel 10:9,6. All who read the Bible know what happened after this. Saul rebelled against the requirements of Jesus and committed acts of rebellion and witchcraft and then Jesus officially rejected Saul from being king. I Samuel 15:22-23. After his rejection Jesus took His Spirit from the heart of Saul as well. I Samuel 16:14
Although Saul had been officially rejected from being King he continued in that position for many more years. During these years he persecuted God’s appointed King, David, mercilessly and attempted to murder David many times. In the end Saul would not listen to the prophets of God, nor U rim or Thummin (I Samuel 28:5-6) and he ended up consulting with a witch. I Samuel 28:7-25. This final act of rebellion led to the destruction of King Saul for the sins that he had committed against Jesus. I Chronicles 10:13-14.
In the example of King Saul, a wonderful start turned into a tragic affair, with Saul trying to kill God’s anointed King – David. Saul would not obey God but constantly was trying to do things in accordance to the wisdom of the King. Saul eventually sank to the point of attempted murder, and then sought out Satan to speak to rather than to God, and God allowed King Saul to die.
In the next case we see God selecting and anointing a king after the heart of Jesus. I Samuel 16:1-13; Acts 13:22. God allowed Saul to persecute David and this severe discipline developed a remarkable character in Jesus. For many years Jesus allowed this persecution to continue. In the process of time Jesus elevates David to be His King on the throne provided by the providence of God. David is very focused on obeying Jesus in all that He asks and David becomes a great king.
But even David, when in the height of his kingdom sins against Jesus and he is punished for his many sins. II Samuel 11-12 But David repents and is forgiven of his sins and God maintains David on His throne. Psalms 51; II Samuel 12:13-14. God shows that a mighty man of God can sin, and He shows that that many can repent and be forgiven.
In Solomon’s case God chooses him from his birth and gives him a new name signifying that Solomon is beloved of the Lord by calling him Jedidiah. II Samuel 12:24-25. When Solomon is grown up Jesus meets with Solomon, after being crowned king, and grants him the gifts of wisdom, a discerning heart, length of life, and great riches and honor. I Kings 3:5-15. Solomon was considered the wisest man who ever lived and yet even with all of these precious gifts Solomon turned away from Jesus and his heart was not settled with Jesus as was David his father. I Kings 11:4-13. Because of his sinful ways Jesus confronted Solomon and told him that He would take away Solomon’s kingdom and Solomon awoke as from a dream –
"At last the Lord, through a prophet, delivered to Solomon the startling message: "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. Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son." Verses 11, 12.
Awakened as from a dream by this sentence of judgment pronounced against him and his house, Solomon with quickened conscience began to see his folly in its true light. Chastened in spirit, with mind and body enfeebled, he turned wearied and thirsting from earth's broken cisterns, to drink once more at the fountain of life. For him at last the discipline of suffering had accomplished its work. Long had he been harassed by the fear of utter ruin because of inability to turn from folly; but now he discerned in the message given him a ray of hope. God had not utterly cut him off, but stood ready to deliver him from a bondage more cruel than the grave, and from which he had had no power to free himself.
In gratitude Solomon acknowledged the power and the loving-kindness of the One who is "higher than the highest" (Ecclesiastes 5:8); in penitence he began to retrace his steps toward the exalted plane of purity and holiness from whence he had fallen so far. He could never hope to escape the blasting results of sin, he could never free his mind from all remembrance of the self-indulgent course he had been pursuing, but he would endeavor earnestly to dissuade others from following after folly. He would humbly confess the error of his ways and lift his voice in warning lest others be lost irretrievably because of the influences for evil he had been setting in operation." PK 77-78
Solomon ends his life having returned to Jesus and willing to accept the forgiveness always offered by our Lord and Master, and Redeemer. In his confessional book Ecclesiastes Solomon says "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man." Ecclesiastes 12:13.
Our final story is about Jeroboam the son of Nebat. Jeroboam is the king appointed by Jesus’ prophet Ahijah in I Kings 11:26—39. Jesus instructs Jeroboam that if he will be true to God’s laws He will keep Jeroboam and build for him a secure house as He had built for David. I Kings 11:37-38. Jesus Himself promised to be with Jeroboam to care for him and build him up. Oh what a blessed privilege to receive such promises from Jesus through His prophets. I Peter 1:9-12.
Sadly, Jeroboam did not live up to the promises that God gave him. Jeroboam feared in his heart that Israel would return to the king of Judah and he planned to protect his kingdom from such a crisis. He did not trust in Jesus to fulfill His promises and Jeroboam turned to the wisdom of his own thinking to solve the problem. Jeroboam did the following:
"Placed on the throne by the ten tribes of Israel who had rebelled against the house of David, Jeroboam, the former servant of Solomon, was in a position to bring about wise reforms in both civil and religious affairs. Under the rulership of Solomon he had shown aptitude and sound judgment; and the knowledge he had gained during years of faithful service fitted him to rule with discretion. But Jeroboam failed to make God his trust.
Jeroboam's greatest fear was that at some future time the hearts of his subjects might be won over by the ruler occupying the throne of David. He reasoned that if the ten tribes should be permitted to visit often the ancient seat of the Jewish monarchy, where the services of the temple were still conducted as in the years of Solomon's reign, many might feel inclined to renew their allegiance to the government centering at Jerusalem. Taking counsel with His advisers, Jeroboam determined by one bold stroke to lessen, so far as possible, the probability of a revolt from his rule. He would bring this about by creating within the borders of his newly formed kingdom two centers of worship, one at Bethel and the other at Dan. In these places the ten tribes should be invited to assemble, instead of at Jerusalem, to worship God.
In arranging this transfer, Jeroboam thought to appeal to the imagination of the Israelites by setting before them some visible representation to symbolize the presence of the invisible God. Accordingly he caused to be made two calves of gold, and these were placed within shrines at the appointed centers of worship. In this effort to represent the Deity, Jeroboam violated the plain command of Jehovah: "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. . . . Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them." Exodus 20:4
So strong was Jeroboam's desire to keep the ten tribes away from Jerusalem that he lost sight of the fundamental weakness of his plan. He failed to take into consideration the great peril to which he was exposing the Israelites by setting before them the idolatrous symbol of the deity with which their ancestors had been so familiar during the centuries of Egyptian bondage.
Jeroboam's recent residence in Egypt should have taught him the folly of placing before the people such heathen representations. But his set purpose of inducing the northern tribes to discontinue their annual visits to the Holy City led him to adopt the most imprudent of measures. "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem," he urged; "behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." 1 Kings 12:28. Thus they were invited to bow down before the golden images and adopt strange forms of worship. PK 99-100
Thus Jeroboam ended up doing the exact same things that Solomon did in his rebellion. Finally the Bible records the following about Jeroboam:
"And it came to pass, when he reigned, that he smote all the house of Jeroboam; he left not to Jeroboam any that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according unto the saying of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite:
Because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made Israel sin, by his provocation wherewith he provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger." I Kings 15:29-30
Jeroboam had turned away from God and had provoked God to anger for the sins that Jeroboam had done, and had led Israel to do. We have no record of Jeroboam ever repenting for these sins. In fact Baasha, the King who had removed Jeroboam’s son Nadab (I Kings 15:27), has the following said about him by God:
"Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying,
Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel; and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins;
Behold, I will take away the posterity of Baasha, and the posterity of his house; and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth of his in the fields shall the fowls of the air eat.
Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, and what he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
So Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in Tirzah: and Elah his son reigned in his stead.
And also by the hand of the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani came the word of the LORD against Baasha, and against his house, even for all the evil that he did in the sight of the LORD, in provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam; and because he killed him." I Kings 16:1-7
In conclusion, after reviewing these four kings we can draw the following conclusions:
God raises up kings and brings them down. Daniel 2:21
All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23
God will forgive kings who rebel against Him. II Samuel 12:13
Not all kings repent and thus are cast off from the favor of God. I Samuel 28:6; I Chronicles 10:13-14
Because we are once saved, if we turn away from God we will die in our sins unless we repent. Ezekiel 33:11-19
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment