Solomon’s Failures

~ Failures of the World’s Wisest Man ~

Solomon is rightly regarded as one of the wisest men ever to live. He accomplished so much good as a good king obeying God. But Solomon had inherited the same sin nature that all humans have received—passed down from Adam. The Bible is clear that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We get a preview of Solomon’s sin nature early in the account of his life. “And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places” (1 Kings 3:3).

question:  Is there an “except that” in your love for God? 

FAILURES  ~  Solomon’s main failures may be broadly categorized in three areas—areas which many of us struggle with today.

Mismanaged Time  ~  Solomon was instructed to copy and then read from the Word of God. Listen to one of the key principles laid out for governing kings. “Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel” (Deuteronomy 17:18-20). 

The Biblical account suggests that Solomon dropped this practice. Neglect of the Bible—failure to regularly spend time in, consider, and reflect upon the Word of God is a root cause of many failures of Christians.   

Misguided Priorities  ~  Solomon was instructed not to acquire a large number of horses for himself or to allow his people to return to Egypt to acquire horses. He was not to take many wives for himself or to accumulate silver and gold for himself. There were more key principles laid out for governing kings. “When you come to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,’ you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall not return that way again.’ Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself” (Deuteronomy 17:14-17). This is another contemporary root cause of failures for many Christians. 

Misdirected Love  ~  In Solomon’s day—as in our day—our actions eventually affect the way we think. Solomon directed his attention in the wrong direction.

(1)  He accumulated horses and related items. “And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem. The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland. Also Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Keveh; the king’s merchants bought them in Keveh at the current price. Now a chariot that was imported from Egypt cost six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse one hundred and fifty; and thus, through their agents, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria” (1 Kings 10:26-29). Horses aren’t wrong in themselves—it is when something becomes an obsession, a god, in our lives that it becomes dishonoring to God. 

(2)  Solomon added foreign wives and concubines. “But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites—from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, ‘You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.’ Solomon clung to these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as did his father David. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon. And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods” (1 Kings 11:1-8).

(3)  Solomon increased his holdings of silver and gold—selfishly for his own purposes. Wealth is not bad unless our attitude towards wealth is wrong. “God said to him (Solomon): “Because you have … not asked for riches for yourself … I have given you your request” – 1 Kings 3:11-12). But the Biblical record suggests that Solomon became proud and accumulated excessive wealth for himself—to the point where wealth and what wealth brings became more important—a god—to Solomon.   

RESULTS  ~  “So the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the Lord had commanded. Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, ‘Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant’” (1 Kings 11:9-11). Solomon’s failures produced many consequences—consider a couple of things. 

Moral Conflict  ~  A key result of bad moral choices is Moral Conflict. We quickly become mentally confused and start playing mental gymnastics as we try to justify wrong actions. 

Mental Confusion  ~  A second result is a purposeless life and a lack of happiness and true joy. In our era this often develops into what we call “mid-life crisis.” 

consider:  Solomon, a king with a divided heart, left behind a divided kingdom! The book of 1 Kings traces Solomon’s life. The book is easily seen as two distinct halves.  The first half (chapters 1-11) describes Solomon’s rise and fall as he raises Israel to the peak of her size and glory and then declines.  The second half of 1 Kings (chapters 12-22) describes the disruption of Solomon’s kingdom soon after his death which resulted in a nation torn in two by civil strife—Israel, the 10 northern tribes, and Judah, the 2 southern tribes. Don’t be mislead, what you do always affects others.

concluding thought:  Solomon’s failures were a result of the sin nature he inherited from his ancestors in the original garden. Review them again and see if you are reminded of Eve in that original garden. 

Stay tuned for more about Solomon next Tuesday on Abundant Life Now.

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

7 Failures of Peter

~ Peter’s 7 Downward Steps to a Fall ~

Many Christians identify with Peter and his failings. Consider some of the Peter’s failings in order that we might learn from them.

Doubting  ~  We see Peter doubting His Lord on at least two different occasions. [1] “And Peter answered Him and said, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ So He said, ‘Come.’ And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!’” (Matthew 14:28-30).  [2] “Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying,  ‘Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!’ But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men’” (Matthew 16:22-23). 

Boasting  ~  “Peter said to Him, ‘Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.’ But he spoke more vehemently, ‘If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!’” (Mark 14:29-31a). The Scripture warns all of us about pride and boasting: “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).  

Sleeping (at the wrong time)  ~  “Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, ‘Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour?’” (Mark 14:37).  Again Scripture warns all of us about sleeping when we should be obeying Christ: “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11).

Striking  (inappropriately)  ~  “Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, ‘Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?’” (John 18:10-11). 

Following (at a distance)  ~  “Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest's house. But Peter followed at a distance” (Luke 22:54).   

Associating (with the wrong crowd)  ~  “Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, ‘This man was also with Him’” (Luke 22:55-56).

Denying  ~  “But he denied Him, saying, ‘Woman, I do not know Him.’ And after a little while another saw him and said, ‘You also are of them.’ But Peter said, ‘Man, I am not!’ Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, ‘Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean.’ But Peter said, ‘Man, I do not know what you are saying!’” (Luke 22:57-60a).

Consider the results of Peter’s downward spiral ~  “Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, ‘Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.’ So Peter went out and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:60b-62).

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

 

10 Failures of Samson

Samson Made Bad Choices Which Led to His Death

Samson tried to follow God without being willing to turn from sin. Ultimately he was defeated because of lack of determination to follow God. His love for Delilah proved greater than his love for God. Here are some basic principles which can cause failure in the Christian life:

(1) He went where he should not have gone! (Judges 14:1) ~ Timnah was a Philistine town just a few miles from Samson’s home. The Philistines did not love God. Israelites were forbidden to go to the land of the Philistines.

(2) He involved others! (14:5) ~ Samson involved his parents with the Philistine woman.

(3) He partook of the forbidden! (14:8-9) ~ As Samson continues his downward slide the Bible says he went “down” to Timnah and came to the spot where he had previously killed a lion. He couldn’t resist looking to see if the carcass was still there which was expressly forbidden (Leviticus 11:27). We should not think of this as a skeleton of the lion—but the carcass. In hot dry climates all the moisture in a body evaporates sometimes in less than 24 hours following death—without passing into a state of decomposition. The body remains for a long time like a mummy—without change or stench. This is why bees often live in carcasses.

(4) He followed the pattern of the world and did the customary thing! (14:10) ~ Samson’s life had been consecrated to God. After his wedding Samson held a feast which lasted for a week. One favorite way of entertaining guests in those days was posing riddles—hard questions with tricky answers.

(5) He became a party boy! (14:11-12) ~ Samson enjoyed being in the limelight as the life of the party. It wasn’t long before trouble developed between him and his Philistine wife (14:20). Things continued in a downward spiral and his wife and father-in-law were burned to death (15:6).

(6) He began to play the field! (16:1-2) ~ For the second time Samson went back to Gaza, a Philistine city, to see a woman. Once again he was flirting with disaster.

(7) He met his match! (16:4) ~ Delilah was a Philistine woman whom Samson took into his confidence. She was not the first Philistine woman he saw. Sin has a way of allowing the sinner to appear to get away with sin at first.

(8) He lost his source of power! (16:4-19) ~ Three times Delilah tried to deliver Samson to the Philistines. By now his sins had desensitized him to the danger to which he had become accustomed.

(9) He was bound! (16:21) ~ Delilah most likely urged him to take a nap—customary for men during the hottest part of the day. Samson was in the habit of trusting the wrong people.

(10) He died in disgrace! (16:31) ~ Samson’s strength had been in the Lord, not in his hair. God used Samson mightily because of his Nazarite vows. But Samson continued in his own way until enough was enough! God humbled Samson.

Samson’s life warns us of the high cost of sin—and encourages us to trust the Lord and to resist Satan’s subtle temptations. “… truly, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death” (1 Samuel 20:3).

CONTEMPLATE: Samson’s failures (Judges 13-16) and their final result.