Godly fathers-ungodly sons-36

It is appropriate to once again remind ourselves what God commanded of any king who would sit on the throne in Jerusalem.

Deuteronomy 17:14  "When you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you, and you possess it and live in it, and you say, 'I will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me,' 17:15  you shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses, one from among your countrymen you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your countryman. 

The very first command was to only appoint kings from within the nation of Israel. That would included men from any of the ten tribes. Curiously, while we can understand this it did not guarantee that the king would be godly.

17:16  "Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, since the LORD has said to you, 'You shall never again return that way.' 

This begins the list of things that will turn a man’s heart away from God. Pride, importance, and self-righteousness from these possessions never helped Solomon.

17:17  "He shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself. 

Solomon never obeyed this very clear warning!

17:18  "Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. 17:19  "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, by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes, 17:20  that his heart may not be lifted up above his countrymen and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or the left, so that he and his sons may continue long in his kingdom in the midst of Israel. 

There is no record of any king doing this. If any did, it was not recorded. David’s numerous declarations of his love for God’s word may be an indication that he may have done this.

1 Kings 4:20  Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance; they were eating and drinking and rejoicing. 4:21  Now Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt; they brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life. 4:22  Solomon's provision for one day was thirty kors of fine flour and sixty kors of meal, 4:23  ten fat oxen, twenty pasture-fed oxen, a hundred sheep besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl. 4:24  For he had dominion over everything west of the River, from Tiphsah even to Gaza, over all the kings west of the River; and he had peace on all sides around about him. 4:25  So Judah and Israel lived in safety, every man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. 

Already, we read about how God protected Solomon and the nation. He was widely known and respected.

1Ki 4:26  Solomon had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen. 

Another violation! How long does this go on before it changes his attitude toward God"?

1Ki 4:27  Those deputies provided for King Solomon and all who came to King Solomon's table, each in his month; they left nothing lacking. 4:28  They also brought barley and straw for the horses and swift steeds to the place where it should be, each according to his charge. 

4:29  Now God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of mind, like the sand that is on the seashore. 4:30  Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. 4:31  For he was wiser than all men, than Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was known in all the surrounding nations. 4:32  He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005.  4:33  He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows on the wall; he spoke also of animals and birds and creeping things and fish. 4:34  Men came from all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom. 

This is perhaps the greatest gift for God to give to anyone, but also the one that is the most dangerous. Remember, Satan’s fall was due to his pride in all God had given him. It is hard to listen to the all the praise of men and not become prideful. We all need to be wary of the praise of men.

More next Saturday.