Month: March 2011

Proverbs 25

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

Wisdom Ignored Is Wasted.

“Do you like honey? Don’t eat too much of it, or it will make you sick!” ­– Proverbs 25:16 NLT

I can’t help but read this verse without thinking of yesterday’s chapter – 2 Chronicles 8. If you haven’t read that blog entry yet, you might want to or this one will make no sense. Yesterday we saw that with all of Solomon’s wisdom, he had failed to apply it to his own life at times. And in one area of his life he really neglected this particular proverb. His words here speak of over-indulgence and a lack of self-control. You really can have too much of a good thing. But if you recall, Solomon had way too much of a one particular “good thing” in his life – women. One thousand of them to be exact – 700 wives and 300 concubines. And as we learned yesterday, they did make him sick. He succumbed to their influence and worshiped their gods, turning his back on the one true God. The result was the disfavor of God and the ultimate dividing of his kingdom. Because Solomon couldn’t control his appetite for women and sex, he would destroy all that God had given him.

What strikes me about this is how a man so wise could be so stupid. He had been warned by God not to multiply wives for himself. But evidently he thought he knew better. He gave in to his fleshly appetites and suffered the consequences. I think it’s safe to say that Solomon knew better. This was not a case of ignorance. He had both the word of God and wisdom from God. But he chose to ignore both. And how often do I do that in my own life? I know what God expects and, at times, demands, but I choose to do what I want to do. I ignore God and listen to my own flesh. I have the Holy Spirit living within me, providing me with guidance, but I can so often refuse to listen to what He has to say. Wisdom and the Word of God are both provided to guide my path, but if I ignore them, they become worthless in my life. We have been given the very words of God in the form of the Bible, but if we read it and then choose to ignore it, we are no better off than someone who has never seen a Bible before. In fact, we are probably held more accountable. It reminds me of something Jesus Himself warned us about.

“Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, but it did not collapse because it had been founded on rock. Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, and it collapsed; it was utterly destroyed!” (Matthew 7:24-27 NET).

Knowing a lot of information is not enough. The proof is in the doing. It all comes down to the application of what we know. Solomon’s wisdom was legendary. He was a celebrity when it came to his cerebral prowess. People came from near and far to witness the wisdom of Solomon. But wisdom is worthless if you don’t apply it. It’s wasted if it remains academic, but not realistic. I find it interesting that Solomon goes on to warn his readers, “A person without self-control is as defenseless as a city with broken-down walls” (Proverbs 25:28 NLT). Wise words, and proven true in the life of Solomon himself. He also wisely warned, “It is better to live alone in the corner of an attic than with a contentious wife in a lovely home” (Proverbs 25:24 NLT). Can you imagine the level of contention in the beautiful palace of Solomon living with 700 wives and 300 concubines? The arguments, jealousy, bickering, complaining, nagging, demanding – it’s enough to make your head spin.

The wisdom of Solomon was really the wisdom of God. It was a gift given to him by God. But the gifts of God can be squandered, neglected, and ignored. Just because Solomon had the wisdom of God didn’t mean he listened to what he knew. He didn’t always apply that wisdom to his everyday life. And neither do we. So as we read the Word of God seeking wisdom from God, let’s not forget that intelligence is worthless without obedience. Knowing is useless without doing. Head knowledge is a waste if it never penetrates into our hearts and impacts our behavior.

Father, I know more than I know what to do with. I have read far more Scripture than I have obeyed. You have given me the gift of Your Word and Your Spirit and I so often ignore both. Help me to apply what I hear. Give me a desire to obey, not just to know. We love to impress others with our knowledge. But You are impressed with our obedience. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org





2 Chronicles 8

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

An Almost Spotless Resume.

“Solomon moved his wife, Pharaoh’s daughter, from the City of David to the new palace he had built for her. He said, ‘My wife must not live in King David’s palace, for the Ark of the LORD has been there, and it is holy ground.'” ­– 2 Chronicles 8:11 NLT

Chapter eight of 2 Chronicles paints a very glowing picture of Solomon and his reign. It speaks of his political, religious and economic successes. He continued to build cities and fortify them. He won some significant battles and secured more land for the kingdom, spreading its borders farther than ever before. He successfully completed the Temple and made sure the sacrificial system was faithfully adhered to. Solomon’s wealth grew significantly over the years. His kingdom expanded. His army grew. His reputation spread. It was a grand and glorious time. But right in the middle of all this talk of success, there is a single verse describing a seemingly innocuous event in Solomon’s otherwise meteoric rise to the top. Somewhere along the way, he had married the daughter of Pharaoh – obviously a politically motivated marriage. And we’re told he moved her into his new palace because King David’s old palace had once held the Ark of the Lord and was therefore considered holy ground. So he could not have a pagan idol worshiper set foot anywhere near it. Seems like a wise move and it all appears innocent enough. But this one verse speaks volumes. To see what is really going on we have to turn to the book of 1 Kings. Here we read:

Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh’s daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and from among the Hittites. The LORD had clearly instructed his people not to intermarry with those nations, because the women they married would lead them to worship their gods. Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. He had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. And sure enough, they led his heart away from the LORD. In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship their gods instead of trusting only in the LORD his God, as his father, David, had done. Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. Thus, Solomon did what was evil in the LORD’s sight; he refused to follow the LORD completely, as his father, David, had done. On the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, he even built a shrine for Chemosh, the detestable god of Moab, and another for Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. Solomon built such shrines for all his foreign wives to use for burning incense and sacrificing to their gods. The LORD was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. He had warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the LORD’s command. – 1 Kings 11:1-10 NLT

Wow! Solomon the wise wasn’t so wise after all. It would appear that he had a problem – women. He love them. He couldn’t live without them. He couldn’t say no to them. He couldn’t get enough of them. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines. Some guys collect rifles. Some collect cars. This guy collected women! And in direct opposition to the command of God. But his disobedience was going to have consequences. These women were foreign-born, idol-worshiping pagans. His love for them would lead to his worship of their gods. His uncontrolled passion would result in unfaithfulness – and God’s anger. He warned Solomon that He was going to rip the kingdom right out of his hands and give it to one of his servants. The only blessing was that Solomon wasn’t going to have to live to see it happen. All he had built was about to be destroyed – because of disobedience to the revealed will of God.

Solomon was wise but he wasn’t immune to the temptations of this world. He disobeyed God and the results to his kingdom would be devastating and long-lasting. It would not be long after his death that the kingdom of Israel would split in two. His disobedience would result in the disintegration of the nation. Things would go downhill from there.

So what do we do with all this? What can we learn from the life of Solomon? Here is a guy who had it all. Wisdom, wealth, success, and the favor of God. But in one significant area of his life he chose to do things his way. He allowed his physical appetites to influence his spiritual life. He let his worship of the things of this world interfere with his worship of God. His downfall was women. What could yours be? Is there an area of your life you refuse to hand over to God and give Him free reign? Solomon’s Achille’s heal was sex. What’s yours? Why not ask Him to show you any area of your life where your passions are getting the better of you? We’d all be wise to learn from the mistakes of Solomon.

Father, it would be so easy to look at Solomon and shake my head in wonder at his stupidity. But I see myself in him. I do the same thing time and time again. I know Your will, but I refuse to obey it because my sensual desires and physical appetites tell not to. They beg me to cave in to what they want. But You have something far better in store for me if I will only obey the wisdom of Your commands. Solomon started strong, but ended poorly. I don’t want that to be the story of my life. So give me the strength to obey You faithfully, trusting that obeying Your will is better than anything this world has to offer. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org





1 Kings 9

/ kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

Obedience and Blessing.

“But if you or your sons indeed turn away from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them, and the house which I have consecrated for My name, I will cast out of My sight. So Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples.” ­– 1 Kings 9:6-7 NLT

After Solomon dedicated the Temple God appeared to him and renewed His covenant that He had made with David, Solomon’s father. “As for you, if you will walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you and will keep My statutes and My ordinances, then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, just as I promised to your father David, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.'” (1 Kings 9:4-5 NLT). God uses a conditional if-then statement. If Solomon walked in integrity or wholeness of heart and with uprightness, obeying all of God’s commands, then he could expect certain blessings from God, including a kingdom that would never end. But there is a second part to this covenant. If Solomon or any of his sons failed to hold up their end of the covenant, then God warned that three things would happen. He would remove the people from the very land He had promised. He would remove His presence from the Temple. And He would remove His power and protection from the people of Israel so that rather than being feared by the nations, they would be mocked and ridiculed.

You see this warning used time and time again by the Old Testament prophets as they attempted to warn the people about God’s demand for obedience and faithfulness. It did not take long for things to take a turn for the worse in regards to Israel’s ability to obey. Solomon himself would end up compromising his faith in Yahweh by allowing his foreign-born wives to keep the idols of other gods in his homes. We see in this chapter a little of Solomon’s lack of integrity when he gives King Hiram of Tyre 20 cities in exchange for all the lumber and 9,000 pounds of gold that Hiram had contributed to the building of the Temple and Solomon’s palace. King Hiram was not impressed and even named the region Cabul, which means “good for nothing.” We see a little of Solomon’s conniving side as he rewards King Hiram with worthless land in exchange for his help and generosity. Lack of integrity or wholeness of characters was to be a distinguishing characteristic of the people of Israel. It had been that way since they had left the land of Egypt. It can be seen during the period of the judges. They were a whining, complaining, stubborn and stiff-necked people who constantly proved themselves unfaithful to God – in spite of His ongoing faithfulness. They were constantly turning their backs on God, but He has never turned His back on them. Yes, He has allowed them to suffer defeat, humiliation, even annihilation at the hands of their enemies, but He continues to preserve both the people and the land. He has also kept His promise to preserve the throne of David by sending His own Son as a human baby, born in to the royal lineage of David. Jesus is the king who will one day sit on David’s throne, ruling from the city of Jerusalem.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a beautiful bride prepared for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, ‘Look, the home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.  He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever.’ And the one sitting on the throne said, ‘Look, I am making all things new!’ And then he said to me, ‘Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.’ And he also said, ‘It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega — the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give the springs of the water of life without charge! All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.'” (Revelation 21:1-7 NLT).

Father, Your faithfulness to us is amazing. We have let you down time and time again, just like the people of Israel. But You never give up on us. You have never given up on them. You always keep Your covenant with Your people. And some day Your Son will sit on David’s throne and rule from a renewed, revitalized Jerusalem. All things will be made new – including us. We will have new bodies and will worship You free from sin. Father, I can’t thank You enough for Your covenant faithfulness. Forgive me for my weak faith, infidelity, and ungratefulness. You deserve my obedience and wholehearted commitment to You. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org