God's Work with Planet Earth

When Solomon, the son of David and Bathsheba, took the throne, there were three distinct stages he went through during his reign. And just as a side note, the fact that Solomon came along after David’s sin with Bathsheba proves once again that God can redirect the mistakes (and even evil intent) of humans for His own purposes.

Stage 1 – Humility and Dependance

What would you do if the God of the Universe showed up in your bedroom and said, “Ask Me for anything you want. I will give it to you.”? We all know what Solomon asked for, but why did he ask for wisdom and guidance? In Solomon’s words:

“Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. And Your servant is in the midst of Your people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” 1 Kings 3:7-9

Wow! Solomon, the third king of Israel, acknowledged that this job was too big for him and he was out of his depth. He needed God’s help. How did God respond to this attitude and Solomon’s request?

“The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. Then God said to him: “Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice, behold, I have done according to your words; see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you. And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.” 1 Kings 3:10-14

Solomon says “I need wisdom to fairly and justly rule God’s people.” God says, “Yes, and I’m giving it to you. But you could have asked for riches and honor and long life… Because you prioritized My help over these selfish requests, I’m giving you these things as well.”

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33

This should be a lesson to us about how God responds to humble and unselfish requests for His help. He’s waiting to put good things and blessings into our lives.

But what happened when Solomon became the wisest king of the richest kingdom of his time? An incredible opportunity!

“And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon.” 1 Kings 4:34

And since Solomon’s wisdom was gifted to him by God, they were really hearing God’s wisdom. Which was exactly God’s intention for the nation of Israel: For the whole world to learn about Him through Abraham’s descendants, just as He promised Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3.

See what the Queen of Sheba said when she had seen the kingdom of Israel and heard Solomon’s explanations:

“Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard. Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! Blessed be the Lord your God, who delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord has loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness.” 1 Kings 10:7-9

Unfortunately, Solomon didn’t stay close to God as he was in Stage 1, and the kings and the nation after him followed his example.

Stage 2 – Seeking the Knowledge of Evil (as well as Good)

“And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven;”

“And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly.” Ecclesiastes 1:13, 17

Solomon, along with Adam and Eve and the rest of humanity, had two choices:

• Trust God and avoid the “Knowledge of Evil” (Genesis 2:16-17)
• Don’t trust God and find out for yourself what evil is and what it does.

In Ecclesiastes chapter 2, Solomon describes using his God-given wisdom to explore wealth and riches, every pleasure and folly, everything he could try, whether good or bad. But this was not the worst of his problems.

“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 11:3-8

As I laid out in other posts, these gods were not imaginary, they were real. Except they were not gods at all, but angels who had rebelled against God and been exiled from Heaven. They were getting people to worship them as gods. If you want Bible references, look up Revelation 12:7-12, Deuteronomy 32:16-17, Psalms 106:35-38, 1 Corinthians 10:20-21.

Ashtoreth/Astarte – associated with fertility and sexuality, and worship involved sexual rites and rituals, including ritual prostitution at shrines or altars

Milcom – Offer your children as sacrifices to gain a good harvest and fertile fields.

Chemosh – Worship and please him to gain military victories, including human sacrifice. Also associated with fertility and sexuality.

Molech – Child sacrifice and sexual rites in exchange for success, and fertility of wombs and fields…

I think I see a pattern emerging. Basically the sexual immorality and murder that God condemned, all these “gods” were encouraging and demanding.

How sad, that God had appeared to Solomon twice and given him so many rich blessings, yet his pagan wives turned his heart from God. Solomon wasn’t the first. After the Devil was successful in using Eve to cause Adam to fall, the sons of God marrying the daughters of men (Genesis 6:1-5) caused evil to spread through the antediluvian world. Romans 8:14 identifies who the “sons of God” are.

Both before and after the global Flood, this proved a very effective tactic to turn men’s hearts from God. This is why we were told:

“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

“I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” 2 Corinthians 6:14-16

Christians should share their faith and beliefs with friends and coworkers, especially how God has worked in their lives. But being bound in marriage or business partnerships with people who don’t follow God makes it unnecessarily difficult to stay faithful.

Stage 3 – Concluding that God was right all along

In the book of Ecclesiastes when Solomon keeps repeating “all is vanity”, he’s noting that you can work hard enough to accumulate great riches, and when you die, someone else will enjoy it. You can become famous and well-known, but a generation or two later, few will remember you.

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.” Ecclesiastes 9:10

The Apostle Paul took this thought one step further:

“…whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31

But even though all this activity and striving for fame and fortune is pointless, Solomon points us to what is truly important with his parting words:

“Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, “I have no pleasure in them”: While the sun and the light, the moon and the stars, are not darkened, and the clouds do not return after the rain; In the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men bow down;” Ecclesiastes 12:1-3

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:13-14