Scripture: "Now Solomon loved the Lord , walking in the statutes of his father David, except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places." 1 Kings 3:3 NASB "As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites" 1 Kings 11:4,5 NIV Application: We all fall short. Solomon, the wisest person of his time, had character flaws even early on. He sacrificed to the Lord, but he did so in places that were built high up, implying they would bring a person physically closer to God. This practice was something that surrounding idolators did, and at this time, Solomon had married into the Egyptian Pharaoh's family and very well may have picked up some pagan practices. (See the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary) The Law, which Solomon had access to, required the destruction of all the high-places which had been polluted by idolatrous rites (Deuteronomy 12:2) and sacrifices were only to be made only at the door of the tabernacle (Leviticus 17:3-5) (see Barnes' Notes on the Bible). Despite Solomon's errors in judgment, God bountifully blessed him. But these lapses in judgment set the stage for major sins that Solomon would commit. Eventually, Solomon would lose his kingdom. Prayer: Father, thank You for Your mercy in not punishing us right away for our wrongdoing. But we want to be in complete obedience to You alone. Show us our errors and help us overcome them. Amen. Comments are closed.
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