DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- THE TURNED HEART

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – THE TURNED HEART

"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 him."   (I Kings 11:9-10)

Why in the world would Solomon turn from following the LORD God? The first clue is in verse 4:  "And 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…"  Solomon intermarried with women from heathen cultures and they turned his heart from God.  When people forsake God's way to become involved with the world system, their hearts will be turned from away from God.  As Jesus said, you can't serve two masters.

Another reason Solomon's heart was turned was wealth and success.  God had blessed him abundantly with riches.  Gold was so common in Israel that silver had no value at all (10:21).  He had great prestige among the other nations.  He had beautiful and lavish buildings.  He had resources to pursue his personal ambitions (read Ecclesiastes).  He had been given great wisdom. Solomon had everything anyone could ever desire.

Wealth is deceitful.   Jesus talked about the deceitfulness of riches (Matthew 13:22). The abundance of money is deceitful because it makes people believe that they don't need God.  If a person is self-sufficient and has everything he or she needs, who needs God?  I can get along very well on my own.  Self-sufficiency makes it easy to turn from following God.  Scripture says that the love of money is the root of all evil and defiles many people (I Tim. 6:10).

Poverty and loss can also cause people to turn from following the Lord.  But that's a subject for another time. I am often reminded of the proverb of Agur when he said, "Two things I request of You: Give me neither poverty nor riches,  Lest I be full and deny You, and say, 'Who is the LORD?' or lest I be poor and steal, and profane the name of my God" (Proverbs 30:7-9).  I need to beware of anything that would turn my heart from wholly following God. 

Love, Dad