“The Lord had clearly instructed the people of Israel, “You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.” Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the Lord. In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord his God, as his father, David, had been. Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. In this way, Solomon did what was evil in the Lord’s sight; he refused to follow the Lord completely, as his father, David, had done.”
1 Kings 11:2-6 NLT
In many ways, 1 Kings is a book about men and their inability to be like God. Some may argue that the thing that keeps men from being able to fully access his potential as God’s image bearer is the fact of his situation. But 1 Kings demonstrates how untrue this is. In point of fact, when a man is given power that he did not earn, his lusts tend to turn that power into abuses of his relationship with God and people. This was true in Eden and true for the ancient Israelites. This is a prescient and stark reality for those with even small bits of power. As husbands, fathers, pastors and politicians, we must remember that our corruption is always imminent. Thank god for the Holy Spirit who is with us daily to teach and guide us and hold our hands as we continually veer off the path to touch the latest shiny things. Without a constant attention and in dwelling of God in this life, it seems we would all be doomed to not love God as our forefather David. Be wary of power in your lives.
JOSH McGARY. COM 