Let's look at the life of king Solomon.
God had marvelous plans for Solomon. We read how God displayed His
great love for Solomon. Even at his birth God gave him the name Jedidiah, meaning loved of
the Lord. Solomon also had older brothers, but God had chosen him to be king. Solomon also
had many amazing experiences with the Lord. He built God's house, the temple of the Lord
and God revealed Himself to him by fire and in dreams. After Solomon prayed God answered
him by fire from heaven and God's glory filled the temple. Even David, Solomon's father,
was forbidden by God to build the temple. But Solomon was given the honour. He was very
wise and had much knowledge, more than anyone else. He wrote more than 3000 proverbs and
many songs. It was evident that God was with him and loved him greatly.
But after all this something crept into his life, his weakness for
women.
Solomon, this hero of heroes, destroyed himself through unbridled
lust. He would see a woman and wanted her.
God had so many wonderful plans for him, but he threw it all away
by giving way to his lust. This man so greatly loved of God was brought down by sexual
immorality.
God had sent the prophet to his parents to give him that amazing
name, Jedidiah (2Sam 12:25). But later we read that God's anger was greatly aroused
against him because of his sexual looseness and allowing women to lead him astray (1Kings
11:1-10). And he was destroyed and his great kingdom divided and destroyed. He allowed his
wives to show him how to worship their gods and he burned incense to their gods. His heart
fell away from God and instead clung to these women in love.
No longer did he love the Lord like David his father who clung to
the Lord through thick and thin.
Some Bible commentators says he repented at the end while others
say he never repented, but it's not totally clear either way.
God does have a plan for you. Be careful that nobody robs you of
that and that you don't miss it. Cling to it and don't count it lightly.
A certain man from Scotland, was a thief from his youth. From his
childhood that was his life. As he grew up it became bigger and bigger until he stole
things of great value. At that time there were no cars. They traveled by horse. He started
stealing horses. He even enjoyed it. He was in and out of prison because of this. He
couldn't control himself, when he saw a beautiful horse he just had to have it. He had
regrets but only because he got caught.
He was headed for hell. He would promise he would never do it
again but soon he would do it again. He would seem to repent but soon he would be back in
the same thing again. All his vows came to naught. Finally he was sentenced to hard
labour. He had to work in a coal mine. One day there was a mine collapse and many of them
were trapped inside.
Some tried to rescue them to see if any were alive. They found
this horse thief greatly injured and he was pronounced dead and put in a coffin. Two
prisoners carried his coffin. As they walked the coffin slipped and fell. Then they heard
a noise inside the coffin. The prisoners ran for their lives and told others. When they
opened the coffin, to their amazement he was awake. They took him out and he just begged
for more and more water. His thirst couldn't be quenched. For three months he wouldn't say
a word about his experience. Then only he told others that he experienced being led into
hell by an angel. He saw the flames of hell and then God spoke to him. He saw the glory of
heaven afar off. It was inexpressible, God and the angels dressed in white robes with
crowns on their heads and shining faces. God then spoke to him and said to him that the
glory he saw was meant for him, but he lost it because of his evil ways. God didn't
prepare him for hell but for heaven. He couldn't enter heaven with his sin. He couldn't
describe the pain he felt when God spoke those words to him.
So too God did not prepare hell for you, but heaven. But you
cannot enter heaven with your sin. God's thoughts for you are not evil thoughts but good
thoughts. But you must part from sin.
This horse thief then cried for forgiveness. He saw his whole life
of thieving and sexual immorality before him. And God showed him mercy and sent him back,
and that was the time when the coffin fell. He recovered and when he was well again, he
parted from his evil friends and his thieving ways.
It's a fearful thing to be separate from God for eternity, because
we refused his will for our life and went our own way and did things our way.
You who were created for heaven, what do you choose? Have you
confessed and parted from your sin, that your life from henceforth be fully for God and
His will for your life?
