Day 105

Rise and Fall of the Kingdom

Read: 1 Kings 9-11

After the dedication of the temple, the Lord again appeared to Solomon and promised to bless him if he remained faithful but to punish him if he did not. There follows a description of the greatness of Solomon and of how he impressed the queen of Sheba.

Solomon’s downfall came because he married unbelieving wives. They led him to worship idols. He did not cease to worship the Lord, but he “was not wholly true” to him and he did not “wholly follow the LORD” (11:4, 6). God is not satisfied if we divide our allegiance between him and anything else.

God was angry with Solomon. The Bible speaks not only of the love of God but also of his wrath. God raised up enemies which made life difficult for Solomon. One especially dangerous enemy was the head of his forced labor battalion, Jeroboam. The prophet of God came to Jeroboam and promised to give him 10 of the tribes. However, God would allow Solomon’s descendants to keep the tribe of Judah.

What a blessing to have godly ancestors! Let us be sure that we so live that our godliness will be beneficial to our children and grandchildren. Again, God promised to bless Jeroboam if he was obedient to God. Subsequent history shows that he was not obedient and therefore lost the blessing.

PRAYER
Father, help us to be wholly true to you so that we and our children may be blessed. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.