Solomon

Wrong Focus

Carol Purves Carol's Blog , ,

It started so well. Solomon had it all. Noted for his God-given wisdom, he had his world at his feet. He was feted by the Queen of Sheba and richer than any other king.

Then in 1 Kings we read that he became distracted from God. Solomon took many foreign wives and followed their religions, when God had expressly said ‘you must not intermarry with them.’ He built high places for the detestable gods of the Moabites and Ammonites.

He turned his eyes away from God and completely disobeyed Him. The price to pay was that the kingdom would be torn away from him and split in two. We pray we may not be distracted by the world.

The Queen of Sheba

Carol Purves Carol's Blog ,

The Queen of Sheba had heard of the fame and wealth of Solomon. She went to visit this great king bringing him even more gifts of wealth. In 1 Kings 10 it seems the two then sat down and had quite a conversation. We are told Solomon answered all her questions. What a meeting that must have been!

The queen then uttered an amazing statement which I hadn’t noticed before ‘ Praise be to the Lord your God who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love of Israel, He has made you king to administer justice and righteousness.’

Brilliant, the praise went to God!

Solomon

Carol Purves Carol's Blog , ,

Our sermon the other week was about Solomon. When one studies his life you realise how rich and powerful he was. He was also noted for his great wisdom. But by looking closely at the passages in the Bible we see that he is only pointing to a greater one. Solomon’s fame was only human, the power of Jesus is divine.

David was a powerful king and we are blessed today by his wonderful psalms, but again he is only a pointer to one who is greater. Jesus is the greatest. Prophets, saints and revered Biblical figures come no-where near Him. ‘It’s Jesus, the first and the last.’