I have been reading in 1 & 2 Kings the last couple of months.
It has been quite eye opening.
Earlier this year, I made a post about Building a Legacy and thinking generationally. I honestly don’t know if I truly knew how important that
was until I read 1 Kings 11.
Let’s look at the background story just a bit...
- What did Solomon ask
for?
1 Kings 3:7-13a
(emphasis added to all scripture quotations is mine)
“And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant [Solomon] king instead of David my father: and I
am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.
“And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou
hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.
“Give therefore thy servant an understanding
heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is
able to judge this thy so great a people?
“And the speech pleased the LORD, that Solomon had asked
this thing.
“And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing,
and…not asked for thyself long life; neither…riches for thyself, nor…the life
of thine enemies; but…for thyself understanding to discern judgment;
“Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have
given thee a wise and an understanding heart…
“And I have also given thee that which thou hast not
asked…”
Jehovah was so pleased by what Solomon asked that He gave
him not only the wisdom he asked for, but also riches and honor. The Lord only
gave a small stipulation in verse 14-
“If thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my
commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.”
In chapters 4-10, Solomon builds the temple, prospers
exceedingly, and is visited by many great leaders, including the Queen of Sheba.
He truly was blessed by the Lord. His downfall sadly came in chapter 11.
1 Kings 11:1- “But king
Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women
of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites.”
All of these tribes listed were tribes that the Lord had
commanded the people of Israel to not marry, because they would draw their
hearts away from the One True God, Jehovah.
- What happened once
Solomon let his guard down?
1 Kings 11:3-4-
“And he (Solomon) had seven hundred wives,…and three hundred
concubines; and his wives turned away his
heart. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned
away his heart after other gods: and his
heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his
father.”
1 Kings 11:7
& 8 really shows how far Solomon had fallen from the presence of the
LORD.
“Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh, the
abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the
abomination of the children of Ammon.
“And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt
incense and sacrificed unto their gods.”
1 Kings
11:9-10- “And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was
turned away from the LORD God of Israel,…and had commanded him concerning this
thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the
LORD commanded.”
- What did the Lord do
as a result of Solomon’s turning away?
1 Kings
11:11-13—“The LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of
thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have
commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give
it to thy servant. In thy days I will not do
it for David thy father’s sake: but I will rend it out of thy son. Howbeit I will
not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant’s sake, and for
Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen.”
Notice first of all what I have highlighted in bold- “I will surely rend the kingdom from thee,
and will give it to thy servant.”
The Lord’s punishment to Solomon was that He would take the
kingdom from him- all of his riches, all of his land, all of his wives,
EVERYTHING Solomon had- and give it to his servant (one of the other
countries).
Now notice what I have highlighted in green- “I will not do it for David thy father’s
sake” and again “for David my
servant’s sake”.
This is where the generational thinking comes in. The Lord
said He would take the kingdom away, but then He tells Solomon (in modern
lingo)- “Because your dad served me faithfully, I won’t take the kingdom away
from you, I’ll take it from your son. And furthermore- I won’t take the entire
kingdom. I’ll leave your son a small portion, because your dad was a good man
who served Me with all his heart.”
The Lord didn’t have to do that. He’s the God of the
universe. He could have taken a deep breath and blew Israel off the map because
of what Solomon had done. But He didn’t. Because of David being “a man after
God’s own heart”, the Lord decided to spare them at least a small portion of
what they had.
For every action, there is a reaction. We should be doing
our best, with the Lord’s help, to leave a chain-reaction of blessings for future
generations.
You've heard “look before you leap”? Well, how about “Think
about the future before acting in the present”?
David’s humility is what spared the kingdom for Solomon.
- What did the high places that Solomon built do?
Sadly, they brought destruction for
the entire country of Israel. Read First and Second Kings. It’s one evil king
after another. The few good kings are all praised for living a pure and upright
life in every way, except for tearing down the high places. For each generation
that came along with the high places still intact, the worse the sin of the country became.
Do your future generations a favor- search your heart and
life now, and tear down the high places in your life. It will make things a
little easier on your children and grandchildren when they come along.
If you already have children or grandchildren, then get rid
of the high places in your life, and pray that the Lord will help your family
to realize the need to tear down the high places in their lives.
Take back the ground from satan, it’s the only way you will
ever get victory for yourself and for your family. Trust me, it’s easier to
start with a clean slate, than to try and clean a dirty one.
May Jehovah bless each of you as you ‘think
generationally’.
