When Israel first came out of Egypt and was first gaining the land of Israel, God had told them not to befriend the peoples of other nations because they might influence them to turn from His ways. God had given them a list of nations not to befriend, but some of Solomon’s girlfriends came from these nations.
Solomon had 700 wives and 300 live-in girlfriends, or concubines. They had influenced him to follow the ways of Ashtoreth (a Zidonian god) and Milcolm (an Ammonite god). He built alters for Chemosh (a Moabite god) and Molech (another Ammonite god). He did this out of respect for his wives, but God was not pleased at all.
So God told Solomon, “Since you have not followed my ways, I will take the kingdom from you. Out of respect for your father, I will let you stay on the throne, but your son will not.”
When David had slain all of the Edomites, one of the Edomites got away. It was young Hadad, the Edomite king’s son. He went to Egypt, and the Pharoah gave him sustenance, got to know him and gave him his own sister-in-law for a wife. He had a son, Genubeth, who was raised in the Pharoah’s household.
When Hadad heard that David was dead, he asked permission to return to Edom. The Pharoah didn’t like it, but he let him go. Rezon of Zobah also returned to his place, and they caused mischief with Solomon because they hated Israel.
Jeroboam was promised by God that he would rule 10 tribes of Israel, leaving one tribe to Solomon for his own. When Solomon heard about it from the prophet, he sought to kill Jeroboam.
Solomon ruled Israel for 40 years. When he died, his son, Rehoboam ruled in his place.
============
God doesn’t want any compromise. You either do it His way, or you will face the consequences. As children of God, we should be mindful of what inheritance we leave our children. If we stray, they may have to face the consequences for us, and while we are successful, they may lose all we have because of our disobedience.
===========
No comments:
Post a Comment