Solomon prayed the right prayer according from a sincere heart. He did not pray according to his need or want he thought he wanted but what he knew was for the people. God saw he was not selfish and wanted to understand and judge the people right so God gave him much more than he ask for and there is not one king before nor will there be one after him who was as wise. Plus God made him super rich. He was the richest king more than his Father King David. I desire more wisdom and understanding from God it is a great thing.
This statement is true. Nonetheless; we must remember his fall; which as is commonplace among Israel's rulers due to a PREDICTED series of events conditional with his behavior. First of all; there was a general warning in scripture about multiplying gold and silver and horses (although at present I'm not sure where it is; maybe Psalms or Proverbs). There was a specific warning of not being drawn away to foreign gods; which the 300 wives and even MORE "concubines" that his soul loved certainly moved him to do with their various pagan traditions. Ecclesiastes wrote about his vain search for knowledge; wealth; and other pleasures of life; after his folly cost him dearly so at least there is some indication that he had learned some lessons. Pride comes before a fall. Not only was his personal life compromised; but it ruined what could have been a perpetual role for Israel as a nation with its leaders. The Lord foresaw all this; of course and despite all this the lineage leading to Christ would finally result in the "Son of David" to manifest. The Babylonians were to soon take all the wealth from the Temple and the people led to exile eventually after this.
We also need to soberly consider Lucifer's fall; with his great privileges and standing being ruined due to pride. The rich can be ensnared by the cares of this life; and there are further warnings of drowning in perdition. David himself was most harshly judged by God when he took the census of the fighting men; which was an affront to trusting God rather than horses and chariots and armies of men as God Himself had warned about. The Lord giveth; and He taketh away. A man's life consists not of His possessions. We are asked to pursue heavenly treasures; not those on earth where rust and moth corrupt. It isn't money itself; but the LOVE of money that is the root of all evil. Naked we came into the world; and naked we shall depart.
With greatness; comes great responsibility. Food for thought
It is also interesting to me that apart from being chosen by God and being an Israelite, in nearly all other respects Solomon didn't gain the wisdom to apply to himself Deuteronomy 17:14-20. He instead gave himself over to his earthly appetites in multiplying horses ( 1 Kings 4:26), wives ( 1 Kings 11:3), and gold ( 1 Kings 10:14) and silver ( 1 Kings 4:27)
23. So king Solomon exceeded all the kings OF THE EARTH, for riches and for wisedome. 24. And ALL THE EARTH sought to Solomon, to heare his wisedom which God had put in his heart. ( 1 Kings 4:23-24).
Christ has fulfilled Deuteronomy 17:14-20. He is God's true choice for king to reign over all his brethren, and rather than turning His heart or the people's heart away from God or exalting Himself above His brother's as Solomon and even more foolishly Solomon's son Rehoboam did ( 1 Kings 12:4-17), He fulfilled God's will and humbled Himself in the upper room and in His death on the cross.
Solomon got the earthly visible form of wisdom and all of the other things to reign over a visible people and nation of this age and in that no one will beat him.
However, the book of Ecclesiates shows that Isaiah 40:8-9 still holds true over all that Solomon was given in this visible life.
Jesus Christ has the heavenly invisible form of power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing ( Revelation 5:12) hidden in the Old Testament scriptures that Solomon was only an earthly shadow of. Christ is the substance. Christ Himself is the Word of God that is eternal and that gives the abiding eternal life that Isaiah spoke of, but that Word is hidden from all those who only seek what is under the sun. Set your mind on Him and by faith abide in Him to bear fruit rather than setting your mind on the things Solomon got that all passed away when his life ended on earth. Being super rich in the things that pass away is nothing compared to the poorest person that has the smallest treasure in heaven that is eternal. The only thing left of Solomon that has lasted is his contribution to the scriptures that reveal and point us to Christ, and that is the only thing that will last in any generations we leave behind at the end of our earthly lives and in eternal life.
Christ is King of kings who's reign for now is only revealed and proclaimed through a foolish nation and people as far as the men of this world and its wisdom are concerned, but we are born of the wisdom of God revealed only to those who are in Christ. Focus your prayers on how to live wisely among the people of God's Kingdom that stand on a sea of glass more than any earthly nation like the one Solomon reigned over or that you see tossed about by the waves of the sea today. What we see is passing away.
God Bless
We also need to soberly consider Lucifer's fall; with his great privileges and standing being ruined due to pride. The rich can be ensnared by the cares of this life; and there are further warnings of drowning in perdition. David himself was most harshly judged by God when he took the census of the fighting men; which was an affront to trusting God rather than horses and chariots and armies of men as God Himself had warned about. The Lord giveth; and He taketh away. A man's life consists not of His possessions. We are asked to pursue heavenly treasures; not those on earth where rust and moth corrupt. It isn't money itself; but the LOVE of money that is the root of all evil. Naked we came into the world; and naked we shall depart.
With greatness; comes great responsibility. Food for thought
23. So king Solomon exceeded all the kings OF THE EARTH, for riches and for wisedome. 24. And ALL THE EARTH sought to Solomon, to heare his wisedom which God had put in his heart. ( 1 Kings 4:23-24).
Christ has fulfilled Deuteronomy 17:14-20. He is God's true choice for king to reign over all his brethren, and rather than turning His heart or the people's heart away from God or exalting Himself above His brother's as Solomon and even more foolishly Solomon's son Rehoboam did ( 1 Kings 12:4-17), He fulfilled God's will and humbled Himself in the upper room and in His death on the cross.
However, the book of Ecclesiates shows that Isaiah 40:8-9 still holds true over all that Solomon was given in this visible life.
Jesus Christ has the heavenly invisible form of power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing ( Revelation 5:12) hidden in the Old Testament scriptures that Solomon was only an earthly shadow of. Christ is the substance. Christ Himself is the Word of God that is eternal and that gives the abiding eternal life that Isaiah spoke of, but that Word is hidden from all those who only seek what is under the sun. Set your mind on Him and by faith abide in Him to bear fruit rather than setting your mind on the things Solomon got that all passed away when his life ended on earth. Being super rich in the things that pass away is nothing compared to the poorest person that has the smallest treasure in heaven that is eternal. The only thing left of Solomon that has lasted is his contribution to the scriptures that reveal and point us to Christ, and that is the only thing that will last in any generations we leave behind at the end of our earthly lives and in eternal life.
Christ is King of kings who's reign for now is only revealed and proclaimed through a foolish nation and people as far as the men of this world and its wisdom are concerned, but we are born of the wisdom of God revealed only to those who are in Christ. Focus your prayers on how to live wisely among the people of God's Kingdom that stand on a sea of glass more than any earthly nation like the one Solomon reigned over or that you see tossed about by the waves of the sea today. What we see is passing away.
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