Keep Your Heart On God – From Wisdom to Wandering: Solomon’s Story
1 Kings 3:3-14
One of the passages that we read last week, Proverbs 9:10, which reads “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” This verse comes from King Solomon, who is known in the Bible as the wise king. A famous story that encapsulates his wisdom is the story of the two women who claimed to be the mother of the same baby. In his wisdom, Solomon ordered for the child to be cut in half and given to each woman. The true mother revealed herself to be the woman who was willing to give her child up to the other woman so that the child could live.
How did Solomon come to be so wise? In 1 Kings 3, God appears to Solomon in a dream and offers him anything he desires. Solomon answers that he wanted a “discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.” This request came from a reverent and humble heart.
However, Solomon’s story serves as a warning to us all. While Solomon began his journey with a deep and intimate relationship with God, we see that he lost humility and his heart for God wavered. We learn from Solomon’s story that our relationship with God is not static. While we may have seen transformation and fire for God when we were first saved, that does not guarantee that our relationship will remain that way throughout our life. Instead, a lifelong relationship with God is something that we must maintain and be guarded against the things that can draw our hearts away.
From Solomon’s story, we can draw two lessons. The first is that Solomon lost his humility. Solomon first became king likely around the age of 20, an age in Jewish standards old enough to be considered a man, but in 1 Kings 3:7, Solomon referred to himself but as a “little child” before God. Early on, he humbled himself knowing that he needed God much like a child needed the guidance and love from their father. Later, Solomon began to rely on himself and his own wisdom. He lost his humility and thus, his relationship with God was broken. The same lessons of humility that we see in Solomon was also seen in the story of King Saul, the first King of Israel, whose pride kept him from relying and depending on God. To be humble is to lower ourselves and rely more fully on God.
The second lesson we learn from Solomon’s story is that Solomon’s heart was taken by something else. In 1 Kings 1:3, we see that Solomon’s heart was taken by the many wives and concubines in his life. In 1 Kings 11:1-3, God warns Israel about entering marriages with foreign women, however, Solomon trusted his wisdom and entered many arranged political marriages to bring peace to the land. God’s blessing and gifts can become distractions or idols if we let them take God’s place in our hearts.
Solomon’s story remains a warning to us. While he was a figure of admiration for his wisdom, that wisdom and gift from God also led his heart astray. We are reminded that a strong start does not guarantee a strong finish. To remain faithful to God, we must remain humble and guard our hearts. We can and should enjoy all of God’s gifts and blessings, but we must not let those gifts and blessings take the place of the Giver.
Reflection Questions:
What is your main takeaway from this week’s sermon?
What are the things in your life that pull your heart away from God?
Are you more focused on how your journey started with God or how you will finish?
