One of the people in the Bible who interests me most is King Solomon. Apart from being the son of my favorite Bible figure, David, his story also presents to us this big question: If Solomon was so wise, why did he make the not-so-smart decision of turning away from God, starting the downward spiral of the kingdom of Israel?
The scripture points out to us two “howevers” that Solomon had. These “howevers” were things that contradicted the supernatural wisdom God gave the king that became the root of the kings problems. The first “however” we see in 2 Kings 7:1 which says, “It took Solomon thirteen years, however, to complete the construction of his palace…” Where he spent seven years building the temple, he spent more time building his own glorious home.
While there is nothing wrong with building a home for yourself, it becomes an issue when we put our glory over God’s glory and that’s the issue we see here in Solomon’s undertakings. His palace represented his rulership over Israel and his splendor to all the world. Where God should have been glorified, Solomon overshadowed him with his own agenda.
The second “however” we see a little further up in the story in 2 Kings 11:1- “King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter.” Despite God blessing Solomon, his heart yearned for more of the pleasures of the world. This, however, proved to be a futile chasing after the wind which Solomon later writes about so extensively in Ecclesiastes.
Where Solomon sought for personal glory and pleasure from the world, the God-given wisdom was overshadowed. How do we steer clear of these two things? The answer can be found nowhere else except Christ alone.
Christ takes all authority and glory, and yet paradoxically exemplifies humility by coming down to earth not as a reigning king but as a suffering servant who would serve all mankind with His own blood. Christ humbles us by giving grace and removing the satisfaction of personal glory. He also removes the yoke of sin and the desire for it by giving us instead His Holy Spirit to cleanse us and satisfy us completely.
Where the lure of personal glory and desires of this world triumph, wisdom may often fail, but not so the love of Christ. His love conquers all and fulfills all so that we may walk now in His guidance though we may be blind and ignorant, and now in His strength though we may be weak.
A revelation of Christ surpasses any spiritual gift and manifestation; it is the perfect love that overshadows the deception of personal glory and earthly pleasure so that we may be empowered to pursue God’s righteousness and thus receive His blessing – God’s covenant promise to us and to all who believe and put their faith on His Son Jesus Christ.
Contribution by Patrick Mabilog.
