“For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.” 1 Kings 11:4
July 20, 2022
If you live long enough, you will grow old. King Solomon, sadly, is a bad example of how not to grow old. He had many opportunities to grow old for the glory of God, but we see signs of how he gradually slipped. Like the presidential images on Mount Rushmore we can see cracks developing in the rock, “a chip here…a crack there…a compromise here…a crumbling conviction there.” Deterioration is never sudden. Solomon entered into alliances with pagan nations. It was unwise acts by a wise man (1 Kgs. 3:1; 7:8; 9:16, 24). Israel’s foreign policy was violated by attempts to achieve security and happiness through manipulative means. Solomon’s marital life became a disaster. He became unequally yoked with pagan wives – by the hundreds. There were compromises of Solomon’s integrity through shady business deals (1 Kgs. 9:10-14). Is our growing old being tarnished by borrowing money and failing to repay, defrauding a business partner, using people wrongfully to pad our financial security? Particularly grievous was Solomon’s embrace of idolatry (1 Kgs. 11:4-8). It is staggering to realize how gradually growing old can become a grotesque distancing from the righteousness of God. We need to pause and ask ourselves the right questions. Has my once determined loyalty to God and His Word become a distant memory? How much of my life is indulgence in merely what pleases me? Have I sought out the counsel of godly people? What is the state of my marriage? Do I really want to finish well? Am I contributing to a very awkward funeral for myself? H
A time to meditate and pray: ” O gracious Father, open my eyes to ways in which I am straying from devotion to you. I want to grow old by daily drawing closer to you.”