A Study on King Solomon - Guard Against Snares

1 Kings 2:1, 3-4

Now the days of David draw night that he should die and he charged Solomon his son saying,

"Keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, and His commandments.

That the LORD may continue His word which He spake concerning me saying If thy children take heed to their way to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.

The life of King Solomon is a great example for all of us to be vigilant about our walk with God. If the "wisest" man fell, there is no way we can be exempted. But because of it we should ever more strive to be better. And we can, through the help of Jesus Christ who gave Himself for us and is ever sitting at the throne of God making intercession on our behalf.

Perhaps the easiest way to keep in line with God is to study what King David told Solomon to do in 1 Kings 2:4. God told David, "If thy children take heed to their way....to walk before me in truth....with all their heart and with all their soul...."

First, we must take heed to our ways.

Many of us know our weaknesses. Some of us can even pin point to that weakness. We know exactly what will cause God's Spirit to be quenched and turn "silent" from our lives. Whether it's the internet, movie-TV watching, talking on the phone too much especially about people, being angry too easily, reading books that's not convenient, etc. They might not be drugs, alcohol, or anything blatant that we can be easily ashamed of. But we know what they are. The Bible states, "Take heed."

So guard against whatever you know is going to cause you to fall. Remember our adversary the Devil he walks about seeking whom he may devour. If king Solomon fell, you may guarantee yourself you will. Devil walking around even make things complicated. So, take heed. Take note of your actions and the thoughts of your heart. The enemy of our soul is very subtle. He's not looking for blatant sinners.

Second thing, walk before Him in truth.

We should always be open and honest in our relationship with the Lord. King David was. When he fell with Bathsheba and when he counted the people in Israel he told the Lord, "I have sinned before you. Take my sins away."

Third and last, the Lord wants us to walk before Him with all our hearts and with all our souls.

I think the thing to be vigilant about is the way our hearts are. If we feel it going and wandering away from the Lord it's time to bring it back in line with him. I think if we do this we'd be all right. Having our everyday communion with Him is key. The Lord Jesus said unless we abide in Him and His words abide in us, we on our own can do nothing. The key to being perfect and upright before the Lord is the constant abiding with Him - reading His word daily, everyday, the same place, the same time. Make it a habit. And then talking to Him...opening our hearts to Him for any sins and desires and letting our hearts align back to His word...back to the Holy Spirit.

Snares in our times are everywhere. We don't need the Devil to come up with it in our minds. In a second you can have the world in your home, whether through TV or internet or your phone. We don't need to search for it in our neighborhood. A press of a button and we're snared. But with the help of the Lord and the study of God's word we should be able to overcome.

A Study on Saul the First King of Israel

And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them and shalt be turned into another man.

And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day.

And when he came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him; and prophesied among them.

(1 Samuel 10:6, 9-10)

But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because  thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.

(1Samuel 13:13-14)

And Saul built an altar unto the LORD: the same was the first altar that he built unto the LORD.

(1 Samuel 14:35)

I think Saul's story is a very sad story. Here is a guy who started out "small" in his own eyes and God elevated him to be king over all Israel out of the blue while he was just doing something so menial, like looking for his father's horses; and a couple of years later, God rejects him and looks for another man to be king in his place. Why? What went wrong?

In the very beginning after his first anointing by prophet Samuel, Saul got filled with the spirit of God. He ended up with a new heart. The Bible states he became a new man.

I can't help but notice that he builded his "altar" unto the LORD after - AFTER the second victory God has given him. (And really God gave that victory to his son Jonathan who believed God, not to him.) It is interesting that he's just building this altar now, a few years after he's already a king. (See 1 Samuel 14:35).

Maybe that is what is wrong. He did not have an altar to begin with. He did not have a relationship with God to begin with. So when it came to making wise decisions and obeying God, he failed. First he decided to offer the sacrifice instead of waiting for Samuel. Second, he makes a decree, after the people had fought a great battle that day, to curse any man that would eat. Then third when he finds out Jonathan ate, he was willing to kill his own son. You see him whine and pity himself because the people decided to eat, "Roll a great stone unto me this day." Talk about a man without morals and principles. A weak man. And yet when he started out he was full of faith and vigor. Full of confidence and strength.

I look at David who became king after him and his relationship with God and compare this to Saul. David started out small too. Doing his father's business in the farm; tending sheep. And we find out that he worshipped God while he was there. He had his own harp and made songs. He fought his own battles with the lion and the bear and knew, and said later on, that it was God that saved him. And even before he was anointed to be king he already had faith and love for God. That's the difference. That's what will make the difference. David had a relationship with God, Saul didn't. Saul only needed God when he's in trouble. Offers offering to God when he's in the midst of the battle. Saul remembers God only when he's in trouble, but otherwise he just existed. Not so with David. David loved God and worshipped and praised God even before he was anointed. The spirit of God had to come to Saul after he was anointed. You would think that Saul would be so in loved with God after that. I would think he would have builded an altar right there and then. David on the other hand already had his own altar even as a little boy. He loved God on his own without anybody telling him to love God. David loved God without the oil being poured on him.

Lesson learned:
Having the Holy Ghost doesn't make us perfect. I believe it gives us the power to belong to God and to connect with Him. But until we make our own altar where we can meet God on a daily basis, like Saul, we will only know "about" God and will never know Him personally, like King David did.

Need Faith?

This is so crucial for every Christians: to read the Bible. You want faith? Read the Bible.

How true. Many of us want miracles in our lives but we don't want to pay the price it takes to have them. We want someone to lay their hands on us and give us faith and then it happens like magic. Like a fairytale. Like a fantasy. We don't want to make the effort.

Nothing great can ever come through short cuts. If you want a real relationship with God, read His Word. Read the Bible. From the beginning to the end. Everyday meditate on it. Front and back. Learn what God has to say. Learn who God is. Read the Bible. There is no other way.