April 16 - 1 Kings 10-11: Obsession or Obedience?

Oh my. Here we go. With Solomon's passionate prayer of dedication still ringing in my ears, we're witnessing the beginning of the end for Israel.

Of course, the tell-tale signs of disobedience have been there for awhile.

Solomon arranged a marriage contract with Pharaoh, king of Egypt. He married Pharaoh's daughter and brought her to the City of David (3:1)

Solomon loved God and continue to live in the God-honoring ways of David his father, except that he also worshiped at the local shrines, offering sacrifices and burnt offerings. (3:3) {see April 13 post}

Solomon received twenty-five tons of gold in tribute annually. (10:14)

King Solomon was obsessed with women. Pharaoh's daughter was only the first of the many foreign women he loved - Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite. (11:1)

As I read these chapters, Deuteronomy 17 kept coming to mind:

When you enter the land that God, your God, is giving you and take it over and settle down and then say, "I'm going to get me a king"...Make sure he doesn't build up a harem, collecting wives who will divert him from the straight and narrow. And make sure he doesn't pile up a lot of silver and gold. (v. 14-17)

Sure enough, God knew what He was talking about with the repeated warnings to generation after generation. Here's the wisest man in the world:

Solomon fell in love with them anyway, refusing to give them up. He had seven hundred royal wives and three hundred concubines - a thousand women in all! An they did seduce him away from God. As Solomon grew older, his wives beguiled him with their alien gods and he became unfaithful... Solomon openly defied God...God was furious with Solomon for abandoning the God of Israel, the God who had twice appeared to him and had so clearly commanded him not to fool around with other gods. Solomon faithlessly disobeyed God's orders. (11:3-10)

Even in the midst of David's major sins, God never spoke about him this way.

"Ironically, the wisest man in the world became the most foolish. Solomon's obsession with God gave way to an obsession with women. Obsession gave way to seduction. Seduction, to spiritual infidelity. Infidelity, to idolatry. And idolatry, to open defiance.

Wisdom doesn't safeguard us from waywardness, for we, like Solomon, can be mentally brilliant but morally bankrupt. In the end it's a choice between obsession and obedience - obsession with our lusts or obedience to our Lord." Eugene Peterson, Conversations, pg. 508.

It's easy for me to see what Solomon did wrong, where he went astray, but it's much more difficult for me to be objective about myself. Frankly, I've always put way too much faith in my own smarts, and I had to learn the very hard way that "wisdom doesn't safeguard from waywardness."

But what am I obsessing about these days? What has the potential to lead me down a path that could eventually lead to open defiance of God?

A couple of things happened this week that brought up old feelings of anger at being wronged and falsely accused by certain people. The depth of my emotion around it caught me by surprise because I have already forgiven these people and am trusting God for healing. I hadn't thought about these people or situations in quite a while. But I've found myself reliving the wrongs done to me and others and imagining how satisfying it would be if I could tell them in no uncertain terms what I think about them. I would definitely put it in the obsessing category. It's on my mind entirely too much.

I can see how, left unchecked, this path could lead to my outright defiance of God, like me actually telling these people off if given the opportunity.  Believe me, I'm already being seduced by the happy thought of how much they really need to be told how wrong and hypocritical they are. I'd love to be the one to explain it in detail to them. (Yes, it's usually my mouth that gets me in trouble...)

Yet Scripture is abundantly clear in this area, and I have a choice to make: Obsession with my sinful desires or obedience to my Lord.

Love cares more for others than for self...doesn't keep score of the sins of others...puts up with anything, trusts God always, always looks for the best.  1 Corinthians 13:3-7

If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself.  Galatians 6:1

Be even-tempered....quick to forgive an offense.  Colossians 3:13

A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything - or destroy it! It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that.  James 3:5-6

It's obvious that the logical conclusion of my current obsession isn't going to draw me closer to God. Time to confess my sin, turn away from it, and trust God to change my heart and my thoughts toward these people. I know I'll feel better when I get this off my conscience. It's been weighing me down this week.

What about you? What are you obsessing about these days? Like Solomon, what has the potential to lead you toward open defiance to God?