LUST EXPRESSED


 Image result for clip art of lustAs I come into 1 Kings 11, I can see there is trouble brewing with King Solomon and his addiction to excess: chariots, horses, 700 wives, 300 concubines, the worship of the idols of Ashtoreth, Baal, Chemosh, and  Molech.  Not sure about what they did about children that were born from 1, 000 women,  but I do recall that Molech included child sacrifice.  You may draw your own conclusions.  It is no mere slight statment, "The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice."  Of course, Solomon also threw in the worship of the Lord God  which is called syncretism. Syncretism is the almalgrammation of religions, cultures, or the schools of theoughts.  Scripture says that all of the wives turned his heart after other gods, but I am more prone to think plain old LUST, I WANT WHAT I WANT WHEN I WANT IT AND I AM GOING TO HAVE IT!  Lust is not always expressed in sexual liasons...I think it involves anything which I MUST have and I  am willing to pay any price for it be it health, relationships, money, drugs, alcohol, eduation, selfishness,  occupation, housing, clothing, possessions, promotions, entitlements....I think I have listed enough variety that you get my reference.  Anthing which controls me and drives me!

God gives him the fist to the gut with the news that the kingdom will be torn from his son since he would not keep the covenants and decrees which God had commanded him.  But I would think the bleed-out would be that "God raises up against Solomon an adversary." Later, there will be another adversaries.  His son, Rehoboam becomes king, the kingdom of  Israel and Judah are torn apart,  and King Rehoboam is left with the tribes in Israel only.  

God is not obligated to bless our disobedience and presumption.  Many years later, Isaiah warns Israel and the words are still pertinent for 2017, "Because you have rejected this message, relied on oppression and depended on deceit, this sin, will become for you like a high wall, cracked and bulging, that collapses suddenly , in an instant.It will break in pieces like pottery, shattered so mercilessly that among its pieces not a fragment will be found for taking coals from a hearth or scooping water out of a cistern....In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it."   Dear Ones, run into His arms, and cry out in confession and repentence.  Broken relationships with others and broken fellowship with the Lord God is not worth the agony faced for disobedience and rebellion.  1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, HE is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."   Promise made; Promise kept.  Forever learning! In process!  #IHAVETHREESONS

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THOSE SEEING CAN BECOME BLIND

Image
John 9 is the story of the healing of the blind beggar.  Not only is it a marvelous story of the miraculous healing of the man as he is given his sight, but a sad story of the religious of whom Jesus said, "For judgment, I have come into this world, so that the blind will see, and those who see will become blind ." The religious have seen the miracle, even though it has taken place on a Sabbath, and they interview the man and his parents for their stories and understanding. I find it so thrilling that the healed man speaks so articulately and logically with the religious in their "interview" with him.  His statement, " Now that is remarkable!  You don't know where HE comes from, yet HE opened my eyes.  We know that God does not listen to sinners.  He listens to the godly man who does His will.  Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, He could do nothing." What truth he has spoken to the religious wh
Read more

REHEARSALS

Image
  I wonder how much time do I give to rehearsing God's goodness and how He has intervened in my life to "save" me from myself?  How alike the Israelites I can be, complaining about what goes wrong, how it affects me, and what I lack.  As a Christ follower, I have the Indwelling Holy Spirit to give me remembrance NOT of my complaining and grumbling, but of a recall of God's faithfulness to me.  It is recorded in Psalms 78 and 106 that " They forgot what He had done, the wonder He had shown them", "They did not remember His power--the day He redeemed them from the oppressor...", "They did not remember Your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea.", "But they soon forgot what He had done and did not wait for His counsel.", and "They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt...". Contrast with me, God's remembrance: Ps. 106:44-46, "But He took note of their distress
Read more

ORDER AND DESIGN

Image
    I do not have OCD, but I do confess that I like order in my home.  Now that I am retired, I am not so much into spotless, but "picked up" and "kinda" clean. (Do not open drawers and closets!) I might go to more trouble when I know I am having company, but otherwise, I remove the clutter that seems to reproduce on its own.   When I began the reading in Genesis in January, I was again taken with the with the orderliness and design of God in creation, and have seen Him use Moses and Aaron to ORDERLY marshal the Israelites to move out of Egypt. How do you move some 600+ males and that is not even wives and children? Animals also?  They have been one year+ out of Egypt, and have been camped at Mt. Sinai where God has given them laws for their spiritual and physical welfare.  God gives Moses the design of the Tabernacle and Moses is able to bring together the workers to complete the Tabernacle.   The clip art at the top is the positioning of the 12 Tribes and the
Read more