Can I pray for you in any way?
Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
In Christ, Mark
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"As for you, if you walk before Me in integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe My decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, 'You shall never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.'“
"But if you or your sons turn away from Me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for My name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. And though this temple is now imposing, all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, 'Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?' People will answer, 'Because they have forsaken the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them — that is why the Lord brought all this disaster on them.'"
1 Kings 9:4-9
This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As chapter 9 of 1st Kings opened, we saw where God answered Solomon’s intercessory prayers lifted up during the dedication of the temple in chapter 8. Appearing to Solomon at the end of a fourteen day, celebratory festival, we found God telling Israel’s king that He had “heard the prayer and plea…made before (Him)” and “consecrated (the) temple which (Solomon)…built, by putting (His) name there forever”. Further, He promised to always have His eyes and heart in the temple.
After this, we see God continuing to address Solomon in today’s passage, setting conditions which needed followed to ensure all He (God) had promised would remain in place. These standards were meant to serve as requirements for Solomon’s success as king as well as any of his offspring who would lead afterwards. These requirements, equally applicable to Christian leaders today, included the following:
1. Integrity.
“As for you…walk before Me in integrity of heart and uprightness…” (v.4)
God expected Solomon – just as He expects His leaders today - to “walk before (Him) in integrity and uprightness”. In other words, the Lord wants His people to exercise absolute honesty in all they do…not just some of the time but all of the time. When believers do this, they will be living in a way that’s pleasing in His sight, a way that reflects unwavering, conscientious incorruptibility.
2. Action.
"As for you…do all I command…” (v.4)
Note the word “do” here…a single word spoken by God with the intended purpose of calling Israel’s king into action. This action was to do all that He (God) had commanded.
In this action, we see a second word we need to focus in on…the word “all”. This word is what I like to refer to as an absolute…one that is all encompassing. All means all and it doesn’t leave room for anything less than all. The Lord leaves no room for exception here. Neither Solomon or any leader called by God today have the latitude to forego what He has commanded and this can only be accomplished when there is a proactive seeking and then obedient carrying out of everything He wants, doing so with the utmost integrity and uprightness.
3. Obedience.
"As for you…observe My decrees and laws…” (v.4)
Depending on what translation you read, you’ll find the word “observe” replaced by “obey” or “keep” or variations of those two words. Regardless which is used, the intent remains the same.
God expects all His people…Solomon…the Israelites He ruled over…and believers today to be obedient to His decrees and laws. After all, that’s why He put them in place…so that they might be obeyed and conformed to without exception as they draw us to a place of integrity, uprightness, and proactive service towards carrying out all He has commanded.
And so here we see where the Lord issued three clear requirements to ensure someone would have success in serving Him and others. In summary, they were integrity, action, and obedience.
So what was Solomon to gain by exercising these qualities during his kingship…and what do we have to gain by doing likewise?
We find the answer by heading back to our scripture passage for it’s there that we find the Lord saying this:
"As for you, if you walk before Me in integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, 'You shall never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.'“ (Vv.4-5)
Here we see God offering a classic if/then statement to Solomon. For if Solomon walked before Him (God) in integrity of heart and uprightness as his father did, doing all the Lord commanded and observing His decrees and laws, then He (God) would establish Solomon’s royal throne over Israel forever.
In other words, Solomon and his descendants would find eternal success on Israel’s throne as long as they conformed to God’s requirements.
But what if they didn’t? What would happen then?
Again, we find the Lord providing the answers, making it clear that failure would happen:
"But if you or your sons turn away from Me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for My name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. And though this temple is now imposing, all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, 'Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?' People will answer, 'Because they have forsaken the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them — that is why the Lord brought all this disaster on them.'" (Vv.6-9)
Again, here we see another if/then statement from the Lord. For if Solomon or his sons would turn away from Him, choose to not obey His commands and decrees, and go off to serve and worship other gods, then He (God) would cut off Israel from the land He gave them…the promised land…and would reject His consecrated temple. The once beloved Israel would then be disgraced…”a byword and object of ridicule among all peoples” who after asking why the fall of Israel had happened would be told:
“Because they have forsaken the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them — that is why the Lord brought all this disaster on them.”
And with that, God had clearly laid out His ground rules for Solomon. If he and his successors wanted to succeed, then they only needed to exercise integrity and uprightness while doing all He commanded and obediently following His decrees and laws.
The same applies to us as believers today for as we walk through life and look for how we can be successful in the Lord’s sight, we only need look to the One who will make that success possible…the One through which every good and perfect gift comes (James 1:17)…the One who requires us to show integrity as we faithfully carry out His will and way every day…a will and way that’s underscored by His decrees and laws.
What’s at stake if we fail to do this?
Well, let’s just say it would be far better for us to not force the Lord’s hand into correcting us and we can do that by learning from the mistakes of the Israelites and living in full, uncompromising obedience to what God wants. After all, He expects and requires nothing less.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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