Porcupines
… Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins…
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N Gibeon the LORD appeared to
Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. 6 And Solomon said, Thou hast
shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked
before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with
thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him
a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. 7 And now, O LORD my God, thou
hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little
child: I know not how to go out or come in. 8 And thy servant is in the midst
of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered
nor counted for multitude. 9 Give therefore thy servant
an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and
bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? 10 And the speech pleased the Lord,
that Solomon had asked this thing. 11 And God said unto him, Because
thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither
hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but
hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; 12 Behold, I have done according to
thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that
there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like
unto thee. 13 And I have also given thee that
which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be
any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. (1
Kings 3:5-13)
Many years ago I was invited to speak in a very rural church in the lowlands of
south Alabama. Arriving early in order to sit in on the Bible class before the
worship service, I took a seat in a pew to the left of the sanctuary. The
minister's wife was teaching a Bible study on Solomon. She made reference to
his great wisdom and particularly noted the fact that Solomon had one thousand
wives and concubines. When she asked if there were any questions, a
rough-featured young man wearing overalls in the back asked, "If Solomon
was so wise, how come he had a thousand wives?" to which the instructor
responded, "That is precisely why he was so wise - he had a multitude of
counselors." Naturally, it was never God's will for a man, or woman, to
have more than one mate; but Solomon's youthful innocence did not survive his
lustful desires; however, any search for good counsel should begin with the
LORD.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have
all they that do his commandments. (Psalms
111:10) The fear
of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and
instruction. (Prov 1:7) Solomon had a youthful fear of
the Lord that led to the Lord blessing him with great wisdom. Wealth and riches
followed that grant of wisdom. Fear of the Lord was the beginning of the wisdom
of Solomon, but fear is not the ends of our search for wisdom. In fact, wisdom
disperses inordinate fear gives an assurance of our standing in God and of
Heaven. The great tragedy in the lives of many is that the yearning for wisdom
born of fear of the Lord is often forgotten once wisdom is gained. The wise
will often begin to fear the Lord not at all, and that, too, will lead to ruin.
The greatest victory in Solomon’s life was that he did not linger in the
superstitions and false worship of the world, but sought the Kingdom of God as
a priority. But seek ye first the kingdom of
God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
(Matt 6:33)
Though the legacy of the Temple-Builder is most glorious, how far greater it
could have been had Solomon sought the Kingdom of God at last as well as at
first. So far as I can learn, Solomon was a rather passive sinner compared to
the outrageous sins of his father, David. IN examining the lives of great men
of God, we often look for meticulous righteousness forgetting that they are
human, too. Though our sinful records were wiped clean at the moment we
accepted the call of Christ to come into His Kingdom, we have not been all that
successful in keeping those records free of smudges and the fingerprints of
sinful desire.
An important doctrine of the faith is the sanctifying grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ on and in our lives. We truly are the Temple of God if we truly and
conscientiously believe; however, we are a Temple in the building just as
Solomon was the agent whereby God would build His Temple at Jerusalem. God is
not finished with us the moment we are baptized and confirmed in the Church. We
have just laid, at that point, the foundation for a life that will become the
completed Temple of God. 19What? know ye not that your body
is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye
are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price:
therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. (1 Cor
6:19-20)
We may look at two entirely different structures and believe
them to be the same while they may be completely opposite. When we observe a
prison with its stone walls, parapets, and watchtowers, we may mistake it for a
fortress or a Temple that may also have stone walls, parapets and watchtowers.
One is designed, like sin and Satan, to deprive her inhabitants of freedom. The
other is designed to insure freedom and protection. Our lives are like
that, aren’t they?
We may observe two men – one is a temple of the Lord, and the other is a prison
of the devil because the man is in bondage to sin. 24 Which things are an
allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which
gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in
Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her
children. 26 But Jerusalem which is above is
free, which is the mother of us all. (Gal 4:24-26) Unfortunately, I have heard men
preach the opposite of the meaning of this last verse. They take an antinomian
approach believe that the Ten Commandments given at Sinai by God are done away
for they had placed us in bondage. Just the opposite is true. God expects
absolute perfection in righteousness of each of us. We are more bound to obey
His Law in love than ever could have been true when trying to keep that which
was written on Tables of Stone.
But, were we able to keep God’s Law in perfection, we would
have no need of a Savior. Listen to the Words of Christ to the rich young
ruler: 16 And, behold, one came and
said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal
life? 17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one,
that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. (Matt
19:16-17) Well that
certainly simplifies the issue – if we would receive eternal life, simply keep
the Commandments. Impossible! We cannot, and that is why Christ had to die in
our stead so that we might be accounted righteous before God – not OUR
righteousness, but His IMPUTED righteousness. Those who depend upon their
own righteousness are those who conduct their lives as if they, like the
Pharisees, can keep the Law of God and live. But the fires of Hell will
doubtless be lit with many tassels and ornate boxes that were bound to the
garments of the Pharisees. Not only could they not keep the Law, they KNEW they
could not and, as hypocrites, pretended they could.
So Solomon was building two temples – the one was the Temple
of God that foreshadowed his making His tabernacle with men; the other was the
real and Holy Temple of God that was Solomon’s heart. Just as Rome was not
built in a day, neither can the Temple of God be erected and finished in one
day in the heart of man.
The only measurement by which our obedience of God can be
truly measured is in the magnitude of our love for Him. It is love, and not
force, that binds us to God. God knows our frail frames, and He knows, as
children, we often stumble and falter, but He is faithful to reach down a
loving hand to raise us up and to lift the unbecoming yoke we have hewn for
ourselves. Love is the answer to the world’s travails. Love covers all sin, and
love keeps us obedient children in the Temple of our God. Hatred stirreth up
strifes: but love covereth all sins.[1]
(Prov
10:12) This saving
love is a love for God and His kingdom, and not of the world.
[1]
This is probably the
most important line in the Old Testament.
Reflect: God is Love, Jesus
is God, Jesus is Love. Jesus died
to cover your sins, ALL of them!
