Monday, March 30, 2009

2 Chronicles 9 - Solomon's Pride

LINK: 2 Chronicles 9

Parallel Passage: 1 Kings 10-11

BACKGROUND
Here is Solomon, the wisest man on earth - having been given special wisdom from God - acting foolishly! He, himself, wrote about the futility of seeking riches (Prov 11:4; 23:4-5; Eccl 5:10-20), and he must have known the foolishness of displaying them to strangers. He knew God commanded Israel's kings not to collect large numbers of horses or go to Egypt for horses (Deut 17:16). To do so was to trust in horses and chariots rather than to trust in God. Solomon wrote about the foolishness of trusting oneself rather than God (Prov 28:26). He also knew that marrying foreign wives was forbidden, as was increasing riches for himself (Deut 17:17) . Yet he broke all these rules. Why? How come the wisest of the wise behaved so foolishly?

It all comes down to the heart. Solomon allowed his pride to override the wisdom God had given him. He was proud of heart, so he showed off his wealth to the Queen of Sheba. Because of pride, he accumulated great wealth, many wives, and a large number of horses. His "image" before man was more important than his obedience to God. He listened to his foreign wives and began to worship foreign gods. Little by little, Solomon became more proud and turned his heart away from God.

REFLECTION
God and pride cannot reside in the same place. Our pride is in itself a form of idolatry, pushing God aside, worshiping ourselves. God is a jealous God, not wanting to share our praise with anyone or anything else, even ourselves.

As believers, we don't set out to become proud idolaters. But pride is a part of our human nature; it takes no work to develop it. If we aren't careful, idolatry and foolishness in our hearts will enlarge as we make little compromises on a day-to-day basis. We justify a little thing until it becomes comfortable and grows. If our hearts are not fully devoted to the Lord, then those little "undevoted" parts can become larger and eventually take over our hearts.

APPLICATION
Just this past week, the Lord pointed out to me an area of pride in my heart, and Psalm 73 became my prayer of confession to God.

Examine your own heart. What pride do you take in yourself where credit should be given to God? What "little things" are you compromising on? Are you starting down a slippery slope of sin? If you find yourself justifying anything, it's probably something you need to confess as a sin before God (yeah, I've done the justifying thing; that's why I recognize it).

PRAYER
Meditate on Romans 12:1-2 and 1 Peter 1:13-16 and let these passages of scripture lead you in prayer.

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