“For it came to pass when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart…” (I Kgs. 11:4). Here was a man of whom it is said that he loved God and God loved him (I Kgs. 3:3; Neh. 13:26) yet he did not steadily grow in grace as the years went by. He was older, but not better.
And Solomon is not the only one! Several Bible characters, some of them mighty men of faith, committed their greatest recorded sins in their later years.
Bible examples
David was in his mid to late 40’s when he despised Yahweh in the matter of Uriah and Bathsheba.’ As can be readily determined from the dates given, Jehoshaphat was at least 53 when he made alliance with the wicked Ahab and Jezebel, which was grievous sin (II Chron. 18:1; 19:2). Hezekiah was 39 when his life was extended; it was during this 15-year extension (from ages 39-54) that “his heart was lifted up” in pride to the Babylonian messengers (II Chron. 32:24-25; Isa. 39:1-2). And Abraham was 100 years old when he put Sarah at great risk in the house of Abimelech (Gen. 17:17; 20:2 and cf. I Peter 3:6).
Uzziah is another case in point who became king at age 16 and reigned for 52 years. It was in the latter part of his reign that he arrogantly sought to enter the holy place only to be struck with leprosy. Jotham his son, born when Uzziah was 43, was old enough to assume the kingship so Uzziah might well have been in his early 60’s when his pride climaxed.
Older does not always mean better is given great emphasis in the life of Asa. The whole of II Chronicles 16 is devoted to Asa’s sins, with the last incident occurring when the king was in the 39th year of his reign at about age 60 (II Chron. 16:12). Why would God do this in the record of a man of whom the Lord says: “the heart of Asa was perfect all his days?” (II Chron. 15:17). Surely the reason is to draw to our attention a serious problem.
A troubling issue
When we look at the conduct of some older brothers and sisters, often we are greatly encouraged, but sometimes we are not. And if we are one of the older ones, sometimes we are dismayed at our own occasions of sin.
Some may cite II Corinthians 3:18: “We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” and claim it is axiomatic that older means better in the true saint. No doubt there should be steady spiritual improvement in our lives; but the records of Abraham, David and Hezekiah, spiritual giants, warn us sin, major sin, can and often does occur in later years as well as earlier ones.
What are the prevalent sins?
Considering the Bible examples provides answers. Middle-aged David found his desire for a young and beautiful woman to be overpowering. Proverbs indicates the problem is not uncommon: “Rejoice with the wife of thy youth…why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger?” (Prov. 5:18-20).
An ominous phrase occurs in the cases of three of the above: “Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance:” “When he (Uzziah) was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction:” “Hezekiah had exceeding much riches and honor” (II Chron. 18:1; 26:16; 32:27). Honor puffs up, displacing the humility critical to serving God. Riches give the illusion of self-sufficiency which distracts from our sense of need and dampens our desire for the promises. In such circumstances, arrogance takes over and we begin to rely on our own devices. This trial of prosperity normally comes in older years and is regularly too great a spiritual test for even the best of saints.
Ma had done much good, exercised great faith in war and peace, but when he sinned by lacking faith, he couldn’t stand the rightful rebuke of friends. As a person grows accustomed to praise, especially for his spirituality, he can react violently to right rebuke. Perhaps nothing is so sad as the saint who has done well but, being convinced he is beyond reproach, refuses to be honest in looking at himself.
Abraham presents a most interesting example of one who fails in the very area of his strength. He is the father of the faithful, setting a pattern for all who would walk in his steps. Yet his greatest recorded failures are when he lacked faith in God to protect and preserve him. This is surely a warning that we can never feel we have perfected a given aspect of our characters.
We can understand the problem
As we reflect on the matter, we can see other reasons why older does not always mean better. Years of trying to get along with a wide range of people can weary us leading to severe and impatient reactions. As the strength and energy of the younger ones outstrips our own powers, jealousy can cause resentment and unreasoning opposition. The long years of waiting for Christ’s return and of self-denial may frustrate us, and becoming jaded, we give in to self-indulgence. We become intolerant to disturbance of our routine and put our needs ahead of the spiritual welfare of others.
We can understand, as well, why we deny spiritual failure in later years. In earlier years, we are accustomed to the maturing process increasing physical, mental and social skills. Early on, older does mean better. And even when we start to decline physically, our increasing experience reinforces the idea that we are getting better at most things with age. In this frame of mind, major sin surprises and devastates us and worse yet, we may deny our sin.
Mastering the problem
When older does not mean better, we should not be shocked by the situation either in ourselves or in others. Scripture has provided ample examples to prepare and educate us; the problem is not new. This offers some encouragement, but even more encouraging is the reaction of God. He saved Sarah from Abraham’s weakness and the records of His forgiving David, Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah provide marvelous examples of His grace.
There is something else as well, David’s sin led to utter contrition and a fullness of humility. He used his sin to teach himself and others the greatness of our need and the wonder of God’s gift. These are priceless virtues of character which can come from a right reaction to sin. Right reaction can thus take failure, even as we get older, and, through God’s grace, use it to draw us closer to His glory through a fuller dependence on Him.
This benefit will never be achieved, however, without admission of sin. If we deny failure because we think we have reached some fullness of spiritual maturity, we block the only solution to sin, the forgiveness of God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One