Last Month I mentioned that I watched a Bible video called Solomon. It made me read carefully the appropriate sections in the books of Kings and Chronicles, and then the Proverbs, Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes. I realised that there is more by or about Solomon in the Bible than anyone else except Jesus, Paul, David, Moses, and maybe Jeremiah.
Reading his life, it was chillingly familiar. A wonderful beginning. He put God first. And His mercy, too. His treatment of Adonijah and Shimei was astonishingly magnanimous, even though they both stupidly abused his trust. But then the playboy life began and sapped his spiritual strength. Late in life he had to admit: how foolish for leaders to let women rule their emotions.
And then it was gold. Gold and more gold. Gold to spend, gold to show off, gold almost to the point where nothing else mattered. A lust for gold so utterly dominating that he took to using whips in a frenzy to get more gold.
The more I read — and watched in the video — the life of Solomon, this wonderfully wise young man, the more I realised how sad but true to life is his story. His is just a bigger than life size portrait of many of us.
The stark lesson is that knowledge of the truth is not a guarantee of a place in God’s Kingdom. It really is true: materialism, unsuitable partners, the deceitfulness of riches and the lusts of other things entering in, do choke the word, and drown the very wisest of men in perdition. We don’t know if Solomon will be in the Kingdom, but we do know that the Queen of Sheba — Bilqis of tradition — certainly will be. Her quest for truth and wisdom was a marvellous example. Solomon had God’s blessing and everything going for him, and threw everything away through a life of indulgence. She heard of Yahweh and His truth in her far away land and neither time nor distance nor vast deserts were deterrents to her quest. Incidentally, have you ever noticed that three other Ethiopians mentioned in the Bible manifested a similar spirit?
You know, it was absolutely tragic: Solomon became a cynical man, lashing out at those who dared to oppose or even advise him, his mind a cauldron of frustrations and bitter emotions. The real tragedy — the Bible tells us this — is that even when he became a pathetic figure, he knew exactly what he was doing. His wisdom did not forsake him. When he penned the proverb Better is a poor and wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished, did he recognize himself?
I don’t keep all the letters I receive. And I don’t read all those that my husband receives. But I have noticed this. There are many encouraging ones. They are usually short. The long ones are often full of bitterness. The very long ones are almost always tirades, full of self, thick with accusations and resentment. I look back on my younger days and realise that I myself have been guilty of writing a few like that. I ask God to forgive such lapses. Remember Solomon. Get the bitterness and resentment out of your soul! If you don’t, it will eat your heart out. Instead, imitate the determination, faith and humility of the Queen of Sheba, so that she will rise in the judgement and commend you.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One