There is an fascinating passage hidden deep in the centre of Deuteronomy:
“When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, ‘Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,’ be sure to appoint over you the king the LORD your God chooses . . . The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the LORD has told you, ‘You are not to go back that way again.’ He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.” (Deut 17:14-17 NIV)
What makes these verses so interesting is that they was written before the Children of Israel entered Canaan, several hundred years before the time of the kings!
We know from the book of 1 Samuel, that it was never God’s plan for Israel to have a king (see 1 Samuel 8). In fact, when the people asked for one, God looked at it as a personal rejection: “But you have now rejected your God, who saves you out of all your calamities and distresses. And you have said, ‘No, set a king over us.'” (1 Sam 10:19), and the people were even punished for their request (see 1 Samuel 12:17-18). So, if God never wanted them to have a king in the first place, why did He go to the trouble of giving this warning in Deuteronomy?
God did so because He knew in advance that the people would not follow His will, that in their hearts, they would turn against Him. In His loving kindness, He tried to ease the pain of the bad decisions they would make by preparing them ahead of time.
Unfortunately, Biblical history shows that the kings of Israel did not follow God’s wilderness advice. In fact, likely the worst contender was Israel’s third king, King Solomon. He acquired great numbers of horses; He made covenants with Egypt, even taking the Pharaoh’s daughter as his wife; He acquired large amounts of silver and gold, to the extent that 2 Chronicles records the following: “. . . Silver and gold (were) as common in Jerusalem as stones . . .” (2 Chronicles 1:15). Solomon also took hundreds of wives, and the Bible says that it was his wives who turned his heart away from the Lord: “As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.” (1 Kings 11:4 NIV)
Isn’t it interesting that the one who refused to follow God’s advice for kingship was also the world’s wisest man?
Isn’t it interesting that God, Himself, who said, “he must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold”, is the One who gave Solomon all of his wealth? “So God said to him, ‘Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself . . . I will do what you have asked . . . I will give you what you have not asked for-both riches and honor-so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings.'” (1 Kings 3:11-14 NIV)
Why, then, would God give Solomon wealth, when He warned against wealth in Moses’ day?
The answer lies in Deuteronomy: “He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold . . .” (vs. 17). In this warning, God never said that wealth was bad, He just warned against accumulating lots of it. Friends, it isn’t a sin to make lots of money. It is a sin to misuse what God has given us! God makes us stewards of our wealth. We aren’t asked to horde it, we are asked to use it wisely! And God supplied Solomon with the wisdom to do so: “I will give you a wise and discerning heart . . .” (1 Kings 3:12)
So if Solomon was all that wise, why did he reject the advice God left hundreds of years before?
There is a difference in having wisdom and being wise. Having a “wise and discerning heart” isn’t enough. We have to choose to apply that wisdom to everything we do in life.
We, also, have access to utmost wisdom. James tell us the following: “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5) There is only one condition attached: “But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt . . .” (James 1:6). In other words, we need to seek wisdom, and then we need to really believe we will receive it. Only then will we be willing to apply the wisdom we are promised to our lives.
But how often don’t we ask for wisdom, and then reject the ideas that are given to us? You know what I’m talking about, that ridiculous thought that comes into your mind after you’ve asked for wisdom? The one that is so absurd there’s no way it could come from God? We’ve all had thoughts like that! But when we ask for wisdom and then refuse to believe what we are given comes from God, when we refuse to apply that wisdom to our lives, then we are being no better than Solomon of old!
Enough to ponder, friends, but do ponder this: Do not cease to call upon God for the wisdom you lack, ever believing you will receive it. And when God comes through, and He always will, act upon it! Apply it to you life! Only then can you avoid the pitfalls of the world’s wisest man!
In His love,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Mother of two teens, Speech-Language Pathologist, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, www.scripturalnuggets.org , with Answers2Prayer Ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org .