God said to Solomon, "Since this is your heart's desire and you have not asked for wealth, possessions or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, possessions and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have." - 2Chronicles 1: 11-12 (NIV)
Did you catch that beloved? Solomon doesn't ask for what we might have been tempted to ask for. Money, fame, and success. Instead, he thinks about what is needed in relation to the kingdom of God and because of that - he gets the money, fame and success as well! This is also cross confirmed in Scripture:
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. - Matthew 6: 33 (NIV)
But beware beloved. The kingdom mindset is something that has to be continually cultivated. It is not automatic and it is constantly under attack from the enemy and the world. Playing to our flesh and pride we can easily lose sight of the kingdom, as Solomon would.
King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter-- Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, "You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods." Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. 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. He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done. - 1Kings 11: 1-6 (NIV)
God answered the request of Solomon and the king was regarded as the wisest man who ever lived. His kingdom thrived and he became successful beyond his wildest imagination. Yet he did not cultivate his kingdom mindset and over the years he would continue to go against the Lord's wisdom when it came to women. He would have 1000 wives and concubines; many from foreign lands who led him astray to worship other gods. After Solomon died, the Kingdom of Israel would be forever split into Israel and Judah and the downhill slide would not stop until Israel would be scattered by the Assyrian Empire and Judah would be taken into captivity by the Babylonian Empire. There are always consequences for living with a carnal mindset. Despite that we have this record of when Solomon walked rightly. He gave praise for all God had done. He acknowledged His sovereignty in everything he had. He prayed with a pure heart and a kingdom mindset. Let us seek to do the same today.
Reverend Anthony Wade - November 9, 2013
