Spiritual Hindrances

-May 6, 2023-

Good morning, happy Saturday,

“For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as the heart of his father David.”

(1 Kings 11:4).

After such a great start, in his old age, Solomon’s turned his heart after other gods. His life was shipwrecked by sin, idolatry, and disobedience. God had warned him and his father David warned him what would happen if he and the nation turned from the Lord and followed idols. Sure enough it happened. Solomon became double-minded and ceased tried following the true God and worshipping idols. It never worked then and it never works now. We have different kinds of idols today, but just as deadly.

Solomon’s downfall is described in 1 Kings chapter 11. It didn’t just happen to him suddenly, but over time. It really started when he married the daughter of the king of Egypt. God forbade the Israelites from marrying foreign women. Solomon not only married her but he also married many other foreign women from among the heathen nations. He clung to them in love. It says in 1 Kings 11:3, “And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.”

The end of Solomon’s life was terrible and because of sin and disobedience, God brought adversaries against him from the Edomites and Syrians. There was was no longer rest and peace in Israel. Solomon’s spiritual life affected him, his family, and the whole nation.

None of us as believers are exempt from temptation and sin. We must be on guard 24-7 and stay close to the Lord, obey Him fully, and keep short accounts with the Lord by repenting and confessing our sins. Jesus told Peter and the other disciples, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). Paul wrote of this same thing in 1 Corinthians 10:12-13, “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

It all started with a little compromise and can lead to outright and outward sin. For Solomon it was his wives that took away his heart. This is why Christians should never marry an unsaved person. But there are also other things, even good or harmless things that can take away our hearts from following the Lord. It may be making money, sports, entertainment, TV or movies, or any number of things that affect our walk with Lord and going to church, reading our Bibles or praying. Sin can also close our mouths from witnessing to the unsaved.

May the Lord help us to stay close to Him and be on guard. The devil is out to trip us up and bring us down. He is a master at it. Have a blessed day seeking and honoring the Lord. We don’t want to fall and God doesn’t want us to fall. Stay safe and healthy.

Looking to Jesus and heeding the warning signs,

Dean