The victory is of the Lord

Introduction:

Proverbs 21:31 “The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD”

            In the above passage we see about the victory of the Lord almighty. We see the horses are ready for the day and is prepared for the big day, but the victory proceeds from our Lord God. We the children of God should always put our trust on our Lord not on anything else. When we put our trust on horses we will fail. We read in Isaiah 31:1 ‘Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!’ This passage clearly signifies the experience of failing when we do not invest our trust on our Lord God. Today let us mediate on the life of Solomon and learn how not to fail when it comes to trusting our Lord God.

Solomon’s self-confidence:

I Kings 3:1 ‘And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.’ Here we see Solomon was lifted in a mighty way and all the people in the land honored him. But Solomon failed to honor the Lord God. When Solomon was blessed with wisdom and power, he made affinity with Pharaoh. Solomon acted on his own will and chose his way all by himself.

            The command of Lord is very clear as we read in Deuteronomy 7:3 ‘Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.’ But Solomon acted on his own and he married strange women. We read in I Kings 11:1 ‘But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites;’ Solomon never regretted his choices and all the decisions he made. Solomon had an immense self confidence that he can able to conquer anything with his wisdom alone. Solomon was filled with sheer pride and was over confident. In I Kings 11:4 ‘For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.’ Solomon’s heart was inclined towards the worldly desires and pleasures. Solomon was not the person how he used to be. In Luke 18:8 ‘I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?’ Solomon lost the faith that he had initially when he was anointed. The self-confidence of his led to his downfall.

Solomon’s disobedience:

I Kings 11:9-10 “And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded.”

            Here we see Solomon turns his heart towards the horses and not on the Lord God. He fails to use the second chance that was given to him. When he was lifted up in his life, he began to lose his reverence to the Lord God. Solomon loses the fellowship with the Lord God. In Deuteronomy 17:16-17 ‘But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. Neither shall he multiply wives to himself that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.’ This verse records the commandment of the Lord God on the qualities of the King of Israel. But Solomon’s heart did not give room to adhere the words of God. We read in I Kings 11:11 ‘Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.’ This verse was the warning call from the Lord to Solomon. Unfortunately, Solomon did not use his last chance. The disobedience of Solomon invites many issues in his life.

Oppositions – I Kings 11:14 ‘And the LORD stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: he was of the king's seed in Edom.’ 

            Due to his disobedience, the peaceful life of Solomon was taken for a toss. Solomon faces unwanted issues and battles from all the sides.

Troubles – I Kings 11:25 ‘’ And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, beside the mischief that Hadad did: and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria.’

            We see Solomon was surrounded by adversaries and his days were filled with troubles. The people started to lose the trust they had on their king.

Competition – I Kings 11:31 ‘And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee:’

            Here, we see there was a competition between Jeroboam and Solomon. This competition had made Solomon lose his strength.

            We the children of God should learn many things from the downfall of Solomon. We should make it a point to put our trust on the Lord almighty alone. We should understand that no matter how powerful and wise we are, it is impossible to taste the success without our Lord God. Let not our trust be directed on anything other than the Lord himself. Amen.