God’s Faithfulness

Sin is not always evident!

1 Kings 3:1-5

Have we ever looked through the Word of God and seen examples of how we should or should not live for Him? It is full of stories of men and women who either lived appropriately for God or chose disobedience towards God. Some started off walking with Him and later turned away from Him. Others did not walk in His ways but repented and turned to Him. Solomon started right, but women later turned his heart from God.

If we are brutally honest with ourselves, we can say we sometimes walk with God, and other times we walk for ourselves. I know personally that each person in the Bible has, at some point in my life, I resembled.

The author of the text points to Solomon’s downfall. There are four areas in which Solomon failed God. These areas are the same where we fail God, too.

1. Believers sin against God when they are disobedient.

2. Believers sin against God when they put themselves before Him.

3. Believers sin against God when they do not put other’s needs first.

4. Believers sin against God when they think they are self-righteous.

Body:

Disobedience

1. Disobedience: Do we believe that God knows what is best for us? Parents, do we know what is best for our children? We are not trying to control or be some killjoy; we have the life experience to help you navigate your past hard times.

A. How much more is God’s wisdom than our own? If we have life experience, He knows us from the end to the beginning. He sits outside of the realm of time. Isaiah 46:9–10 ““Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My counsel will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’,”

B. He knows the path He has for us, Psalm 139:3 “You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.”

However, we still try to do things our way and get mad at God when they do not work out the way we want.

C. Solomon knew the Commands of God (Deuteronomy 7:3–4 ““Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons. “For they will turn your sons away from following Me, and they will serve other gods; then the anger of Yahweh will be kindled against you, and He will quickly destroy you.” ) but still went against them. Joshua 23:12 ““For if you ever turn back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you go along with them and they with you,” warned the Israelites not to intermarry because God warned of the consequences. It reminds me of my dad telling me not to touch a hot piece of metal he just cut off. It was not that he wanted me not to have fun; he knew what was best and that it would burn me. Guess what? He allowed me to touch it after his warning.

D. But Solomon was already behind the eight ball. He learned about women from his father, David. There are probably better examples to know about women. His mother is not innocent either.

E. Solomon’s disobedience will cause him to chase after other gods. 1 Kings 11:1 “Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women,”

F. Israel or the priest did not rebuke Solomon. They went along with this arrogant sin. They now tell neighboring nations, “Look at our king. He is so powerful that he made Pharaoh give his daughter to him for an alliance.”

During World War II, there were reports of soldiers who disobeyed their commanding officers, resulting in disastrous outcomes. Such disobedience jeopardized the safety of the entire unit and put lives at risk. The same principle applies to leaders today, whether in the military, in business, or in the church. Disobedient leaders can cause irreparable harm and damage trust.

Application:

Are you struggling with disobedience in your life? Take time to reflect on the areas where you are not following God's commands. Confess your disobedience to God and ask for His forgiveness. Seek an accountability partner in the church who can help you stay on track and hold you responsible for your actions.

When leaders of the Church justify their sin of pride, and the people approve of it, they become part of the arrogant sin (1 Peter 5:5 “You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

Believers sin against God when they put themselves before Him!

Billy Graham said, “The Bible sees greed as a form of idolatry because a greedy person worships things instead of God. Greed and envy have their roots in selfishness.”

1. Look at the order of Solomon's structures. What is the first building to be built? His home! How many of us have done this? Put our desires before God’s. Matthew 16:26 ““For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

2. The word ‘profit’ is the Greek word “οφελεο,” which means to aid in someone’s status in the community. We try too hard to please men and not God. This happens when we put our desires before His.

3. Solomon’s desires start with marriage, which goes against God, and pushes ahead with building his house first. Sin comes into our lives subtly and grows from there.

4. Listen to the length of time it took to build his palace. 1 Kings 7:1 “Now Solomon built his own house thirteen years, and he completed all his house.” Could you imagine houses taking thirteen years to complete? General contractors would be fired, and most would live in tents.

5. Are we doing the same thing? We spend more time building ourselves up and then wonder why our world is how it is.

Application:

Struggling to prioritize God in your daily life? Start each day by dedicating the first few minutes to prayer and reading the Bible. This intentional act will set the tone for your day and remind you of God's presence.

Believers sin against God when they do not put other’s needs first.

Philippians 2:3–4 “doing nothing from selfish ambition or vain glory, but with humility of mind regarding one another as more important than yourselves, not merely looking out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”

Paul instructs us not to be selfish or empty conceit. He warned the Romans of what would happen to those who were selfish, Romans 2:8 “but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and anger.”

Because of Solomon’s desires, he put those he was responsible for in danger. Parents, when we put our own selfish desires above our children, we put them in danger. Fathers, when you are not being the priest of your house, you are failing your family and God.

The people had no protection and no place to sacrifice to God. Churches are dying because leaders are not protecting the flock and giving them a place for fellowship, encouragement, and instruction. After all, we are too worried about our desires. READ VERSE 2!!!!

Do you sometimes struggle with self-centeredness or a lack of generosity within your church community? Challenge yourself to actively seek ways to serve and support your fellow church members. This could include volunteering for church events, checking in on individuals who may be going through a difficult time, or offering your skills and talents to benefit the church community. By putting others' needs first in your church, you can strengthen the bonds of fellowship, demonstrate Christ-like love, and contribute to a more vibrant and caring church family.

Believers sin against God when they think they are self-righteous.

VERSE 3!

Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father, David. David was a man after God’s own heart. We read later how Solomon would stray from God because of his marriages with foreign wives. We are commanded to be equally yoked. That does not mean we only can marry Americans; it means we are to marry only Christians. We do not have the capacity or the ability to save anyone; only God can do that!

In verse 3, the word “except " is used; in Hebrew, it is “raq, however,” which means that even though Solomon loved the Lord, he did not practice it.

We see that Solomon went to Gibeon and sacrificed a thousand burnt offerings. You are a self-righteous hypocrite if you think that how much you give grants you favor in the Lord. We see in the verse before that this was not of God.

We need to stop thinking of ourselves as being better than what we are. We should be broken people serving a Righteous God who will hear us if we humble ourselves. 2 Chronicles 7:14 “and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their evil ways, then I will listen from heaven, I will forgive their sin, and I will heal their land.”

Recognize self-righteousness by reflecting on your thoughts, words, and actions. Are you quick to judge others or feel superior to them? Try to practice humility by acknowledging your own flaws and limitations.

BUT GOD!! God is faithful even when we are not. God’s ways for us are so much higher than ours. God’s love for us is everlasting. We can become people whom God looks at Satan and tells him, “Do you see my people!”

God came to Solomon where he was not supposed to be and gave him what he wished for. We can people who go to those in places they should not be and give them the Light of the world. How can we accomplish this?

Application:

1. Believers can accomplish this by stopping our disobedience! Repent, turn from those things that are not of God.

2. Believers can accomplish this by making God the only one on the list. If He is not number one, the order will go down. He must be the LIST!

3. Believers can accomplish this by putting others before themselves. These two are accomplished by living out the two greatest commandments.

4. Believers can accomplish this when we stop acting like we are self-righteous. He cares what you have or what you give to God; this should be between you and Him and nobody else.

In the biblical account of Jesus washing the disciples' feet, we see the ultimate demonstration of putting others before oneself. Despite His divine status, Jesus humbly served His disciples, setting a powerful example for all believers to follow in serving and loving one another.