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Tuesday, 6 March 2018
Our purpose

For some reason, no matter how much we pray or study the Word of God we remain susceptible to making wrong choices or in some cases deliberate decisions to step out of the Will of God. Why is that and who is affected by it?

King Solomon, son of King David is an example of both of the above paths for finding oneself in a lifestyle of a heart which has turned from the Lord. It would seem inconceivable that someone coming from a lineage like Solomon and who himself, among other things, built the first Temple of God in Jerusalem which housed the Ark of the a heart which has turned from the Lord. It would seem inconceivable that someone coming from a lineage like Solomon and who himself, among other things, built the first Temple of God in Jerusalem which housed the Ark of the Covenant could make such bad choices. Yet as we see in I Kings 11, he loved many foreign women. Some he married others were concubines; but all had one thing in common, they worshiped idols. Solomon did exactly what God said not to: "You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods." You have to wonder if Solomon ever really through the result would be something different that what God said.

To make matters worse, we read in verse 9 that God appeared to him twice about the matter. This is the same King which decreed that all sacrifices would be made at the Temple in Jerusalem, uniting the tribes. Yet, as a result of his actions we read in verses 11-13 that God would tear the kingdom from him giving his son one tribe for David's sake and the sake of Jerusalem.

What was the long term effect of King Solomon's turning away from God? It is one that affects us to this day, the division of the nation of Israel, the splitting of the Twelve Tribes. His lifestyle affected himself, his household, the generations and the nation. Yes, it can happen to any of us through letting down our guard, laziness, pride and especially through our weaknesses. Even our gifts, given to us by God for the building of His Kingdom here on earth can trip us up if we lose focus on Him. How is

that possible? We need only to look at the Prophets, for example 1 Kings 13:8, the man of God boldly declines the King's offer to eat based on what God told him. Yet not

soon afterwards he is easily tricked into eating and it is the cause of his death. What opened the door for him to be so sure what God told him one minute and without even checking with God, taking the word of a stranger the next?

May God help us to remain diligent to seek His will especially while serving Him so that our purpose and destination will remain His; ensuring that we will not miss the target.

i>This is taken from the Harvest of Asher Facebook page.

Posted By Guy Cohen, 11:06am Comment Comments: 0