The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Kings 11:14, 23,
"Then the Lord raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom... And God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon son of Eliada..."
King Solomon had it all. He asked the Lord for wisdom and received unparalleled wisdom, insight and knowledge. He had also become wealthy beyond belief. The Lord had blessed King Solomon with so much, yet, with the thousand women he took for himself, he allowed himself to be led astray by the idols his wives and concubines worshiped.
In response the Lord decided to split the nation and take ten of the twelve tribes of Israel away from Solomon's dynasty and give them to another, Jeroboam. Additionally, the Lord brought a couple of thorns in Solomon's side as a consequence to his straying after idols, Hadad and Rezon. There is not a lot mentioned of these men, however, some background is provided us about Hadad.
These two adversaries of Solomon might have been construed as unrelated troubling adversaries in foreign policy. One wonders, apart from the explanation provided us in the Scriptures, if anyone actually knew at the time these two adversaries of Solomon were dealt him from the Lord's own hands due to Solomon's own failures.
The Scriptures make it clear that these adversaries to Israel were brought against her because of Solomon's disobedience to the Lord.
Does the Lord still do such things? Can we identify national challenges, disasters - whether terrorist oriented or weather, or earthquake or whatever, as coming from the Lord due to a nation's disobedience to him?
There is nothing about the New Covenant that alters the Lord's involvement among nations. Quite a bit is seen in the Old Testament and in the New, Paul explains to us that the Lord is very active and involved in the national affairs of all countries. Listen to Paul's observation in this, "Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves."
While many tend to think the Lord has shifted his focus to the personal, and only getting involved in people's lives on an individual basis, it appears little has changed in how the Lord interacts on the international stage as we read of the Lord's activities today in the Scriptures, as seen in Paul and others.
Might some of the challenges facing various nations today be due to their infidelity with the Lord's agenda of things, as was the case in Solomon's day? Something to consider.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
"Then the Lord raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom... And God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon son of Eliada..."
King Solomon had it all. He asked the Lord for wisdom and received unparalleled wisdom, insight and knowledge. He had also become wealthy beyond belief. The Lord had blessed King Solomon with so much, yet, with the thousand women he took for himself, he allowed himself to be led astray by the idols his wives and concubines worshiped.
In response the Lord decided to split the nation and take ten of the twelve tribes of Israel away from Solomon's dynasty and give them to another, Jeroboam. Additionally, the Lord brought a couple of thorns in Solomon's side as a consequence to his straying after idols, Hadad and Rezon. There is not a lot mentioned of these men, however, some background is provided us about Hadad.
These two adversaries of Solomon might have been construed as unrelated troubling adversaries in foreign policy. One wonders, apart from the explanation provided us in the Scriptures, if anyone actually knew at the time these two adversaries of Solomon were dealt him from the Lord's own hands due to Solomon's own failures.
The Scriptures make it clear that these adversaries to Israel were brought against her because of Solomon's disobedience to the Lord.
Does the Lord still do such things? Can we identify national challenges, disasters - whether terrorist oriented or weather, or earthquake or whatever, as coming from the Lord due to a nation's disobedience to him?
There is nothing about the New Covenant that alters the Lord's involvement among nations. Quite a bit is seen in the Old Testament and in the New, Paul explains to us that the Lord is very active and involved in the national affairs of all countries. Listen to Paul's observation in this, "Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves."
While many tend to think the Lord has shifted his focus to the personal, and only getting involved in people's lives on an individual basis, it appears little has changed in how the Lord interacts on the international stage as we read of the Lord's activities today in the Scriptures, as seen in Paul and others.
Might some of the challenges facing various nations today be due to their infidelity with the Lord's agenda of things, as was the case in Solomon's day? Something to consider.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
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