And the word of the
LORD came to Solomon, saying, Concerning this house which thou art in building,
if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my
commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I
spake unto David thy father (1 Kings 6: 11, 12)
It seems like a damper to Solomon that God is placing other
requirements on him after he had completed the most spiritual project of his
life. In fact it was a project that was so huge that he was actually carrying
it out for the previous generation.
Why was God not clapping for Solomon? Why was He not
expressing His pleasure in what he had done? Why did He not seem to notice the
investment of immense wealth, even from the nations and the seven years hard
and extremely focused labor in the building? Why did He not seem to notice the
imported expertise and labor?
I think it is essential for us to realize that the only
thing that pleases God is obedience. Nothing has any capacity to do what only
obedience can.
Was God really interested in all that effort? I do not think
so. You will realize that the idea for the building came from David, an
expression of the king’s worship. God just agreed with him because He accepts
our worship, however feeble or ignorant it may be. Like He told Samuel, He
looks at the heart and therefore will receive the worship that comes from a
heart that genuinely seeks to connect with Him.
Activities are motions that have a capacity to confuse the
direction of our hearts so that we think we are serving God even as we rebel
against Him.
And that is the reason God comes in immediately Solomon
completes his greatest spiritual project.
Yet we know that Solomon did not really listen to what God
said because he went on to walk in disobedience and rebellion not long after
that. The reason it was so bad for him was because God had appeared to him,
twice.
And the LORD was angry
with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which
had appeared unto him twice (1Kings 11:9)
We notice the same with Saul the king. He also started very
zealously but later lost out on the aspect of obedience, even going to the
extent of visiting a witch to force God to speak to him.
Obedience is the key, the only key to be right with God.
Nothing else will be adequate to please Him.
What about faith? I am sure someone is asking. Faith is what
prompts obedience. We obey the person we trust. We seek to do what the person
we love likes. Ever noticed that mentees will many times imitate even the
gestures of their mentors? We will build a relationship of trust with God by
obeying what we know He values. We obey God because we trust Him. But we will
build our faith even more by obeying Him.
Simply put obedience
is the hands and feet of faith as any study of faith and men of faith will
plainly show.
What brought Solomon down? I think his life became safe. He
became a man in charge and totally in control to the extent that he gradually
drove God to the periphery of his kingdom. What with all the alliances with
other nations and the many wives and concubines he was getting from them! What
with all the building! He became too busy and in control to listen to God. His
life became one packed with activity after another that I doubt a prophet could
get a single moment to bring God’s message to the king. He stopped obeying
because he stopped listening.
What are we building? Is it diverting our worship? Is it
congesting our life so that we are unable to hear from God? Are we so busy building
‘spiritual’ structures that we are too busy to pursue obedience? Is ministry
snatching the closet from our lives? Are ‘keshas’
stealing our private prayer times?
Like I always ask, what has God told you? Are you doing it
or are you so busy doing ‘godly’ things to even consider what He said?
You see, OBEDIENCE is the only thing God seeks from us.
Everything we do should proceed from a heart that is obedient to God. No psych
can compensate for obedience. And like Solomon learnt no investment can replace
obedience.
May we be found obedient to what God has commanded. May we
be found seeking to know what it is that God wants of us. May we be found deep
in God’s word and prayer to know what God is demanding of us. MAY OBEDIENCE
DEFINE OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
Barikiweni sana
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