True Peace

(1 Kings 1-11)

When the time came for King David to choose an heir to his throne, he appointed Solomon, the son of Bathsheba. Even though Solomon wasn’t the firstborn of David’s sons, he was still the one chosen to rule God’s people and to build God’s temple. Solomon had been born to David and Bathsheba after the loss of their son who had been conceived in adultery. We’re told that the LORD loved Solomon, and gave him the special name Jedidiah, which means “beloved of Jehovah.” (2 Samuel 12:25) Before David died, he charged Solomon to walk in obedience with all Yahweh’s commands and decrees, so that the LORD would keep his promise to keep a successor of David always on the throne.

For the most part, King Solomon’s rule was a very good one! Solomon is famous for having a reign of peace and prosperity. We’re told that during his lifetime all of Judah and Israel lived in safety, “under their own vine and under their own fig tree,” meaning that they were all wealthy and prosperous. Solomon ruled over all of the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to Egypt (the easternmost border to the westernmost border), and there was peace from Dan to Beersheba (the far north to the far south.) While David’s reign had been characterized by war and bloodshed, God gave Solomon peace on all sides.

Solomon is also famous for his wisdom. When God appeared to Solomon in a dream at Gibeon, and invited Solomon to ask for whatever he wished, Solomon asked for a discerning heart to govern the people well, and for wisdom in administering justice. God granted him the wisdom he asked for, and also blessed him with unparalleled wealth and honor. His insight and understanding were “as measureless as the sand on the seashore.” (1 Kings 4:29) He wrote three thousand proverbs, and over a thousand songs. He had vast knowledge of plants, animals, birds, reptiles and fish. All the kings of the world sent ambassadors to learn from Solomon’s great wisdom. Even the queen of Sheba was astounded by Solomon’s wisdom. His ability to answer her every question far exceeded her expectations, and she praised Yahweh for His love for Israel that He should give them such a king to maintain justice and righteousness.

Perhaps most of all, Solomon is famous for building Israel’s first temple of worship to Yahweh. Building a temple unto the LORD was a desire that David had had in his heart, but God had told him that this monumental task would be accomplished by his son instead. David had left Solomon with detailed plans as well as generous resources for building God’s house. But I’m sure that the lavish and extravagant temple that Solomon constructed probably far exceeded anything that even David could have imagined. Made with giant cedars from Lebanon, full of furnishings all overlaid with gold, and ornately decorated with cherubim, palm trees, flowers, pomegranates, and more, Solomon’s temple truly reflected the awe and grandeur of the God it was built to worship.

But as great a king as Solomon was, like all human rulers, he also had a weakness: foreign women. God had specifically forbidden marriage to foreign wives in the law of Moses, because He knew that pagan wives would lead Israel into pagan idol worship. But being the diplomat that he was, Solomon married the daughter of Pharaoh as a means of establishing a peace treaty. Then one foreign wife led to the next, just as one sin almost always leads to another in a very slippery downward slope. Altogether, Solomon married 700 wives, all of royal birth, plus he had 300 concubines. And, just as the LORD had predicted they would, his wives turned Solomon’s heart away from Yahweh and toward lesser gods. He began to follow Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and to worship Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. And so, his reign of peace came to an end, and God raised up adversaries to attack. And in the next generation, the kingdom of Israel was torn in two because of Solomon’s idolatry and wicked rebellion.

And so, while Solomon’s story has a great beginning, it doesn’t have a very happy ending. Which may leave you wondering how such a grand kingship could end in such tragedy, and how such a wise ruler could end up being so foolish.

Solomon seemed to have it all. He had wisdom to rule well, peace and prosperity in his kingdom, loads of money, status and reputation, and hundreds of women. God blessed Solomon with abundance. Which sounds like the story we all wish we had. We want to live peaceful and happy lives. We want the security of having more than enough, and the comfort of having a problem-free life. We want a life of ease and prosperity. We want to be esteemed and admired. Our human nature is wired to seek out power, influence, and wealth. But true peace doesn’t come from financial security, political peace, personal success, or even an absence of problems.

Solomon’s peaceful reign came to a sad end because his heart strayed away from the God of peace. The problem with having a life of ease and comfort, is that it easily leads to complacency and compromise. When we have abundant material or circumstantial blessings, we tend to forget our dependence on the One from whom all blessings flow. That’s why Jesus said it is those who are poor, meek, hungry and hurting who are truly blessed. It’s when we recognize our need and our weaknesses that we are able to receive the spiritual blessings that bring us peace with God.

At the heart of the Gospel is a message of dependence. We cannot save ourselves, we cannot sanctify ourselves, we cannot heal our own brokeness. Apart from Christ, we are not only powerless, but we are dead. Jesus calls himself the bread of life and the source of living water, because we are daily dependent on Him for life, just as we depend daily on food and water to sustain us. Another analogy Jesus gives is that we are dependent on Him the way a branch depends on the vine. Our connection to and relationship with Him is vital. We cannot produce anything meaningful for His Kingdom without His presence, love and power dwelling within us. He is the one who nourishes our souls and regenerates our spirits so that we can produce fruit. It’s only through daily abiding in the love of Christ, that we have the ability to love and follow Him.

Dependence on Jesus isn’t an easy thing to practice. It requires acknowledging our sins, faults and failures, and inviting Him to be sufficient where we are lacking. It requires the humility to admit our need and accept His forgiveness and grace. It requires looking to Him for strength and help, rather than our own abilities or resources. I tend to despise my weaknesses and shortcomings, rather than embrace them. I don’t like feeling broken and helpless. I would much prefer to feel strong and capable. But it’s when we’re weakest, that we are able to truly experience the power of His all-sufficient grace. In contrast to Solomon’s worldly blessings, the true blessings in life are the struggles and hardships that teach us dependence on Jesus. Because it’s only through dependence on Him that we get to experience the intimacy that brings true peace. Peace is not found in times of ease and comfort, but in the presence of Jesus who is the Prince of Peace.

Solomon’s downfall resulted from making peace with false gods. He let his heart stray from the God who had chosen him and called him His beloved. Everything he had came from God, and yet he forgot his dependence on his Creator and began to lean on his own strength and resources. Rather than trusting in God’s protection, he sought peace through his own means by trying to gain political alliances. And then he was led astray by the women he married. Whether he was primarily driven by lust for power or lust for sexual pleasure, he let his fleshly desires get the better of him. His heart’s affections strayed from the one true God, and mere idols became the object of his worship.

When we become too comfortable in our own strength, abilities, or resources, we forget that it’s only because of Jesus that we have any of those things to begin with. Our hearts become so easily led astray by the good gifts God gives, rather than setting our affections on the giver Himself. In my own life, idolatry seems to take root in the most subtle ways. I run to friends for comfort and help, instead of first running to the God of all comfort. I start finding more enjoyment in getting things accomplished, than in spending time with the Father who loves me for who I am rather than what I do. I do what is convenient instead of doing what is right. I choose being comfortable over being obedient. I seek admiration and approval from others, rather than resting in the acceptance I have in Christ. I pursue pleasure instead of holiness. And before I know it, I am worshipping everything but Jesus.

Every day we have to choose whether we are going to depend on Jesus, or on ourselves and the things we think will bring us peace. We can let a false sense of peace lull us into complacency and compromise, or we can find true peace in communing with God. The things of this world may bring a temporary feeling of contentment or satisfaction, but in the end, peace with the world leads to enmity with God. So my encouragement to you today is to run to Jesus. If things seem to be going well, remember that every good gift comes from Him, and apart from Him there is no good thing. Remember that you need His grace as much on your best days as you do on your worst. And if things are hard, let Jesus be your peace in the midst of your weaknesses and difficulties, and embrace the struggles that cause you to depend on Him even more fully.

May the Prince of Peace rule over your heart and mind, may His Holy Spirit produce the fruit of peace in your life, and may His presence with you give you true peace that goes beyond what you can understand.