The Choice Is Ours

Written by Colette Fabry

“Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin.” Nehemiah 13:25

As a parent, I have lost count of the times I’ve called out consequences while using the words “How many times have I told you not to do that?” or, “How many times do I have to tell you to go and do that?”. I wonder if we weary our Father God the same way children do parents? He has said similar words to His children for centuries.

In our recent Bible reading, we are shown king Solomon, who is a perfect example of knowing God’s expectations and choosing otherwise. King Solomon, David’s son, was raised to be a follower of God. He humbly asked God for wisdom to make good decisions to live his life to honor God. God granted his request.

Solomon, over time, forgot God’s instructions and chose to disregard wisdom. He was taught in Deuteronomy 17 that a king was not to have multiple wives and not to hoard wealth for himself lest these things cause him to turn away from God. In complete violation of God’s Word, Solomon did both. He had 1000 wives and gathered wealth for himself beyond measure. Just as God warned, they turned his heart away.

Why did God allow Solomon’s kingship and disobedience to continue? God allows choices. He allows all people, like Solomon, to choose obedience or disobedience. He is a patient teacher and isn’t a God who forces anyone to obey. We also get to read about the end of Solomon’s life. In the book of Ecclesiastes, he writes that he tried to find fulfillment apart from God and that his days were full of sorrow and grief. He concluded that God will bring every work into judgment and that all people should fear God and keep his commandments.

He suffered the consequences of disobedience. Hopefully, we all learn by reading Solomon’s words. If not, we will live out similar, difficult lessons to show us that there are undesirable consequences to our sinful disobedience. The choice is ours.