1 Kings: Walk Before Me FaithfullySample

The description of Solomon (vv. 1–4) is a mixture of good and bad. Positively, he ‘showed his love for the Lord’ (v. 3), though not with all his heart and soul as is required (Deuteronomy 6:5). Solomon loves the Lord, but he also loves lots of other things. Solomon walks in David’s ways, but is it significant that it is not in God’s ways (v. 3)? He offers an abundance of sacrifices (v. 4), but not in a proper place for sacrifice. Each of these positives is qualified with some compromise. Negatively, he marries an Egyptian princess, no doubt for a political alliance, thus shunning trust in the covenant with God. Solomon is what they call a curate’s egg: good in parts.

We ought not to be surprised at this for we are the same. Our lives are a mixture of good and bad, faith and faithlessness. We sometimes read the Bible moralistically, looking for simple good examples to follow and bad ones to avoid. But the Bible is perceptive about the complexity of human nature. Not even the biblical heroes (apart from Jesus) are completely good or bad. The fact that everyone is flawed keeps directing us to God and our need of a flawless hero. As we recognise humans are such a mixture, we ought also to be cautious when assessing other people’s actions and motives. 

Even when Solomon offers sacrifices in a forbidden high place, God graciously speaks to him in a dream; Solomon’s faithful and humble response in requesting wisdom is honoured and praised by God (vv. 5–15). In this Solomon seems very different from most of our world leaders who boast in their capability. 

In addition to wisdom, God will give Solomon wealth – a dangerous gift as kings were not supposed to accumulate wealth (Deuteronomy 17:14–20). Is this a reward or a test, or perhaps both? God’s good gifts can always be a snare to us. In the wealthy Western world of today, how should Christians view wealth?

Reflection

Ponder these words: ‘The line separating good and evil passes … right through every human heart’ (Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago).