Facing God

 1 Kings 10-11; 2 Chronicles 9; Romans 6 

“The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart turned away from the Lord…who had appeared to him twice…Then the Lord raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite…And God raised up against Solomon another adversary…”

1 Kings 11:9, 14, 23

The worst form of spiritual warfare doesn’t come from Satan, it comes from God. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Solomon’s pride and cavalier attitude toward God’s command to not intermarry with Israel’s neighbors turned Solomon’s heart away to other gods. Sin and rebellion are cruel task masters. Solomon’s heart and mind were tormented by great existential questions as he turned from God to look for answers to life’s great questions apart from God. The path of grace, as Paul described it to the Romans, goes in the opposite direction. As we humble ourselves before God and receive his forgiveness and grace, we look for ways to obey him. Instead of conflict, God gives us favor and protection. As we humble ourselves under God’s mighty hand, he, in due time, raises us up. When we rebel against God, he raises up adversaries and circumstances to humble us and call us back to him. Solomon reminds us that God opposes sin; he is not an enemy we want to face.

“Lord Jesus, you are my deliverer from sin and self. I humble myself before you, and under the Lord’s mighty hand, for your glory.”