Trapped by Self-Fulfillment

Scripture: And Solomon rebuilt Gezer. He built up Lower Beth Horon, Baalath, and Tadmor in the desert, within his land, as well as all his store cities and the towns for his chariots and for his horses—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled. 1 Kings 9:17-19

Observation: Solomon built ... whatever HE desired.

After Solomon has completed the temple, then his own palace, and then begins building cities and equipment. Within HIS land and the territory HE rules, HE builds HIS store cities for HIS chariots.

Then in chapter 10, the Queen of Sheeba arrived, and Solomon impresses her with HIS wisdom, so she honors HIS achievements. And an inventory of HIS splendor reveals all HE has, all HIS wealth, and all of HIS decor in HIS palace, not to mention all HIS chariots in HIS army. Finally, let's not forget all HIS wives and concubines, over 1,000 women! Of course, what happens next is these wives lead Solomon into worshipping other gods, as he builds idols and shrines to those gods so his foreign wives can pray to them, and eventually participates in it himself.

Thus, we see the downfall of even the wisest man in the world. Solomon wrote about the greatness of the Lord, about how all wisdom comes from the Lord, and of how that wisdom is most evident when aligned to the Lord's instructions. Then, Solomon ignored it all, violated his own teachings, and turned away from the Lord. In truth, this all began not with temptation to honor the other gods, but with the trap to honor himself.

Solomon began as a king who understood his greatness came from the Lord, and that his mission was to build the Temple to honor the Lord. However, he soon moved to honoring the Lord in indirect ways ... rebuilding Jerusalem cities, creating a palace for the anointed king. These soon became about him, however, and he continued to take actions that elevated himself. Sure, he might have thought that demonstrating the great wisdom Yahweh gave him therefore honored Yahweh, but we don't see him giving credit to the Lord for his wisdom or riches or successful building projects or sustained peace. Once his heart was concerned about what he himself could do and how he was responsible for fulfilling his mission, it was open to temptation to just go do things without considering the Lord's instructions.

Application: Every human falls into this trap, of thinking that success in their lives is of their own doing. Yes, there are some people who have learned to work within the worldly systems to create worldly success. However, I know and understand that I am not one of those people. If I have success, it has always been because the Lord chose to bless me. I do not self-fulfill any goal.

Even with that knowledge, I still talk about things "I have done" in life, and work I am doing, and how well I did. Yes, this is a deep trap, when I fail even momentarily to honor the Lord and thank him for everything in my life.

Prayer: Lord, I know you are the source of all good things, and it is by you alone that I can do anything in this world. May I continue to seek your guidance, follow your path, comply with your instructions, and listen to your instructions, in all matters and all activities, every day. Amen.