II Chronicles 8:11 "And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharoah out of the city of David unto the house that he had built for her: for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy, whereunto the ark of the LORD hath come."
What comes to mind when you think of King Solomon? Wisdom. Wives. Wealth. (That makes an alliterated three-point sermon right there!) Just think about those three traits for a minute. You would think a man with loads of wisdom would be wise enough to not have seven hundred wives! Sincerely, isn't that at least a little confusing?
Solomon neglected to use the wisdom God gave him because he neglected his conscience. The Bible says that Solomon built a separate house for Pharoah's daughter because "the places are holy, whereunto the ark of the LORD hath come." Solomon's conscience was obviously troubled by this dilemma. If you feel convicted that a holy God will be dishonored by what you are doing, then you shouldn't be doing it yourself!
Do you think some politicians have two lives? Of course so! Just watch the news! It is easy to see the wickedness of some politician's secret personal life that contradicts his public reputation. What is not so easy is seeing that same duplicity in my life. It is amazing what we scorn in the lives of politicians that we allow in our own lives.
Solomon responded to his conscience superficially and underestimated the danger of neglecting his conscience. How did he get to the place where he had seven hundred wives, including a pagan daughter of Pharaoh? It all started with neglecting his conscience the first time. That is the way sin works; a person does not fall, he slides. A neglected conscience in one area starts the slippery slope into sin. Neglecting your conscience always leads you in the wrong direction, no matter how far down the path you are!
Ask the Lord for determination with your conscience. Don't let even one small area of conscience go neglected today! A tender conscience informed by God's Word and His Spirit will be invaluable as you go throughout this week. Whatever you do, don't neglect your conscience today!
No comments:
Post a Comment