Lessons from Bible Characters
131
Shall we give heed to the warning, and shun the first approach to those
sins which overcame him who was called the wisest of men?—
Letter
8b, 1891
.
Solomon’s Weakness a Beacon of Warning
Of Solomon the inspired record says, “His wives turned away his
heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his
God.”
This is no theme to be treated with a smile. The heart that loves
Jesus will not desire the unlawful affections of another. Every want is
supplied in Christ. This superficial affection is of the same character
as that exalted enjoyment which Satan promised Eve. It is coveting
[181]
that which God has forbidden. When it is too late hundreds can warn
others not to venture upon the precipice. Intellect, position, wealth
can never, never take the place of moral qualities. Clean hands, a
pure heart, and noble, earnest devotion to God and the truth the Lord
esteems above the golden wedge of Ophir.
An evil influence has a perpetuating power. I wish I could set this
matter before God’s commandment-keeping people just as it has been
shown me. Let the sad memory of Solomon’s apostasy warn every soul
to shun the same precipice. His weakness and sin are handed down
from generation to generation. The greatest king that ever wielded
a scepter, of whom it had been said that he was the beloved of God,
through misplaced affection became contaminated and was miserably
forsaken of his God. The mightiest ruler of the earth had failed to
rule his own passions. Solomon may have been saved “as by fire,” yet
his repentance could not efface those high places, nor demolish those
stones, which remained as evidences of his crimes. He dishonored
God, choosing rather to be controlled by lust than to be a partaker of
the divine nature.
What a legacy Solomon’s life has committed to those who would
use his example to cover their own base actions. We must either
transmit a heritage of good or evil. Shall our lives and our example
be a blessing or a curse? Shall people look at our graves and say, “He
ruined me”, or “He saved me”? ...
The lesson to be learned from the life of Solomon has a special
moral bearing upon the life of the aged, of those who are no longer
[182]