Solomon’s Repentance
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From such examples we should learn that in watchfulness and
prayer is the only safety for both young and old. Security does not
lie in exalted position and great privileges. One may for many years
have enjoyed a genuine Christian experience, but he is still exposed to
Satan’s attacks. In the battle with inward sin and outward temptation,
even the wise and powerful Solomon was vanquished. His failure
teaches us that, whatever a man’s intellectual qualities may be, and
however faithfully he may have served God in the past, he can never
with safety trust in his own wisdom and integrity.
In every generation and in every land the true foundation and
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pattern for character building have been the same. The divine law,
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, ... and thy
neighbor as thyself,” the great principle made manifest in the character
and life of our Saviour, is the only secure foundation, the only sure
guide.
Luke 10:27
. “Wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability
of thy times, and strength of salvation,” the wisdom and knowledge
which God’s word alone can impart.
Isaiah 33:6
.
It is as true now as when the words were spoken to Israel of
obedience to His commandments: “This is your wisdom and your
understanding in the sight of the nations.”
Deuteronomy 4:6
. Here is
the only safeguard for individual integrity, for the purity of the home,
the well-being of society, or the stability of the nation. Amidst all life’s
perplexities and dangers and conflicting claims, the one safe and sure
rule is to do what God says. “The statutes of the Lord are right,” and
“he that doeth these things shall never be moved.”
Psalm 19:8
;
15:5
.
Those who heed the warning of Solomon’s apostasy will shun the
first approach of those sins that overcame him. Only obedience to
the requirements of Heaven will keep man from apostasy. God has
bestowed upon man great light and many blessings; but unless this
light and these blessings are accepted, they are no security against
disobedience and apostasy. When those whom God has exalted to
positions of high trust turn from Him to human wisdom, their light
becomes darkness. Their entrusted capabilities become a snare.
Till the conflict is ended, there will be those who will depart from
God. Satan will so shape circumstances that unless we are kept by
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divine power, they will almost imperceptibly weaken the fortifications
of the soul. We need to inquire at every step, “Is this the way of the
Lord?” So long as life shall last, there will be need of guarding the