I'm getting into that section of the Old Testament that most church going people probably never touch, 1 Kings-2 Chronicles. It contains a lot of history, names that are all but impossible to figure out how to begin to pronounce, and seemingly a lot of stuff that is irrelevant to modern day life. But on my quest to discover the heart of God this is territory that has to be searched because He's there, and I don't want to miss anything about Him.
I've brought a faithful companion along for this journey. A book that has been so helpful to this point. 66 Love Letters by Larry Crabb. The book takes a first person dialogue approach between the author and God, looking at what God is trying to say to all of us through the pages of Scripture.
His approach truly sees each book of the Bible as a love letter from God's heart to us. And with that in mind it shows us that no matter what the content of a particular book of the Bible, there is relevance for us today. There is something in it that we can learn from. There are things about God for us to observe and model.
1 Kings contains some incredible stories. We have the account of Elijah's life, and the amazing encounters He had with God. We see Solomon build the temple in Jerusalem, and when the Ark is brought in the glory of the Lord fills it and the priests are unable to enter and minister because of it. But we also see the kingdom of Israel divided, and a host of wicked leaders to care nothing about God and lead the people astray.
All of this comes down to the fact that the people neglected holiness. It begins with Solomon, see what Larry Crabb writes about what God is trying to say.
"Your desire to be effective, to depend on biblical principles for success in your family, church, career, and friendships, is legitimately strong. But when that desire is stronger than your desire to be holy and to depend o My power for becoming more like My Son, whether you succeed or fail in other ways, then you will not advance My plan, no matter how carefully you follow My principles or how much apparent success you enjoy. And you'll be especially vulnerable to serious sin."
He continues, "He (Solomon) wanted to effectively rule Israel according to My principles. And that was commendable. But his desire to be effective in handling, as you put it, all that life threw at him, was stronger than his desire to be holy in the middle of his difficult challenges. That was Solomon's mistake. When efficient management, especially when you're good at it, trumps holy living, the lack of holiness is either not recognized or is not seen as a terribly serious problem. Compromise, including using illegitimate pleasure to relieve stress, feels warranted. People with little concern for holiness often manage their families well, they sometimes lead prospering ministries, and many are successful in their careers. But the enter of My plan has nothing to do with well-managed families, ministries, or careers. When the enter of My plan is not the center of your hope, your interior world is unstable, and your soul is weakened."
"The power to manage life well never fills the depths of one's soul. It never provides the deep satisfaction I made you to enjoy. without the hope of holiness filling your soul, the need to fill yourself with something will lead to compromise that will seem necessary, even wise."
"Know this: prioritizing managerial efficiency over personal holiness opens the door to sin spinning out of control... leadership without a priority concern for personal holiness over effective management at best produces only outward success. It fails to engage the real battle in the human soul, between losing your life for Me or gaining your life without Me."
Hopefully since it's all in quotes and I said where it's from I didn't plagiarizer any of that.
Solomon set a tone that led to Israel in many senses falling apart. The nation was divided, and the people were on track to exile. God sent prophets to remind His people about the call to holiness, but it didn't last. One bad leader followed another, building on the wickedness of the previous king. Things got in the way and the leadership forgot about God. They forgot about seeking Him. The neglected holiness at the cost of the nation.
Holiness is the point. God has called His people to be holy as He is. Here is a biblical account of holiness that has been neglected. When we ignore holiness we ignore God. When we ignore Him we can't become like Him and therefor fall further away from Him. When we are full of head knowledge about God that never turns into a heart transformation of holiness, we miss the point. God doesn't want to enhance our lives, but to transform them into the image of His Son.
God calls us to be holy, and has made it possible for us to be holy. The Bible contains everything we need to know in order to become like Christ. It contains the instructions of holiness, both in models to follow and examples to avoid. We see how people honored God by obeying and pursuing Him, and how others disgraced Him by rejecting Him, or trying to use Him for their own gain.
God has called us to be holy. Holiness is the point. The Bible says in Hebrews 12.14, "Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord" (NIV). Holiness is essential, and it is what God desires for all men.
To God alone be the Glory!
Peace be with you
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