Evil company corrupt good morals
Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant (I Kings 11:11).
The first part of the 1st Book of Kings tells us more about King Solomon, how he built a temple for the Lord and dedicated it. We also read the wonderful prayer in Chapter 8 and how there was no one in all the earth as wise as he was and that people came from far and wide to see him. It therefore comes as a surprise for us to learn that this same Solomon, who we are told loved the Lord in Chapter 3, has the kingdom taken from him in Chapter 11. What happened to the man that loved God and walked in the statutes of his father David?. The answer is found in 1 Kings 11: 1, “But King Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites;…... Simply put, King Solomon had yoked himself with women from the different nations that God had warned His people not to associate with and had built alters to their gods. Solomon’s wives had turned his heart from God (1 Kings 11:6).
Friends, God knows exactly what He is saying when He warns “do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what does righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14). God knows that associating with those who are outside the covenant is dangerous because it will ultimately cause us to move away from His will and purposes for us.
May the Lord help us to be wise and discerning in choosing our friends and partners so that the blessings that God has stored up for us may not pass us by in Jesus Mighty Name, Amen.
Prayer: Lord, you are a good God and you want the best for us. Help us to heed your warning and keep away from those who would cause us to falter and turn us away from you. Give us wisdom and discernment and help us to choose the way that will lead to life and not death in Jesus Mighty Name. Amen and Amen.
