GOD'S Sabbath Rest

Solomon and the Cross

Said Jesus Christ in His relationship with our Father, “I do always those things that please him.” Jn.8:29.  True peace in one’s life can only be achieved through this avenue of determined service to GOD, which is reflected by one’s service to man: to stand blameless in the issue of betrayal.  The personal struggles that accompany our determination to serve GOD the Bible describes as “gold tried in the fire.”  The reason for the trying hardships in the lives of those who choose to hold this course of obedience to GOD is because of life’s great enemy, Satan, who marshals his forces (from both angels and men) to oppose our peace and success; and he will carry out his authority as far as he is allowed.  Society has no concept of the warfare taking place among angels: fierce conflicts over the affairs of men, between those of might and tenderness under Christ’s command, and those exercising intellectual conspiracy to betray the dignity of life: those under Satan’s command.  But Jesus comforts us in our fears and afflictions: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Jn.16:33.  The Christian always finds rest in what Christ has accomplished: His victory that will one day eradicate every jurisdiction of sin: its power over our physical natures, its condemnation of death, and the very presence of Satan and his minions.  Christ’s soon-coming Advent will deliver every decent, faithful soul from death’s domain.  And those who “are alive and remain” the temptations of devils will no longer be, for the devil and demons remain here in a desolate world while the saints ascend to heaven in the very same path that the Savior ascended to the Father nearly two thousand years ago; but this time He carries His Bride with Him to His Father in heaven.  

In contrast to this challenge we all face the Bible teaches, that, “every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”  Due to temptations coupled with our inherently selfish nature, (the un-chosen inheritance for life), “all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.” Jud.21:25; Is.53:6. And because the voice of conscience has been ignored by so many men, even “seared with a hot iron,” one of the many bitter fruits of this chosen path is the promotion of false opinions as if they were true; the pawning off of adultery as love, the committing of lies and theft as if they are beneficial, and the murder of innocent life as an acceptable necessity for the “greater good.”

And yet, there is but one goal in man’s desire to ascertain the knowledge of the Universe: to know one's sense of worth: the value of our personal being, and relying on the bedrock of truth to achieve the most precise evaluation in our estimation.  It is this desire that predominates human aspiration.

But Life is filled with a succession of unmet hungers.  Man is malnourished in more than just his diet.  Life’s nutrition is more than food.  But men keep eating what is by definition not food, neither for the body nor for the spirit, because of the misuse of imagination, always inventing fictional fairytales that dominate man’s ideas in every field of study.  Among the greatest injustices perpetrated by sin in our modern society is that man fantasizes the battle with evil and violence to permeate the whole of the universe, fictionalizing the struggle to survive as being eternal in nature, not realizing the assurance of GOD, through His Sacred Word, that only this world is contaminated with sin and will one day be healed of it through the Sole Victory of Jesus Christ: the Creator Who, of His own free will became our Sacrifice for sin. And when we understand the Biblical and scientific fact that every component of the creation serves to the protection of life it becomes obvious that all activity beheld in the universe is in the process of its service to life not its threat of destruction.

Every question as it pertains to life deserves to be answered: with both clarity and to the satisfaction of conscience; for it must harmonize with our inborn sense of justice, mercy, and love: the psychological profile placed into the hearts of men by the Great Creator: to give man a fighting chance to come to the realization of GOD’S free gift of salvation from man’s recklessness and the harm it has caused.

The procedure of our daily walk should be subservient to the goals desired. And the goals should be subservient to the will of GOD, Who lives to serve: knowing what is best for the creatures formed by His hands, whose intentions for His children trapped in the snares of sin will one day restore the safe, happy life for all His creatures.  The example set forth by Jesus Christ is simple: It is the unswerving obedience to the needs of others, contributing maximum effort—that reflects the “perfect” man.

Every generation of history has searched for answers that meet the desperate cry of the human spirit.  There have been many men and women blessed with the coordination to give an answer to some of these vital questions.  A long time ago there lived one such man.  His wisdom exceeded all who lived before him and all who have followed him. The reason we know this to be so is that GOD Himself ordained the supremacy of wisdom and understanding to be given to this one man—and him alone, as it is written, “Lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.” I Ki.3:12. His name was King Solomon.  The wisdom of Confucius could not compare to this man.  The wisdom of Buddha or Gandhi were mere vignettes of the Wisdom of Solomon. From Aristotle and Plato to the Caesars and Popes of Rome, their wisdom paled in comparison to this man.  From the early forefathers of America to those who live today: none will ever approach the Wisdom of Solomon: Wisdom ordained from on High.  Nowhere in history could any of the sages of the ages stand up to the magnitude of the Wisdom given by the GOD of heaven to Solomon. All that is good that has proceeded through history is a reflection of men giving honor to that wisdom, recorded and made available to you and me, to learn and assimilate the boundaries of peace, and those of danger.

Solomon prayed to God and set his heart to find knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Only by this plea to GOD could Solomon properly serve the kingdom entrusted to his care.  God answered the cry of his heart with an abundance of each.  And coupled with this gift from on High came every comfort that a sinful world can provide to a man.  Solomon was lavished with everything both productive and destructive to the human soul.  In his life is experienced the summit and the pits of human nature. The sinful side of his life gives us insight into the final result from indulging in the base passions for the insatiable desires of this world.  What did Solomon discover at the end of his life’s journey? “I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit” Eccl.1:14.  A sense of insatiable emptiness was all he was left with!

Solomon’s indulgence began with a distorted method of evangelism. He took one wrong step, and that step led to another and then another.  In the false hope of elevating the heathen he stooped to their level rather than remain steadfast in the superior plane of GOD’S elevation.  His compromise proved to be a most dangerous path, a path that few are able to retrace their steps.  These actions of compromise with godliness contradicted the manner of evangelism set forth by GOD: a manner designed to be holy and blameless, a witness that none could find any points of ridicule.  The sinful heart is ever alert to find opportunity to cast doubt on the Gospel of “the LORD,” Jesus Christ.

But although Solomon compromised with sin, degrading the ways of GOD, cowering them to the ways of sinful men, before all was said and done, Solomon’s GOD-given Wisdom led to his repentance in later years.  In the tone of repentance he wrote: “One sinner destroyeth much good.”  Eccl.9:18.  He well knew that he had set in motion the seeds of apostasy that would lead to the destruction of Israel, and even to Israel’s rejection of the coming Christ.  Solomon understood that his example contributed to the murder of GOD in Christ by his own people.  And to this contribution, he repented.  This lay at the heart of his sadness as a wise old man at the end of his life’s journey. 

All was not in vain in the life of Solomon.  The principles set forth in his youth, (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit), drew him back into the fold of righteousness, and, in that same GOD-given wisdom, Solomon worked to undo the harm he had done.  Even in the great sin of Solomon, GOD used that lesson as a blessing for the coming generations.  Among the most profound blessings from His life of indulging his senses in all the power and riches of earth is seen in the knowledge of it playing a vital role to strengthen Jesus Christ to resist His adopted sinful nature: the human trait to fall prey to the fevered passions for power and wealth.  When Satan appeared before Jesus after several weeks of fasting, while the pangs of hunger and the allure of life’s comforts pressed Him, the devil tempted Him with the promise of the world’s riches.  What did Jesus have to help bring Him victory, and defend His faith?  “It is written,” found in the life of Solomon.  To paraphrase the Savior’s estimation of Satan’s offer: “You offer to Me everything that was given to GOD’S servant, Solomon, when, at the end of his life, he determined it to be of no value to the service of GOD nor of life.” Christ then said, “Get thee behind Me, Satan…”

What we discover is that the course of Solomon’s life played an important role in the success of Jesus Christ as the Savior of men.  This fulfills the great promise of Scripture: “The LORD thy GOD turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy GOD loved thee.” Deut.23:5.  In these words GOD speaks to all.

The GOD-given Wisdom of Solomon addresses every aspect of GOD’S deliverance through the plan of salvation and how to best live our lives in a sinful world.  The Proverbs of Solomon come under three general headings: “knowledge,” “understanding,” and “wisdom.”  “Knowledge” is factual information.  “Understanding” is the combination of knowledge with experience.  And “wisdom” is the practical and public application of understanding, that, when blessed of GOD, meets the various needs of our individual and corporate growth in goodness.

And the objective of this understanding is to build an unwavering faith to believe the Biblical Gospel.  This has ever been the goal of Jesus Christ to every man: to believe GOD’S Word, as Jesus Himself believed when He lived among us upholding its counsel in all things.

Among Solomon's many words were these: "Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom; and with all thy getting get understanding."  To Whom did Solomon turn to learn?  The LORD Jehovah, Who granted to Solomon the cry of his heart, for he cried for the benefit of others and not for himself.  To gain the pleased response of GOD when we understand the great need to follow what is best, and avoid what is not, upholding what is true, and detesting what is not.  This is the superior goal: to have an abiding love for Truth.