BACKSLIDING – The Blight of Today Amongst God’s People!

HOW DID IT GO FROM THIS:

“And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, and the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel; his cupbearers also, and their apparel; and his ascent by which he went up into the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, It was a true report which I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom: howbeit I believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: for thou exceedest the fame that I heard. Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom. Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king for the LORD thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore made he thee king over them, to do judgment and justice,” 2 Chronicles 9:3-8.

The Queen of Sheba’s visit to Solomon by Tintoretto, c. 1555

TO THIS???

“And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded. 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.”

1 Kings 11:9-11.

Solomon was the wisest man that ever lived for his wisdom was given him of God.

“In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee,” 1 Kings 3:5-12.

Yet Solomon ended his days as a fool! He had acted most foolishly indeed in his latter years. In truth, when we consider the mighty blessings and exceeding great privileges he enjoyed from God’s hand, Solomon became the most foolish man that ever lived! His epitaph, as recorded in 2 Chronicles 9:29, divides his life into two sections — first and last!

“Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?”

He did not end his life as he had begun. Unlike Paul, he could NOT say: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith,” 2 Timothy 4:7.

Astonishing and all as Solomon decline and departure from the Lord is, it is but a story repeated throughout the ages by the failure of His creatures to obey God and especially relevant today. This is the day the Lord spoke of when He said: “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come,” Matthew 24:12-14.

The ‘waxing cold’ is the prelude to the end of this age.

I. CONSIDER THE FIRST SIN OF SOLOMON!

The sin that brought down the devil was ‘pride’. That is confirmed by Paul’s reference to this fact when speaking of the danger of ordaining a ’novice’,  a young plant’ or one newly converted, lest such an elevation would result in pride. “Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil,” 1 Timothy 3:6.

The phrase “being lifted up with pride” is a metaphor taken from a bladder when filled with air or wind. We might well liken it to the blowing up of a balloon! Were that to happen then the individual would fall under the same condemnation as did the devil! Pride was what brought down the devil.

The first mention of pride is seen in Leviticus 26:17-19. “And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you. And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass.” We can see the context in which it is mentioned — here is Israel refusing to “hearken” unto God and defying Him out of a proud notion of their own greatness. As a result they will be  broken as the Lord sets His face against them.

The wise man said: “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall,” Proverbs 16:18.

There can be little doubt that abundance of riches and positions, the high standing of Solomon amongst neighbouring kingdoms and the many undoubted expressions of admiration of his person would have had a detrimental effect upon him. He was but mortal after all.

“And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life,” 1 Kings 4:21.

The Saviour warns of the danger of the praise of men. “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets,” Luke 6:26. It is better for a church’s spirituality when men heap curses upon it. Let the Free Presbyterian Church reflect upon this simple truth. The days of blessing in the past were days of reproach and censure! But they were days of God’s anointing as well! That reproach has been largely lifted, to the pleasing of many members it must be said. However, where is the blessing that once we knew? We may be ‘elevated’ in our own eyes and in the eyes of those who once reproached us, but how does the Lord view us?

I suggest that He is not amongst us or as pleased with as once He was!

BEARING REPROACH

It is not easy to bear reproach. No Christian enjoys being considered “fools for Christ’s sake” and “the offscouring of all things” (1 Corinthians 4:9-14), but it was the joy that came with such a designation that sustained the apostles in their times of persecution! “And when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name,” Acts 5:40-41.

Happy were the days when the Free Presbyterian Church was so designated!

The same process that brought Solomon down is at work amongst us today! Such a process has ever been common amongst God’s people throughout the ages. We live in a  world infused by pride. “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world,” 1 John 2:16. We must daily fight against such an atmosphere and refuse to ‘breathe’ it in.

Perhaps if our eyes were directed toward the possibility of this sad repeat of Solomon’s folly, those engaged in it may recognise their error and turn away from it before they bring ruin upon themselves.

II. SOLOMON’S WAS A GRADUAL DECLINE.

This is a world of ‘gradualism’. We see it in the development of the infant to the adult, we see it in the transformation in the creation around us as it metamorphoses from Spring through Summer and Autumn to Winter. The caterpillar as it becomes the butterfly teaches us this truth most vividly!

What a wonderful beginning Solomon had but it did not continue. He had that termed his ‘first’ and that termed his ‘last’. “Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?” 2 Chronicles 9:29. He did not end as he began. There was a slipping down from his ‘first’ to his ‘last’ ways and walk!

Backsliding

‘Backsliding’ is the term God uses of such decline. It is not a ‘jump’ but a ‘slide’, a gradual development. Indeed, so gradual that it often happens without the ‘backslider’ being truly aware of it. It is like falling asleep. That is a wonderful process which takes place without us really being conscious of it happening. It is a gentle drifting away from one state to another. Such is backsliding! It is something we should test ourselves for.

Are we what we were when we began the pilgrimage to heaven?

Does each Free Presbyterian congregation  hold as fervently to gospel truth and holy obedience of God’s Law as it did fifty years ago?

The spirit of hearts back then was of fervent separation unto God, and eager giving of oneself to His service and an unquestioning obedience and sacrificing for His cause. I recall that here in Kilskeery, a church building was erected, a Christian school was launched and supported, a manse built and a separatist witness boldly maintained and all this by a mere handful of believers!

Job said: “If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence; If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because mine hand had gotten much;  . . . This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above,”  Job 31:24-25,  28. The implication of Job’s words are clearly  set forth by Paul. “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows,” 1 Timothy 6:10.

From his earliest days as king, Solomon was surrounded by opulence! “And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he placed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem. And the king made silver and gold at Jerusalem as plenteous as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycomore trees that are in the vale for abundance. And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king’s merchants received the linen yarn at a price. And they fetched up, and brought forth out of Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so brought they out horses for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, by their means,” 2 Chronicles 1:14-17.

These are ‘head-turning’ circumstances in which to find oneself!

Restriction imposed by the Lord

When describing the king that God would set over them, a significant restriction was laid down by the Lord on how he should behave! “Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother. But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold,” Deuteronomy 17:15-17.

Are not these very things that emerged in the life of Solomon from early in his reign? From there things went downhill until his lifestyle angered the Lord. “And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded. 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,” 1 Kings 11:9-11.

The wise man desires only that which he NEEDS and not a satisfying of his GREED. In these days of materialism and never having enough, heed these words!

“Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain,” Proverbs 30:8-9.

“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me,” Hebrews 13:5-6.

“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows,” 1 Timothy 6:6-10.

III. SADLY, SOLOMON’S SPIRITUALITY GAVE WAY TO CARNALITY.

There was a change which crept into Solomon’s life. He went from “Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house,” 2 Chronicles 7:1, to “Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and threescore and six talents of gold; beside that which chapmen and merchants brought. And all the kings of Arabia and governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon,” 2 Chronicles 9:13-14.

I have often thought that the amount of gold that came to him yearly was an ominous number — 666!

Was there not something of the ‘spirit’ of the mercantile kingdom of Antichrist surfacing in Solomon’s kingdom?

“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six,” Revelation 13:16-18. Antichrist will head up a very rich trading empire. Of his kingdom it will be said one day: “For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. . . . Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: the merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all. The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,” Revelation 18:3, 8-15. Many of the items listed here were also the items which Solomon traded in!

IV. SOLOMON DISOBEYED THE WORD OF GOD IN THE MATTER OF MARRIAGE.

“And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that he had built for her: for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy, whereunto the ark of the LORD hath come,” 2 Chronicles 8:11. Solomon did what was wrong and knew it to be so but made a compromising, half-hearted effort to comply with the Word of God. This verse surely indicates that Solomon considered his wife to be a heathen, and not proper to dwell in a place which had been sanctified? Yet he considered her suitable, despite what God’s Word said, to be his wife. The inevitable happened!

“For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods. And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded. 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. Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father’s sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son,” 1 Kings 11:4-12.

Even a Solomon cannot escape the consequences of disobeying the Lord!

Plain command

The Law of God was plain on this matter.

“When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; and when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly,” Deuteronomy 7:1-4.

This Solomon would have known. The very thing that God warned would happen if they did not heed Him, came to pass in Solomon’s life. The Law said: “But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: that thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them,” Deuteronomy 30:17-20.

The defiance of Solomon was reaped in the days of his son, Rehoboam.

V. IN THE END, GOD WAS LARGELY SQUEEZED OUT OF SOLOMON’S LIFE BY THE SIN THAT HE EMBRACED.

1. Solomon did not believe the Lord when He told him of his fate. “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,” 1 Kings 11:11.2

2. He did not recognise the judgment of the Lord beginning against him. “And the LORD stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: he was of the king’s seed in Edom. . . And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah. . . And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon’s servant, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow woman, even he lifted up his hand against the king,” 1 Kings 11:14, 23, 26.

Backsliders fail to see the hand of God against them. Pride blinds them to their sin and its consequences. We can surely see that in our land and even in our denomination!

Things are not going for us as a people as they did in the days of the 60s and 70s! I understand that a Commission of Presbytery has been set up to find out why this is so! That such a body is required in order to find an answer to why things are not what they were in the past, is comment enough on the darkness that sadly abounds.

In days gone by we would have consulted the Bible and acted as it directed. We refer to the words of Solomon when he was walking with God and which in earlier days were sacrosanct within our ranks! Virtually every Sabbath School scholar and YPF attender would have been familiar with the teaching of these words back then!

“If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land,” 2 Chronicles 7:13-14.

Here is a recognising of the Lord being against the land and a humble acknowledging of sin and an earnest seeking of the Lord for a restoration of His favour.

That was the mind and heart and spirit of the Free Presbyterian Church I joined in 1964. From such a seeking of the Lord sprang the wonderful days of victory and growth that followed in the later ‘60s and in the ’70s.

THAT is still the ONLY way by which we may know a recovery and a breath of revival amongst us once again. May we even today seek face of the Lord for the spirit of 2 Chronicles 7:14 to be granted to us.

Rev Ivan Foster (Rtd)
5th July 2024