Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. We see the mercy of God
demonstrated as He would manifest the sin nature of men in order
to display the glory of His grace and mercy in the redemption of
that people which He chose in Christ from before the foundation
of the world. How glorious does the redeeming
work of Christ appear as He put on the likeness of sinful flesh
in order to be made an offering for their sin and to give them
an inheritance which He purchased with His own blood that they
can in no wise have ever attained to. We often hear some speculate
on what would have happened if Adam had never sinned. This is
a foolish speculation, much like wondering what would happen if
water ran uphill. Adam was not part of a failed
experiment, but rather a means whereby the glory of Christ might
be magnified in the earth. Now is the judgment of this world.
Now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if
I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. For as much then as the children
are protectors of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took
part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that
had the power of death, that is, the devil. Long before the
Israelites ever asked to have a king like the other nations,
the Lord had already set forth various prohibitions, which were
to be the guide of whoever became their king. The Lord told Samuel
that the real cause of Israel's desire for a king was because
the people had rejected him. And the Lord said unto Samuel,
hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto
thee, for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected
me, that I should not reign over them. Such is the nature of man. About 400 years elapsed between
the Lord's commands in Deuteronomy and the reign of Saul as the
first king of Israel. As we read of the various kings
which subsequently ruled Israel, we find none of them that obeyed
these precepts completely. And we find one king in particular
who blatantly fell prey to all of those things which the Lord
commanded them not to do. In order to demonstrate the folly
of even the wisest of men, the Lord gave to David a son who
would succeed him, and who would even be the one privileged to
build the temple of God in Israel. And God gave Solomon wisdom and
understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even
as the sand that is on the seashore. And Solomon's wisdom excelled
the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all
the wisdom of Egypt, for he was wiser than all men. Yet Solomon
went the way of all flesh and despised the way of God, even
turning a deaf ear to one of his own proverbs. There is a
way that seemeth right unto man, but the end thereof are the ways
of death. The Lord told the kings not to
multiply horses, yet we read that Solomon had forty thousand
horses. The Lord told them that the reason they should not do
this was so that they would not be tempted to return to Egypt.
Yet Solomon received tribute from the nations that bordered
Egypt. He told them that they should not multiply wives, that
is, practice polygamy. Yet that is exactly what Solomon
did, as we read that he had a thousand wives and concubines, even taking
Pharaoh's daughter to be his wife. He also amassed a fortune
in silver and gold in direct disobedience to that which the
Lord had prescribed. In fact, he had so much gold
that it made silver to be of little worth. Now we are sure
that in and of themselves the Lord did not regard horses or
their possession as being evil, even as He did not utterly condemn
the practice of polygamy, nor does He regard gold as being
a wicked treasure. The prohibition of these things
is given to these kings because the Lord would have men to recognize
the wickedness of their hearts, as it is bound in the heart of
man to abuse those things which God has given for the benefit
of men. Paul said, all things are lawful
unto me, but all things are not expedient. All things are lawful
for me, but I will not be brought unto the power of any. Solomon
is the poster child for excess being that which leads to destruction
and sorrow. His horses and the strength of
his army was a source of pride. His wives ultimately led him
to idolatrous worship. And he learned all too late that
gold and the possessions of this world are vanity. All that man
desires in the flesh is corrupt. To illustrate the impossibility
of men to enter the kingdom of God by their own way, the Lord
used the folly of the wisest man on earth to illustrate man's
innate corruption. May the Lord impress upon our
hearts what Paul declared, whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or
whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Christ is all. Do you desire his righteousness,
or are you content with your own? For a free CD containing
15 of these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at
windstream.net.