Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. The Lord told Nicodemus,
that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born
of the spirit is spirit. Adam was of the earth and could
not embrace those things which can only be received through
a spiritual birth. He became corrupt because he
was corruptible, as is all flesh alike. There is none good but
one, that is God. As it is written, there is none
righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth.
There is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of
the way. They are together become unprofitable. There is none that
doeth good, no, not one. So we conclude that Adam, even
before he disobeyed the direct command of God, was still, as
a creature of the dust, unfit for the kingdom of heaven. 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 they could
never have attained by their own effort. 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. Long before the Israelites ever
asked to have a king like the other nations, the Lord had already
sent forth various prohibitions which were to be the guide of
whoever became their king. The wickedness and injustice
of the rule of Samuel's sons precipitated the cry of the Israelites
for a king. Yet the Lord told Samuel that
the real cause of this desire 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. 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 exceedingly 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,
than Ethan the Ezraite, and Hermon, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons
of Mahal. And his fame was in all nations
round about. And he spake three thousand proverbs,
and his songs were a thousand and five. And he spake of trees,
from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon, even unto the hyssop
that springeth out of the wall. He spake also of beasts, and
of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. And there came
of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of
the earth, which had heard of his wisdom. 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 a 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. 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. 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 under 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
into idolatrous worship, and he learned all too late that
gold and the possessions of this world are vanity. All that the
natural man desires is corrupt. 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. Is Christ the source of your
greatest pleasure? For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at windstream.net.