Today’s reading: I Kings 10-11; Luke 24:1-35
9 And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord commanded.
25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
Often the problem of our lives is not our lack of knowledge but the resistance in our hearts to believe God and to love Him more than anything or anyone else.
JC Ryle wrote: “True faith does not depend merely on the state of man’s head and understanding, but on the state of his heart. His mind may be convinced. His conscience may be pierced. But so long as there is anything the man is secretly loving more than God, there will be no true faith.” ( http://hopefaithprayer.com/true-faith-matter-heart-ryle/)
Solomon’s heart “had turned away from the Lord” and he had gone after other gods. Did all those pagan wives and concubines have anything to do with this? Of course (I Kings 11:3-4). But no one forced Solomon to marry all those unbelievers. He did it because his heart was either already turned away from the Lord or he was willing to be turned away. As a result, he worshiped other gods and the true and living God greatly limited the kingdom that his descendents would inherit for centuries to come.
The disciples walking to Emmaus admitted that they had lost hope that Jesus, recently crucified, would redeem Israel. They seemed to doubt the reports that the Lord was not in the tomb where he had been buried. Jesus told them they were foolish and “slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.” How many times had He told them He would rise on the third day? So Jesus spent the rest of the evening explaining to them how the Scriptures pointed to Him and the things that had happened. Nothing had gone wrong except the hearts of the disciples that were slow to believe the truth of the resurrection both before it happened and after it happened.
How’s your heart? Is it turned toward the Lord? Is it quick to believe Him and His Word? Check it out. Let His truth hold you fast in His promises. Do not be swayed by circumstances or powerful influences. Love Him more than anything else. An unbelieving heart brings foolishness.
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