(1 Ki) 9:2-4, 6-7 CJB “Adonai appeared to Shlomo a second time, as he had appeared to him in Giv‘on. Adonai said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your plea that you made before me: I am consecrating this house which you built and placing my name there forever; my eyes and heart will always be there. As for you, if you will live in my presence, as did David your father, in pureness of heart and uprightness, doing everything I have ordered you to do, and observing my laws and rulings; But if you turn away from following me, you or your children, and do not observe my mitzvot and regulations which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods, worshipping them; then I will cut off Isra’el from the land I have given them. This house, which I consecrated for my name, I will eject from my sight; and Isra’el will become an example to avoid and an object of scorn among all peoples.”
God personally appeared to Solomon twice.
Think about that.
Twice!
Yet 1 Kings 9 reminds us that even extraordinary encounters with God cannot replace a lifetime of faithful obedience to God.
After Solomon completed the Temple, ADONAI appeared to him and said: “As for you, if you will live in my presence, as did David your father, in pureness of heart and uprightness, doing everything I have ordered you to do…” 1 Kings 9:4 CJB
But God also gave Solomon a serious warning.
If he and Israel turned away, disobeyed God, and worshiped other gods, judgment would follow.
Tragically, that is exactly what happened.
Faithful Obedience to God Must Continue
Solomon experienced God in ways most of us can hardly imagine.
God gave him incredible wisdom.
God blessed him with wealth, influence, and success.
Solomon built the Temple.
And God personally appeared to him twice.
Yet none of those experiences guaranteed Solomon’s future faithfulness.
Eventually, Solomon allowed his foreign wives to turn his heart toward other gods. The man who built God’s Temple also built high places for idols.
What a warning.
Yesterday’s encounter with God doesn’t guarantee tomorrow’s obedience.
We can make the same mistake.
We remember when we trusted Christ.
We remember a powerful worship experience.
We remember a Bible study that changed us.
We remember a season when we walked closely with God.
Those experiences matter.
But God calls us to follow Him today.
And then tomorrow.
And then the day after that.
Perseverance Matters
This is where we need to hold two biblical truths together.
Our obedience doesn’t earn salvation.
Jesus did everything necessary to reconcile us to God.
But Scripture also never treats continuing in faith and obedience as optional.
Jesus repeatedly calls His people to endure, overcome, remain faithful, and hold firmly to what they have.
So I think we can say it this way:
God’s promises are secured for us by Christ, but Scripture never treats our perseverance as optional. Those who truly belong to Christ continue in faith, and the Holy Spirit works within them to produce the obedience and perseverance God requires.
That protects us from two dangerous errors.
We don’t say:
“I obey, therefore God owes me salvation.”
But neither do we say:
“I prayed a prayer years ago, so it doesn’t really matter whether I continue following Jesus.”
Saving faith is a faith that perseveres.
Not perfectly.
But persistently.
God Remains Faithful When Men Fail
Solomon failed.
Israel repeatedly failed.
But God remained faithful.
God fulfilled His promises to Abraham ultimately through Jesus Christ.
The story didn’t end with Solomon’s failure, Israel’s rebellion, or even the destruction of the Temple.
It leads us to Jesus.
And ultimately Scripture takes us beyond Solomon’s Temple to the new creation.
Revelation 21 describes the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven, where God will dwell with His redeemed people forever.
God’s promises never failed.
His warnings didn’t fail either.
Israel’s continued idolatry eventually brought exactly the judgment God had warned Solomon about.
God is faithful both to His promises and His warnings.
We Have Something Solomon Didn’t Have
Sometimes I think we would have stronger faith if God would just appear to us.
God, just show Yourself to me.
Solomon got that.
Twice.
And still wandered.
Meanwhile, God has given believers something Solomon never experienced as we do.
We have His completed Word.
We have access to the Father through Jesus Christ.
And every genuine believer has the indwelling Holy Spirit.
God hasn’t left us to persevere through our own strength.
His Spirit teaches us, convicts us, strengthens us, and increasingly conforms us to the image of Jesus.
That’s why Christianity can never simply be about claiming a religion.
God calls us to a persevering relationship with Jesus that produces faithful obedience to God.
When we sin, we repent.
When we wander, we return.
When His Word corrects us, we listen.
When He commands us, we obey.
And when following Jesus becomes difficult, we keep following.
Run Today’s Play
Ask yourself if you are relying on yesterday’s faith while resisting something God is telling you today?
Then, open God’s Word and ask the Holy Spirit to expose one area where you need to obey. Then do what God has already told you to do.
Don’t merely remember when you followed Jesus.
Follow Him today.
And by the power of His Spirit, keep following Him all the way home.