SOAP 05/15/2016; 2 Chronicles 8:11

Today's reading: 1 Chronicles 25, 26, 27; 1 Thessalonians 4*

S) "¹¹ Then Solomon brought Pharaoh's daughter up from the city of David to the house which 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 where the ark of the LORD has entered.'"

2 Chronicles 8:11 (NASB)
*because there are already entries for each of these chapters, I also read 2 Chronicles 8

O) This is one of those verses that is a warning, because we know the whole narrative. In the context that Solomon's many foreign wives turned his heart to idolatry, this verse shows us a little bit of how he got to that point. Clearly, by his own words, Solomon knew that his matrimony was not holy, or else she could have stayed. Instead of addressing this the right way, he rationalized a compromise where he had no right to negotiate.

A) Compromising with sin, always leads to new sin. In my life, I must be careful to have appropriate responses to temptation. I cannot rationalize the temptation, and try to come up with my own ways of dealing with it. I must seek God's word, and follow His ways, or else all of my rationalizing is nothing more than deluding myself.

P) Father, I don't want to be a fool. I know I cannot deceive You, but I also don't want to deceive myself. Give me open eyes, to see my temptations clearly. Give me open ears, to hear the convictions of the Holy Spirit. Help me respond correctly, with confession and repentance, instead of trying to justify my desires with autonomy that doesn't belong to me. You are sovereign, I am not. Let Your will be done, and disallow mine. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.