Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Proverbs 4:23 NLT
That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers…. Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day. 1 Kings 8:58, 61 KJV
For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. 1 Kings11:4 KJV
It is always a gripping moment for me when I read 1 Kings 8. I am filled with admiration for Solomon, but also moved with grief. That chapter covers the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem and is largely devoted to Solomon’s dedication prayer and his prayer of blessing for the people.
My admiration is for his theological depth and passion. He understands that this house cannot contain God. He also seems to recognize that it is not primarily a place of sacrifice, as though the thousands of sacrifices that would be made there through the years could somehow manipulate God into taking action. No, it is a place of prayer, a place where in his grace, God will hear sincere prayers of repentance and will freely forgive. Beyond this, he understands that faith in Yahweh is a matter of exclusive devotion to him, a heart that is all his.
My grief is over the fact that it is Solomon himself who sows the seeds of that temple’s destruction. For whatever reason, he did not guard his own heart. He allowed other lovers to have access to it through his own lusts. He knew the truth with penetrating clarity, but he did not live the truth. So, with his divided heart, he made a place for those false gods who would so come to grip his people and pollute the temple itself that Yahweh would have no choice but to burn the thing to the ground.
Do you know Biblical truth? Wonderful, but guard your heart.
Called To Be Transformed 