“And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he sacrificed and burned incense at the high places” (1 Kings 3:3).
Do you see that “except” there in the above verse? That ruined Solomon.
It started with what seemed like a small exception that he made to God’s rules. No doubt he even justified his actions with reasoning along these lines: I am worshipping God. I’m just doing it my way, my style. Surely He is pleased that I am sacrificing to Him.
There was so much that was right about the beginning of Solomon’s journey as king. Yet, that one “except” was lethal. Left unchecked, that seemingly small area of disobedience gradually grew. The one weed allowed to stay in the garden of his heart multiplied. More and more weeds came up, crowding out the good plants.
Eventually, they took over the garden. Solomon died with 700 wives and 300 concubines. His disobedience had become increasingly overt. These women turned his heart away from the Lord (1 Kings 11:1-3). He went to the grave estranged from the One he had once passionately loved.
What glory was this man’s while he lived! What favor from God he enjoyed! Perhaps his unprecedented prosperity made him feel insulated from the need to grow in purity of devotion. We can all learn from his mistakes. Most especially, we can learn not to allow singular weeds to keep growing in the garden of our hearts.
Is there an area of our lives where we have tolerated what we view as a “small exception”? May Holy Spirit relentlessly convict us, and may we surrender to Him. Far too often, it’s those seemingly small allowances believers make for themselves that end up causing destruction in their latter years.
Holy Spirit, please lead us forth in weeding our gardens today!
“Catch the foxes for us,
the little foxes,
that ruin the vineyards—
for our vineyard is in bloom.”
(Song 2:15).
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Do you have an example to share of how something seemingly small became a very big deal in the end? This could be either for good or for bad, as the principle works in both directions.
Feeding On Jesus 
Not really an exact example, but this is something I really want to teach my son. I used an object lesson with carpet and my dog actually. He had a small accident on the carpet and as hard as we tried to get it out on our own, the odor still lingered. It took the help of a professional pet stain removal service to completely remove it. When we look at that in our lives, the little things we do matter. Like you said, both the good and the bad. When it comes down to it, we can let the little bad things fester or like Solomon strive to get them out in our own style when the whole plan is to use the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ to blot out the stains and odors of sin and make us whole again. I really appreciate you putting this together. I’ll definitely be reviewing the story of Solomon with him again.
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Stephen, I so value and appreciate you sharing this illustration! It makes me think of how effective Jesus’ use of parables was and is. Seeing His principles played out in the practical matters of our daily lives helps us learn the lessons so much more effectively. Thank you so much for this. God’s richest blessings to you!
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Amen!
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Thank you, BT!
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“…the need to grow in the purity of devotion.” I love this phrase. Amen, Lord, grow me in the purity of devotion.
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Smiling with loving joy. Amen, me too Lord! Thank you, my dear sister, for your kind words, they mean a lot to me.
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Thank you for this, Jennifer. Such a good reminder.
Blessings! 💞💐
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You are truly welcome, my dear sister! Many, many blessings to you too 🤗 🌺
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