by Gary Kneezel

Kings may influence history, but God controls history. As we saw in the first part of chapter 11, Solomon’s heart had turned away from God. God promised to let Solomon continue to reign, but He would tear most of the kingdom away from Solomon’s son. And there were consequences that Solomon experienced personally. God raised up two adversaries for Solomon – Hadad and Rezon. In some ways these adversaries were an outgrowth of King David’s military victories years before (described in 2 Samuel 8). As a boy, Hadad escaped to Egypt, and had no great love for the family of David. David’s actions made Israel safer from Edom during his own lifetime, but Solomon was not quite the military hero that David was. Meanwhile, Hadad thrived in Egypt. Pharaoh was so pleased with Hadad that he gave him the Queen’s sister as a wife. Hadad’s son was raised in the palace with Uncle Pharaoh’s kids. Solomon’s bridal diplomacy was nearly successful in keeping Hadad in Egypt. One of Solomon’s first wives was Pharaoh’s daughter (I Kings 3:1). Probably Pharaoh was not thrilled at the prospect of one set of his in-laws attacking another set, and tried to encourage Hadad to stay in Egypt. Yet Hadad persisted. We do not know exactly how God raised up Hadad as Solomon’s adversary. Perhaps He allowed Hadad to obsess about revenge. Perhaps He worked in Pharaoh’s heart to let Hadad leave. We do know that Solomon’s efforts to establish effective alliances were over-ruled by God in this case.

Whether at a national level or at a personal level, the plans that we make do not supersede God’s plans. Do I pray for our national leaders, for the decisions they make and for their individual relationships with God? What about my own life? Is God at the center of my personal plans? Do I even take God and His will into consideration as I make my decisions? When an obstacle interrupts my plans and disrupts my world, do I become angry with God, or do I turn toward God and recommit my life and plans into His care? If circumstances in my life are inconvenient or painful, do I blame God? Is it possible that He is trying to get my attention and to call me back into a closer relationship with Him?

A fellow traveler,
Gary