II Chronicles 9:31 And Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David his father; and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.
Sustain Your Kingdom; Cultivate Your Home
Think of all the money you could have if you were smart enough and wise enough. Think of all the power you could have if you had the wisdom for it. Think of all the influence you could wield if you knew what to say and think. Solomon was a man who had incredible wisdom that resulted in incredible wealth, incredible influence, and incredible power.
What was the result of Solomon’s wisdom? Verse 13 says, “Now the weight of gold came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and three score and six talents of gold.” Solomon had shields of beaten gold, a great throne of ivory, drinking vessels of gold, as well as silver, apes, and peacocks. The Bible summarizes Solomon’s successes by saying, “And king Solomon passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.” He had all the wealth, power, and influence that came from the wisdom to rule wisely.
But what came of Solomon’s folly? You may be thinking, “What do you mean ‘his folly’? In what way was Solomon foolish?” Well, the very last verse of that chapter introduces the beginning of the end, the beginning of civil war and the end of the kingdom as it had been. It says, “And Solomon slept with his fathers…and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.” It doesn’t matter how wealthy or wise a person is, there is coming a time when each person will die and someone else will take their place. The question is, “What kind of person will take their place?” In Ecclesiastes, Solomon speaks of how no one knows whether he will leave his wealth to a wise man or a fool.
Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, was not a wise man. His rule led to the disunion of a united kingdom. The folly of Solomon was shown in the fact that he built all this up and had no one to whom he could hand it. Why did he have no one to whom he could hand this kingdom? It was because he had no one in his house who had learned from him as a father what a man was to be, let alone what a king should be. Solomon’s kingdom floundered because Solomon’s home was ignored. You may be ever so wise in whatever professional pursuits you may make in life, but if you don’t have wisdom for the basic responsibilities in your home, it will be short lived every time.
You cannot sustain your kingdom without cultivating your home. If I don’t teach my kids how to live right and do well by being a man and a father who is real before them, how can I expect to win the world in whatever opportunities God has given to me? We should do our very best in our professional pursuits, but those things ought to be built on the foundation of a personal life well lived.