Then the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying:
“Concerning this temple which you are building, if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My word with you, which I spoke to your father David.” (I Kings 6:11,12 NKJV)
The meaning of the Hebrew word transliterated as ‘im (eem) is undisputed. It means, if. God is reminding Solomon that He is following through on a promise to David that his son, Solomon, would build the Temple for the Name, and that the Lord would —
(v13) …. dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel.
That’s a huge, if! Solomon had great Godly wisdom, but was fully human. In the end, he was unable to meet the conditions this “if” presented him. God was true to his word, and Israel suffered a season of correction for Solomon’s disobedience.
It is imperative when reading this to remember that with Christ, the “if” was sacrificed on the cross. We do not live under the shadow of the “‘if“. Our God has sent a Savior to redeem us from the impossible “if”. We cannot keep God’s statutes with divine perfection as Jesus did. We will fail just as Solomon failed ( no “if” about that) and we will need the flood of the Blood of God’s Mercy and Grace.
It is easy to observe our spiritual lives through the flawed lens of our human hearts. We can see our sin as personal failures that need more than repentance. We can self deceive and apply efforts we identify as “good” to mend and correct the bad sin. Great idea with a terrible flaw — there is no righteous man. No, not even one. Our sacrifice of presumed goodness insults the work of Christ on the cross.
A further common deception is that being used in a mighty way like Solomon was used by God somehow entitles us to some bonus sin without consequence. Many Christian leaders have excepted themselves from their own teachings of the Word and ministries and churches have tumbled as Solomon tumbled. It’s a deceptive form of spiritual barter — God I know this is wrong, but look how much good I am doing for You. There is no biblical ambiguity regarding this point — Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons…(Acts 10:34 KJV) No human effort in God’s interest ever earns the right of an indulgence in sin.
Step out from under the shadow of the “if” and into the pure light of salvation by faith in Christ alone. paul, who identified himself as “the cheif of sinners” wrote in his letter to the church he had planted in Epheses —
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
(Ephesians 2:4-10)
Walk out the Word in every way possible in your life as you grow in Christ, but never in fear of failure. When you fail, repent, and Praise God……
There is therefore no condemnation for them who are in Christ Jesus.
In Him,
Steve
Stephen Faulkner 