Promises
We have all dealt with broken promises at one time or another. We have either made promises that we have not been able or willing to uphold or we have been on the receiving end of a broken promise. Maybe it is because human nature causes us to view promises as something that has the possibility of being broken that our human nature has such a difficult time in understanding that God’s word is finite and His promises will be kept. One section of Scripture has recently shown me how much God cares to keep His promises.
“And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord commanded. 11 Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. 12 Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son.13 However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen.”
1 Kings 11:9-13
Let’s face it, when we are angry at someone the desire to break any promise made to them becomes stronger. Our sinful nature wants to get back at those who have hurt us and so we ignore any obligation to uphold what we have said we will do. However, right off the bat we see that this is not the case with God. God was angry with Solomon because Solomon, a King who possessed more wisdom second to only Jesus Christ, did not follow after God. Solomon took foreign wives and worshipped their gods/goddesses. However, God still upheld the promise that He made. This promise can be found in 2 Samuel 7:1-17; but for this purpose here I want to point out 2 Samuel 7:16.
“Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.”
You see, the promise that God is upholding here is not one that was even made to Solomon, it was made to his father King David. God kept a promise to a man who had his faults, but who turned to God and sought to live for Him. It is here that we see a characteristic of God, He is willing and capable to uphold His promise to a man long dead. God promised David that his throne will endure forever, because of this promise God made sure that one tribe stayed under the power of David’s line. This promise led to the bigger picture, Joseph the husband of Mary is from the line of David (Matthew 1:1-17) and we all know that Jesus will reign forever. So the next time that you feel as if God can’t or won’t keep the promises that are made in the Bible, remember that even though Solomon failed and turned away; God kept His promise to David which resulted in the salvation of the world.
Seek the truth and encourage one another,
Alex