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Read: 1 Kings 4:20-34
Listen: 1 Kings 4

During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, everyone under their own vine and under their own fig tree. 1 Kings 4:25

David has died, and his son, Solomon, is crowned king. Solomon begins well. He leads with God-given wisdom and places God’s Word at the center of both his private life and public leadership. Israel flourishes. This is Israel’s “golden age” of peace, safety, prosperity and security. But this season does not last. Solomon slowly drifts through the end of his reign. His character erodes. His heart becomes divided. The beautiful beginning ends in tragic compromise. And the generation after Solomon ends up politically fractured and spiritually adrift.

Solomon’s story has powerful lessons for us today. His story teaches us that a wise life is not only about how you start but who you are becoming. Wisdom is not merely intelligence or information. True wisdom is humble obedience. Solomon tells us, “above all else, guard your heart” (Proverbs 4:23). We must watch our desires, motives and loves because our heart determines our direction. Solomon’s life is also a warning. Few people self-destruct with one decision. Most fall through a long series of tiny, tolerated compromises. A wrong love here. A secret indulgence there. Small moments where we choose self over God.

TODAY: Pray and ask God to show you the true condition of your heart. Ask him to protect your inner life so your outer life stays on the right path. Consider using the prayer template provided in Psalm 139:23-24: “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”