September 2003

HINDS’ FEET IN HIGH PLACES

Part 12

“He makes my feet like hinds’ feet,
and sets me on my high places!”

(2 Sa 22:34)

            Despite the bounty of blessings God lavishes on men, their flesh insists on pursuing a walk of shame! Never was this more demonstrated than by King Solomon. God forbade Israelite men to merge with idol-worshipping women of the Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Hitite, or Zidonite tribes, knowing that these men’s hearts could be drawn into sacrificing to false gods; still the son of David defied the Lord and joined himself to women of all five tribes! 1 Ki 11:2 says, “Solomon clung to these women in love!” His union with these 700 wives and princesses, plus 300 more concubines (called “strange women”), indeed caused Solomon to offer sacrifices to idols instead of his God!
            Solomon’s reign began well, humbling himself before God and acknowledging his youthful inadequacy to rule the highly populous Israel. He sought the Will of God and nothing for himself, so God gave him WISDOM and UNDERSTANDING; and fame and wealth that never before, nor ever since, has been known by man or king! The accounts of his wisdom and affluence became so legendary; that the queen of Sheba (who possessed great riches) came all the way from her land to Jerusalem to learn for herself if the extraordinary reports of this king were true! She concluded:

“I did not believe the reports of you until I came and saw with my own eyes:
but now I see that the half of it was not told to me: for truly, your wisdom
and your prosperity far exceed the fame I heard! So happy are your men,
and how happy are your servants who stand continually before you and
hear your wisdom. Blessed be the Lord your God Who delighted in you
to set you on the throne of Israel! And how the Lord loved Israel forever
as He made your their king to bring judgment and justice to them. Thus,
the queen gave to the king 120 talents of gold, and a very great amount
of spices and precious stones. And never again would there come such
a bounty of spices as the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon. Also the
navy of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir also brought in from Ophir
great plenty of almug trees and precious stones. The king used the almug
trees as pillars for the house of the Lord, and for his own house, as well
as to make harps and psalteries for singers. Never before or to this day
was there such an abundance of almug trees. So king Solomon gave the
queen of Sheba everything she desired and asked for, besides all that he
already gave her out of his royal bounty. Then she turned, and she and
her servants went back to her own country. Now the full weight of gold
that came to Solomon in only one year was six hundred threescore and
six talents of gold.”

            When Solomon’s riches got to the place where “He made silver as common as stones, and cedars as plentiful as lowly sycamores in Jerusalem”, his talents of gold totaled 666! This is the number of the “mark of the beast” in Rev 13:11-18 as John relates in his vision:

“I saw another beast coming up out of the earth who had two horns like a lamb
but spoke as a dragon. He exercised all the power of the first beast before him,
and he caused the earth and all its inhabitants to worship the first beast, whose
deadly wound was healed. He does great wonders like making fire come down
from heaven on the earth in the sight of men! He deceived all who dwelt on the
earth through all such miracles he had the power to do in the sight of the beast!
He told the inhabitants of the earth that they should make an image to the beast
who survived the sword wound. He also had power to give life to the image of
the beast, so the image of the beast could both speak, and have killed those who
would not worship the image of the beast! He makes all, both small and great,
rich and poor, free and bond, receive a mark on their right hand, or on their
foreheads: so no one could buy or sell, except for those that had the mark, or
the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Now here is WISDOM!!!
Let him with UNDERSTANDING calculate the number of the beast: for it is
the number of a MAN whose number is six hundred threescore and six [666]!”

            When Solomon defied God and joined himself to “strange women” (unregenerate hearts), it led him to sacrifice to idols on high places which should have been reserved for Godly worship! “On the hill opposite Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh (meaning “powerful”), the abomination of Moab, and for Molech (where mothers sacrificed by fire their own children), the abomination of Ammon! He did this to accommodate all his foreign wives who burned incense, and offered sacrifices, to their false gods. But the lord was angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord God of Israel Who appeared to him twice; and commanded him about this very thing, saying that he should not go after other gods; but he disregarded the Lord’s command! And the Lord said to Solomon, Since you have done this, and not kept My Covenant or the Statutes I gave you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant!” (1 Ki 11:7)
            God has told my heart that this is the HOUR OF ACCOUNTABILITY for His true sons! He is saying that, more and more, we are to think before we act! No more are we to hide our eyes from the Truth as little children who pretend they cannot see the consequences of their actions. The hour of the unveiling of His Manchild Company is upon us and the purifying fires are now burning seven times hotter than usual- just as the furnace of earth into which the three Hebrew children were thrown in Dan 3:19. But that is because the number, 7, in Scripture means: “Perfection”, and God shall have perfect sons, made in the image of their Perfect Father! Hallelujah!

[TO BE CONTINUED]