Avoiding Chapter 11

Chapter 11 is a well-known section of the United States Bankruptcy Code that permits businesses or individuals to reorganize their finances. When a company goes bankrupt, it's common to hear that it "filed Chapter 11."

But another kind of bankruptcy is even more heartbreaking. It's the spiritual bankruptcy that comes when a once-faithful person drifts away from the Lord.

King Solomon faced a spiritual Chapter 11, even though for the first 10 chapters of First Kings, he enjoyed one success after another. His father David officially installed him as king (chapter 1) with words of affirmation and blessing (chapter 2). He quickly consolidated his power until the kingdom was "firmly established in Solomon's hands" (2:46).

In chapter 3, God gave Solomon a special gift of wisdom, which he demonstrated in his rulings so that "all Israel . . . held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice" (3:28).

Chapter 4 relates that under Solomon's leadership the people "ate, they drank and they were happy" (4:20). God blessed him with extraordinary knowledge in science and art. Solomon wrote 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs, and he taught about plants, animals, birds, reptiles, and fish (4:32, 33).

Solomon oversaw the construction of elaborate buildings, including a temple for the Lord and a palace for his own residence (chapters 5-7). He led in worship, dedicating the temple with a long and beautiful prayer (chapter 8). He sent ships to faraway lands to bring back cargoes of gold (chapter 9). His fame spread around the world, and the visiting Queen of Sheba was so amazed that she gushed with admiration, exclaiming, "Not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard" (10:7). Solomon accumulated enormous quantities of gold, silver, ivory, robes, weapons, spices, horses, and chariots. He even collected apes and baboons (10:22).

Then came the disappointment of Solomon's spiritual "Chapter 11." After 10 chapters describing the king's prosperity, 1 Kings 11:1 bluntly interrupts the narrative about his success with these words: "King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women" (11:1). Chapter 11 goes on to say, "As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God" (11:4). How could Solomon turn to other gods after the Lord had blessed him so abundantly? Chapter 11 marked a sad turning point for this great man. His life took a downward turn, and so did the nation he led. Chapter 11 tells about Solomon's death, and soon Israel's prosperity gave way to political and religious controversy, ending with the people in exile far from home.

Through every chapter of life, we need to remain strong in faith and steady in our walk with God. George Bernard Shaw observed, "Life is no 'brief candle.'" Instead, it is a "splendid torch which I have to hold for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations."

First Kings chapter 11 warns about unfaithfulness, but there's a very different story in Hebrews chapter 11. This chapter lists one person after another who lived by the enduring faith that makes us "sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1).

Let's make our final chapters the best they can be. Instead of turning our hearts from God, let's pave the road with faithfulness for the generations yet to come.