“At Giv‘on Adonai appeared to Shlomo
in a dream at night; God said,
‘Tell me what I should give you.'”
-1 Kings 3:5
I wanna tell you a story about a young preacher in Indiana who started his ministry in the 1950s.
He talked about racial equality, helped the poor, and built a church that actually lived out what it preached.
His ministry drew people in.
Later, he founded his own church.
Many saw him as bold, compassionate…even chosen.
However, as the church grew, so did his claims.
He began telling followers he had special insight from God.
Later, he began claiming that he spoke for God.
Over time, Scripture took a back seat to whatever he said.
Questioning him wasn’t just a disagreement
It was framed as disobedience to God.
In the 1970s, under pressure and growing paranoia, he led them out of the United States…into a remote, cut-off settlement hidden deep in the South American jungle.
Then came November 1978.
After a visiting U.S. congressman was killed by members of the church, this preacher told his people the end had come.
He ordered what he called a “revolutionary suicide.”
Over 900 people died by drinking a poisonous Kool-Aid, many by force, including children.
You probably recognize by now I’m talking about Jim Jones, his People’s Temple, and the shocking mass suicide that occurred in Guyana.
So why do I bring this story up?
I bring it up because it highlights the danger of what can happen when people claim the Lord spoke to them in a dream when no such thing ever happened.
Just as God appeared to Solomon in a dream, there are homies out there who claim a similar thing happened to them.
In fact, I’d say way too many folks are running around saying the Lord has visited them in a dream.
Or they’ll place way too much stock in the dreams they do have…whether they believe they are of divine origin or not.
There are even charlatans out there who will interpret your dreams for you…If you pay them a nice, expensive fee, of course.
Here’s what you should know.
Dreams and visions of a divine nature simply don’t occur that often in Scripture.
Despite that, many folks in the Biblical era claimed otherwise.
The issue became so problematic that the prophets began warning others.
And King Solomon also cautioned about this.
“Many words mark the speech of fools.
When you vow to God, don’t delay.
God takes no pleasure in fools.
Fulfill your vow without hesitation.
Better no vow than unkept promise.
Do not let your mouth cause sin.
Do not tell the messenger, “Mistake.”
My vow was a mistake, you say.
Why anger God with careless words?
Destroying the work of your hands.
Much dreaming and many
words are meaningless.
Therefore, fear God and live wisely.”
-Ecclesiastes 5:3-7
The takeaway here is to beware of homies who get all caught up in their dreams and visions, confident that the Lord has bestowed special wisdom upon them that He has not given to others.
Things get particularly dangerous when they start asserting the wisdom they’ve received overrides what Scripture says.
“God has told me differently!” they’ll say.
That’s when you’re plopped right into dangerous Jim Jones territory.
See, in the beginning, Jim Jones’ theology operated within a broadly Biblical framework.
But later, he rejected Scripture altogether and put himself in God’s place.
The Bible wasn’t central anymore…his authority was.
At that point, he had effectively replaced God with himself.
And that’s when everything fell right off the proverbial rails.
Contrast this to when the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream.
Solomon’s response was humble and open.
There was no ego involved or any attempt to legitimize his evil inclinations.
And that’s your lesson for today.
A true man of God never claims his own words have superseded the Lord’s.
Nor can his words ever contradict Scripture.
If his words are not of God, he should make it clear they aren’t…as the Apostle Paul did during his ministry.
We’ll start getting Solomon’s interaction with God when He appeared to him in a dream, the next time we meet.
Later.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“I have not spoken on my own authority,
but the Father who sent me has himself
given me a commandment—
what to say and what to speak.”
-John 12:49-50
“I do nothing on my own,
but speak just what the Father
has taught me.”
-John 8:28
“Now about virgins:
I have no command from the Lord,
but I give a judgment as one who
by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy.”
-1 Corinthians 7:25
P.S. The photo above is the bodies of members of the Peoples Temple who died after their leader, Jim Jones, ordered them to drink a cyanide-laced beverage. The vat that contained the poison is in the foreground.
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