Today I read 1 Kings 11, which recounts how Solomon turned away from God. His story is just an enigma. His father loved God with all his heart and gave him such an example. God appeared to him twice, and gave him wisdom and the promise of riches and long life. He built the first temple, a beacon to the whole world, shining the light of Yahweh. He was so brilliant, so incredibly wise, wiser than any other who has ever lived. He had so many privileges, so much potential. What in the world could’ve caused such a man to fall away from the God who had blessed him so tremendously?
It just seems inconceivable! If anyone should’ve made it, Solomon was the man who should’ve.
His reasons for backsliding however, are not complicated. They’re there in scripture for us to discover. In Deut. 17:14-19, God told the Israelites long before it happened that they would eventually want a king to rule over them. He gave them guidelines for who to choose as a king, and what the king should do in order to keep the nation on course. Vs. 16 says he mustn’t acquire great numbers of horses or make deals with Egypt to get horses. The people of Israel were not to make deals with Egypt, since God had saved them out of Egypt. The king was also not to take many wives or amass silver and gold for himself. He was to have a copy of God’s Word, His law, and he was to read it every day, because doing that would keep him and Israel on the right path.
Solomon’s first wife was an Egyptian princess! It probably seemed like the right move politically, but it went contrary to God’s Word. Then Solomon began buying thousands of horses. He had whole cities for stables and chariots and the soldiers who would drive them. He amassed so much silver and gold he was probably one of the richest men in history. Then he began to marry more and more women, foreign women, who worshiped other gods. I guess the wisest man who ever lived thought thought he was smarter than God! He could ignore God’s warnings, ignore God’s Word, and things would still turn out alright for him.
I wonder, did Solomon make that copy of God’s Word that he was told to make? Did he read it every day, as he was told to? I doubt it! I would venture to say he ignored that command. Maybe he thought he knew what was in God’s Book well enough, and didn’t need to continue reading it? Or I wonder, was he like a large percentage of Christians today who, according to George Barna’s new book, “U-Turn,” don’t believe the Bible is a relevant guide to morality for us today? Was it just that the things he read in the Book didn’t allow him to do what he really wanted, so he thought he could ignore them?
Did he say to himself, either consciously or unconsciously, “I know I’m not supposed to marry these foreign girls, but I really like them, I just really want this, and it’ll be ok? I know God says not to make deals with Egypt, but I think it’ll really be good for trade, for protection. I really think I know what’s best for myself and my people.”
I wonder, at first, did he have a sense of danger within? Did he know he was doing the wrong thing, but just continued to justify it? When lightning bolts didn’t strike right away, did he begin to relax and think things would be alright, maybe God wasn’t looking, or maybe He didn’t really mind?
We’re not told any of this in scripture. All we know is, Solomon’s heart was gradually turned away from God, and he ended his days a backslider. He built the Temple of God, a beacon for the whole world, a place where even foreigners could come to seek the Living God. (2 Chron. 6:32, 33) But in the end of his life, he ended up building temples to abominable false gods like Chemosh and Molech, to whom the people offered their own children to be burned. Instead of leading people to God, Solomon was instrumental in leading them astray to horrendous “gods” that promoted vice and horror! How could a man who started so wonderfully end up so ignominiously?
David was a type of the Messiah. He brought his people victory and peace. He watched out for them, served them, and brought them into the blessings of God. Solomon took all of that he’d inherited from his father, and prostituted it! He oppressed his people, exploited them to the point they rebelled right after his death. A heart that’s tuned to God brings blessing. A heart that turns away from God becomes more and more corrupt and only seeks for selfish fulfillment. A life like that ends up producing bitter fruit, and bringing sadness and grief.
I guess the lesson is clear, isn’t it? Even the wisest among us, if we fail to listen to God and obey His Word, will end up in darkness and destruction. Not one of us is immune! The only antidote to sin and selfishness is the Word of God and a heart that is humble and in tune with the God who wrote it! Our hearts are deceitful. Our lusts too strong for us, without the restraining influence of the Holy Spirit and the Word He inspired.
Proverbs 4:23 – Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. NIV
Joshua 1:7-9 Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. NIV
1 Corinthians 10:12-13 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. NIV