Solomon, When Wisdom Fails
Notes
Transcript
Let the record show, I’ve done a similar series as this three times, and so far the questions I’ve gotten from this church have been the best!
Tonight’s questioner states: “I have never understood how Solomon, the wisest man in the world, could turn to and a allow the worship of false gods.” They go on to state, “I realize he was still human with carnal desires, but he was clearly warned by God. I also remember the Bible says, ‘raise up a child in the way he should go and when his old he will not depart.’ I have never been able to understand why he (Solomon) contradicted this reference. Perhaps he had Alzheimer's in his old age? We still celebrate him as the wisest man of all time, yet he became most unwise in the end. It’s like a fair tale with a tragic ending and I’ve never been able to understand how and why?”
What a great question. I’ve entitled tonight’s lesson, “When Wisdom Fails”. Let’s discuss first of all...
The Wisdom of Solomon
The Wisdom of Solomon
It came from God Let’s read together 2 Chronicles 1:7-12.
Examples:
Settling disputes - 1 Kings 3:16-28.
Constructing the temple
While David collected money and items for the temple, he was not allowed to build it
Solomon was chosen by God to build the temple
This demonstrates his wisdom in the way he had other nations provide the necessary materials
Also he saw the need.
The people around him were all sacrificing in the high places, not at the tabernacle…we’ll come back to that...
Famous to those around him
1 Kings 4:29 “29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore.”
1 Kings 4:34 “34 And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.”
1 Kings 5:12 “12 And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together.”
1 Kings 10:23 “23 So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom.”
1 Kings 10:1-4 “1 And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions. 2 And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. 3 And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not. 4 And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon’s wisdom, and the house that he had built,”
Authored Scripture
Proverbs, a collection of wisdom (including the one mentioned specifically in our question - to “train up a child - we’ll circle back to that in a minute). Written most likely at an early stage of Solomon’s life.
Ecclesiastes - a book of reflection, written later near the end of his life when he retrospectively looked back on his life and the decisions he’d made.
Song of Solomon - a love story, one that is important, speaking of marital love.
Of all these accomplishments, it’s not wonder we celebrate Solomon as one of the wisest men ever to live. Also, it is no wonder why tonight’s questioner is a bit confused as to why or how Solomon, who was so wise, could fall into the trap of idolatry.
Remember, Solomon for all his wisdom, was still only human…this is what led to...
The Disobedience of Solomon
The Disobedience of Solomon
Disobedience of God’s prohibition found in Deuteronomy 7:1-5
1 When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; 2 And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: 3 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. 4 For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly. 5 But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.
Later on in the same chapter of Deut. God makes mention of some specific prohibitions regarding kings in Israel (for the record, God never intended Israel to have a king, He was supposed to rule over the people. ) Deut. 17:14-17
Deuteronomy 17:14–17 (KJV 1900)
14 When thou art come unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; 15 Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother. 16 But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the Lord hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. 17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
I’ll reread some of those prohibitions which God made for future kings of Israel, 437 years before Solomon...
26 And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
28 And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king’s merchants received the linen yarn at a price.
STRIKE ONE.
1 And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.
3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. 4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.
8 And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.
STRIKE TWO.
Let us not forget as well, where Solomon was when he prayed for wisdom, 1 Kings 3:3-4
3 And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. 4 And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.
STRIKE THREE.
Solomon’s disobedience did not begin with his wives, but with his willingness to tray and straddle the line between the world and godly living. You could argue, “Well he did the best he could! The tabernacle was far away, and the temple hadn’t been built yet.” Since when does doing the best you can become a decent excuse for disobedience?
Joseph didn’t compromise. Daniel didn’t compromise. Why did Solomon? This brings us to our last point...
The Tragedy of Solomon
The Tragedy of Solomon
6 Train up a child in the way he should go: And when he is old, he will not depart from it.
If we viewed this verse from the perspective of a modern psychologist we would blame Solomon’s home environment, his parents, his friends, his upbringing. But, what about personal accountability? We may even go so far as to suggest that David was a failure as a parent…and boy wouldn’t we have plenty of evidence!
David was a sinner and made terrible decisions, one was to commit adultery, and it was further compounded by committing murder to cover an illegitimate pregnancy…BTW, Bathsheba was Solomon’s mother!
We could easily say that Solomon is proof the Bible is wrong, that this verse is not true. Solomon was brought up right, and he still departed from the truth.
However, that is not fair. See, in the end, the Bible is always true. Solomon was trained (disciplined) in the way he should go…when he was young, he strayed, pulled by the world, its influence, and temptation. BUT! When he was OLD, he came back.
Read sometime this week the book of Ecclesiastes. While Proverbs was written in his young age, while he was still vibrant and things were moving fast, he had stumbled and made terrible choices, but in his later years, when he wrote Eccles. he understood the folly of those wasted years, the impact of his poor decisions, and the need to repent. That is why he wrote the book, so that the young generation would…Eccl. 12:1
1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
At the end he gave the greatest advice of his life, Eccles. 12:13-14
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
Solomon was indeed the wisest man ever to live. See, it wasn’t his poor decisions that defined him, it was the fact that he recognized his failures, and rather than deny them or cover them up, he owned his mistakes and used himself as an example of what not to do.
Why did Solomon all himself and Israel to go into idolatry? It wasn’t his wisdom, it his refusal to obey the wisdom God gave him. His life stands as a warning to us today that we must guard ourselves and our hearts so that we don’t enter into the same trap as Solomon.
So, was his ending tragic? Yes. But your’s doesn’t have to be.
I’ll leave with this nugget of wisdom: The only mistake you make, is the one you don’t learn from.