Solomon's unfaithfulness to God
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Solomon's unfaithfulness to God
1 Kings 11:1–8 (CSB)
King Solomon loved many foreign women in addition to Pharaoh’s daughter: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women from the nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, and they must not intermarry with you, because they will turn your heart away to follow their gods.” To these women Solomon was deeply attached in love. He had seven hundred wives who were princesses and three hundred who were concubines, and they turned his heart away.
When Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away to follow other gods. He was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his father David had been. Solomon followed Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom, the abhorrent idol of the Ammonites. Solomon did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, and unlike his father David, he did not remain loyal to the Lord.
At that time, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abhorrent idol of Moab, and for Milcom, the abhorrent idol of the Ammonites, on the hill across from Jerusalem. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who were burning incense and offering sacrifices to their gods.
Introduction:
Solomon is the successor of King David. He is the son of David to Bathsheba (Uriah’s wife). David gives Solomon advice and instruction on how to lead the nation (1 Kings 2). He make an alliance with Pharaoh of Egypt by marrying his daughter (1 Kings 3:1). He is also considered the wisest man or king that ever lived. He ask for wisdom or discernment to judge the people (1 kings 3:9). We know how he judged the two women regarding of the ownership of that baby. Solomon also starts to build the temple of the Lord (1 Kings 6-9).
in the beginning of Solomon’s reign, He is faithful to God. 1 Kings 3:3
Solomon loved the Lord by walking in the statutes of his father David, but he also sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.
But in chapter 11, he starts to be unfaithful to God.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary (11:1–8)
11:1–8. Besides a king being forbidden by God to increase the number of his horses (Deut. 17:16; cf. comments on 1 Kings 10:26–29), a king was also forbidden by God to marry many wives “or his heart will be led astray” (Deut. 17:17). This is precisely what happened to Solomon. His palace apparently included a harem; He had 700 wives and 300 concubines. Solomon’s pagan wives led him into idolatry just as God had warned (Ex. 23:31–33; 34:15–16; Deut. 7:1–4). Solomon did not abandon Yahweh but he worshiped other gods as well. His heart was not fully devoted to the LORD; he compromised his affections. Apparently he concluded that since he was a great king he should live like the other great kings of the world even though it meant disobeying God’s Word.
As Solomon grew older he got farther away from God (cf. 1 Kings 11:33). Ashtoreth was a goddess of sex and fertility whose worship involved licentious rites and worship of the stars. She was a vile goddess (cf. 2 Kings 23:13). Molech worship involved human sacrifices, especially children, which was strictly prohibited by the Law (Lev. 18:21; 20:1–5). Chemosh worship was equally cruel and licentious. The hill east of Jerusalem on which Solomon built … high places may have been the Mount of Olives (cf. 2 Kings 23:13).
Moabite—the designation of a tribe descended from Moab, the son of Lot (Gen. 19:37).
AMMONITES (עַמּוֹנִי, ammoniy). Members of the ancient Ammonite culture. Opposed the Israelites at various times throughout Scripture. The Bible ascribes their origins to the incestuous relationship between Lot and his younger daughter that resulted in the birth of Ben-Ammi.
EDOMITES (אֲדֹמִי, adomiy). The name for a people characterized by geographical, political, and/or kinship associations with Edom. Lived in the southern Levant from the mid-second to the mid-first millennium bc—ascribed loyalty to and traced their heritage from Esau.
The Lexham Bible Dictionary Designation and Biblical Relevance
The name Hittite derives from the Assyrian term hatti, which designated the geographical area of central Anatolia as early as the Akkadian Empire under Sargon. The term is also reflected in the name of the empire’s capital city, Hattusa. The term Hittites refers to the people who live in the land of Hatti.
The Hittite Empire was in power in the ancient Near East from the 17th to the 12th centuries BC. It had collapsed prior to the founding of the kingdom of Israel. The Hittites referred to in the Bible (e.g., Ephron in Gen 23:10; Uriah the Hittite in 2 Sam 11:3) were not living when the Hittite kingdom was a regional power. Other biblical references to the Hittites may be etymological allusions to the Hittite diaspora or to the Neo-Hittite Empire (compare 2 Kgs 7:6; 2 Chr 1:17; Bryce, Kingdom, 3–4).
He must not acquire many wives for himself so that his heart won’t go astray. He must not acquire very large amounts of silver and gold for himself.
Solomon got caught up in the things of this world, not only in the trappings of his wealth, but in the sexual power it gave him over women. The numbers are staggering: seven hundred wives, three hundred concubines— I mean, how would one even have the time for a thousand lovers? It’s safe to say that many of these women weren’t there by choice. The evil in many of Solomon’s actions would be hard to calculate in terms that would translate to today’s world. At the very least, he was an idolater and an adulterer to the highest degree. In the beginning, wealth gave Solomon freedom. In the end, it enslaved him.
Lessons from King Solomon.
Be Faithful to God alone.
2. Fix your eyes to God
3. Ask God for wisdom to make wise decisions
A weakness of all human beings, " Henry Ford said, "is trying to do too many things at once. That scatters effort and destroys direction. It makes for haste, and haste makes waste. So we do things all the wrong ways possible before we come to the right one. Then we think it is the best way because it works, and it was the only way left that we could see. Every now and then I wake up in the morning headed toward that finality, with a dozen things I want to do. I know I can't do them all at once." When asked what he did about that, Ford replied, "I go out and trot around the house. While I'm running off the excess energy that wants to do too much, my mind clears and I see what can be done and should be done first."
(Bits & Pieces, September 19, 1991, p. 18.)
Conclusion:
The Solomon did whether good or bad, did not make him a great King. It was God’s favor to him. Solomon has the wisdom but failed to use it for God’s glory. I challenge you today that being faithful to God is not just a one day event but a lifetime and commitment.