King Solomon serves as a cautionary tale to all Christians concerning the necessity of staying true to God’s will. Most are aware that Solomon began his reign as King of Israel in a commendable way, as a young man asking God for wisdom, that he might be a capable king. We are told, “And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore”; and “he was wiser than all men” (1 Kings 4:29,31).
Solomon built a temple to the Lord and placed the ark of the Lord in it. At the dedication of the temple, Solomon prayed, saying “Lord God of Israel, there is no God in heaven above or on earth below like You” (1 Kings 8:23).
God acknowledged all Solomon had done, and was pleased. He said to Solomon after the dedication of the temple, “I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built to put My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. Now if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying ‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel’” (1 Kings 9:3-5).
Unfortunately, Solomon’s heart eventually turned from God. He loved many foreign women, eventually having 700 wives, and 300 concubines in his harem. We are told “his wives turned away his heart.” The man who once praised Jehovah God as unique, and worthy of singular honor and worship, began to worship idols. He built a high place for Chemosh, the Moabite god, and for Molech, the god of the Ammonites. He burned incense and sacrificed to the gods of all his foreign wives.
Because of this he angered the Lord, cf. 1 Kings 11:9. God had commanded him not to “go after other gods”, but “he did not keep what the Lord had commanded” (1 Kings 11:10). Because of this, God took away His favor. “Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, ‘Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant’” (1 Kings 11:11).
Solomon’s fall from God’s grace establishes a familiar truth — our standing with God is conditioned upon our obedience to His covenant and statutes. No man can expect to receive God’s favor if he turns his heart away from Him. This was true with Solomon and it is true with us today. Our standing with God is conditioned upon our continued obedience to His will.
(2 Peter 2:20-21), “For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.”
Turning away from God’s commandments is tantamount to turning our hearts away from Him. Solomon’s heart was turned to idols by the evil influence of his foreign wives. Our hearts turn away as well, if we disregard the teaching of scripture, and supplant it with our own desires and opinions. May we learn from Solomon’s example!
To see The Patternists Page on Facebook, click here, and Like!
