Solomons Downfall – Episode 262
Solomon’s Downfall. In the Bible, there are definite lessons to learn but one for the ages is King Solomon’s Downfall. What can we learn and how do we apply this to our lives today?
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When we first read about Solomon we learn about his wisdom, and how he has been blessed by the Lord with his father, King David’s blessing. 1Kings:2-4 (read on air).
2 When David’s time to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying, 2 “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man, 3 and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn; 4 that the Lord may establish his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you a man on the throne of Israel.’
This was God’s will, that Solomon should rule keeping God’s statutes, his commandments, and his ordinances. He had a dream where he spoke to the Lord. 1 Kings 5-9 (Read on air)
“At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream[k] by night; and God said“Ask what I shall give you.” 6 And Solomon said, “Thou hast shown great and steadfast love to thy servant David my father, because he walked before thee in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward thee; and thou hast kept for him this great and steadfast love, and hast given him a son to sit on his throne this day. 7 And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. 8 And thy servant is in the midst of thy people whom thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered or counted for multitude. 9 Give thy servant therefore an understanding mind to govern thy people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to govern this thy great people?”
This pleased the Lord because Solomon did not ask for a long life or riches, he also didn’t ask for victory over his enemies. He wanted discernment something we all should pray for and that we desperately need!
The Lord gave Solomon specific instructions on how to build his house and the worship that would happen there. It took many years to build not only the house of worship but his own home, as God instructed. 1 Kings: 7: 51 states, “Thus all the work that King Solomon did on the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated, the silver, the gold, and the vessels, and stored them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord.”
So, Solomon was blessed with wisdom that was renowned. People came from all over to hear his wisdom and one of the most famous stories is about the two women with the baby. Both women had given birth, yet only one had a child who survived. The woman whose child died claimed the living child was hers. They went before the King and he said that since they both claimed the child. Solomon then ordered that the child be split in two so that each mother should get half. The true mother cried out to give the baby to the other woman, while the false mother said the baby should be killed. Solomon then ordered the baby be given to the woman who cried out for the child’s safety. We all know the story and the wisdom illustrated. It was truly a gift from God.
He would live a long life and his household would be blessed and it should have all ended happily ever after. But as with the humanness of man, unfortunately, it didn’t. And what was his biggest downfall? One of the biggest downfalls was that Solomon took many foreign wives.
Maybe it started out well at the beginning and these women left their practices behind, but as tends to happen the old habits do not change and Solomon wanting to please his wives allowed them to worship their gods, these were the gods that the Lord warned about. These women, which we read about in detail in 1 Kings 11:1-4 were from the tribes that the Lord warned against.
Sadly Solomon too began to worship these false gods as his wives did, and the Lord warned him repeatedly to stop. Why didn’t he? Why would Solomon who was wise and gifted by God with this amazing kingdom over which to reign and given every blessing turn his back on God’s commands? Was it the lure of sin? Solomon’s wives were a great temptation to him. We read warning throughout the scriptures. 1 Corinthians 15:33 “Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”
That is a scripture we should memorize and take to heart. It is difficult to stay strong when we are around those who do not hold to the same moral code, who do not believe in God, or who hold to His teachings. The lure of sin for Solomon in this case was too many women, women from places he was forbidden to marry, false gods, and too much temptation.
Yes, Solomon was fair and righteous and wise for a period of time in his life, but this counts for nothing since we read that at some point he faltered the lure of temptation too great. Hebrews 4:11 states “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, that no one fall by the same sort of disobedience.”
Sin does not go unrewarded. For there is recourse for all who sin. 1 Kings 11:11
“So the Lord said to Solomon, ‘Because you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant” (1 Kings 11:11).
Have you ever wondered why God would allow the Bible’s elite, the men and Kings of old to have multiple wives, some bordering on the ridiculous? I believe the keyword here is God allows but he does not sanction this, in other words, this is not God’s will. He created man and woman for each other beginning in the Garden of Eden.
We know this because in the book of Mark Jesus is asked this question and he answers this clearly:
Mark 10:2-10
And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3 He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” 4 They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to put her away.” 5 But Jesus said to them, “For your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 7 ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,[a] 8 and the two shall become one.’[b] So they are no longer two but one.[c] 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.”
10 And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11 And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
Pray and ask the Lord what lesson he wants you to take from this, what does God want for your life? The biggest sins are the ones we commit when we know they are wrong. But praise God we can return to Him, we can repent and sin no more. Why didn’t Solomon who was wisdom itself not realize his sin? The question is why do we not recognize our own sin?
But rejoice! Tomorrow is a new day we can live this life without guilt by keeping our eyes firmly set upon Him – the God of second, third and often more chances! Our challenge this week is to recognize areas of weakness and strive, through prayer and grace to sin no more!
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