1 Kings 3:3-14 Solomon loved the Lord and followed all the decrees of his father, David, except that Solomon, too, offered sacrifices and burned incense at the local places of worship. The most important of these places of worship was at Gibeon, so the king went there and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings. That night the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream, and God said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!”
Solomon replied, “You showed great and faithful love to your servant my father, David, because he was honest and true and faithful to you. And you have continued to show this great and faithful love to him today by giving him a son to sit on his throne.
Now, O Lord my God, you have made me king instead of my father, David, but I am like a little child who doesn’t know his way around. And here I am in the midst of your own chosen people, a nation so great and numerous they cannot be counted! Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?”
The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom. So God replied, “Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies— I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have! And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life! And if you follow me and obey my decrees and my commands as your father, David, did, I will give you a long life.”
Solomon makes a magnificent beginning as king, humbling himself and begging for God’s guidance. God is pleased and promises wisdom, wealth, and fame. All Solomon has to do is to follow God and obey His decrees and commands. But problems soon arise. God has given commandments regarding the behavior of kings; yet, Solomon fails to follow them.
Deuteronomy 17:16-20 “The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself or send his people to Egypt to buy horses, for the Lord has told you, ‘You must never return to Egypt.’ The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will turn his heart away from the Lord. And he must not accumulate large amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself.
“When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the Lord his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. And it will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel.
Solomon does not make a copy of the Torah in the presence of the Levitical priests, nor does he keep the copy with him or study it daily. Throughout the entire history of Israel, there is never a single king who follows this command. The king is not to become a big horse trader or establish a large harem. And the king must not seek wealth. Solomon fails all these tests miserably 2 Chronicles 1:16 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from Cilicia; the king’s traders acquired them from Cilicia at the standard price.
As if horse trading weren’t bad enough, Solomon amasses the largest harem ever assembled. These pagan women become Solomon’s downfall.
1 Kings 11:1-13 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh’s daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and from among the Hittites. 2 The Lord had clearly instructed the people of Israel, “You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.” Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the Lord.
In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord his God, as his father, David, had been. Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6 In this way, Solomon did what was evil in the Lord’s sight; he refused to follow the Lord completely, as his father, David, had done.
On the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, he even built a pagan shrine for Chemosh, the detestable god of Moab, and another for Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. Solomon built such shrines for all his foreign wives to use for burning incense and sacrificing to their gods.
The Lord was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. He had warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the Lord’s command. So now the Lord said to him, “Since you have not kept my covenant and have disobeyed my decrees, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. But for the sake of your father, David, I will not do this while you are still alive. I will take the kingdom away from your son. And even so, I will not take away the entire kingdom; I will let him be king of one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, my chosen city.”
Solomon has it all and he blows it! How can this happen? For all Solomon’s wisdom, he trusts in himself rather than continuing to seek God’s face and His guidance. And while Solomon may have prospered, many of his subjects have not. After Solomon’s death, the Israelites come to Solomon’s son Rehoboam, begging for relief from the onerous taxes Solomon has imposed. All those buildings have come at a high cost. Rehoboam gives an arrogant answer, and ten tribes split away, leaving only Judah and Benjamin.
The story of Solomon is a tragic one, for he is gifted beyond belief and yet fails because he becomes dazzled by his own wisdom and his own wealth. Rather than behaving in a godly fashion, Solomon apes the pagan kings around him, gathering 700 wives and 300 concubines. Solomon fails to realize that when he has sex with demon worshipers, the demons will transfer to him. The call that was so brilliant in the beginning turns into a snare because Solomon fails to obey God.
At a time when newspapers were still printed on paper, it was common for athletes or politicians who had achieved something to cut out articles about themselves. Unfortunately, if the articles were very flattering, the person involved would become unduly proud, causing others to observe that “they were reading their own press clippings.” We might say the same thing about Solomon. The richer Solomon got and the more adulation he received from other rulers, the prouder he became. Then there are all those ladies in the harem, contesting for Solomon’s favor. God would keep Solomon humble if Solomon would let him; however, Solomon is on an ego trip and nothing and nobody can stop him.
If the wisest man in the world can mess up, all the rest of us can mess up as well. Success is seductive and few people can handle wealth and remain dedicated to God. Proverbs 30:7-9 tells us, “O God, I beg two favors from you; let me have them before I die. First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.”
No matter how strong your call is, remember that God is the One who calls you and He can change that call or redirect you at any moment. A wise Christian has advised that we should hold our callings lightly, ready to go in a different direction when God orders us to do so. May God help us so that we will always follow Him and not treasure our calling above His Holy Will!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to focus on You rather than our calling, realizing that we are Your tools and that You can change our direction whenever You wish. Help us to remain humble, obedient, and sensitive to Your Holy Spirit. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
Leave a comment