I wonder if God is angry today, when He sees what is happening to Christians who marry non-Christians and then leave the faith! Solomon is an example of someone who erred, marrying a “non-Christian.” Let’s study Solomon’s example and its results.
HIS FIRST STEP (1 Kings 11:1-3):
Many sins begin with misplaced love. Love of self; love of money; love of prestige. The last one seems to have been Solomon’s problem (temptation). Solomon’s decision was motivated by love of prestige or even love of peace.
Solomon was married to the daughter of Pharaoh – and reminds us of the fact that Egypt was the great enemy of Israel in its past! Plus, this was against the law of God (Moses) – Deuteronomy 7:1-4. Relative to kings, especially, listen to the law of Moses – Deuteronomy 17:14-17.
The first wrong step for Solomon was that he loved something forbidden by God…
THE NEXT TEMPTATIONS BRING SIN – 11:4-8:
Because Solomon was “madly in love”, he allowed his wives to lead him away from God. This apostasy began in the heart and afterward, Solomon gave himself to idolatry – the most horrible sin for any believer in God! It didn’t happen over night, but gradually…
We remember the words of God to Solomon in His warning when He appeared to Him the second time in 9:4. Solomon himself recognized the importance of this when he prayed in 8:23. Solomon wrote Proverb 4:23. But now, Solomon, it seems, has forgotten everything – everything.
But God could not leave things alone…
GOD’S ATTITUDE TOWARD SOLOMON – 11:9-10:
First, we see that what God does begins in His “heart.” That is, we have a view into the mind of God and if we realized what God thinks about our sins, it is possible that we would sin less!
God had “commanded him …that he should not go after other gods.” This was a commandment especially to Solomon “but he did not observe what the Lord had commanded.”
So, because God is holy and right, He had to punish Solomon…
SOLOMON’S PUNISHMENT AND ITS CONSEQUENCES – 11:11-13:
The first part of the punishment is that God will tear the kingdom away from Solomon and would give it to his servant. The other part of the punishment is that God would leave one tribe for his son, again not for the sake of Solomon, but for David’s sake, for the sake of Jerusalem because God had chosen to put His name there. So, the majority of the tribes (10 out of 12) were given to Solomon’s “Secretary of Treasury & Labor” (Jeroboam) and only two remained with Solomon’s son – Rehoboam.
This type of mixing religions is called “syncretism.” Solomon mixed true worship to the living God with false worship to false gods. But his decision led, in later years, to the destruction of Jerusalem, and finally, to slavery of the people in Babylon.
Solomon had the possibility of surpassing David in everything – in money, in wisdom, in prestige. David was a man of war but Solomon had peace his entire life. But he failed to appreciate these blessings and died with much less glory than David. If Ecclesiastes are the last words of Solomon, perhaps he repented. However, he is not listed in the “Hall of faith” in Hebrews 11.
Solomon was blessed but he wasted the blessings of God. It all began when he married unbelieving wives. As Paul says, “Evil companionship corrupt good morals” (1 Corinthians 15:33) and that applies to marriage more than to any other relationship.
–Paul Holland