Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter — Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, "You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods." Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.
On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.
The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord's command. So the Lord said to Solomon, "Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates.
Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen."
1 Kings 11:1-13
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In Chapter 10 of 1st Kings, one thing was very clear. Solomon had it made. Everything was going his way and he was fully experiencing the fulfillment of God’s promise to him…to give him honor and riches greater than any other king.
Yes, life was as good as it could get for Solomon. And all he needed to do was remain faithful to God…carrying out His will, doing what He commanded and following His laws and decrees. Surely, a man of such great wisdom like Solomon would be smart enough to not ruin a good thing.
Yet…that’s not what happened because despite all of Solomon’s wealth, power and esteem, there was one problem that he had…a problem that no wealth or human power could defeat.
You see…King Solomon was a sinner like anyone else and could fall like anyone else as well if he chose to turn from God in his life…just as God had warned would happen if Solomon or any of his successor sons chose to do so.
As Chapter 11 opens, we see where an inherent weakness is revealed in Israel’s mighty king.
For Solomon “loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter”. Scripture tells us he loved Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian and Hittite women...all of which were from “nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites”, ‘You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods”. Surely Solomon knew about this but still chose to do what he wanted to do. Perhaps, he allowed his power and fame to get to his head, feeling he had latitude to do anything, even if the Lord forbade it.
Whatever the reason, Solomon didn’t heed the Lord’s expectation and instead “held fast” to the prohibited women in love, marrying seven hundred of them while also keeping “three hundred concubines”. And as expected, those foreign wives led Solomon astray and “turned his heart after other gods” as he got old. This resulted in a sad state for who was once a man so highly esteemed by the Lord. For Scripture tells us that Solomon’s heart was “not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been”. This was displayed as Solomon decided to follow “Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites”…actions that were “evil in the eyes of the Lord” as Solomon failed to “follow the Lord completely”. Indeed, Solomon had fallen…done in by the adverse influence of those he chose to associate himself with.
And it wasn’t enough that Solomon worshiped these false gods but he also “built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites” as well as doing the “same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods”.
Obviously, God was not going to put up with this and as this passage closes we see Him enter in.
For we read where the “Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord…who had appeared to him twice”. And since Solomon decided to do what God had forbidden him to do, failing to keep His commands, the Lord said to Solomon:
"Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen."
Yes…Solomon had it all going for him but allowed sin and temptation to do him in. For far worse than knowing he had behaved in a way that would eventually result in his son losing the kingdom, Solomon had to live with the fact that he had let the Lord down, failing to remain faithful and obedient.
And friends, the same thing can happen to us if we’re not careful.
So the lesson learned here is four fold.
First, be careful about who you associate with. This was the first misstep taken by Solomon. Associating with the foreign wives introduced their sinful ways into his life and, as he sought to please them, he did so by worshiping their gods, despite God telling him not to do so.
And this led to the second lesson.
Association leads to assimilation.
As Solomon associated with the foreign wives, he began to follow their gods, worshiping them and building worship places to them. And in doing so, Solomon began to become integrated and assimilated into the sinful behavior of his wives. Sin became more attractive than obedience.
And that led to lesson three.
Assimilation leads to transformation.
For Solomon changed as he first associated with and then became assimilated into the sinful worship practices of the women he married, becoming more faithful and loyal to their gods than the only true God…the God who had given him everything and brought him to fame and power.
And this led to the fourth and final lesson for us.
Transformation can lead to damnation.
Solomon’s sinful changes led to God’s consternation and judgment. It’s not as if Solomon hadn’t warned Solomon because he had. Indeed, Solomon knew exactly what consequences awaited if he or his sons who would follow ever decided to turn away from the Lord and His expectations.
And yet, Solomon allowed himself to fall prey to sin…and throw away everything he had accomplished in life.
Friends, God is speaking to us through this message today.
He is asking us to check who we’re associating with and to be careful to not allow ourselves to be assimilated into another’s sinful nature. For sinful assimilation is just a first step toward sinful transformation and God’s damnation will not be far behind if we allow transformation to take place.
So where are you in your life? Are you in the midst of sinful degradation, spiraling away from the Lord?
If so, there is still hope and good news for you.
For you can choose right now to repent…to turn from sin and back to the Lord in your life. And your reassociation with Him will lead to reassimilation which in turn will lead to a renewed spiritual transformation…a transformation that will move you from damnation to restoration and back onto the path of salvation.
So which will it be?
Restoration or damnation?
I don’t know about you…but I’m choosing restoration any day.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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