The Need for Vigilance
“For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.” I Kings 11:4
Many folks believe that if they could somehow be the recipient of a huge amount of wealth, then all of their problems would be solved, and they would have reached the highest level of satisfaction in life–“eat drink, and be merry” as the saying goes (Luke 12:19). King Solomon was extremely wealthy. Over a 20 year span he built the temple and his own residence, both of which were constructed with the finest materials, and nearly every major furnishing of both was covered in pure gold. Solomon was also the wisest human on earth, receiving both wisdom and his wealth from the LORD. His 40 year reign over Israel was likely the, or one of the, most peaceful times in Israel. I suppose the most difficult thing that he had to do was to settle disputes among his constituents, but, because he was so well respected for his wisdom, those who came before him, I would imagine, accepted his decisions in their complaints against others without question. It would appear by what we know about Solomon that his life was fairly easy for the most part, not at all like his father David, who suffered tremendous losses and fought many battles.
Returning to my opening statement regarding the attitude of those who depend on wealth as a real boon to their physical life, it can also be a great hindrance to one’s spiritual life. I think in Solomon’s case, he became bored with all the opulence that surrounded him and with no real challenges in his life as his father David endured, Solomon began to find excitement in pursuing women, and lots of them. He was already married to the daughter of the Egyptian Pharaoh. This marriage was likely one of convenience in that it gave Solomon close ties to the Pharaoh from whom he purchased chariots, horses, and linen fabrics (I Kings 10:28-29). Rather than seek one true love of a Hebrew woman, he sought brides and concubines (secondary wives) from some of Israel’s prior and future enemies. Israel was on peaceful terms with these other nations at this time, but, as we know from history, peace is a very precarious state of affairs.
God had made it clear to Israel that her people were not to intermarry with any of the people outside of God’s chosen nation because He knew that those who worshipped false gods would influence His people to turn to idolatry (Deuteronomy 7:3-4). This command had been given to Moses nearly 500 years prior to the time of Solomon and was written in the law of Moses, thus Solomon and all of the Israelites would have been familiar with this command. Solomon violated God’s law and violated it in a big way. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines, all of them idol worshippers. That is really hard to imagine–one man and 1,000 women. If he slept with a different woman each night, it would take 2.7 years to get through the entire harem!
As God had forewarned, these women led Solomon into idol worship. That was the major difference between Solomon and David–Solomon became an idolater, but David never once abandoned God for the false deities of the surrounding nations. David’s loyalty to the LORD gave him a “perfect” or a “complete” heart toward God, but Solomon’s turning from the worship of the LORD God to that of false gods destroyed his perfect heart. It was when Solomon became older that he became more vulnerable to the influence of his many idolatrous wives. Solomon had all the wealth and splendor that he could ever desire, but he couldn’t stop the aging process. Besides possibly becoming bored with his wealth, his involvement with all of these women was likely an attempt to regain the times of his youth with its excitement and freedom. However, in his pursuit of lost youth, he lost sight of what was really important–his relationship the LORD his God. One take-away from this passage is that if a man anointed by God and given great wisdom can fall for the schemes of the devil, then those of us in this day and age are just as vulnerable. It pays to be vigilant because that old devil, like a roaring lion, is still on the loose, “seeking whom he may devour” (I Peter 5:8).