3) Solomon - the king who loved the world

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(Ref: 1 Kings 1 - 11; 1 Chronicles 28 – 2 Chronicles 9)

David had many wives and sons. The eldest son was Amnon who was murdered by his younger brother, Absalom, who then died in the rebellion. A third son is presumed to have predeceased his father leaving Adonijah as the presumed heir to the throne. It became known that Bathsheba’s son, Solomon, was to inherit over his brother. This may have induced Adonijah to attempt to take the throne while David was still alive. This coup failed and Solomon was duly crowned:

Then they acknowledged Solomon son of David as king a second time, anointing him before the Lord to be ruler and Zadok to be priest. So Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king in place of his father David. He prospered and all Israel obeyed him. All the officers and warriors, as well as all of King David’s sons, pledged their submission to King Solomon. The Lord highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him royal splendour such as no king over Israel ever had before. (1 Chronicles 29:22-25)

kingdom

However, Adonijah continued to plot and conceived a plan to undermine Solomon position by marrying David's final female companion. He made his request through Solomon’s mother:

King Solomon answered his mother, ‘Why do you request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? You might as well request the kingdom for him – after all, he is my older brother – yes, for him and for Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah!’ (1 Kings 2:22)

This plot sealed his fate and after Adonijah was executed Solomon’s reign was established. One of his first acts was the seemingly innocuous marriage to the daughter of Pharaoh. This was a traditional marriage of diplomatic convenience to create peace with surrounding regimes:

Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt and married his daughter. He brought her to the City of David until he finished building his palace and the temple of the Lord, and the wall around Jerusalem. (1 Kings 3:1)

This marriage became something of much greater significance later on.

wisdom

As was the case so far with these kings, they all began so well. Solomon was much loved by God and his love was reciprocated. In a significant encounter, God asked Solomon what he would like to be gifted with:

At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, ‘Ask for whatever you want me to give you.’ Solomon answered, ‘… give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?’ … I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for – both wealth and honour – so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.’ (1 Kings 3:5-14)

This outstanding gift of wisdom featured in all Solomon did. In particular, his wisdom was written down in the Book of Proverbs.

This wisdom was also practical. In a famous incident, Solomon was asked to arbitrate in the case of two prostitutes who argued over who really owned a baby. One had suffocated her child and taken the other’s while she was asleep. In a dramatic ruling, the court of Solomon was amazed at his actions:

Then the king said, ‘Bring me a sword.’ So they brought a sword for the king. He then gave an order: ‘Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other.’ The woman whose son was alive was deeply moved out of love for her son and said to the king, ‘Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!’ But the other said, ‘Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!’ Then the king gave his ruling: ‘Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother.’ When all Israel heard the verdict the king had given, they held the king in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice. (1 Kings 3:16-28)

But the big question was whether or not Solomon would exercise this wisdom in guarding his own faith and love for God.

obedience

One of Solomon’s greatest tasks was to construct a Temple in Jerusalem according to the instructions he had received. It became one of the wonders of that ancient world. It was gorgeously designed and gold-plated. He engaged perfect commitment to producing what his father, David, had indicated should be done. The Temple was also perfectly designed to enable worship to be inspired with God’s presence. This was confirmed at the dedication of the building when God turned up in glorious fashion:

When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it. (2 Chronicles 7:1-2)

So that Solomon would not get too carried away by all this resplendent success, God did speak to him on a serious note about the need for obedience in his life:

‘As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne over Israel for ever, as I promised David your father when I said, “You shall never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.” But if you or your descendants turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. This temple will become a heap of rubble.’ (1 Kings 9:4-8)

The splendour of the blessings on Solomon even attracted royalty from faraway places:

When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed. (1 Kings 10:4-5)

His kingdom had respect from other rulers, peace from war and the promised presence of Almighty God. What could possibly go wrong?

compromise

Well sadly, something very basic could go wrong. Solomon’s heart of love and commitment to God could be eroded by something else very powerful and subtle in its form:

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 ... As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God ... He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek 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 Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods. (1 Kings 11:1-8)

The things of this life, the things of this world, the pleasures afforded to the rich stole his heart away from the real reason for living: to love and serve the Lord.

This earthy life is a stage set for spiritual warfare. The Kingdom of God is being opposed by the kingdom of this world. None of us, including leaders with great blessing on their ministry, can afford to ignore this fact:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12)

His love for his wives served to open his heart to false worship and the spiritual powers involved. He thought he was just being loving towards his wives: we should be loving towards our spouses. However, we should avoid the pitfall of things which of themselves are proper yet which if we are not careful might lead us into an improper love for the world. Solomon was being deceived by love which was not a love that also glorified God through obedience to his commands.

The divine blessing of peace on his kingdom began to be disrupted as his disobedience became entrenched in evil practices:

Then the Lord raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom ... And God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah … Also, Jeroboam son of Nebat rebelled against the king. He was one of Solomon’s officials (1 Kings 11:14-26)

This led to the prophet, Abijah, prophesying the destruction of the great unity and blessing which had been achieved when Solomon had loved the Lord:

‘“But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who obeyed my commands and decrees. I will take the kingdom from his son’s hands and give you ten tribes. I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name. However, as for you, I will take you, and you will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over Israel. (1 Kings 11:34-37)

This judgment came to pass in his son's reign. Judah and Benjamin became a kingdom separate from the northern tribes. These two tribes eventually became collectively known as the Jews. So, Solomon died, seemingly without any real repentance:

Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. Then he rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king. (2 Chronicles 9:30-31)

vigilance

Knowing what the world is and avoiding the pernicious way it can take over our hearts is a lifelong struggle. I have dealt with this in some detail in Podcasts (Living with Mystery 14 & 15). Solomon fell into the trap which Jesus taught us to avoid in the Parable of the Sower:

Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. (Mark 4:18-19)

We must never love the world. Perhaps we miss the significance of Solomon submitting himself to the idolatry of serving other gods. Most people do not consider idols a reality now. However, the world creates its own idols with which to distract our hearts from seeking first the Kingdom of God. This can easily be recognised by asking ourselves questions such as these: "What am I most enthused about? What occupies my thoughts and passions? What most energises me?" If the answer is not Jesus and His Kingdom, then the world may already have gained a foothold in the soul.

We may have been blessed to the degree which Solomon was but still have to be wary. We may be the wisest person around yet forget the deceitfulness of our own hearts. We may have a successful ministry which impresses visitors, but every day we should humble ourselves before God, confessing our faults, and expressing our reliance on his grace for every single day of our lives.