So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and did not wholly follow the LORD, as David his father had done.
1 Kings 11:6
When Solomon became king, God came to him and said,
“Ask what I shall give you.”
1 Kings 3:5
King Solomon could have asked for a long life, wealth, and for his enemies to be destroyed. Instead, king Solomon asked God for wisdom to reign over God’s People. God was highly impressed, and He granted king Solomon’s request.
That’s not all.
God even threw in the blessings king Solomon did not ask for, “riches and honor.” God heaped blessings upon blessings. In fact, God granted Solomon with so much wisdom, our Father would say,
…“Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you.”
1 Kings 3:12
Simply put, God made Solomon the wisest man in world history, never to be outdone.
Over time, Solomon became a great king, and his fame spread throughout the land.
Hearing about the wonders of king Solomon, the queen of Sheba even paid Solomon a visit, to see for herself, if the rumors about Solomon were true. She was also blown away by Solomon’s vast knowledge and wisdom.
Like any man or woman, when you are riding high, you must ensure you keep God closer to your side than ever before. Treasures of the world have a way of pulling you away from God.
And those treasures, pulled Solomon away from God…
- Wealth
- Weapons
- Women
Those are the three things an Israelite king was never to horde to himself, (Deuteronomy 17:16-17).
King Solomon’s vast wealth made way for weapons of war, and with great wealth, came the women in large numbers. These things were the downfall of king Solomon. Not just possessing these items and persons, but what it did to him.
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It pulled Solomon away from the Lord in his older years.
1 Kings 11:4
For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.
As wise as Solomon was, he made the foolish mistake of allowing someone else to tear him away from God. Solomon’s wives primarily consisted of foreign women. This included Moabite women who were of Israelite ancestry, as Ruth was, but their culture was immersed in heathen worship.
God always knew if the Israelites married the idol worshippers in the land, it would lead the Israelites astray. Long before Solomon made this grave mistake, God said,
“Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.”
1 Kings 11:2, Exodus 23:32-33, 34:15-16, Deuteronomy 7:3-4
So Solomon forgot about the Lord, and even did evil in His sight, by constructing altars to heathen gods.
If you allow it, non-believers will lead you away from God, (2 Corinthians 6:14).
So what can we learn about this story from the ancient past, and how is it relevant today?
It’s that our intelligence does not necessarily determine our spiritual walk. King Solomon was the wisest man in world history, God even appeared to him twice.
Yet, king Solomon walked away from God…
- Solomon allowed too much of the world into his life.
- Solomon allowed things in his life that God told him not to partake of.
- Solomon allowed the blessings he recieved, to become a curse.
Today, great minds tell us God does not exist, that we should accept perversion and sin into our life. That we should accept it as a society. Yet, these are the follies of wise minds.
This clearly shows, we must be continually led by the Spirit, God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit, if we are to follow His Righteous path into paradise.