This chapter contains many details regarding Solomon’s household, the future of Israel, and the enemies that God raised up against Solomon.
“Now King Solomon loved many foreign women… from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, ‘You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.’ He had 700 wives… and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart… after other gods… 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. Then Solomon built a high place for [other gods]… on the mountain east of Jerusalem. And so he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods.” (v1-8 abr)
If you want to divide God’s people and destroy a legacy, this is how you do it: turn away from God and worship someone/something other than Him. Solomon’s sin had dire consequences, losing his lineage the majority of influence in Israel and dividing the nation in two (Israel and Judah). 10/12 tribes are entrusted to Jeroboam, a promising young man who would be king over Israel. One tribe (Judah) would be ruled by Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. The twelfth tribe was Levi, who didn’t answer to any king, they answered to God directly.
In addition to the division of Israel into two kingdoms, God raises up several adversaries against Solomon. This really shows Solomon’s breach of contract with God, because God promised Israel would experience peace during Solomon’s reign if he followed God.
There are many beautiful promises from God in scripture, some of which we talked about yesterday. Often times for God to keep His promises to us, He only requests one simple thing in return: our obedience. Obedience is always simple, yet it can be quite difficult when we allow obstacles into our path to obedience. Obstacles could include things like other ‘gods’, those things which draw too much of our attention away from our true God.
I encourage us to seriously look at any potential obstacles to our obedience to God. Examples may include, but are certainly not limited to: the gods of video games, work, family, friends, social media, hobbies, sports, etc. None of these ‘obstacles’ are inherently bad, but if they eat up more of our adoration than God receives, there is a problem. Let’s ask God to open our eyes to anything that may have become a god in our lives.
Father God, the One True God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we humbly bow before Your throne. Father You alone are worthy of our praise and adoration. Would Your Spirit please open our eyes to any obstacles we’ve allowed into our lives which keep us distant from You. Would You please gently guide us away from and unhealthy investment in those things, and help strengthen our relationship with You. May we give You the first fruits of all that we have, and put everything else second. We love You lord and ask that You please help us to do this, in a way that still shows those around us our continued love for them. May we walk in the ways of Jesus, loving You with all of His heart, yet still loving those around Him as well. In His holy and precious name we ask this, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training