1st Kings 11:1-13 LED ASTRAY Not everyone who starts out well in the things of God and is blessed with God-given wisdom in their early years, ends well as they get older. Solomon is an example of this tragic fact. Solomon was led astray by foreign women who practiced idolatry and worshipped the gods of men's ideas. The ideas of men are usually based on what makes people feel comfortable in their relationships rather than a commitment to God and His will. Solomon went so far as to build "high places" for the gods Chemosh and Molek to please all the women in his life. Consequently, he did evil in the sight of the Lord and the Lord was angry with him because his heart turned away from the Lord even though the Lord had appeared to him on two different occasions.
To compromise with worldly philosophies hoping to win people to Christ, not only fails to bring people to true faith in Christ, but it leads to apostasy - deliberately turning away from revealed truth. Solomon began taking matters of leadership into his own hands instead of trusting and obeying God. The women who came into Solomon's life turned his heart "after other gods" and led him to where his submission to God's will no longer mattered to him.
When one ignores the commands of the Lord, serious negative consequences follow. We are obligated not only to know and believe God's word, but to obey and follow it and apply its truths to our daily life and decision making. No matter how long we have been saved or how much of God working on our lives we have experienced, we are not immune to failure if we act on our own. Most people have one or more weak spots in which they are vulnerable to temptation and compromise. Solomon took for granted the wisdom God gave him and used it without consideration for the will of God. His weakness for personal pleasure and expediency led him down a path from which he never returned. If we know we are weak in our character or ability, we need to set a special guard before our minds and eyes lest our testimony for the Lord falls into ruin.
Perhaps at first Solomon resisted the pressures put on him when he was actively involved in the building of the temple - God's house. When he got to his own projects, he began to tolerate that which he once resisted. Then he rationalized away the danger in which he had put himself and the people of God. The compromises Solomon made to please his wives and in order to politically safe, soon led him to do "evil in the sight of the Lord."
If we think the way to spread the Gospel and the knowledge of God to win converts is to join the unconverted and do things to make our message popular, we make the same mistake modern evangelicals make when they blend worldly philosophy and practices with the word of God. Confusion, counterfeit converts and lost souls are the result. The steps people follow in doing these things leads to apostasy as happened to Solomon. By the time the next generation was in leadership there was no fear of God, no commitment to the word of God, and ultimately the nation was carried away as captives.
It doesn't take long for a nation or an assembly that had great potential to become "castaway." When great "worship centers" are established served by a staff of preachers and teachers become popular and appealing to the people of the world, it is impossible for it to be "a pillar and ground of the truth." Such places are attractive, perhaps intellectually stirring and certainly emotionally appealing to the senses. But God intends worship to be "in spirit and in truth."
The drama associated with the worship of Astoreth was attractive to the people of the world even when child sacrifices were made. It involved sexual sin as well which appealed to the ungodly. Chemosh was the national god of the Moabites so it was likely used as political leverage to keep people in bondage to the leaders. The Lord God had warned His people about this and unfortunately their king, Solomon, was leading them down this evil road.
God had appeared to Solomon twice but now the anger of God was toward him and the warning of the Lord came to him letting him know the consequences of his actions. We do not get away from God all at once. We first allow one "little thing" to go unchallenged in our lives and before long the "snowball effect" has taken place. Sin allowed to go unjudged spreads like a contagious disease. The sins we allow to happen, and soon accept as normal will cause the kind of trouble that cannot be stopped.
Solomon did not keep the terms of the covenant David and the nation had made with God. He didn't bother with the statutes that governed everyday life. Materialism, selfishness, idolatry and ungodliness that started with Solomon were allowed by God. Because of the moral and spiritual mudslide that affected the whole country, severe consequences brought the nation down. When sin takes place, it must be judged. If it is personal, confess and forsake it. If it is in an assembly, deal with it in a scriptural way. Sin in a nation has to be warned and spoken against lest the outcome bring that nation down to defeat and disintegration.
Solomon's reign began well and ended bad. It would have been blessed and have been a blessing if he had followed the terms of the covenant, the promises and followed divine guidance. If he had continued in the privilege of prayer like he prayed at the dedication of the temple, things would have been different. But he allowed and promoted rampant sin all around him and became corrupted by sin himself.
It is possible for us to start good and not follow through to the end. When that happens, we lose everything that counts for eternity. Faithfulness to our Lord in every part of our lives is our privilege and obligation. If we are unfaithful to our commitment to the Lord all we have is in danger of being taken away.
1Kings 11:3. “And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.” TURNED AWAY HIS HEART. Where is he? Why is he not here? He was here at the beginning – has he no fear? The God of his father, and his God too – Dwells with His people and is not through With the work He established at first with His people And wants it to continue and for him to be faithful In continuing what he started; and he started well – He was a blessing unto many until he fell Into temptations which he chose not to resist And would not turn back to God nor cease and desist – But soon found excuses to tolerate what was wrong – He must have known the difference for he lost his song – His conscience pricked deeply but he began to rationalize The decisions he made so that a temporary prize Would be his to claim; though he knew it was a passing fancy Causing him to loose his character over something so chancy; His heart was turned away by his pride and lust And turned to other gods, none of which he could trust For they were only figments of mans’ vain imagination But they turned him away from the God of his salvation. And because he turned away, many others did too. The nation was ultimately condemned before he was through. May God have mercy on me and help me to resist, Lest I tolerate sin and not turn away from it. Toleration follows weak resistance and then to rationalize Turns one away from God, the good and the prize.
“Holy God my Father, let me learn never to succumb to the pressure of sinful temptation. Give me strength to resist sin, the wisdom to not tolerate it, and the common sense not to rationalize the awful outcome. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.”