1 Kings 10:14-11:8: The Downfall of Solomon

"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." 1 Kings 11:4

The great biblical character of Solomon is one that is often spoken of with shame and disgust. As we all know, he had everything going for him, but then he made some big mistakes at the end of his life that cost us everything. And although it may be fun to laugh at him and call him out, let us realize that the reason why this story is in the Bible is so that we may learn something from it. Solomon is a great example of a man who was walking greatly with the Lord, yet somehow turned away.* By tracing how this happened, we can apply this story to our lives that we might not end up like Solomon did.

The Bible tells us in the end of 1 Kings 10 that Solomon had everything going for him. His wealth was so great that silver was considered nothing (21). He had so much wisdom that other kings would come to him for guidance (24). He also had thousands upon thousands of cattle (26). Furthermore, 1 Kings 11 tells us that Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines.** Solomon had everything he could have ever wanted, yet he fell away from the Lord. How?

The Bible strictly tells us that Solomon turned from the Lord because "his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God" (4, quoted above). In other words, Solomon had a divided heart. Although he did love the Lord to some degree (which we can clearly see from 1 Kings 8), at some point in his life his heart became divided. The wives that he had married influenced him to worship false gods, and it went downhill from there. Because of this great disobedience of Solomon, great havoc came upon Israel, including their eventual split.

But how can we apply this sad story to our lives today? Let me propose the following:

1) Don't marry 1,000 women at one time.

2) Don't divide your heart between God and idols. You only have two hands, and to grab God in one and the world in the other is to be split between the two. As Jesus said, you are either for him or against him. You cannot serve two masters. Either you will serve God alone, or you will serve man alone. As we can clearly see, Solomon ended up serving man, and it resulted in his destruction.

3) Don't allow false influences into your life. The reason why Solomon was influenced towards idolatry is because he allowed foreign wives into his house that worshiped other gods. We surely ought not to do so. Do you have a friend who is a bad influence on you? Howabout a TV show that has a bad influence on you? A radio station? A certain habit that leads you astray? Cut it out! Although the thing may be not bad in itself, it will lead you astry. Don't let it.

So, is your heart "wholly true" to the Lord, or is it "wholly true" to something else? You cannot serve both God and man; your heart was not created to serve two masters. Which one will you choose: the world or the God who made it?

*When I use the terms "turn away," "fall away," and "downfall" in this devotional, I do not mean a loss of salvation, but simply a major act of disobedience.

**If you don't know what a concubine is, don't worry about it...