Library
<< 1 Kings 11:5 1 Kings 11:7 >>
Articles, Bible studies, and sermons that contain 1 Kings 11:6:
I Kings 11:1-10
Excerpted from: The Fourth Commandment (Part 5)The problem is one of dedication. What was Solomon dedicated to? He wasn't very dedicated to God for very long after the beginning. He was dedicated to his projects, wasn't he? Dedicated to building Jerusalem, building the temple, building his home, building botanical gardens, building things that had to do with expanding his great, overweening vanity.
He ignored what God said in Deuteronomy 17. (That's what it draws our attention to here in I Kings 11.) He ignored what God said in Deuteronomy 17, and that was sin. Unfortunately, unlike David, Solomon did NOT have the spiritual resources to recover from what he did. David recovered when he sinned—because he had a relationship with God. Even though he sinned, he would bounce back from it.
It says in verse 4, that Solomon "clung to" his wives. Normally, that would be good. A man should cling to his wife—cleave to his wife. The problem was that Solomon cleaved to the wrong women! That was the problem, and his attachment to them led him astray. As he tolerated their worship of other gods right in his home, his resistance wore down and he became increasingly vulnerable. Before long, he was participating in the worship of their gods. And once he was accustomed to it, it wore away at his loyalty—as each compromise made the next step easier. His vanity deceived him into feeling that his strength and resolve were so great that he would not fall. But he did. And he paid a bitter price.
Now, one of the deceptive aspects to what Solomon did is something that any of us could fall prey to. It doesn't have to be foreign women. It doesn't have to be something like a hobby, or whatever. I'm thinking now of religion, because this is what especially entrapped him—through his wives. One of the deceptive aspects of this is that there is a similarity of terminology in virtually every religion.
Can you name a Christian religion that doesn't use the terminology "born again," "salvation," "saved," "redemption"? We could go on and on. "Justification," "mercy," "kindness," "forgiveness," "grace." All Western religions (and maybe now even some of these New Age religions) share some of the same terminology, but the theology behind the terms is radically different.
You can be sure that - in Solomon's day - the religion of Ashtoreth, Molech, Baal, Chemosh, and all of these others used terminology very similar to the terminology that was being used in Israel, but the theology was vastly different. Radically different! And here's the problem. This is what trapped Solomon. Once a comfortable syncretism is accepted, God is gradually neglected and idolatry adopted.
I Kings 11:5-9
Excerpted from: Passover (Part Seven)David seemed to pick up strength as he went along in life. Solomon was the other way. Solomon started out strong, but he tailed off at the end—as his weakness, probably with age, began to become apparent.
What Solomon did set the die for most of the rest of Israel and Judah's kings. So when Solomon died, his son, Rehoboam, came to the throne and followed right in the path of his father, Solomon. So a rebellion broke out—the result of which was the separation of Israel and Judah into two nations. The ten-tribe Israel was in the north, and the two-tribe Judah was to the south.
ArticlesLittle Compromises
Little Compromises (2001)
Searching for Israel (Part Five): Solomon and the Divided Kingdom
BookletsThe Plain Truth About Easter
The Seven Laws of Success
EssaysThe High Places (Part One)
SermonsDating Outside the Church
Christ Our Wisdom
Christ Our Wisdom
Preparing To Be King
Compromise
<< 1 Kings 11:5 1 Kings 11:7 >>
Join 137,370+ readers
A Verse and a Thought,
Every Morning
Consistent Bible study is hard to start.
The Berean gives you the starting point: one scripture and a focused commentary in your inbox each morning — read it in minutes, or go as deep as you like.
Free, daily, and spam-free. We never share your address. Unsubscribe anytime.