Wisdom, wealth, and longevity.
Solomon had it all.
So much so that the famed Queen of
Sheba was overwhelmed when she had visited the palace he had built. The food that was on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their
robes, his cup bearers and the burnt offerings he made at temple--they all compelled her
to exclaim “Praise be to your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on
the throne of Israel” (pg. 178).
He spoke “three thousand proverbs and his
songs numbered a thousand and five. He spoke about plant life, animals and
birds, reptiles and fish and he built the great cities of Israel” (pg. 178).
So, what went wrong?
How could the man of whom it is said, “He was wiser anyone
else, including Ethan the Ezrahite” (pg. 178), have been so foolish that he
caused the division of the greatest kingdom of the era?
The
answer is simple – SIN.
In particular, King Solomon's love for (LUST for!) women.
King Solomon, the wise builder of the Lord’s temple,
loved women ... more than he loved God.
“Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites…from
nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites 'You must not intermarry
with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.'" (pg.
191)
God's desire for right worship and relationship with Him demands that we walk away from the negative (sinful) influences in our lives. In Solomon's case, it should have meant walked away from wives and concubines who believed differently than him.
But like father, like son .... and Solomon followed in his father's steps along the path into sin,. which began with sexual
lust and worshiping women rather than God.
“He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines,
and his wives led him astray” (pg. 192). As Lucado penned, “the irresistible
draw of sweet perfume led him to relaxing his guard…it was the beginning of the
end” (pg. 191)
A CLOSING THOUGHT
Helen
of Troy is said to have had a face that launched a thousand ships, but it was
the love of a thousand women--rather than a love of God--that brought Solomon to his doom.
