Whether we’re male or female, we can learn a great deal from the life of Solomon in 1 Kings 1:28-11:43 of the Bible. He was the son of King David and Bathsheba and was the wisest and wealthiest king in the world. Nevertheless, this wisdom did not stop him from making some very poor decisions that caused some unfortunate circumstances in history, something we all can do. It is possible to gain godly wisdom but err in exercising it in our lives. We’ve been given the freedom to choose to focus on godly priorities or those carnal desires of our own that pale in comparison.
As King David was about to pass away, his instructions to Solomon were to act like a man and observe and walk in obedience to whatever God required, according to the Law of Moses. He said that in doing so, the Lord would prosper him wherever he went in all that he did. It would also mean that the Lord’s promises to David would be kept if his descendants watched how they lived and walked wholeheartedly and faithfully before God. Then, David would never fail to have a successor on Israel’s throne.
The Bible says that Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the instructions of his father, King David, except he offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places. David had also married the daughter of Pharaoh (King of Egypt) through an alliance with the king, taking her to the City of David, until he finished building the temple and his palace. The people were still sacrificing at the high places because a temple had not yet been built for the Lord.
God appeared to Solomon in a dream and told him to ask Him for whatever he wanted. Solomon replied that he wanted a discerning heart to govern His people and to distinguish between right and wrong. The Lord was pleased with that request and told him that He would give him a wise and discerning heart as well as what he hadn’t asked for–wealth and honor. Further, if he walked in obedience to God and kept His decrees and commands, He would give him a long life.
Later, Solomon succeeded in building the Lord’s temple as well as his palace and is known as one to whom God gave wisdom and great insight, “greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. …From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.” (1 Kings 4:30-34) Yet, how in the world did such a great man of wisdom and prominence, end up doing such a dishonorable thing, by marrying many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter, against God’s instructions?
God had told the Israelites that they weren’t to intermarry with the foreigners (not because of their skin color) but because they would turn their hearts after their gods. Yet the Bible says, “… Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines and his wives led him astray.” (1 Kings 11:2-3) Can you imagine relating to one thousand women on that level? How is that humanly possible? I imagined, viewing the following photo, that this amount of women would be a drop in the bucket compared to Solomon’s household. Mind-boggling.
It’s interesting but sad to read what Solomon did in appeasing his wives that made God “angry”, though He had appeared to Solomon twice, and also forbade him from following other gods. As a result, the kingdom would be torn from him and given to one of his subordinates. However, for his father’s sake, he wouldn’t do this in Solomon’s lifetime but would tear it out of the hand of his son, though still allowing his son one tribe. I love how merciful, yet just God is.
I believe these events show us the power of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. These things come from the world and not from God. These are the things we as humans, still on earth, struggle with and have to kill. It gives more insight into the importance of Romans 8:12-13, “Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.” Thank God for His Holy Spirit, whereby we can live according to God’s will for our lives. We who live under God’s new covenant have now received this grace and ability not to live after our own lusts. Yet we will always have a choice in the decisions we make; the option to do what’s right or wrong. God will not take that privilege away from us.
So we must keep our laser-like focus on the priorities God gives to us for our lives–those people He’s placed in our lives to love; the places we are to live and worship; and the ministries for which he’s provided our gifts. Thankfully, God lavishly provides access directly to Him through prayer, as well as His Bible, and gifts to the church via apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, gifts of healing, helping, guidance, and different kinds of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:28).
Ms. Rita's Minute 