Ⅰ
Solomon became a man of wisdom and a man of understanding (2 Chron. 1:10; cf. Col. 2:2b-3); however, because he took many pagan women and worshipped their idols and built places for the people to worship idols, he lost his God-given wisdom and his God-given understanding; he became very foolish and brought in damage to his kingdom (1 Kings 3:1; 11:1-8):
A
Solomon’s father David, a man according to God’s heart, failed in this same gross and ugly sin of indulging his lust (2 Sam. 11); Solomon’s failure in this satanic temptation was much greater than his father’s; his fall was in his indulging his lust by loving many foreign women (1 Kings 11:1-3), in his forsaking God, who appeared to him twice (v. 9b), and in his worshipping the Gentile idols through the seducing by the foreign women whom he loved (vv. 4-8).
B
Solomon had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines (v. 3); in order to satisfy their desire, he built up high places; his wives “turned his heart after other gods” (v. 4); “Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the detestable thing of the Ammonites” (v. 5).
C
“Solomon built a high place to Chemosh the detestable thing of Moab in the mountain that is before Jerusalem and to Molech the detestable thing of the children of Ammon”—v. 7:
１
During the reign of Solomon the temple was built in Jerusalem, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple; the age of the building of the temple was a golden time in the history of the children of Israel—8:10-11.
２
The unique place, Jerusalem, signifies oneness, whereas the high places signify division; just as all manner of evil and abominable things were related to the setting up of the high places, so in New Testament terms, all manner of evil is related to division—1 Cor. 1:10 and footnote 3.
３
It is remarkable that Solomon, the very one who had built the temple according to God’s desire on the ground of the oneness of God’s people, took the lead to build up the high places once again—1 Kings 11:6-8.
D
This caused his descendants to lose more than ninety percent of their kingdom and caused the people of God’s elect to suffer division and confusion among themselves throughout many generations; eventually, they lost the God-given land and became captives in the foreign lands of idol worship.
E
The nation of Israel is still suffering because of Solomon’s failure; what a warning and an alarm this should be to us! We must be careful; even a little failure in the indulgence of lust can damage the church life and kill the splendid aspects of the church life.
F
Therefore, we must be careful, even in the smallest thing; we should walk according to the spirit in everything (Rom. 8:4; cf. Zech. 4:8-10); God’s people should co-live with Him, always relying on Him and being one with Him (Josh. 9:14; 2 Cor. 6:1a; 1 Cor. 3:9; Matt. 1:23).
G
Solomon’s decease was in gloomy disappointment (1 Kings 11:41-43); his glory fell off like the flower of grass (Matt. 6:29; 1 Pet. 1:24), and his splendid career became “vanity of vanities,” as he had preached (Eccl. 1:2).
Ⅱ
We need to see Solomon’s failure under the light of the spiritual life:
A
Solomon was a wise man but not a spiritual man; a man of capability, not a man of life; his enjoyment of the God-given good land reached the highest level through his God-given gift; however, because of his small measure in the maturity of the spiritual life, he was cut off from the enjoyment of the good land in God’s economy because of his unbridled indulgence of his lust—1 Cor. 2:14-15; 3:1, 3.
Morning Nourishment
Phil. 3:13 Brothers, I do not account of myself to have laid hold; but one thing I do: Forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before.Rom. 8:4 That the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit.
Solomon became a man of wisdom and also a man of understanding. However, because he took many pagan women and worshipped their idols and built places for the people to worship idols, he lost his God-given wisdom and his God-given understanding. He became very foolish and brought in damage to his kingdom.
Such a history indicates to us that God’s dealing with His people is very strict and very detailed... We should not forget that whatever we do is the sowing of a seed. There will be a result, an outcome, of what we sow. Even a little negligence will produce a result. Thus, we must learn to fear God. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Kings, p. 19)
Today’s Reading
It is true that God is loving, kind, full of grace, and full of forgiveness. However, He is also the righteous God, and He is righteous in a detailed way. If we do not act in the way God wants us to act, He will have no chance to make His home in our hearts. Our doing, our behaving, affects God in His dealing with us... We need to learn the lesson not to speak a wrong word or an idle word. We are people in God’s hands, even in God Himself... We must learn to be careful, even in small things.Today we also are kings, reigning with Christ. Our intentions, desires, character, habits, and behavior affect our enjoyment of Christ. Because we are kings, for us to be cut off from the enjoyment of Christ means that we are cut off from the top enjoyment of Christ, and [this] will cause us to lose our kingship. Thus, we must be careful, even in the smallest thing. We should walk according to the spirit in everything (Rom. 8:4).
Solomon’s fall was in his indulgence of his lust by loving many foreign women... In having so many wives and concubines Solomon was most foolish. Solomon’s fall was also in his forsaking God, who appeared to him twice (1 Kings 11:9), and in worshipping the Gentile idols through the seducing of the foreign women he loved (vv. 4-8). As a result of Solomon’s fall, God’s chastisement came in. God raised up Hadad the Edomite to attack Solomon (vv. 14-22); He raised up Rezon, the king of Syria, to become another adversary to Solomon (vv. 23-25); and He raised up Jeroboam, a servant of Solomon, to revolt against Solomon (vv. 26-40).
Solomon’s decease after reigning over all Israel for forty years (vv. 41-43) was in a gloomy disappointment. His glory fell off like the flower of grass (Matt. 6:29; 1 Pet. 1:24), and his splendid career became “vanity of vanities,” as he had preached (Eccl. 1:2).
Solomon’s enjoyment of the God-given good land reached the highest level through his God-given gift [of wisdom]. However, due to his dwarf measurement in the maturity of the spiritual life, he was cut off from the enjoyment of the good land in God’s economy, in his unbridled indulgence of his lust in sex... This caused him and his descendants to lose more than ninety percent of their kingdom and caused the people of God’s elect to suffer division and confusions among themselves throughout quite a number of generations. They lost the God-given land and became captives in the foreign lands of idol worship. The nation of Israel is still suffering due to Solomon’s failure. What a warning and an alarm this should be to us! We must be careful. Even a little failure in the indulgence of lust can damage the church and kill the splendid aspects of the church life. (Life-study of 1 & 2 Kings, pp. 19-20, 45-47)
Further Reading: Life-study of 1 & 2 Kings, msgs. 3-4, 7, 18-23; CWWL, 1978, vol. 3, “Basic Principles concerning the Eldership,” chs. 15-16