Creator, Father, King #113

If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.

KING SOLOMON HAD SEVEN hundred wives. Wrap your mind around that!

That’s a lot of birthdays and anniversaries to celebrate. That’s a reality TV show just screaming to be made!

Solomon’s spousal surplus is a ready-made punch line, but the wealthy king’s spiritual state was no laughing matter. After 1 Kings 3–10 outlines Solomon’s great successes, chapter 11 feels like a bit of a shock.

In it, we read how Solomon’s many wives led to his rampant idolatry later in life. These Canaanite women “turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the LORD his God” (verse 4). Solomon built altars to pagan deities that represented child sacrifice and other abominable practices.

Wow! Was this really the same king who humbly asked God for wisdom, built God’s Temple, prayed a beautiful prayer (1 Kings 8), and wrote inspired Scripture?

How did Solomon fall so far?

What’s It Mean?

Sadly, the king once renowned for godly wisdom turned into a wicked fool. The fall of Solomon feels abrupt. But there were early warning signs.

He accumulated many horses (1 Kings 4:26), directly violating Deuteronomy 17:16. He spent nearly twice as long building his own palace as God’s Temple (1 Kings 6:38 and 7:1). And of course, his rebellious decision to intermarry with pagan nations (Deuteronomy 7:3) must have been going on for years.

That’s how sin works. It’s devious and subtle. It tricks us into believing everything is okay. Sin never says, “Jump off a cliff to your doom.” Instead, it asks us to slowly rappel into a treacherous ravine of ruin—just a few feet at a time. But it never looks that bad as we’re going down.

• No one will ever know.
• If it feels good, it can’t be that bad.
• God is too restrictive anyway. You’re free to enjoy this.

It’s a web of deceit spun by Satan himself.

Look at today’s verse. Solomon, the great king, surrounded by riches and fame, thought he was standing strong. But he scorned God’s Word, and by the end of his life, he was ruined.

Don’t be like Solomon! Put on your spiritual armor (Ephesians 6:10-18) so that you can resist Satan, his subtle lies, and the strong pull of sin.

And for goodness’ sake, don’t have hundreds of spouses. Sheesh!

Now What?

Reread the February 8 devotion on sin’s terrible deception. Also check out James 1:12-15 and 1 Corinthians 10:12-13.

Did You Know?

After Solomon died, Israel split into two kingdoms as part of God’s judgment on Solomon’s idolatry (1 Kings 11:11-13).