King Solomon seems to have been a romantic who loved women and enjoyed getting married. He also valued power and wealth so he married strategically into the royal households of the nations around him.

After marrying Pharaoh’s daughter and forming an alliance with Egypt, Solomon went on to acquire wives from Moab, Ammon, Edom and Sidon. These nations were Israel’s nearest neighbors on their north, east and south sides. He also married Hittite women whose people were in Canaan when Israel arrived 450 years earlier. His wives represented every geographic area that touched Israel.

But God had specifically forbidden Israelites to marry into these people groups because they practiced idolatry.

“They were from nations about which he Lord had told the Israelites, ‘You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.’ Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love . . . As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been.” 1 Kings 11:2, 4

False Gods

Solomon’s wives joined his household with strong traditions and gods of their own. The Sidonian women worshipped Ashteroth, an ancient fertility goddess found in the north of Israel. The god Chemosh arrived with the Moabite women, and the Ammonite wives worshipped Molek, a detestable god who demanded child sacrifice. The worship rituals for each of these gods violated God’s laws for human relationships — from the sanctity of marriage through the value of human life. God hated these false gods who stole his people’s hearts.

But Solomon was more interested in satisfying the demands of the women he loved than obeying God. On a hill east of Jerusalem, and south of the Mount of Olives, he built a high place for Chemosh, Ashteroth, Molek and all the other gods of his foreign wives. They went there to burn incense and offer sacrifices.

That high place became known as the Mount of Offense or Mount of Corruption and it was within view of the Temple Mount. Smoke rose daily from both places of worship. Israelites worshiped Jehovah on the Temple Mount, but if they looked across the Kidron Valley they could see the incense and smoke from the worship of other gods.

One can only imagine the tension this created for citizens in Jerusalem.

God Punishes Solomon

As a result of Solomon’s unfaithfulness, God made the terrible decision to tear the kingdom of Israel away from David’s descendants.

“Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command. So the Lord said to Solomon, ‘Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.’” 1 Kings 11:10-13

God made a promise to King David that one of his descendants would always be on the throne of Judah, so when he tore the kingdom away from Solomon’s son, he left Judah and Jerusalem under the control of David’s royal family. Solomon’s son Rehoboam would succeed him, but God was going to give all of the other tribes to a different king after Solomon died.

God let the accomplishments of David and Solomon stand a little while longer before he began to deal with this sin of idolatry in Israel. During the latter part of Solomon’s reign, Israel’s people were tested whenever they went to Jerusalem. Would they go to the Temple and worship Jehovah, or be drawn into the sin of idolatry?

The Choice

This challenge was as old as the nation of Israel. 450 years earlier Joshua led Israel into the Promised Land and said to them:

“Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning to the right or to the left. Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them . . . Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 23:6-7, 24:14-15

The same challenge still stands for us today. God doesn’t take his people out of the world and away from its temptations. He lets us choose, and he gives us strength to remain true to him.

God Prepares to Discipline Israel

When God needed to discipline Israel at this point in their history he used warfare. In the past he had sent plagues, snakes, and fire to punish them for their sins, now he stirred up the nations against them. In the rest of our reading in the Old Testament we will see Israel at war.

King Solomon had secured Israel’s peace with the nations through his wise decisions and alliances; and during his reign they remained at peace. What no one could foresee was that it would only take a few angry men to break that peace and divide the nation of Israel forever.

In the south an Edomite named Hadad had been harboring a grudge against King David’s commander Joab for decades. Joab and his men spent six month wiping out the Edomites as punishment for attacking Israel. Hadad escaped the slaughter by fleeing to Egypt, but now he was ready to come back and avenge his people.

In the north a man named Rezon also had a lasting grudge against Israel. King David’s army wiped out Rezon’s home and defeated their army long ago. Rezon had been waiting for his chance to take revenge.

But those two sworn enemies of Israel were not the only threat to the nation. God was preparing another person who would divide them and sweep most of the tribes away from the House of David.

A New King in Israel

King Solomon had an excellent employee named Jeroboam. Solomon had personally chosen this man to oversee his labor force in Ephraim and Manasseh. Quite unexpectedly one day Jeroboam met the prophet Ahijah who told him God had chosen him to become the king of Israel’s ten northern tribes. God said,

“’See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes. I will do this because [Solomon has] forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth . . . Chemosh . . . and Molek, and has not walked in obedience to me.” 1 Kings 11:31, 33

This was unexpected news, but God meant what he said. And he promised to be with Jeroboam if he was faithful to him.

“However, as for you, I will take you, and you will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over Israel. If you do whatever I command you and walk in obedience to me and do what is right in my eyes by obeying my decrees and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you.” 1 Kings 11:37-39

When Solomon heard about this prophecy he tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled to Egypt and stayed there until Solomon died.

The Death of Solomon

The Bible doesn’t give much of a eulogy for Solomon at his death. He was praised in his lifetime as the wisest man who lived, and the Scriptures were effusive about his wealth, glory, and influence early in his reign. But when he died he was a miserable old man.

He wrote the book of Ecclesiastes about his views on life. It’s going to be interesting to spend the next few days reading the final reflections of the wisest man on earth.