Author's Note: All previous volumes of this series are here. The first 56 volumes are compiled into the book "Bible Study For Those Who Don't Read The Bible." "Part Two," featuring volumes 57-113, was published in December 2022.
Thanks for joining our Part 2, “What you should know about King Solomon.” (Much, it turns out.) So, we will extend this wisdom into Part 3 next week. If you happened to miss last week’s Part 1, please read for a biblical foundation. In the meantime, the rest of us can listen to “It’s Good To Be King,” apropos since God’s Word says Solomon “had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines..” However, the verse ends, “and his wives led him astray" (1 Kings 11:3). We discuss this later, but first...
A very famous example of “Solomonic wisdom.” If you missed my suggestion to read Part 1, you may not know how Solomon got so wise. Here is what happened:
“God said, ‘Ask what I shall give you.’ Solomon requested wisdom, saying, “‘Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?’” (1 Kings 3: 5-15). (After reading that passage, you will understand why God made King Solomon the biggest brainiac on the planet.)
King Solomon put God’s gift to good use. There was great prosperity and stability when he ruled the Kingdom of Israel from approximately 970 to 931 BC. Due to his wisdom, Solomon also served as a one-man supreme court. That is why he famously settled a dispute that is part of our problem-solving lexicon known as “splitting the baby.” That means resolving a conflict in a creative, final, judicial, and honest manner. This story highlighted and enhanced Solomon’s reputation as a wise and just ruler. Let's turn to the Word of God recorded in 1 Kings 3:16-28 which begins with this verse:
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“Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.” (Note how unusual it would have been for a king to involve himself in a dispute between prostitutes, the lowest of subjects. That showed Solomon was king of all the people.) I shall paraphrase the situation:
These two prostitutes lived in the same house, and both gave birth around the same time. One of the babies died, and the other woman’s baby was alive and well. But while the mother and her healthy baby were sleeping, the grieving mother switched her dead baby with the healthy infant and claimed it to be her own. When the mother awoke, she knew it was not her baby. They argued, and the women went before King Solomon to resolve their dispute. It is written:
“And the king said, ‘Bring me a sword.’ So a sword was brought before the king. And the king said, ‘Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.’ Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king, because her heart yearned for
her son, ‘Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death.’ But the other said, ‘He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him.’
Solomon’s suggestion was brilliant because it forced the grieving mother to show anger while the infant’s mother showed love:
“Then the king answered and said, ‘Give the living child to the first woman, and by no means put him to death; she is his mother.’ And all Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered, and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.” (1 Kings 3:16-28).
That story earned Solomon a high job approval rating early in his reign.
Now, as previewed earlier, we learn why Solomon fell out of favor with the Lord, recorded in (1 Kings 11:1-14). Not much need for interpretation. Solomon disobeyed the Lord and lost his throne. Were all his wives to blame? Here are the passages, and I won’t interrupt unless I can’t help myself:
“King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were 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.’ Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love” (1 Kings 11:1-2). (I can’t help saying, “Red Flag Warning!” God chose Solomon because of his love for God and obedience to His commandments):
“He [Solomon] had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. 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. He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done” (1 Kings 11: 3-6). Cue the “Jaws” attack music:
“On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place...for these detestable Gods. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods. The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command” (1 Kings 11: 7-10).
Obviously, as King Solomon aged, he believed he no longer had to follow the Lord’s command. Perhaps Solomon loved his idol-worshipping wives more than God. But God chose Solomon to reign and gave him wisdom because the king was only going to worship the Lord God with no expiration date:
“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 11:11-13).
A simple lesson: If you disobey God, you lose your kingdom. See you next week for more about the wisest king, who sinned like a dummy.
Myra Kahn Adams is a conservative political and religious writer with numerous national credits. Her book, "Bible Study For Those Who Don't Read The Bible," reprints the first 56 volumes of this popular study. "Part 2,” with the same title, reprints Vols. 57-113. Order it here.
She is also the Executive Director of the National Shroud of Turin Exhibit, which is dedicated to building a permanent Shroud of Turin exhibit in Washington, D.C. The National Shroud of Turin Exhibit recently hosted a four-day exhibit (with a VIP guest) at the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, IN. Contact: <MyraAdams01@gmail.com>
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