Today's reading is 1 Kings 10-14
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| Women were Solomon's problem. |
BUT, this is how chapter 11 starts. I have often said that when you add a “but” to the end of a sentence, it negates everything before it. Chapters before this record the wisdom and wealth of Solomon and his mighty deeds, it seems like God was giving Solomon all that he wanted, and all that God promised. However, there was a problem: women.
God specifically told the children of Israel not to intermarry with other nations. God warned what would happen if people started intermarrying, they would turn from the Lord to follow the gods of their wives. This is exactly what happened. With Solomon, the problem wasn’t one wife bringing in a false god, but hundred of wives.
God would have some mercy on Solomon because of David (here again we see the positive influence of others changing the world even after their death). However, God promised to take the most of kingdom from David’s line. Some may argue it was God who brought conflict into Solomon’s kingdom, however, I happen to believe that it was Solomon’s own actions which brought it about. Solomon might have seen his mistakes if he had been serving God, but he wasn’t and so adversity came.
David’s obedience made the way for Solomon’s long rule. Solomon’s disobedience insured that his descendants would be in near constant warfare between the northern tribes and the southern tribes. We may never see how our actions play out, but they always change the world around us.
Photo by Omar Lopez on Unsplash
Note: I am sure these ladies are not representative of the type Solomon surrounded himself with.
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