First Kings

Chapter 11:1-13: Solomon’s Decline

by

Jim Bordwine, ThD

Introduction

I have a friend who, at the beginning of his preparation for the ministry, showed above average ability and potential. He was admired for his dedication to study and ability to remain undistracted by the things that interrupted the routines of everyone else. His fellow-students expected that he would be highly effective in some aspect of Christian ministry. He was smart, had a good and warm personality, and could handle the Scriptures in an edifying manner.

Sometime later, after I had not had contact with this brother for a while, I heard the most distressing news. He had been compromised, morally speaking, in his role as pastor of a church in southwest Virginia, not far from where we first met and attended college together. This news caused a great amount of grief—partly because of the pain we knew his family was enduring and partly because here was yet another Christian minister caught in sin. In addition to that, however, one of the realizations that struck me the hardest was the incredible waste of potential. As I said, this brother had such encouraging ability; he was an example for many others—until he made the decision to do something he knew with absolute certainty was contrary to God’s will.

At last report, our friend and his wife continued to struggle to restore their marriage. The oldest daughter of the family had angrily denounced her father and left the church. The promise once observed in this man’s life was buried under the rubble that resulted from his transgressions. I’ve thought many times about what a sad thing happened to this man and how it would never even have been imagined when his journey to serve the Lord first began.

In a passage where he warns his readers about temptation, Paul wrote: “. . let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.” We live with a constant spiritual danger—every day and every moment of every day. That danger is that we will drop our guard and, in a moment of time, become entangled in sin. And the truly deceptive part of this danger is this: As we grow more confident in our ability to resist sin, the possibility of falling into sin becomes more and more likely. That is a truly odd characteristic. Our continuing sanctification should instill in us a greater awareness of our dependence on Christ, but our confidence, which naturally increases as we walk with the Lord, can reach a point where we cross a line. That line is what I just described—counting too much on ourselves to resist temptation or get ourselves out of a transgression after we’ve disobeyed the Word of God.

Our text this morning relates to us some troubling facts about Solomon. On a grand scale, one with far greater consequences than the fall of my friend, Solomon ruined his ministry by committing acts he knew were contrary to God’s will. Sin always destroys, but in some cases, the destruction is horrendous and affects an entire kingdom—such is the distressing example of king Solomon.

01. The Sin of Solomon (vv. 1-8)

11:1 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, 2 from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the sons of Israel, “You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods.” Solomon held fast to these in love. 3 He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away. 4 For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites. 6 Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not follow the LORD fully, as David his father had done. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon. 8 Thus also he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

In terms of accomplishments and leadership as the king, this chapter takes us in a completely different direction. By ignoring God’s command, Solomon finishes his life in turmoil and disgrace. The good that the king accomplished and could have achieved is basically nullified by his sin.

Earlier in this story, we read of Solomon’s marriage to the daughter of Pharaoh. At that time, I noted that the arrangement between Solomon and the leader of Egypt would eventually be multiplied many times over and lead to the king’s downfall. The degree to which Solomon compromises himself is shocking, but it is an example of what happens when a man thinks he can sin in a controlled fashion and prevent himself from being overwhelmed by temptation. The writer says that Solomon “loved many foreign women.” You realize what a significant understatement this is when you reach v. 3: “He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away.”

The text lists the nations from which Solomon took wives; this was done in direct contradiction to the word of the LORD who told the sons of Israel that they were not to associate with those nations because of the very danger in which Solomon is ensnared. God warned His people that relationships with pagans would result in spiritual harm. Like so many countless numbers of God’s people throughout history, Solomon believed he could ignore this warning. He was wrong and his transgressions brought untold misery upon his house and the whole nation.

The heart that was once given to God alone was gradually turned away as Solomon was unable to resist the influences of his wives. The temptation the king encountered had to do with the most important aspect of his life and that was his relationship with Jehovah. When Solomon’s affection for the LORD was redirected, the terrible conclusion that has been described was inevitable.

One of the most basic lessons taught in the Bible has to do with the impossibility of serving God while, at the same time, trying to satisfy another ultimate desire or authority in your life. Many Christians have reached the point where they had to make a choice between following God exclusively or attempting to follow God while remaining engaged with the fallen world.

For a short period following my conversion, I found myself pulled in opposite directions. My rebirth was dramatic and unmistakable, so I knew I had a relationship with God and Jesus Christ that was not there before. My problem arose from the fact that while I was seriously pursuing my new relationship, I continued to fellowship with friends who remained dead in sin.

These were my closest friends, people I had known for many years. For approximately six months, I tried to be with them without being one of them, as I had been before. I had no peace and eventually I understood what I had to do. Therefore, one day I asked my closest friends to meet with me so that I could tell them what I had to do. As plainly as I could, I related my experience of salvation and the new direction my life was taking, which included an end to several activities that characterized our relationships. I dumped out on a table dozens of music cassettes and told them to take whatever they wanted. I also offered them posters I had removed from my bedroom walls and various other items that were elements of my previous life apart from Christ. I knew I had to have a complete separation, not just from my friends, but also from possessions that were specifically indicative of my existence prior to conversion.

For a while, that was the hardest decision I had to make in my new life as a Christian. In those early days, it was also the most essential decision I had to make. I simply could not be in the presence of those friends without facing constant temptation. As long as I kept putting myself in those circumstances, I could not mature in the faith or know the full joy of redemption. Early in my walk with the Lord, I came to understand the lesson about mixed relationships. Since that time, this particular issue has not been a stumbling block for me. I do believe, however, that I would have faced spiritual ruin had I continued trying to live in two worlds.

We could speculate regarding the reasons Solomon entered into those relationships in spite of God’s warnings. The emphasis in this story, however, is on the destruction that resulted from Solomon’s disobedience. The greatness that characterized this man was overwhelmed by the humiliating way in which his reign ended. As he grew older, the king was less vigilant in regard to his own heart and his pagan wives turned him away from the true God. As the writer says, Solomon’s “heart was not wholly devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.” (v. 4) And that is the crucial point. Solomon was told that as long as he followed the example of his father, he would know the blessings of God in abundance; and through him, the nation would know the blessings of God in abundance.

The text lists several of the pagan gods to which Solomon paid tribute and for which he built places for worship. Once again, therefore, the writer declares: “Solomon did what was evil in the site of the LORD, and did not follow the LORD fully, as David his father had done.” (v. 6) The cause of Solomon’s departure from serving the LORD has been explained previously but our passage concludes with an unmistakable summary of what happened to this son of David: “thus also he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.” (v. 8)

The second point of my sermon this morning is The Judgment of God, found in vv. 9-13.

02. The Judgment of God (vv. 9-13)

9 Now the LORD was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not observe what the LORD had commanded. 11 So the LORD said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant. 12 Nevertheless I will not do it in your days for the sake of your father David, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.”

When we have the wrong concept about God’s nature, we hold to erroneous ideas and expectations concerning how He will respond to certain circumstances. It is common today for people—even Christians—to think of God as subject to the emotions that sometimes rule our lives. They project their thinking and behavior onto God and assume He is just like them, in terms of sentimentality. For example, some people confuse the human attribute of feeling sorry for someone with God’s attribute of mercy. They are not the same. God’s mercy never violates His nature and His nature is to be just and righteous at all times, and to defend His holiness in all circumstances. Therefore, God never excuses sin simply because He feels sorry for us and knows that we “tried our best,” so to speak. Because of His just nature, sin is always paid for, either by us or by our Substitute.

I say this to prepare us for the rest of the story. We know the sin committed by Solomon. We also know the nature of God. What reaction should we expect, therefore, from the LORD? Unless we are blinded by the misperception I just described, we know what God had to do in response to Solomon’s transgressions. God warned this man what would happen if he failed to maintain a righteous walk. Solomon had the wonderful example of his own father, an example to which God Himself pointed, to encourage him and instruct him. Solomon’s sin, therefore, was blatant, deliberate, and inexcusable. The judgment previously threatened by the LORD had to be brought down upon the house of Solomon and his kingdom.

Not long ago, I heard a man talking about the fear he once had of going to hell. But over time, he said, his view of God had changed and he no longer thought of God as vengeful or judgmental—which is how he regarded the idea that God would hold us accountable for our lives. Having moved beyond what he believed was a primitive concept about deity, this man boasted in a comical way about his new expectation upon his death. He said that perhaps God will meet him at the entrance to heaven and, with a string of curse words, welcome this man into His presence. This is a prime example of putting our perspectives and conclusions upon God and believing that He will behave just as we have imagined. This is, of course, utter nonsense.

When we depart from a strictly Biblical understanding of the nature of God, this is the kind of foolishness and blasphemy that fills our hearts as fallen creatures. We hear God warn us to avoid sin, to flee from that which has even the appearance of evil, and to forsake anyone, anything, or any practice that is remotely contrary to His holy law, but our expectations and actions indicate that we do not believe God means what He says.

When a child is repeatedly threatened with punishment from a parent, but never actually faces what has been threatened, what is the result? Isn’t it true that the child soon comes to understand that the warnings about consequences for bad behavior are just so many empty words? This is precisely how we sometimes think of God and the many warnings He gives us in the Scriptures. We assume that God would not really chastise us; and without realizing it, we think less and less about God’s admonitions. When an awareness of God’s admonitions is weak or non-existent, temptation and sin grow stronger. We have disarmed ourselves; we have set aside that chief weapon in our defense against temptation and sin, which is the Word of God.

Solomon was a great man, a great leader, and one to admire, but only as long as he walked obediently before God. It was that love for the LORD and that dedication to the will of God that made Solomon admirable. When his heart turned away from that path of righteousness, Solomon assured himself a disgraceful conclusion of his life. God would not simply overlook the sin of Solomon, even though he had been such an effective king. As we live out our days before the LORD, the ultimate concern is not our achievements, but our faithfulness. Solomon broke faith with God. He did not keep the covenant; he did not obey the statutes.

Consequently, the LORD declared to Solomon: “Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I had commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant.” (v. 11) Solomon will lose all he was given and all be accomplished. He will forever be known as the king who started with such great potential, but ended in such heartbreaking disgrace.

The LORD states that He will bring about the worst part of His judgment after Solomon has left this life. The son of Solomon will be king and in his day, God will fulfill this dreaded word of judgment (v. 12). The kingdom will be torn from the hand of Solomon’s son, God declares. He will leave a single tribe over which the son will reign—and that for the sake of David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the place where God caused His name to dwell.

Shortly, we will see the details of God’s judgment. There is much destruction coming for the house of Solomon and the nation of Israel.

Application

For our application, I want to list several quick observations from this passage. First, let’s be reminded that we all live with the potential of falling into sin. That potential never disappears this side of heaven. As long as we must contend with our fallen natures, the danger of stumbling in our walk with the Lord remains. Even Solomon the king, a man extraordinarily gifted by God, fell into terrible sin. He sinned against the command of God in order to gain a political advantage. That political alliance with Egypt appeared to be so important and necessary, but it put Solomon on the road to ruin.

There is a stern admonition here for those who think they can “sin a little” and never be overcome. Sin is never satisfied with a small part of our lives. Its nature is to devour and destroy. Perhaps, in the beginning, Solomon thought he could control it; but sin, when it is treated as anything but a deadly enemy, is not controlled the way a man controls a bad habit. Sin is treacherous, determined, and absolutely destructive. If we play with it, we risk everything in life that is worth having.

If you are in this kind of circumstance right now, please consider this story as a loving reprimand from your heavenly Father. Flee from sin, call upon Christ to protect you, and heed God’s Word with thankfulness.

Second, once again we have a vivid illustration that the effects of sin are rarely limited to the individual. Solomon sinned and his transgressions brought incredible trouble down on the heads of all his subjects. His own family suffered tremendously, as well. Because we live in a series of relationships, our actions—honorable and dishonorable—impact others. It may be our spouse and family, it may be a friend or business partner, it may be the people in this congregation, but sin is rarely limited in its destruction to the single individual.

Think about the story I told you of my friend when I began this sermon. His sin began in his office over a private telephone line. No one heard what he said and no one witnessed his responses to the suggestive statements being made by a female member of his church. The beginning of his sin was as private as it could be, but it did not remain that way. The private conversations on the phone gave way to face-to-face conversations, which eventually culminated in a public exposure of his transgressions. What began in the privacy of that office on a phone line became spiritual poison that infected the entire congregation. People were devastated by their pastor’s sin. My friend’s family, as I said before, was torn apart. He had to leave the ministry as this awful news spread beyond the church and beyond the family. Before it had run its course, dozens and dozens of people were affected by this disobedience.

If your life touches others in some manner—and this would be true of everyone here—be aware that your sin will cause many to suffer, especially those closest to you and those who depend you. Again I cannot think of a more sobering context for sin that harms many than the family. I believe it is imperative that I plead with the husbands and fathers in this congregation to take as seriously as possible this lesson from Solomon’s downfall. If you are engaged in sinful behavior that you believe is unknown and will remain hidden, you are heading toward disaster. That kind of thinking is what allows an initial step off the path of righteousness to become a completely new course for your life. Sin will take as much control as it can; it will not restrain itself. Let me urge any man here this morning who is leading a wife and children, and who is also conducting some part of his life in violation of God’s Word, to repent before it’s too late.

And I would say the same thing to every woman, young man, young lady, and child. Sinful behavior must be forsaken. Call on the Savior, therefore, to deliver you from temptation and the snares of the devil. Don’t think of a moment that you can get away with ignoring God’s laws.

Third, let me point out that Solomon did not anticipate such colossal failure. The king had no intention of ending his life in disgrace, especially after all that God did for him. But that, too, is the nature of sin. It doesn’t care what you intend! It will eat you alive. There’s no one sitting here this morning who anticipates leaving this world in shame after falling into sin and ruining a good reputation. But it will happen to some of us; you can be sure. That’s because we do not take sin as seriously as we should. We don’t keep in mind how insidious it is, how destructive it is, or how subtle it can be.

But that is in spite of all that our Father in heaven has revealed to us. Our problem is not a lack of information; our problem is a simple lack of obedience. God warns us about all those characteristics of sin. We don’t live in this world ignorant of what sin is or how it works. The call to all of us is to be ever vigilant over our hearts. We must protect it, feed it with righteous words, surround it with godly people, and discipline it with the Word of God.

Fourth—and this is the ultimate lesson from this story—we are no match for sin. If any man ever had advantage, it was Solomon. God gave him a greater wisdom than any man before or sense. God gave him a kingdom, a prosperous and powerful kingdom. God gave Solomon the respect and fear of other world leaders. He had everything a man could want and still, he was brought down by a most base desire. Even all that Solomon had could not insulate him from sin. On his own, he was no match for temptation and sin.

But we know that God provides help and the help is His Son. In Him, we have our sins paid for, so that we don’t have to dread that final day; and in Him, we have a constant presence—His Holy Spirit—to strengthen us and keep us from falling. We face temptation daily and only by hiding in Christ can we avoid being brought down by sin. When we encounter temptation, we need to do so with our blessed Savior standing beside us, as it were; we need to seek His help and protection; we need to cry out for His grace to endure; we need to plead the blood of the Lamb in that moment when we must choose one way or another.

Christ is the only One who has overcome sin; and He did that in an ultimate manner on the cross. Turn to Him in time of need; turn to Him when you find yourself entangled. He is called our Savior for a reason—He saves us from sin’s power and destruction. If you are not walking with Christ right now and if you are not habitually nurturing your relationship with Him through prayer and study of the Scriptures and interaction with Christian people, there is nothing in this world that will guard your soul and your family and your church. If, however, you are walking humbly and obediently and thankfully with Christ, and if you are guarding and cultivating that relationship, then you won’t need anything else to live happily and honorably in this life. Christ is all you need and if you are found in Him, you will persevere.

Prayer

Hymn for Communion

Conclusion

As I just mentioned, we know that we are incapable of battling sin successfully on our own. This is true of our original condemnation caused by the sin of our first parents; and it is true of every transgression that currently appears in our lives as God’s people. The wonderful truth, which I already emphasized, is that, while we are indeed powerless to deliver ourselves from sin, God has provided One who is powerful enough and also willing to deliver us from sin. And that is what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us. And that is an amazing fact.

While we were dead in our transgressions, while we were hostile toward God, while we sought our own way before everything else, God sent His Son to rescue us from certain and eternal destruction. In this sacrament, we are reminded of the manner by which this rescue was accomplished. Jesus gave Himself in our place; Jesus shed His blood for our sin. He paid what was on our account and set us free to love and serve our heavenly Father now and in the life to come.

As I read the Scriptures now, consider this scene on that last night as Jesus prepared to go forth and surrender Himself for our sakes. Consider the beauty of God’s plan and Christ’s obedience. Remember that it was not what we could render to Him that brought the Savior into this world; it was what we needed that brought Him, and we needed a Substitute who could do what we could never do and who would then apply that achievement to those so undeserving.

Matt. 26:26 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. 29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”