1Kings 11:1-4
Solomon’s Wives
11 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. 2 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.3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. 4 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.
How, you may ask, did the wisest man in all history lose his way? I think it lies in understanding the difference between wisdom and self-will. We find that knowledge can serve us well in most areas of our life. It provides us with understanding, helps us solve complex problems, guides us in showing the right paths to take. Wisdom serves us well in teaching of others and revealing truths in our life. Yet, with all the wisdom that Solomon was given, which the bible says was the most any man ever received, it was not enough to win the battle against its greatest foe, the self-will.
We see in the story that self-will crept in slowly by Solomon marrying into other cultures. God specifically warned him to stay away from doing this. At that moment, self-will won the first of many battles to come. Solomon, I’m sure, told himself that he had enough wisdom to control that battle. However, what he didn’t count on was the subtle ways that the self-will begins to erode, even our wisdom.
Over time, Solomon allowed and even supported the worship of false idols by his many wives. More and more of Solomon’s will was being attacked. There comes a point where our lies begin to look like truth.
Romans 1:25
25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
Eventually, we are told that Solomon, the wisest, wealthiest and most powerful man in all the world came to ruin. Self-will won over wisdom in the end. Where does that leave us?
I find it interesting that Solomon asked for wisdom and yet in the end, it might have served him better to have asked for a strong self-will.
God did a wonderful thing by leveling the playing field whereas each of us, wise or not, have the same access to the only weapon that can overcome the self-will. That is God, Himself. He gave us His power through faith in His Son Jesus. After we have exhausted all our efforts and wisdom, we can ask for God’s help and He will make us victorious. A word to the wise – the sooner we ask for God’s help the better!
#JustAThought
