Solomon's Ignorance

1 Kings 3:1-4 "And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. [2] Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the LORD, until those days. [3]  And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. [4]  And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar."

In our world today it has become commonplace - no, even an acceptable way of life - that we compromise the truths of God's Word in order to maintain peace with the world around us. Truth has become a commodity that can be traded, stretched, bargained for, and sold. Everywhere people are strangling God's truths.

Listen, you are out of step with our world if:

1) You believe in the God of the Bible, and in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord.

2) You believe Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation, the only way to heaven.

3) You believe in the moral absolutes of the Bible, including the care of the poor and the abandoned.

4) You believe abortion is taking an innocent person's life.

5) You believe sex is right and lawful only within the marriage relationship between one man and one woman.

6) You believe everything you have is not yours but the Lord's and we are to be his managers.

7) You believe sharing your faith about the Lord Jesus is not only an act of obedience but also the most loving thing we can do for those who do not know him. This is true ESPECIALLY for Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, and all those who hold hard to a false god in place of Jesus.

The world condemns us as fanatics, insensitive, hate mongers, yet God warns us, dear believers: compromise with the world hurts. Let's see how compromise hurt King Solomon, reportedly the wisest man who ever lived.

"Solomon made affinity", CHATHAN, "to make a contract". What Solomon did was not to meet and marry a woman he loved. No, Solomon had never met Pharaoh's daughter before he joined with her. What Solomon did do was meet with Pharaoh and, in order to strengthen his alliances, he said "Let me marry your daughter. We'll join our great houses, and when we join them through marriage we will be undefeatable." CHATHAN, making a contract. Why in the world did Solomon do such a thing?

Well, just prior to this incident King David, Solomon's daddy, knew that he was about to die. So in 1 Kings 2.3-4 David turns the Kingdom over to Solomon with the warning:

1 Kings 2:3-4 "And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: [4] That the LORD may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel."

Or the shortened version, "Obey God and He will bless you. God is your strength". Solomon heard these words, but to him they were but words. David told Solomon that God ordered his footsteps, that God protected him, that God was the reason that Solomon was on the throne. Trust God, trust God.

Did Solomon love God? Absolutely, he loved the Lord. But did Solomon trust God? Absolutely NOT. Immediately after Solomon gained the throne of Israel his brother Adonijah came to Bathsheba, Solomon's Mother, and asked her to ask Solomon for permission to marry one of David's wives. To marry a late King's wife was a common way of trying to secure the late King's rights. Adonijah was, in effect, trying to sneak the throne away from Solomon. Solomon overthrew Adonijah, had him killed for this treason, but this put a seed of doubt in his mind:

This thought stayed in Solomon's head day and night. "How will I protect MY throne?". David told Solomon that, as long as he was faithful to the Lord, then that throne would be secured. As long as he kept his eyes on Jehovah Jireh, as long as he focused solely on El Shaddai, then that throne would be secured. Not secured because Solomon was so good, or powerful, or such a great King, but secured because the throne belonged to GOD, not SOLOMON.

Here, then, is the slippery slope that caused Solomon to fall, and causes people to fall under Satan's spell  on a daily basis. Listen to me, people - if you begin to believe that you are the "master of your destiny", that all that you have is yours, then take heed - you will be hurt. All that Solomon had, he had it because God is good in His grace. God put Solomon on the Throne, God protected Solomon while he reigned, God destroyed the enemies of Israel.

Each one of us who know Jesus Christ as our Savior are sons of God. But whether you have acknowledged Jesus as Savior or not, do not think that the Lord of all, Jehovah Jireh, Emmanuel, does not own all things, and control all things as it suits His Plan of the Ages. God knew that one day Israel would want a King, so He told Israel in:

Deuteronomy 17:14-17 "When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; [15] Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother. [16]  But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. [17]  Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold."

God said, "I will set up a King over MY nation Israel, and this King will do as I tell him". Saul, David, and Solomon all knew what God required of HIS King. They knew that the King was supposed to be a believer who trusted in God for provision, not in many horses. They knew that the King was to avoid Egypt like the plague, make no pacts with Egypt, avoid compromise with the world at all costs. And finally, they knew that the King must not break God's design of one man - one woman in marriage. To do so would be disastrous, for it would lead the King to follow after other gods. As your wife does, so may you do. To be unequally yoked is death for the King.

So what did Solomon do, knowing these admonitions from the Lord? As quickly as he could, he broke the first of God's warnings. He compromised with the world by trusting in Egypt rather than God, by marrying an unbeliever in order to better his position in life. He lied about a business partner in order to move himself forward in the company. He stole or cheated, just like all the other Egyptians do, in order to get ahead.

Even though God said "No!"
 

Brian was a pastor of a small church who attended one of Neil Anderson's classes at the seminary. He was in his mid thirties and married when he found out he had cancer. The doctors gave him less than two years to live. One day Brian came to talk to Anderson. "Ten years ago somebody gave a prophecy about me in church," he began. "They said I was going to do a great work for God. I've led a few hundred people to Christ, but I haven't had a great work for God yet. Do you think God is going to heal me so the prophecy can be fulfilled?" Anderson's mouth dropped open in shock. "You've led a few hundred people to Christ and don't think you have accomplished a great work for God? Brian, I know some big name pastors in large churches who can't make that claim. I know some great theologians who have probably never led anyone to Christ. If a few hundred people are believers today because of you, and they have influenced who knows how many other people for Christ, I'd call that a great work for God." (Brian is now with the Lord, having completed his significant ministry of reaching hundreds for Christ.)

1 Kings 3:2-3 "Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the LORD, until those days. [3]  And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places."

"Solomon loved the LORD ... only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places .."

Since Solomon had the attitude that the Throne was HIS rather than God's, it was easy for him to take the next step: compromise your walk with God in life, then go ahead and compromise your walk with God in His Church.

What did Jesus Christ establish HIS Church to do? Well, Jesus laid out our duties very clearly. First, He placed us under a Law of Love:

Matthew 22:36-40 "Master, which is the great commandment in the law? [37] Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. [38] This is the first and great commandment. [39] And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. [40]  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

The Church should exemplify love. When people want to see what love is, when people want to define "love", they should be able to point to the Church and say, "Well, there it is. There's love, there's what it looks like". Sadly, this is often not the case. We want to speak about love, define love, but DO love - my, now, that's getting too hard.

Solomon "loved" God, yet he still sacrificed and burnt offerings in the "high places". "High places" were used in the heathen lands as places where sacrifices were made to false gods. Solomon and the people justified worshipping God in "the High Places" because the Temple was not yet built. Yet the Ark of the Covenant was in David's House - Solomon and the people could have worshipped there. Or else they could have made an altar out of dirt or rock, and worshipped on it. Jesus said:

John 15:10-14 "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. [11]  These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. [12] This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. [13]  Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. [14]  Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you."

Solomon said, "I love You, God, but I'm going to lay your sacrifices in the same places where children were slaughtered to Moloch. I love You, God, but I'm going to lay your sacrifices in the same place where evil gods were honored". God said, "If you really love Me, keep my commandments. Don't worship Me in the pagan altars, don't give Me the love of your mouth and the poison of idolatry".

People, we cannot tell Jesus "I love you, Lord, but I hate or am indifferent to my brother.". We cannot say, "Yea, I love you Lord, but only so much as it is comfortable. When it becomes uncomfortable to love, Lord, then You're on Your own. If you love Jesus, then love one another. If you love Jesus, then love the world by telling them that He paid for their sin. But do not compromise with the world out of a sense that this is "love". Do not say, "It's all right to be Hindu, just as long as you love one another". This is compromise. This is burning a sacrifice in a pagan altar. It's not all right, it's condemning, it's damning - Jesus is the only way to God.
 

As D.L. Moody walked down a Chicago street one day, he saw a man leaning against a lamppost. The evangelist gently put his hand on the man's shoulder and asked him if he was a Christian. The fellow raised his fists and angrily exclaimed, "Mind your own business!" "I'm sorry if I've offended you," said Moody, "but to be very frank, that IS my business!" Moody rightly observed that this is the business of the church. The church has one primary motive: The proclamation of God's forgiveness in Christ. Brett Blair, Sermon Illustrations, 1999.

Half religion only half satisfies, and half religion saves NOT at all.

1 Kings 11:4-8; 11-13 "For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. [5]  For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. [6]  And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. [7]  Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. [8]  And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods. ... [11]  Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant. [12]  Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. [13]  Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen."

I imagine Solomon though, "What's the harm, who am I hurting?" when he fell away from God. People, listen to me now - someone is always watching you. King David had many concubines, and his son, Solomon, watched his daddy. King Solomon had many wives and concubines just like his daddy did. King Solomon worshipped other false gods - he diluted his relationship with God in order to get ahead in the world. His son followed that same pathway, and God yanked the Kingdom of Israel out of his son's hand as punishment for his evil.

What's the harm? Who am I hurting? You hurt yourself when you walk away from Jesus, but you also hurt your family, your friends, and your Church. Later in his life Solomon would write:

Little foxes spoil the vines, little indiscretions spoil our walk before God, little slips may add up to serious consequences in our lives. God knows that none of us are perfect, but He does want us to give our hearts to Him, to devote our hearts to Him. If we give Him our hearts, He can lead us away from the little foxes of sin and ruin.
 

If your kids see you putting other things ahead of God, they will become discouraged and disillusioned, like a young Jewish boy who once lived in Germany. His father was a successful merchant, and the family practiced their Jewish faith. But then they moved to another German city, and the boy's father announced that they would no longer attend synagogue. They were going to join the Lutheran church. The boy was very surprised and asked his father why the family was joining the Lutheran church. His father's answer was something like, "For business reasons. There are so many Lutherans in this town that I can make good business contacts at the Lutheran church. It will be good for business." That boy, who had a deep interest in religion, became so disillusioned with his father that something died within him. He said to himself, 'My father has no real convictions." The incident helped to turn him against religion with a vengeance. That young boy later moved to England and began to write. His name was Karl Marx. As the father of communism he wrote the "Communist Manifesto," in which he called religion "the opiate of the masses." Adrian Rogers, Ten Secrets For A Successful Family, Crossway Books, 1996, p.38.