Older but Unwiser
1 Kings 11:1-13
??????????? One of my basic instincts is that it’s better to laugh than cry.? Following that instinct, let’s take a funny look at the subject of aging.
??????????? What’s weird is that it’s hard to get a bead on how old Solomon was when he died.? I’ve seen estimates from 53 to 99 years.? The only thing the Bible tells us is that he ruled over Israel for 40 years.? I guess that’s why Solomon is remembered for his wisdom, his temple, and his wealth, not for being particularly aged.
??????????? Our passage this morning takes us through some drastic changes in Solomon as he aged.? Reflecting on what we learn here, we must conclude that...
Obedience, not age, brings about true wisdom.
1. Solomon’s palace grew too big. ?(11:1-3)
??????????? Whether he did it for love or for politics, Solomon took many wives from pagan nations. (1) ?LOVE is the motive mentioned in vs. 1+2, so maybe we should say “mostly for love.” ?However, in 3:1, a more political motive is in view: Solomon had entered into an alliance with Pharoah.? To seal good relations between the two kingdoms, Solomon wed Pharaoh’s daughter.
??????????? Whatever his reasoning, King Solomon did this in disobedience to God’s clear instructions. (2) For example, Deuteronomy 7:1-4 reads “When the?Lord?your God brings you into the land you are about to enter and occupy, he will clear away many nations ahead of you: the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. These seven nations are greater and more numerous than you.? When the?Lord?your God hands these nations over to you and you conquer them, you must completely destroy them. Make no treaties with them and show no mercy.? You must not intermarry with them. Do not let your daughters and sons marry their sons and daughters, for they will lead your children away from me to worship other gods. Then the anger of the?Lord?will burn against you, and he will quickly destroy you.”
??????????? Another obvious command was that God alone should be worshipped. (Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7; 6:4-9)
??????????? God truly saw Solomon coming and generations before his birth, gave these instructions to Israel’s kings: “The king himself must not take many wives for himself, because they will take his heart away from the LORD.? And he must not accumulate large amounts in gold and silver for himself.”
??????????? In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul wrote, DON’T TEAM UP WITH THOSE WHO ARE UNBELIEVERS.? HOW CAN RIGHTEOUSNESS BE A PARTNER WITH WICKEDNESS?? HOW CAN LIGHT LIVE WITH DARKNESS?? (2 Corinthians 6:14) ?This passage is usually understood to be a caution against doing the very thing that Solomon did, joining his heart to unbelieving spouses. ?However, it may refer to any long-term arrangement where a voluntary association of any kind will cause us to compromise our faith and our morals.
??????????? Their influence turned his heart from the Lord. (3) Egyptian and Persian kings competed for large harems, but Solomon surely outdid them all. ?These rounded numbers unlikely to be exact, but it doesn’t matter, as the point is that Solomon had 999 too many women in his household.
??????????? HE HAD 700 WIVES OF NOBLE BIRTH.? These would be the women he added to his household as a way of closing treaty and trade deals.? It was felt that being related by marriage created a more trustworthy bond between the rulers and their countries.
??????????? In addition, Solomon had 300 CONCUBINES.? The word “concubine” originated in Latin, and it literally means “to lie with” someone, so the emphasis is understandably on sexual relations.? In ancient societies, concubines were sex partners who had some standing in the law, but did not have as many rights as wives.? A concubine might be referred to as a “slave-wife.” ?Some of Solomon’s concubines may have been brought in to keep them off the street, to keep them from earning a living as a beggar or prostitute.
2. Solomon’s obedience became more compromised. (11:4-8)
??????????? Over the years, the collective influence of his pagan wives turned Solomon’s heart to idolatry. (4) ?Solomon’s sin was outright disobedience to God’s commands. However, verse four wants us to understand that Solomon hadn’t completely rejected the God of his father David.? It says he was not AS COMPLETELY FAITHFUL as David had been.
??????????? King David had made his share of mistakes, but idolatry was not among them.? Throughout the Old Testament period of the kings, the spirituality of the kings is measured against King David.? He was the benchmark of loyalty and love for God.
??????????? Solomon’s subsequent sins were callous compromise or syncretism. ?By “callous compromise” I mean that Solomon hardened his heart and willingly joined his pagan wives? in doing despicable things that were supposed to please or placate the false gods, up to and including child sacrifice.
??????????? “Syncretism” is the practice of mixing religious beliefs without any respect for the truth.? It’s like a “do-it-yourself” approach to religion, a self-centered, self-help false faith that combines what appeals to you from various religious sources.? If someone like Solomon practiced a syncretism of Jewish and pagan faiths, he did it by deliberately closing his eyes to the truth.? He would’ve been led more by his heart than his head in this regard.
??????????? This is more than a matter of disagreeing theologies, following false gods lead him to commit despicable acts, as described in vs. 5-8. ?The detestable idols included:
- ASHORETH of the Sidonians (aka Astarte, Ishtar) was the female consort of Baal, the Canaanite storm god.? This spelling is meant to relate to the word for “shame.”
- MOLECH (“king”) of the Ammonites was often worshiped with child sacrifices, burning children alive.
- CHEMOSH of the Moabites, the equivalent of Molech, but among a different people.
??????????? The despicable acts included BURING INCENSE AND SACRIFICING TO THEIR GODS.? The text does not mention other specific acts, summarizing that the king DID WHAT WAS EVIL IN THE LORD’S SIGHT.? We know, however, that worship of these idols sometimes involved child sacrifice, bloodletting, and ritual sex among other evil actions.
领英推荐
2. God’s response: warning Solomon of the loss of his kingdom. (11:9-13)
??????????? The Lord was VERY ANGRY with Solomon. (9-10) ?Verse nine notes that the LORD had appeared to Solomon TWICE already (chapters three and nine), giving him a singular honor, as none of the other kings – including David – were visited directly by God even once.? Instead of direct visits, the other kings were addressed by a prophet or angel or some other indirect means like a dream. ?Despite the rare privilege of direct conversation with God, Solomon’s faith soured and he devoted increasing attention to the service of idols. ?Given the privileged beginning of his kingship, especially God’s gift of wisdom, Solomon’s later betrayals are difficult to understand or accept, considering all the advantages he’d been given.
- He was chosen, after considerable trouble (Adonijah had been crowned king first, 1 Kings 1+2) to be king, contrary to custom and expectation.
- He was given a special name, “Jedidiah,” which means “loved by the Lord.”
- Receiving wisdom and wealth from the LORD.
- Being allowed to build the temple.
- No king before or after enjoyed the wealth and prestige that Solomon had.
??????????? The text implies this was a gradual process.? Solomon’s heart was not turned by a single pretty face or pleasing personality, but his faith was eroded by degrees. ?It’s possible that his first mistake was to build pagan worship sites so that his ROYAL wives would have opportunity to worship their gods as they were accustomed to doing. ?Solomon was intensely curious and had more than a little hubris.? It’s possible he accompanied his wives to these idolatrous temples out of curiosity.? Then, after some time, his interest crossed the line and he participated in worshiping them. ?His participation may have slowly increased and he added excuses and probably a cynical view of the world, denying that it really mattered what God you worshipped.
??????????? This is speculation.? My purpose is not to excuse Solomon’s behavior: there is clearly no excuse for his sinful excess.? My purpose is to personalize Solomon’s story.? What happened to him happens to almost all of us at one time or another. ?By faith we understand God’s laws are absolute and that we are to absolutely obey them.? And we try to do so. ?But then we allow some compromise with the world.? We give into some temptation and suddenly something we know God has commanded us not to do becomes something we want to do and are doing with increasing regularity.? When confronted with our sin, we choose between the path of excuse-making and covering up, or the path of confession, receiving forgiveness, and repentance. ?In this way, Solomon’s story is our story.? While we never approach the scale of Solomon’s greed, hubris, and appetite, we nonetheless commit the same error of leaving God by degrees.
??????????? For David’s sake (God kept His end of the covenant with David) and for the sake of His city (Jerusalem), God’s punishment would be limited. (11-13) ?Another great privilege Solomon enjoyed was having David as his father. ?That did mean a life of wealth and privilege, but it also meant being raised and trained in statesmanship by Israel’s great king. ?As we see in the many psalms David composed, he had a deep love for the LORD, a passionate spirituality that should’ve been passed on to Solomon.
??????????? Solomon’s story is one of a tragic end to an exceptionally promising beginning.? He began, in chapter three, with a prayer for wisdom.? However, the seeds of his eventual downfall were already present there.? In 3:3 we read, SOLOMON LOVED THE LORD AND FOLLOWED ALL THE DECREES OF HIS FATHER, DAVID, EXCEPT THAT SOLOMON, TOO, OFFERED SACRIFICES AND BURNED INCENSE AT LOCAL PLACES OF WORSHIP.
??????????? Though he rightly asked God for wisdom before wealth (God gave him both as a reward), though he was blessed with success as no king before or after him had been blessed, though he’d been personally visited by God twice, Solomon still failed to follow God exclusively and obey Him fully.
??????????? This is a moral of Solomon’s story:
Obedience, not age, brings about true wisdom.
??????????? This passage made it clear that as Solomon aged, he did not become wiser, but instead made foolish choices.? He compromised his morals and he compromised his faith in a self-destructive chase after more material wealth.? The most damaging mistake was collecting pagan women and coming under their influence.
??????????? The story of Solomon is one of small compromises that had a cumulative effect as he got older.? To be partially unfaithful to God is to be completely unfaithful to God.? Our faith is based on the revealed word of God.? We must discover genuinely biblical faith for ourselves to genuinely love God and others.? A faith we invent is a faith that will fail us, especially when we need it most.?
??????????? People assume age and wisdom go hand in hand, but of course, that’s not the truth.? Our faith is historical and counter cultural.? It is not at the mercy of trends and popularity because it is eternal, it transcends the moment.? It is not a thing we create to suit ourselves but a tradition we learn and to which we conform our lives.
??????????? Solomon wrote many proverbs, and these are products of his wisdom.? He probably wrote it in his younger days.? Solomon also wrote the book of Ecclesiastes, a book that is cynical in tone and attempts to reduce life to a simplistic, worldly perspective.? My guess is that Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes when he was older and his faith was becoming horribly mixed with the false teaching of idol-worshippers.
??????????? In terms of spiritual health and maturity, what matters more than age is time.? That may sound odd, but hear me out.? Everyone who survives, ages.? Aging is something of an achievement, but aging alone doesn’t make you wiser.? Time spent learning and listening makes you wiser.
??????????? Aging alone won’t make you mature.? Maturity comes from experience and wise choices.? It comes from seeking to follow God in all your ways, taking on more of His character.
??????????? Aging alone does not impart wisdom.? Solomon started out the wisest man ever, yet as he aged, he did dumb stuff.? Wisdom comes from God’s Spirit, through learning His word, and obeying His commands.
RESOURCES:
??????????? Aging one-liners from? https://55plusclubofsb.com/wit-and-wisdom/, retrieved on 7 February 2025.
??????????? William H. Barnes, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, Vol. 4b, 1-2 Kings, 2012, pp. 107-109.
??????????? R. D. Patterson, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 4, 1-2 Kings, 1998, pp. 106-108.