I Kings 11; II Chronicles 9:29-31
Fool!
How else should we describe Solomon in the end? Here he is, endowed with more wisdom than anyone else, yet he chooses to ignore its first principle that he himself stated: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. (Pr. 9:10) Accommodating his many foreign wives, Solomon turns away from the fear of the LORD and bows himself down before idols. Instead of tearing down centers of idol worship, he builds them.
Is this a man unfamiliar with the ways of the LORD? Not at all! Solomon’s father is King David, the man after God’s own heart, so he is well instructed and has an excellent example to follow. He has at least two visions in which the LORD communicates with him clearly and directly. He enjoys the LORD’s blessings, with national prosperity, peace on every side, enormous personal wealth, success in everything he touches, wisdom beyond everyone else, honor, glory, power — everything he could possibly want. He builds the LORD’s Temple and worships the LORD faithfully for years. He is not ignorant of the LORD. He is not ignorant of Torah. He is not ignorant of the ramifications of idolatry. He is not ignorant of the fact that his kingdom is fully dependent on the LORD. Yet he disregards what he knows to be true and turns aside to false gods.
Fool!
Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen.”
I Kings 11:11-13
We should note here that Solomon’s sin is not a momentary “slip up”, a bad decision made in the heat of the moment. No, it is his practice — something clearly ongoing for a number of years. He has plenty of opportunity to repent and turn back to the LORD, but he does not. So the LORD declares that He will tear the kingdom from him, using language reminiscent of what Samuel told Saul in I Samuel 15:28. The LORD begins the process by raising up neighboring adversaries, breaking the peace that Solomon and the nation have enjoyed. Then the LORD calls Jeroboam, designating him as the new (future) ruler of ten tribes of Israel.
How does Solomon react? Does he fall on his face and repent before the LORD, as David did when confronted with his sin with Bathsheba? No. Instead he follows the example of Saul and seeks to kill Jeroboam as a rival, just as Saul sought to kill David. The wisest of men seems to have forgotten that no wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD. (Pr. 21:30)
Fool!
Of course it is easy to see Solomon’s folly when it is laid out before us. And it is tempting to shake our heads, point the finger, and laugh at him. But not so fast. What about us? How many of God’s good blessings do we take for granted? How often have we declared that we will follow Jesus to the death, yet denied him before the next dawn? How many idols do we continue to accommodate in our lives?
Fools!
Sadly, I cannot absolve myself of the same “foolishness” we see laid out at the end of Solomon’s life. I have experienced much more of God’s goodness and grace than I deserve, yet I still stray in my priorities and actions over and over again. Why is that?!? Thankfully, God reminds me of his grace and brings me around…
In my previous readings of I Kings 11:9-43, I have been confused by God’s raising up of Jeroboam. Who was he, anyway? Why him? The Transitions paragraph on page 512 of the Chronological Study Bible notes that Solomon had put some of the Israelites to forced labor, and Jeroboam was put in charge of them. Perhaps he was a member of that tribe?
It is interesting that God forbids putting his people to forced labor. He wants his people (us!) to live in freedom: from fear, sin, destructive habits, death…
Finally, it is noteworthy that just reading Chronicles gives us a completely skewed view of Solomon, never mentioning his faults and failures (like its account of David!), a caution against getting information from only one source!
Indeed, thank God for His amazing grace, apart from which none of us has any hope.
As for Solomon’s use of forced labor, I Kings 9:22 explicitly states that Solomon did not enslave any Israelites — only conquered peoples (whom Israel was supposed to utterly destroy). I suppose one could interpret that statement as applying only to the first half of his reign while the Temple and his palace were being built, before his turn away from the LORD, but I’d be hesitant to do so (although that would help explain what happens in tomorrow’s reading — cf. I Kings 12:13,14,18).
As for Jeroboam, he is of the tribe of Ephraim. (I Kings 11:26) And yes, it does seem very puzzling that the LORD would choose him, as we shall see tomorrow. But the LORD nonetheless chooses Jeroboam and promises to establish his dynasty — much like His promise to David — conditioned on Jeroboam’s obedience. (I Kings 11:38) Stay tuned…
Yes, John, it says that Solomon did not use Israelites for forced labor, but as you suggested it may just mean in the first part of his reign(?).
I mentioned it because I Kings 11:28 mentions the labor force of the tribes of Joseph, not necessarily forced labor, but it seemed somewhat so to me. However, the tribes seemed to have a rotation of labor. Maybe I thought that it was rather forced because of how much the tribes complained about their labor at Solomon’s death. Didn’t seem very willing…!
Yep, I totally agree. It’s clear as mud. I’m guessing that Solomon avoided actually enslaving any Israelites, but that doesn’t mean that he didn’t exact a heavy toll, whether by a burdensome load of assigned duties or by taxes. Clearly, by the time of his death, the people are disgruntled. But all of that could have been avoided if he had held true to the LORD.