1 Kings 10-11: From Such Great Heights

King Solomon became mightier than any other king in the entire world. He was wealthy in material and in wisdom. People from around the world wanted to meet the famous Solomon. They desired to learn the wisdom God had planted in his heart. They brought gifts-- silver, gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules. The gifts accumulated as the years passed. 

1 Kings 10:23-25, The Voice

Up till this point, Solomon has been a pretty stand-up guy. He's brought peace to the kingdom of Israel and built God a magnificent temple according to his father's wishes. He has reigned in wisdom and wealth.

But the downfall of Solomon is his love of foreign women. God had warned His people not to marry into other countries because they would lead Israel away from Him. Apparently, Solomon thought he was not included under this rule, because he had over 700 wives from different countries! It's hard to imagine someone having 700 wives in our culture today- but it is likely that most of the 'marriages' were actually made in order to secure peaceful inter-country relationships. Either way you look at it, though, Solomon still disregarded God's command.

And he paid a heavy price for it-- or Israel did. Because of his 700 foreign wives, Solomon was led astray into building temples for other god's as well. He no longer was loyal to the one God that had blessed him with so much.

Solomon followed the Lord during youth and middle age, but when Solomon was an old man, these women seduced him into following other gods. His heart was led astray and no longer completely belonged to the Eternal One, his True God, as his father David's heart did.

1 Kings 11:4

God was understandably angry. He declared that once Solomon's reign was over, He would take away full kingship over Israel from his line, dividing the kingdom of Israel in two. God appointed a man named Jereboam to inherit 10 of the tribes of Israel-- leaving Solomon's son to be king over only two: the tribes of Benjamin and Judah.

Solomon tried to kill Jereboam, but Jereboam ran to Egypt to hide until Solomon's death. Solomon's son Rehoboam inherits reign over the tribes of Benjamin and Judah-- which take the name "Judah" as a separate country, and Jereboam's 10 tribes retain the name "Israel."

What a horrible mess! Solomon's life is a classic example of how our relationship with God can deteriorate if we don't spend time continually getting to know Him. All of the wisdom Solomon had came from God, but at some point, he must have forgotten that. He thought he could ride on his own coat-tails of success and make whatever decisions he wanted without repercussions. May we never feel that we've 'arrived' enough spiritually that we don't need God anymore.