King Solomon's Apostasy: Self-Reliance and Idols

~Deuteronomy 17:14-17~

 When you enter the land which Yahweh your God gives you, and you possess it and live in it, and you say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me,’  you shall surely set a king over you whom Yahweh your God chooses, one from among your brothers you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your brother. Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses. Yahweh has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way.’  And he shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself.

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On the surface, the first ten chapters of 1 Kings paint a glorious picture of Solomon and the wealth he had produced. It depicts a golden age for the kingdom. But some biblical scholars have pointed out the text’s subtle criticisms of Solomon against the backdrop of Deuteronomy. Specifically, Deuteronomy serves as a measuring stick by which God's people and their kings would be measured. Going a step further, Professor Daniel Hays believes that the first ten chapters essentially employ the literary device of irony through implicit references to Deuteronomy 17 at the end of 1 Kings 10.[1] He explains that the writer scolds Solomon from the very beginning of 1 Kings. Regardless, even if the narrative is strictly a historical observation without ironic intent, the conclusion that Solomon was violating his covenant relationship with God should be apparent to the reader early on.

In 1 Kings 2:4, David charged Solomon to obey the Lord in order to realize the blessings of the Davidic Covenant, yet Solomon exhibited tendencies contrary to Yahweh's commands. For example, a king was required to place trust in the Lord and not seek perceived military advantages from large numbers of horses (Deut. 17:14-17), but Scripture documents that Solomon amassed chariot horses (1 Kings 4:26). Hence, Solomon’s demise did not occur overnight; it started as a “slow fade."

Self-Reliance and Idols

Initially, Solomon’s reign brought temporary accomplishments and saw the completion of building projects, such as the Temple. The structure took seven years to build, and although patterned from the Tabernacle, it was twice the size. But success made Solomon proud, and he became careless about the standards for Israel’s kings established by Yahweh. Even in the initial promise of Solomon’s rule, the true picture of his reign is one of decay beneath the grand exterior. For instance, 1 Kings 3:1 records his ill-conceived marriage to Pharaoh of Egypt’s daughter. This compromise demonstrated his failure to completely follow the Lord.[2] Tragically, the initial patterns of his life would become more defined as time progressed.

Ultimately, Solomon would go on to build a harem of many wives, and as a result, his spiritual life was influenced by the women he brought from foreign lands (1 Kings 11:3). Solomon’s marriages were a direct violation of Deuteronomy 17 and exposed a lack of trust in Yahweh. Consequently, to accommodate some of these marriages, Solomon built temples for various brides (1 Kings 11:4-13). International marriages most often required recognition of foreign deities, and Solomon’s intermarriages with important princesses from other lands followed this practice. His wives caused him to “turn his heart away after other gods” (1 Kings 11:4). Unfortunately, his actions incorporated syncretism in Israel.

As demonstrated, the resulting external consequences of Solomon’s sin were obvious and quite destructive. However, the internal piece is more subtle; his heart had turned away from God, but it did not happen all at once. Over the years, the king’s heart was not completely with Yahweh, and his infidelity was gradual. The implication of 1 Kings 11:4 is that his heart had turned when he was old, a process that involved years of compromise. Solomon became what he had revered. He not only built altars for his foreign wives, but he also worshiped their idols along with them, causing him to resemble the ungodly character and devotion of his women. His marriages in themselves were idolatrous.

What Happened to Solomon’s Wisdom?

When Solomon ascended the throne, God offered him the opportunity to ask for anything he wanted. Solomon chose wisdom (1 Kings 3:10-15), but as wise as he was, Solomon made deadly spiritual compromises as aforementioned. He did not follow God with his whole heart and started living for his own glory and seeking his own security. Solomon succumbed to the transformation described by the Apostle Paul in Romans 1:18-32. Through the king’s folly, he exchanged the truth for a lie; it was an irrational exchange and is not an intellectual issue. As with all men, it was a matter of the heart.

As evidenced in Chapter 11, the loves of Solomon’s heart became apparent. In 11:1-2, the love terminology is explicit: “Now King Solomon loved many foreign women…; Solomon clung to these in love.” The tragedy is clear: the narrative begins with Solomon loving Yahweh (1 Kings 3:3) and ends with him loving foreign women (1 Kings 11:1). Even though he never renounced the Lord publicly or officially, his heart exposed his allegiances.[3] Unapplied wisdom is a choice, and the affections of men’s hearts are plainly seen in their actions.

Application for Us

Many say that Solomon started out well, but did he? If we read Scripture in context, we see that his worldly desires began early and grew into visible, destructive disobedience to the Lord. The subtleties of the heart are what matter. Hence, the story of King Solomon has much more to do with the Lord's longsuffering than with the king's loyalty to Him.

Like Solomon, we may start out with good intentions, but our hearts can be carried away by the world's temptations. Before we know it, we are swept far from God and His ways. Thus, we must guard our hearts at all times to avoid the tragedy of King Solomon lest the pride of life consumes us. Let us remember that staying in God's word is key to abiding in Christ and finishing this life as a faithful servant of the Lord.

  [1] J Daniel Hays, “Has the Narrator Come to Praise Solomon or to Bury Him?: Narrative Subtlety in 1 Kings 1-11,” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 28, no. 2 (2003): 154-155.       

  [2] William B. Fullilove, “1-2 Kings” in A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament: The Gospel Promised, ed. Miles Van Pelt (Wheaton: Crossway, 2016), 182-183.

[3] Ralph Dale Davis, 1 Kings: The Wisdom and the Folly (Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, 2002), 113-114.                

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Deuteronomy 17:18-20

Now it will be when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear Yahweh his God, to carefully observe all the words of this law and these statutes,  that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or the left, so that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his sons in the midst of Israel.    

1 Kings 10:26-29

And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen. And he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen and stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. The king also made silver as plentiful as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the Shephelah. Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue; the king’s merchants procured them from Kue for a price. And a chariot was imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver, and a horse for 150; and by the same means they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram.

1 John 2:15-17 

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts, but the one who does the will of God abides forever.