1 Kings 11:4-8

The Sin of Solomon.

Three questions will suffice to bring this subject before us. First, what was this sin? secondly, by whom was it committed? thirdly, when, and under what circumstances?

But first, it is well we should understand what this sin was not .

We see, then, that the essence of this sin was that having permitted himself, or purposes of state and pride and ostentation, the love of many strange women, he permitted them, and possibly some of his subjects also, to worship their false gods. And by so doing—

1. He gave a direct sanction to superstition . He may have argued, like some in later times and some who bear the Christian name, that these things, though nothing in themselves, were all very well for women, that the ignorant must have material objects of worship, etc. But it was not thus that the God of his fathers viewed the deed. This philosophic tolerance of other creeds, He called the teaching of falsehood. This liberality, in His sight, was "damnable uncharitableness"—the expression is Jeremy Taylor's—for it was leading poor souls away from the light and changing the truth of God into a lie ( Romans 1:25 ). It was "making the blind to wander out of the way" ( Deuteronomy 27:18 ) in the worst possible sense of the words.

2. He encouraged immorality and cruelty . For it must never be forgotten what the "abominations" of these Semitic divinities were like. The idolatry of the East always involved impurity; hence its powerful hold on a nation like the Jews, for whom the worship of "silver and gold, the works of men's hands," could have had but little charm. Its "vile affections" ( Romans 1:26 ) were its chief attractions. And Solomon, who knew what the worship of Baal and Ashtoreth meant, who knew how unclean were their rites, and what painful and shameful sacrifices Molech and Chemosh demanded of their votaries, nevertheless gave the word, and presently the hills about Jerusalem were crowned with chapels of devils.

3. He dishonoured the one true God . For if "Polytheism is not exclusive," Monotheism, in the very nature of things, is and must be. Its basis, its fundamental conception, is that there are not "gods many and lords many." Its keynote is the Shema Israel ( Deuteronomy 6:4 ), "the Lord our God is one Lord." It proclaims a "jealous God" who will not give His glory to another, nor His praise to graven images ( Isaiah 42:8 ). But Solomon robbed Him of His rights; of the exclusive sovereignty and the undivided authority which belonged to Him alone. By building idol altars he claimed homage for idol deities; before the eyes of the Lord's people, he thrust rivals and pretenders on to the Lord's throne, and degraded "the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man." ( Romans 1:23 ).

4. He defied the Holy One of Israel . For these altars of lust and cruelty were not built in a corner. They did not shrink from the light as in a past age; they were not frequented by pagani . They rose "on the hill that is before Jerusalem;" they fronted the altar of Jehovah; their priests were visible to the priests in the temple court; their smoke ascended to the sky along with the smoke of the daily sacrifice. If insult had been designed, it could hardly have been more open or obtrusive.

II. And by WHOSE permission, at whose bidding were these shrines of infamy erected? They were built by -

1. The wisest of men . In science ( 1 Kings 4:33 ), in philosophy ( ib . 1 Kings 11:29-32 ), in self knowledge. Cf. 1 Kings 3:12 , 1 Kings 3:28 .

2. The most favoured and enlightened of men . The Lord "appeared unto him twice" ( 1 Kings 3:9 ). His was "abundance of revelations" (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:7 ). To him it was said, "Ask what I shall give thee" ( 1 Kings 3:5 ). This was Jedidiah . "There was no king like Solomon, who was beloved of his God, yet even him did outlandish women cause to sin" ( Nehemiah 13:26 ).

3. The builder of the temple . To him had been granted the high honour which was denied to pious David. He had "found a place for the Lord, a habitation for the mighty God of Jacob" ( Psalms 132:5 ). The golden altar, the brazen altar; he had planned and reared them both. And now he builds altars to "horrors" (see note on 1 Kings 15:13 ). "He that burneth incense, he blessed an idol" ( Isaiah 66:3 , Hebrews)

4. The teacher of the Church . He was "that deep sea of wisdom which God ordained to send forth rivers and fountains of all Divine and human knowledge to all nations, to all ages;" he was "one of those select secretaries whose hand it pleased the Almighty to employ in three pieces of the Divine monuments of sacred Scriptures" (Bp. Hall). He is fallen, but his writings stand. He still preaches to others, though himself a castaway. There have been authors whose pestilent writings go on corrupting and destroying souls for ages after they have ceased to speak. But Solomon's is in some respects a sadder case than theirs. His writings have taught and blessed the world for nigh three thousand years after he himself fell into "utter wretchlessness of most unclean living."

5. A man who warned others . It is only when we study his fall in the light of his prayer and proverbs, with their many admonitions, that we realize how great a wreck he became and how appalling is the lesson of his fall "Since the first man, Adam, the world hath not yielded either so great an example of wisdom or so fearful an example of apostasy, as Solomon" (Hall).

III. But WHEN was it, let us now ask, that Solomon fell into this deadly sin? At what period of his reign, and under what circumstances, did he sink to such depths of degradation? Observe ―

1. It was not after sudden or special temptation . We may truly say of him, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man." No Delilah, no Bathsheba wrought his ruin. It is instructive to compare 1 Kings 4:20-24 with the account of our Lord's temptation ( Matthew 4:3-11 ). Solomon was not tempted by hunger; his "provision for one day was," etc. The enemy could not offer him "the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them:" he had them already ( 1 Kings 4:21 , 1 Kings 4:24 ; 1 Kings 10:1-29 . passim ); he could only use the common weapon of presumption, of spiritual pride, and it was by this that Solomon was slain.

2. It was not after great trials or adversity . His career, how unlike David's! "Rest on every side." "Neither adversary nor evil occurrence" ( 1 Kings 5:4 ). "Eating, drinking, and making merry" ( 1 Kings 4:20 ). Compare 1 Samuel chs. 18-30. And yet David stood and Solomon fell. What we call adversity (compare Jacob's "all these things are against me," Genesis 42:36 ) is often spiritual prosperity. "Tribulation" is a significant word. The tribulum was the threshing sledge which separated the chaff from the grain. It is said by some that wax is necessary for nations to preserve them from corruption and decay; it is certain that peace is not always good for princes. The man of peace and rest, who was "not plagued like other men," has furnished the world with the most terrible example of apostasy. Well may the apostle bid us to "rejoice in tribulation also," to "count it all joy when," etc. ( James 1:2 ).

3. It was " when he was old ." St. Paul speaks of "youthful lusts," but old age has its special dangers and temptations. It was in the time of mature experience, when the hot blood of youth should have cooled, when he should have known the world and his wisdom should have been ripest, that his wives turned away his heart. Perhaps he presumed upon his exalted gifts and revelations. With age came selfconfidence. It is thus that many strong cities have been taken. " Praeruptum eoque neglectum " discloses the secret of their fall

4. It was when his riches had increased . The greater his store, the leaner his soul. "It is easier for a camel," etc. ( Matthew 19:24 ). "The deceitfulness of riches" choked the word ( Matthew 13:22 ). The Latin proverb which says that "every rich man is either a knave or the son of a knave" has some truth in it. Happy are those who have "neither poverty nor riches" ( Proverbs 30:8 ); happiest those who can say, "My riches consist, not in the abundance of my possessions, but in the fewness of my wants."

5. It was when his prosperity was at its highest . It was when he "waxed fat" that "Jeshurun kicked." It is when men "have eaten and are full" that they most need to "beware that they forget not the Lord their God" ( Deuteronomy 8:10 , Deuteronomy 8:11 ). Observe, it was not until he had reached the very pinnacle of greatness and felicity that Solomon fell. "His prosperity, which even wise men find a constant wear and trial to the spirit, did him more harm than even his wisdom did him good". How appropriate that prayer, "In all time of our wealth good Lord, deliver us." "The food convenient which Agur prayed for is safer than the food abundant which even Solomon was surfeited with" (M. Henry).

6. It was after his wives were multiplied . Polygamy has ever been a snare to rulers. It is said that Scripture nowhere condemns it. If the letter does not, the spirit does. Scripture tells of the misery it has occasioned. Witness the families of Abraham, Jacob, Elkanah, and David. It was the immediate cause of Solomon's ruin. There are few partnerships which are so lightly entered into as the one which lasts for all life. And yet how completely is a man's honour, prosperity, and peace in his wife's keeping. "How many have we known whose heads have been broken by their own rib" (Bp. Hall). It is a quaint but true saying, "If a man would thrive, he must ask his wife." How strange that he who knew the priceless value of one true woman's love ( Proverbs 31:10-31 ) should surrender himself to immodest and forbidden attachments. Can there be a reference to his thousand wives and concubines in those pessimist words of Ecclesiastes 7:26-28 ? "If one woman undid all mankind, what marvel is it if many women undid one?" (Hall.) "Thou didst bow thy loins unto women, and by thy body wast thou brought into subjection" (Ecclus. 47:19).

7. It was after repeated warnings . He had had

HOMILIES BY J.A. MACDONALD