“Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten of these pieces, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and I will give ten of the tribes to you! But I will leave him one tribe for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. For Solomon has abandoned me and worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians; Chemosh, the god of Moab; and Molech, the god of the Ammonites. He has not followed my ways and done what is pleasing in my sight. He has not obeyed my decrees and regulations as David his father did. “‘But I will not take the entire kingdom from Solomon at this time. For the sake of my servant David, the one whom I chose and who obeyed my commands and decrees, I will keep Solomon as leader for the rest of his life. But I will take the kingdom away from his son and give ten of the tribes to you. His son will have one tribe so that the descendants of David my servant will continue to reign, shining like a lamp in Jerusalem, the city I have chosen to be the place for my name. And I will place you on the throne of Israel, and you will rule over all that your heart desires. If you listen to what I tell you and follow my ways and do whatever I consider to be right, and if you obey my decrees and commands, as my servant David did, then I will always be with you. I will establish an enduring dynasty for you as I did for David, and I will give Israel to you. Because of Solomon’s sin I will punish the descendants of David—though not forever.’” Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but he fled to King Shishak of Egypt and stayed there until Solomon died.”
1 KINGS 11:31-40 NLT
God is God but men are men. On the surface it seems obvious but it elucidates the point that men cannot be trusted to walk with God unless they keep their hearts upon him. God gave Solomon the keys to the kingdom that he had promised to David’s descendants, and he gave him wisdom to rule the kingdom well. However, despite being a successful ruler, Solomon took his reign and hoarded its spoils. He elevated false gods to equality with the one true god, and gave them worship for the sake of political strategy. History doesn’t depict Solomon as actively worshipping Moloch through child sacrifice, but he opened the door for this eventual sin of the nation. We must be wary of ourselves and our wisdom. We must remember that god is not simply jealous of worship but that his jealousy keeps us safe from destruction at our own hands. When man is allowed to flourish without, or away from God, it is a truly terrifying thing. It is a steep slope into destruction.
JOSH McGARY. COM 