Solomon's Heart - Part II

Solomon's wisdom was great and we have much of it in Proverbs but according to Luke:

Luke 11
:31 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: 
        for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; 
    and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. 

Jesus Christ is come that we may have life and have it more abundantly, this includes every facet of our lives including wisdom. First we start with what God expects us to know--His Word--and when necessary He will give us further wisdom. 

Proverbs 2
:6 For the LORD giveth wisdom: 
    out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

Proverbs 3
:13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, 
    and the man that getteth understanding.

Proverbs 4
:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; 
        therefore get wisdom: 
    and with all thy getting 
        get understanding.

Proverbs 8
:11 For wisdom is better than rubies; 
    and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.

Who is this queen of the south that Luke refers to?  What she had heard reported of Solomon wasn't the half of it. Solomon's wisdom was greater than she had heard.

II Chronicles 9
:1  And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, 
    she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, 
        with a very great company, 
        and camels that bare spices, 
        and gold in abundance, 
        and precious stones: 
    and when she was come to Solomon, 
    she communed with him of all that was in her heart.
:2 And Solomon told her all her questions: 
    and there was nothing hid from Solomon which he told her not.
:3 And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, 
        and the house that he had built,
:4     And the meat of his table, 
        and the sitting of his servants, 
        and the attendance of his ministers, 
            and their apparel; 
        his cupbearers also, 
            and their apparel; 
        and his ascent by which he went up into the house of the LORD; 
    there was no more spirit in her.
:5 And she said to the king, 
        It was a true report 
            which I heard in mine own land 
        of thine acts, 
        and of thy wisdom:
:6     Howbeit I believed not their words, 
            until I came, 
        and mine eyes had seen it: 
        and, behold, the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: 
            for thou exceedest the fame that I heard.
:7     Happy are thy men, 
        and happy are these thy servants, 
            which stand continually before thee, 
            and hear thy wisdom.
:8     Blessed be the LORD thy God, 
            which delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, 
            to be king for the LORD thy God: 
        because thy God loved Israel, 
            to establish them for ever, 
        therefore made he thee king over them, 
            to do judgment and justice.
:9 And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, 
        and of spices great abundance, 
        and precious stones: 
    neither was there any such spice as the queen of Sheba gave king Solomon.

This is a very large gift. She is quite impressed. But like Luke said; a greater one has come. Makes one think.

Solomon's response to her visit:

:12 And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, 
        whatsoever she asked, 
        beside that which she had brought unto the king. 
    So she turned, and went away to her own land, 
        she and her servants.

Not only did Solomon give her gifts but he gave her the equivalent of what she brought and more. He has started pleasing dignitaries instead of trusting God to keep the peace. He had also given Hiram king of Tyre, the one who supplied the cedars for the temple and his house, 20 cities in Galilee (I Kings 9:10-12). Solomon gave away what the Children of Israel had fought and died for. 

As time passed Solomon's heart was turned away from loving God. Solomon is the one king who had everything going for him, riches beyond measure, peace on all his borders and wisdom beyond any other person. God told him that the land He gave Israel and the house which He had hallowed would be taken from him if he forsook the Lord his God and worshipped and served other gods. God is making it clear so there is no misunderstanding.

I Kings 11
:1 But king Solomon loved many strange women, [strange meaning foreign--not of Israel]
    together with the daughter of Pharaoh,
    women of the Moabites,
    Ammonites,
    Edomites,
    Zidonians,
    and Hittites; [all Gentiles]
:2 Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel,
        Ye shall not go in to them,
        neither shall they come in unto you:
            for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods:
    Solomon clave unto these in love.  [he let his emotions and desires rule]
:3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses,
        and three hundred concubines:
    and his wives turned away his heart. [just as God said they would]
:4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old,
    that his wives turned away his heart after other gods:
    and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God,
        as was the heart of David his father.

Notice that this didn't happen immediately after he finished building the house for God and his house but it took time. The corruption of the Word in one's heart starts a little at a time and works slowly, obvious errors are recognized immediately. We must continually guard every jot and tittle of the Word in our hearts. God knew that the unbelievers would draw the Believers off of the rightly divided Word, but for Solomon, the pleasures of women were stronger than his love for God and His Word.

:5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians,
    and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
:6 And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD,
    and went not fully after the LORD,
        as did David his father.
:7 Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh,
        the abomination of Moab,
    in the hill that is before Jerusalem,
    and for Molech,
        the abomination of the children of Ammon.
:8 And likewise did he for all his strange wives,
        which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.

David made his mistakes, but David never turned away to other gods. Solomon's mistake was BIG, he did evil in the sight of the Lord. Solomon's change in heart made the difference here. Because of unbelief, he disobeyed God. Solomon did build the temple but he also built temples for the false gods for his wives. He loved his wives more then God.

Unbelievers will turn Believers from the true God . They are influencing us all of the time--at work, on T.V., our neighbors, at school--teaching unbelief 101.

Solomon also disobeyed God in other areas. In Deuteronomy 17: 14-20 God tells Moses to write in the book that kings should not multiply horses to themselves or cause the people to return to Egypt to obtain more horses (they weren't supposed to go back to Egypt). The king was also not supposed to multiply wives unto himself so his heart is not turned away from God. Neither should he multiply gold and silver unto himself. He was also to keep a copy of the law and read from it daily so that he would keep the law and statutes so that his heart would not be lifted up above his people and turn aside from doing the Word. If he had followed God's instructions his days would have been prolonged upon the throne.

I Kings 11
:9 And the LORD was angry with Solomon,
        because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel,
        which had appeared unto him twice,
:10 And had commanded him concerning this thing,
    that he should not go after other gods:
    but he kept not that which the LORD commanded.
:11 Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon,
            Forasmuch as this is done of thee,
            and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes,
                which I have commanded thee,
            I will surely rend the kingdom from thee,
            and will give it to thy servant.
:12       Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father's sake:
                but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son.
:13       Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom;
            but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant's sake,
                and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen.

Solomon loses the kingdom to Jeroboam the son of Nebat an Ephrathite. Solomon had made Jeroboam, his servant, ruler over the tribes of Ephraim and Menasseh (the house of Joseph). One day Ahijah, a prophet, caught Jeroboam and told him take 10 tribes to be their king. After Solomon found out he tried to kill Jeroboam but he flees to Egypt and waits for Solomon to die.

II Kings 11
:41 And the rest of the acts of Solomon,
        and all that he did,
        and his wisdom,
    are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon?
:42 And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years.
:43 And Solomon slept with his fathers,
    and was buried in the city of David his father:
    and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead. [over the people that didn't fall under Jeroboam's reign]

Once again we learn the importance of guarding one's heart and life with the Word. Had Solomon done what God had instructed he would not have been drawn off the Word and the kingdom taken from him. For us the consequences are different, for most of us are not kings. But you can learn from Solomon's example. God doesn't say the riches corrupted Solomon but his wives did. He let unbelievers draw him away from God. We live in a world that is influenced heavily by unbelievers. Many of us are not surrounded by Believers and sheltered from the corruption of the world. It is important to continuously put on the mind of Christ and immerse ourselves in His wonderful matchless Word.