Solomon was a mixed bag. He got the temple built...1 Kings 6:1-38 (Hooray!) He showed great wisdom...1 Kings 4:29-34 (Hooray!) He worked to make for peace...1 Kings 4:24 (Hooray!)
One of the marvelous moment’s in Solomon’s reign came when two women came before him, each claiming to be the mother of the same baby boy (1 Kings 3:16-28). To settle the dispute, Solomon said they should cut the baby in half and give each woman half of the baby. The real mother screamed “No! Give the baby to the other woman!” When Solomon saw the anguish of the one woman, he knew she was the real mother, and granted her the child. Wisdom.
But King Solomon was a mixed bag. In this week’s focal text, we see that he had hundreds of wives and concubines (v 3). He began to worship the gods of his foreign wives (v. 5) and even built high places for their worship (v. 7). God is so upset that God says, “I will surely tear the kingdom from you...” (1 Kings 11:11). Solomon loses. Because of God’s grace, there will be a token tribe left (1 Kings 11:13).
Most of us cannot identify with Solomon’s wisdom or his wealth or his power. Most of us are just ordinary kind of folks. But we need to be aware that when God judged Solomon, it was not on the basis of wisdom, wealth, or power. God judged Solomon on whether or not Solomon had obeyed the covenant (God’s agreement with God’s people) and kept God’s commandments (1 Kings 11:11). You and I are subject to judgment on these same points.
What is that covenant? What are those commandments? Some scribes asked Jesus the same question. That is when our Lord said that our agreement with God can be summed up in loving God and loving neighbor (Mark 12:28-31, Matthew 22:34-40, Luke 10:25-28). All of the gospel writers included this basic truth.
Solomon was a king with a kingdom. Each of us has a life and a “lifedom.” We are called to the same values and truths as was Solomon. In our free will, we choose ways we will (and ways we will not) honor the God of that “lifedom.” It is measured in our love for God in every way we can love and it is measured in how we love our neighbor. Solomon was a mixed bag. What about you?
What Someone Else Has Said: Francis S. Collins, (The Language of God, First Press) has written: “Knowledge itself has no intrinsic moral value; it is the way in which knowledge is put to use that acquires an ethical dimension.”
Prayer: As you prepare this lesson, let your prayer begin: “Holy Spirit, touch me with love...”
