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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Thursday, 18 September 2025:
1 Kings 11:1-2 — Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love.
Here is the tragic turn. Solomon, who had been blessed with extraordinary wisdom, ignored God’s clear command (Deuteronomy 7:3-4). His heart, the very thing God desires most, was captured not by the Lord, but by his love for many wives. What you cling to will shape your destiny. He “clung” to them in love, instead of clinging to God (Deuteronomy 10:20).
Solomon was granted unsurpassed wisdom by God. However, even in his superior wisdom, he did not “guard his heart” by obeying God’s simple, clear commands. His lack of self-control and obedience destroyed him and set the stage for the ultimate destruction of the kingdom of Israel. Our problem is not the gap between ignorance and knowledge but rather the chasm between knowledge and commitment. It Isn’t that we don’t know what God wants; it is that we refuse to do what God wants. It isn’t that God hasn’t adequately empowered us to obey; it’s that in our hearts we really don’t want to obey. There is a part of us that doesn’t want our Savior to be our Lord and Savior. It takes humility to truly examine our hearts and an attitude of repentance and continual re-submission to walk with God day by day. Daily Bible study gives us course corrections and is used by the Holy Spirit to convict our hearts — if we are receptive to the Holy Spirit. Do not quench the Spirit by ignoring that conviction. When God convicts you, you stand at a crossroads. What you do next is absolutely vital. Loving God is not an intellectual choice; it is an issue of the heart.
1 Kings 11:3-4 — He had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.
The repetition of “his heart” is deliberate — Solomon’s problem was not political strategy but spiritual compromise. His divided affections led to divided worship. David sinned grievously, but his heart remained fundamentally loyal to the Lord; Solomon’s heart was pulled away to idols. A divided heart is dangerous because it erodes slowly — Solomon didn’t stop worshiping Yahweh outright, but he added other gods alongside Him. That is syncretism, and it is just as destructive.
1 Kings 11:5-8 — For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites…. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites…. So he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods.
This is shocking: Solomon, who built the glorious temple for the Lord, also built shrines for some of the most detestable pagan gods, including Molech, associated with child sacrifice. Compromise escalates — what begins as tolerating sin soon becomes accommodating it, and eventually promoting it. Solomon’s tolerance of his wives’ idolatry became participation in it. The man who once prayed for God’s glory among the nations now facilitated abominations among God’s people.
1 Kings 11:9-13 — And the LORD was angry with Solomon…. Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice… I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen.”
God responds with both judgment and mercy. Solomon’s repeated compromise brought God’s anger, and the kingdom would be divided. Yet God remembered His covenant with David: He would preserve a remnant tribe for the sake of His promise and for Jerusalem. Even in judgment, God’s mercy shines. This tension, holiness and mercy, runs throughout Scripture and is ultimately resolved in Christ, where justice and mercy meet at the cross.
1 Kings 11:14-25 — And the LORD raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite…. God also raised up as an adversary to him, Rezon the son of Eliada…. He was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon…
The peaceful reign Solomon enjoyed begins to unravel. God Himself raises adversaries against Solomon as discipline. When we compromise and drift from Him, God often allows difficulties to confront us — not to destroy us, but to awaken us. Opposition becomes God’s tool to call us back to dependence.
1 Kings 11 is one of the scariest chapters in the Bible: Solomon was the wisest man in the Old Testament. God had blessed him with all that he desired. Yet this wisest man chose to directly disobey God even though God had appeared to him twice! This chapter shows how powerful sin is. All the wisdom in the world, even miraculous encounters with God won’t enable a person to obey God within his own power. The power of the Holy Spirit is required as is much grace. Sin is powerful and its consequences severe. Solomon’s sin resulted in the division of the tribes of Israel. The wisest king permanently divided the kingdom because he refused to simply obey God.
God punished Solomon by giving success to his enemies. This is a pattern in the Bible. Throughout the Bible God also uses other things such as natural disasters, corrupt politicians, and untimely events to punish His people. These are things only God can control. Those who worship ‘science’ (pseudoscience) would never accept these things as punishment from God, while those who follow false religions might characterize things as punishment from God which aren’t. It takes a genuine relationship with God and receptiveness to the Holy Spirit to know how to interpret what is happening in your life and why. Another reason why sin is nothing to trifle with is that it hinders your ability to hear the Spirit. How does God deal with your disobedience? How do you respond? “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
1 Kings 11:26-40 — Jeroboam the son of Nebat…. Solomon saw that the young man was industrious…. Ahijah the prophet found him on the road… and said, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the LORD… ‘I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give you ten tribes…. Yet to his son I will give one tribe, that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen to put my name.’”
Here the Lord designates Jeroboam as the future king of the northern tribes. The torn garment is a vivid picture of a torn kingdom. Yet God’s covenant faithfulness remains — He will preserve a “lamp” for David. Even in judgment, God’s promises endure. This foreshadows Christ, the true Son of David, who is the unquenchable lamp of salvation (John 8:12).
1 Kings 11:38 — And if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.
Solomon “did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely.” Therefore, God tore the kingdom away from him and gave it to Jeroboam. For Jeroboam, God set the same conditions of obedience. Jeroboam, however, will also sin terribly against the Lord. The sins of these individuals will have a ripple effect on the rest of Israel’s history and will cause pain and suffering for generations.
Proverbs 1 offers a warning to those who would follow their bad example: “How long will you who are simple love your simple ways? How long will… fools hate knowledge? Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings. But since you refuse to listen when I call and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand, since you disregard all my advice
and do not accept my rebuke, I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you; I will mock when calamity overtakes you — when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you. Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me, since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord. Since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”
1 Kings 11:40 — Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam.
Solomon wasted his energy trying to kill Jeroboam, an adversary sent by God. Solomon should have spent his energy repenting and pursuing his relationship with God. If you are aligned with God’s will, nothing can stop you – “he makes even [your] enemies to be at peace with [you].” (Proverbs 16:7) However, if you are working against God’s will, nothing will succeed in the end.
1 Kings 11:41-43 — Now the rest of the acts of Solomon… are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon? And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.
The wisest man who ever lived, apart from Christ, ended his days in compromise. His life began with unparalleled promise, but he squandered it by divided devotion. His death marks the end of Israel’s united monarchy. Yet God’s purposes march on: His covenant with David will not fail.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 18 September 2025: Guard your heart from divided devotion. Solomon’s downfall was not sudden but gradual — small compromises that accumulated into open idolatry. What you tolerate today will dominate you tomorrow. The heart cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24). Ask yourself: where is my heart divided? Is there an affection, relationship, or desire that is competing with loyalty to Christ? True wisdom is not only knowing the right path but walking in it with undivided devotion.
Pray: “Lord, thank You for the sobering lesson of Solomon’s life. Protect us from divided hearts and compromise that draws us away from You. Expose anything in us that rivals Your place in our lives. Teach us to cling to You in love, not to sin or to idols. Keep us faithful to Your Word, and help us to finish well, not drifting but abiding in Christ to the end. In His name we pray, Amen.”
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