SOLOMON’s FOLLY
Today we confront the tragic wisdom of King Solomon: the man who wrote the warnings, then lived to violate every single one. His life is proof that knowing the truth is not the same as walking in it.
SOLOMON’S WARNING: THE MAN WHO KNEW BUT DID NOT DO
Featured Scripture and Commentary
1 Kings 11:4 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.
Oh my dear Lord in Heaven, whatever became of Solomon? We still learn unto this day from the wisdom of his words and the folly of his contrary actions. Why was Solomon so wise? God granted him one wish. He wished for wisdom. We learn from him throughout Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. All pursuits are like chasing the wind unless we are living for God. God gave him other perks to honor Solomon for making such a great choice. He became the wisest of the wise and richest of the rich. And then when he reached the top of what people still lust after it all turned on him because he squandered this gifts and turned his back on the wisdom that God had bestowed on him. The Biblical record of the Solomon pivot can be found in 1 Kings 11:1-4 “King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. 2 They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. 3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. 4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been.” Oh btw just for kick and giggles – Solomon was a busy guy. If one had 700 wives he would get to spend exactly half of one day with each one per year! What if he falls ill that day and has to send a text to the three women he was scheduled to be with that day because there was also 300 more concubine – 1/3rd of the day per year with all 1000. Clint Eastwood was wiser in one of his Dirty Harry movies when he said repeatedly “a man has got to know his limitations”.
On Proverbs vs Ecclesiastes – Proverbs is young Solomon when he as bathing in his gift of divine wisdom. Ecclesiastes is exhausted, old, cynical Solomon made weary and defeated by his folly. There is great learning to be had from both. All of it is the Word of the Lord presented in different forms.
Interesting sidebar note – the Bible’s wisest and strongest (Samson) both perished due to lust. A word to the wise who are reading this… I pray it is sufficient. And so we dive…
CORROBORATING SCRIPTURE
Proverbs 6:27–29, Proverbs 31:3, Ecclesiastes 2:11, Proverbs 22:14, Proverbs 5:3–5
8 WARNINGS FROM SOLOMON (THAT HE IGNORED) – Do What He Said, Not What He Did
1. WARNING: DON’T MARRY OUTSIDE THE FAITH
Proverbs 22:25 – “Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.”
Solomon’s Violation: He married 700 wives and 300 concubines, many foreign princesses who worshipped idols.
The Result: “His wives turned away his heart after other gods” (1 Kings 11:4). The snare caught him.
You are a Christian dude from Utah? Go ahead and marry a princess from Ghana – but if she worships idols you will be distracted from your faith by stone and wooden idols strewn about your dwelling. Make sure she is turned fixedly to the Cross.
2. WARNING: DON’T TOUCH THE “STRANGE WOMAN”
Proverbs 5:3–5 – “For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb… but her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.”
Solomon’s Violation: He embraced the “strange women” (foreign wives) who brought their altars into Jerusalem.
The Result: He built high places for Chemosh and Molech, defiling the holy city. What was he thinking? Was Ecclesiastes the repentance of Solomon by which he restored his relationship with God and his salvation? Could be. Not for us to say. Clearly though he had violated the terms of service and faithfulness.
3. WARNING: DON’T LOVE CRYPTO, SILVER OR ABUNDANCE
Ecclesiastes 5:10 – “He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.” (note the word vanity is used throughout Ecclesiastes including the burst of frustration which opens the book “Vanity, Vanity All is vanity” Vanity meaning “meaninglessness”)
Solomon’s Violation: He accumulated 666 talents of gold yearly (1 Kings 10:14). His wealth became his identity. Interesting number yes? 666 is not just the mark of the beast in Revelation. It is used throughout the Bible, or at least 6 is, to represent man’s folly and his shortcoming in his pursuit to be God. God being represented, amongst numbers, by His perfect number of completion (7).
The Result: He realized on his deathbed that it was all “vanity and vexation of spirit.”
4. WARNING: DON’T TRUST IN YOUR OWN WISDOM
Proverbs 3:5 – “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”
Solomon’s Violation: He leaned on his own genius, believing he could manage idolatry without being corrupted by it.
The Result: He was corrupted. Intelligence is not immunity. If one is to rely on any talent or gift remember to do just one thing…at all times give thanks and praise to the bestower upon you of the talent or gift. Never forget for a moment where it came from. And now I understand why professional athletes motion with thanks to God when they do something competent. They are doing exactly that.
5. WARNING: DON’T LET YOUR HEART BE DECEIVED BY GLORY
Proverbs 25:27 – “It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory.”
Solomon’s Violation: He sought global fame. Queens traveled miles just to hear his wit. (Sheba, most famously)
The Result: He forgot the Source of his wisdom. The glory faded; the emptiness remained. So add to my previous remark – the source of talent, gifts and wisdom shalt thee not forget lest thee come crashing down.
6. WARNING: DON’T DELAY OBEDIENCE
Ecclesiastes 8:11 – “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.”
Solomon’s Violation: God warned him early in his reign (1 Kings 9:6–7). Solomon delayed repentance for decades.
The Result: By the time he realized his error, his heart was hardened, and the damage to the nation was irreversible. What is this all about? In the instant that you find yourself in sin, in that exact moment pray and repent not hardly at all but HARD. You turn on God you will surely be eating grass like Nebuchadnezzar unless you immediately seek the Face of the Lord, his grace, mercy and forgiveness and do a hard 180.
7. WARNING: DON’T THINK YOU ARE ABOVE CONSEQUENCES
Proverbs 22:14 – “The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein.”
Solomon’s Violation: He thought his anointing protected him from the moral laws he wrote for others.
The Result: He fell into the pit. Anointing does not cancel accountability. Lest one think this is all a kind of misogyny I consider that women are being used in much of these writings of Solomon for a representation of any kind of temptation and object of lust and do remember this is a man with an insatiable sexual appetite, every much susceptible to being allured.
8. WARNING: KEEP YOUR HEART WITH ALL DILIGENCE
Proverbs 4:23 – “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”
Solomon’s Violation: He guarded his treasury, his borders, and his reputation—but he left his heart unguarded.
The Result: “His heart was not perfect with the Lord.” The victories and blessings in his life became issues of chaos, idolatry, and division.
The Tragedy:
Solomon didn’t lose his salvation in the sense of being forgotten by God ( perhaps he did for a while but he likely wrote Ecclesiastes in repentance). But he lost his legacy, his peace, and his kingdom’s unity.
PRAYER FOR WHOMSOEVERS
Lord, with your guidance I have come a long way. Bouncing off spiritual walls and through doors which I should never have been anywhere near as if I was a steel ball in a cosmic pinball machine and yet I arrive here through your fortuitous providence in your favor, faithfulness and with you as my focus and my salvation. I have no intention of forgetting who You are, who your Son is and that you have deposited the Holy Spirit deeply within me. Help me to walk the one narrow path at all times and to instantly confess and repent in any moment I find myself adrift even one toe. Thank you Lord, Thank you Jesus. Amen.
