Solomon, His Fame And His Shame
1 Kings 10-11
"Fame" can be said to possess a good reputation versus a "rumor" which can only be a good or a bad report.
There are many people that the Bible mentions of having great fame.
Joshua, Mordecai, Joseph are just a few but the Bible also says that God has fame as did the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus became so famous that even kings and rulers had heard about Him!
Mat 14:1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the "fame" of Jesus,
Solomon also became very famous throughout the world of that day because God had given to Solomon the gift of "Wisdom"!
In the time of Solomon, fame and shame became the marks of mankind and of nations and it is even more prevalent today.
Today all our leaders seek a legacy hoping that their good outweighs their bad and it would if they would just refuse to do bad things!
As wise as and as rich as Solomon was, he is remembered as much for his shame as he is for his fame if not more so!
No matter what people think of our existing president, he will be remembered for the fact that while he has been in office, he has done nothing improve the conditions of his own race nor of America!
He has even divided America more then any other president that came before him!
God placed these scriptures in the Bible for us to learn more from Solomon's mistakes and not so much to learn of Solomon's accomplishments!
To honor someone is to recognize their value to society.
This time next year we will be asked to vote for our next president.
From now until then, many men and women will present their fame.
But because of the way our world works, many news sources and many others will point out to us the shame of all these individuals and not so much their accomplishments.
To shame someone is to challenge their reputation!
In many cases the one with the less shame will get elected but people are so fickle that today many who should withdraw because of their shame actually take advantage of that shame showing they have exalted them selves above the ordinary people!
We must rely on the facts and the proved record of these people in order to determine who will be our next leaders and not so much on what they say, for what they say does not usually match their actions!
Pro 5:9 Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:
If we show a lack of concern for matters of honor and shame we will then become shameless ourselves and deny the truth and we will suffer for our own poor judgment!
Adam and Eve were not ashamed to be in the presence of God until sin came into their lives.
Gen 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Once sin entered into their lives they became ashamed to be in the presence of God!
Gen 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
Anyone who is ashamed to be in the presence of God does not need to hold public office!
Today sin has progressed to a point where mankind has no shame in their sin because they have rejected to Word of God.
SO, Let's see how Solomon reached this point in his own life even though he was the wisest man to have ever lived.
*****1Ki 10:1 And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions.
Let's first see Solomon's glory and his fame.
Though some may disagree Sheba was the country of the Sabeans.
Sheba was a prosperous nation in southern Arabia.
Scholars believe that this long 1500 mile journey was taken by this queen to establish a commercial treaty with Solomon but we already know that many kings and monarchy traveled to visit King Solomon to seek his wisdom to help them in their own nations and this queen was no different.
We can trust the Biblical account of these things!
We will also see that this queen wanted to know more about the God of Israel, who we know is the true God of all creation!
The nation of Sheba was formed by the descendants of Cush, a son of Ham who was the son of Noah.
Today this area of Sheba is known to us as Yemen.
Yemen was a rich merchant nation for 1000 years or more until it became dominated by Muslim cultures and Yemen is now in political turmoil.
Nations such as Sheba were expected to bring gifts signifying royalty.
Psa 72:10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
Psa 72:11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.
This in typology, this represents the time when all nations will worship the true King of Kings and come to Jerusalem once again seeking wisdom, but this is still in the future.
Isa 60:3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
1Ti 6:14 That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:
1Ti 6:15 Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
The Lord Jesus Christ also used this historical truth of the Queen of Sheba, in His rebuke of the Pharisees.
Mat 12:42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
Jesus was saying, that even this great queen was wise enough to seek the wisdom and the knowledge of the God of Israel and came to Solomon, yet these Pharisees, who already had the Word of God, were not wise enough to seek the kingdom of God even though the Lord Jesus was much wiser than Solomon and was in their presence that very day.
God says we must first seek the kingdom of God, before we can truly see the benefits in this life we have now.
Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Mat 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
These Sabeans were indeed traveling merchants and if they were to ever go further north to sell their wares they would have had to go through the area of land that was ruled by King Solomon.
*****1Ki 10:2 And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.
In many ways Solomon was a type of Christ in typology and that being the case, the Queen of Sheba would then be a type of the Church!
We all know that as we are lead by the Holy Spirit, and we will also sometimes have hard questions of spiritual things in our daily walk with the Lord.
This queen was also well aware as she traveled through Israel, how Solomon was well prepared to defend all of Israel.
We should remember it was some of these Sabeans who had also destroyed Job's flocks because Job was also a merchant with many things to sell.
Job 1:15 And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
These Sabeans were willing to destroy the competition if it were possible.
We can be sure that this was no ordinary merchant caravan.
This queen would not have traveled without her military escort!
This queen had many reasons to visit Solomon and during her visit she found that the rumors she had heard of King Solomon would prove to only tell half the truth of his might and of his fame.
*****1Ki 10:6 And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom.
1Ki 10:7 Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, "the half was not told me": thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard.
This queen had seen the splendor of the palace of Solomon.
This queen had seen royalty like she had never observed before.
This queen had seen the construction projects as she had passed many of them along her route to Jerusalem.
This queen had seen the Temple that was prepared to worship the God of Israel.
2Ch 9:3 And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built,
2Ch 9:4 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.
And it is written that she had no more spirit in her from the sight of all these things!
This queen was overwhelmed by what she had seen and what she had heard!
This queen then had a great desire for a new spirit!
Psa 119:81 My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word.
What does God say to the Church?
Isa 64:4 For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.
1Co 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
What did the Apostle John do when he saw the glory of Heaven?
Rev 1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
We can be sure that as wonderful as we believe Heaven to be, we do not have a clue to the real glory and the real splendor of our Heavenly home.
We do not even know half the truth of the glory of Heaven!
Words by them selves cannot explain the glory of Heaven and it is only when we are like Christ that we can know these things.
This should be our main reason to keep steady in our walk with the Lord!
Our goal must be to tell as many as we can about the Lord Jesus Christ, so they can seek His wisdom for themselves just as this queen had done from Solomon.
*****1Ki 10:23 So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom.
1Ki 10:24 And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.
During this period of King Solomon, the Phoenicians were the dominant sea power, Assyria and Egypt were also great military powers but it was Israel that was the dominant nation of that day and also the richest of all nations.
King Solomon financed the Phoenician sea going operations and King Hiram shared his sea going knowledge with King Solomon but he also paid a considerable tribute to Israel.
We can see that even Egypt sought peace with Israel as Egypt's Pharaoh gave Solomon his daughter for a wife.
Assyria was not near strong enough to challenge Israel at this time.
All the known powers of that day sought out King Solomon to hear his wisdom.
All the known powers of that day paid tribute to Israel and to King Solomon and he and Israel became very rich.
Many other nations followed after Pharaoh and offered their daughters as wives in order to have peace with Israel.
We can see that it takes a strong military presence to insure peace, a weak military is a sure sign you will be attacked even by those that say they are friendly.
These are all facts because it was God who places fear in man!
Psa 102:15 So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
We know that at the return of Jesus Christ all nations will again have this fear of the Lord!
Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
But, Solomon began to use all these things to his advantage to control the economies of the world.
*****1Ki 10:25 And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.
1Ki 10:26 And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem.
1Ki 10:27 And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore trees that are in the vale, for abundance.
1Ki 10:28 And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price.
Solomon used his riches to build a great military machine and placed them strategically through his realm.
Silver had no more value than ordinary stones.
Precious timber had no more value than cheap lumber.
Solomon controlled the price of durable goods and the breeding of pure blood animals.
Solomon's annual intake of gold was 25 tons.
In today's market one ton goes for about 32 million dollars.
That would easily be 8 billion dollars today of tribute paid per year to King Solomon and Solomon reigned for 40 years.
The glory of Solomon was open and visible to the entire world, but inside of Solomon, this outer glory began to influence his inner person!
Solomon fell into great sin!
Nehemiah challenged all of Israel with this truth in a great sermon.
Neh 13:26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin.
Solomon was beloved of God but even in all his wisdom, given to him from God, Solomon fell into the snares of the devil.
The downfall of Solomon began when he began trying to please his many wives!
*****1Ki 11:1 But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites;
1Ki 11:2 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.
Let's listen as Solomon describes his own downfall.
Ecc 4:13 Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.
Solomon became so rich and powerful that no one would tell him that what he was doing was wrong because they feared for their own lives!
Again Solomon wrote of his own downfall.
Ecc 11:8 But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.
Ecc 11:9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.
Solomon realized that though no one else had the power to judge his actions, there was One who would judge him and judge him harshly!
Ecc 12:8 Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
Solomon realized that he had spent to much of his life in vain!
The immediate occasion of the fall of Solomon was the influence of his foreign idolatrous wives!
Solomon did not just have one wife of paganism, Solomon had way too many wives!
*****1Ki 11:3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.
1Ki 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.
1) Not only did these wives sap Solomon's physical strength, they blunted his perception and dulled his morals.
2) They had worshiped false gods all their days and they convinced Solomon to provide them temples so they could worship the idols of their own nations.
3) To make it convenient for them, they insisted that these places of worship be located adjacent to the House of God.
4) They then convinced Solomon to worship with them.
Solomon's 700 wives were mostly from kings who paid tribute and who sought peace with Israel.
Solomon's 300 concubines were considered secondary wives and this seemed to never cause jealousy among the true wives.
But many of Solomon's wives were never truly treated as wives as Solomon says himself.
Son 6:8 There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and "virgins without number".
This would be 60 queens, 80 concubines, and an untold amount of virgins.
The nation of Israel may have been at peace at this time, but Solomon was not at peace with himself!
Solomon sinned grievously against Jehovah who had set him on his throne and had given him such wonderful gifts.
Solomon had violated the kingdom charter given to Moses by God Himself!
Deu 17:14 When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me;
Deu 17:15 Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.
Deu 17:16 But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.
Deu 17:17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
Deu 17:18 And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites:
Deu 17:19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:
Deu 17:20 That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.
Solomon had openly violated the Mosaic Law of marriage and he knew it!
Ecc 9:9 Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.
And Solomon fell even deeper into sin!
*****1Ki 11:5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
1Ki 11:6 And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father.
Ashtoreth was the moon goddess of the Phoenicians and she was associated with Baal the sun god.
She was also known as Ishtar, Astarte, and Diana and open sexual behavior was used in this worship of her.
Milcom or Moloch or Chemosh, were considered as fire gods and were worshiped with human sacrifices and mutilation but there were also some who made vows of celibacy and virginity in worship of them, which is still seen in some religions of today.
A place for Milcom was even built on the Mount of Olives.
2Ki 23:13 And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.
*****1Ki 11:7 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.
1Ki 11:8 And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.
And Solomon did these same things for all his wives.
1) Solomon openly violated the first and second commandments of the Laws of Moses.
Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Exo 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
2) Solomon openly defied God.
1Ki 9:3 And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.
1Ki 9:4 And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:
1Ki 9:5 Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.
1Ki 9:6 But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them:
1Ki 9:7 Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:
1Ki 9:8 And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house?
1Ki 9:9 And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil.
3) By placing places of idol worship adjacent to the Temple, Solomon was flaunting an insult directly in the face of God.
4) It is a terrible sin for Solomon to abuse the wisdom that was a gift from God by trying to add religion and philosophy to God given knowledge!
5) It is a terrible sin to place God in competition to false deities!
America is not the nation it once was, because our leaders have allowed paganism to take a foothold in America and the Church has also compromised the Word of God in the name of peace with these false things.
And God became angry with Solomon.
*****1Ki 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,
1Ki 11:10 And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded.
God had personally blessed Solomon at Gibeon but God had also warned Solomon.
1Ki 3:14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.
God had personally blessed Solomon at Jerusalem but God had warned Solomon here also.
1Ki 9:4 And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:
1Ki 9:5 Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.
Solomon had also been given many instructions by his father David.
Solomon had been taught the Word of God by God's prophet Nathan.
Solomon therefore had no excuses for his actions in turning away from God!
We should never doubt the Word of God!
God means what He says and God says what He means!
The Lord Jesus told a great parable to the disciples about the faithful steward and near the end of that parable Jesus had these words!
Luk 12:47 And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
Luk 12:48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required": and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
Luk 12:49 I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?
Luk 12:50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!
Solomon had been given much by the Lord and Solomon was given a great opportunity to spread the Word of God around the known world of that time period but Solomon failed in these things.
Solomon fell at the stumbling block of Satan!
1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1Jn 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
As Solomon fell from the "Grace" of God, so did the nation of Israel, and Israel has not recovered since that day.
1) Israel would soon become a divided nation.
We can also see that America is more divided than at any time in our own history.
2) The division of Israel resulted in the destruction of ten of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Today the people of God are being destroyed all over the world and the world does not seem to care especially our own leaders.
3) Idolatry became the religion of Israel.
Idolatry now rules in America, as wants and desires outweigh the Word of God!
4) Division made Israel a weak nation in the presence of her enemies.
America is now seen as a weak nation in the presence of all our enemies.
5) The destruction of the ten tribes of Israel brought about the Samaritans who were a mixed people who built there own temple and compromised the Word of God.
In America the Word of God is being modernized so much, till it is not even the truth anymore.
6) In Israel philosophy and religion and atheism began to dominate the people.
We can see this same thing happening to America today!
Solomon had allowed God to be just a small part of his life and he had began to rely on his own wisdom to rule in his life.
So therefore God said:
1Ki 11:11 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.
What is the truth?
When rulers live in the splendor of high office and in luxury, they become irresponsible to the moral laws of God!
They will try their best to maintain costly establishments and the people will find that taxation and servant-hood are the dominant themes of these rulers, our own president included.
What does God say?
Rom 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
What is the truth of God?
1Co 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
1Co 1:19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
So, how does God continue to do His work?
1Co 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
God's will, will be done no matter what the leaders of our world try to do in their own wisdom!
Questions?
Let's Pray!
1 Kings 10-11
"Fame" can be said to possess a good reputation versus a "rumor" which can only be a good or a bad report.
There are many people that the Bible mentions of having great fame.
Joshua, Mordecai, Joseph are just a few but the Bible also says that God has fame as did the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus became so famous that even kings and rulers had heard about Him!
Mat 14:1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the "fame" of Jesus,
Solomon also became very famous throughout the world of that day because God had given to Solomon the gift of "Wisdom"!
In the time of Solomon, fame and shame became the marks of mankind and of nations and it is even more prevalent today.
Today all our leaders seek a legacy hoping that their good outweighs their bad and it would if they would just refuse to do bad things!
As wise as and as rich as Solomon was, he is remembered as much for his shame as he is for his fame if not more so!
No matter what people think of our existing president, he will be remembered for the fact that while he has been in office, he has done nothing improve the conditions of his own race nor of America!
He has even divided America more then any other president that came before him!
God placed these scriptures in the Bible for us to learn more from Solomon's mistakes and not so much to learn of Solomon's accomplishments!
To honor someone is to recognize their value to society.
This time next year we will be asked to vote for our next president.
From now until then, many men and women will present their fame.
But because of the way our world works, many news sources and many others will point out to us the shame of all these individuals and not so much their accomplishments.
To shame someone is to challenge their reputation!
In many cases the one with the less shame will get elected but people are so fickle that today many who should withdraw because of their shame actually take advantage of that shame showing they have exalted them selves above the ordinary people!
We must rely on the facts and the proved record of these people in order to determine who will be our next leaders and not so much on what they say, for what they say does not usually match their actions!
Pro 5:9 Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:
If we show a lack of concern for matters of honor and shame we will then become shameless ourselves and deny the truth and we will suffer for our own poor judgment!
Adam and Eve were not ashamed to be in the presence of God until sin came into their lives.
Gen 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
Once sin entered into their lives they became ashamed to be in the presence of God!
Gen 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
Anyone who is ashamed to be in the presence of God does not need to hold public office!
Today sin has progressed to a point where mankind has no shame in their sin because they have rejected to Word of God.
SO, Let's see how Solomon reached this point in his own life even though he was the wisest man to have ever lived.
*****1Ki 10:1 And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions.
Let's first see Solomon's glory and his fame.
Though some may disagree Sheba was the country of the Sabeans.
Sheba was a prosperous nation in southern Arabia.
Scholars believe that this long 1500 mile journey was taken by this queen to establish a commercial treaty with Solomon but we already know that many kings and monarchy traveled to visit King Solomon to seek his wisdom to help them in their own nations and this queen was no different.
We can trust the Biblical account of these things!
We will also see that this queen wanted to know more about the God of Israel, who we know is the true God of all creation!
The nation of Sheba was formed by the descendants of Cush, a son of Ham who was the son of Noah.
Today this area of Sheba is known to us as Yemen.
Yemen was a rich merchant nation for 1000 years or more until it became dominated by Muslim cultures and Yemen is now in political turmoil.
Nations such as Sheba were expected to bring gifts signifying royalty.
Psa 72:10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
Psa 72:11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.
This in typology, this represents the time when all nations will worship the true King of Kings and come to Jerusalem once again seeking wisdom, but this is still in the future.
Isa 60:3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.
1Ti 6:14 That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:
1Ti 6:15 Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
The Lord Jesus Christ also used this historical truth of the Queen of Sheba, in His rebuke of the Pharisees.
Mat 12:42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
Jesus was saying, that even this great queen was wise enough to seek the wisdom and the knowledge of the God of Israel and came to Solomon, yet these Pharisees, who already had the Word of God, were not wise enough to seek the kingdom of God even though the Lord Jesus was much wiser than Solomon and was in their presence that very day.
God says we must first seek the kingdom of God, before we can truly see the benefits in this life we have now.
Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Mat 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
These Sabeans were indeed traveling merchants and if they were to ever go further north to sell their wares they would have had to go through the area of land that was ruled by King Solomon.
*****1Ki 10:2 And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.
In many ways Solomon was a type of Christ in typology and that being the case, the Queen of Sheba would then be a type of the Church!
We all know that as we are lead by the Holy Spirit, and we will also sometimes have hard questions of spiritual things in our daily walk with the Lord.
This queen was also well aware as she traveled through Israel, how Solomon was well prepared to defend all of Israel.
We should remember it was some of these Sabeans who had also destroyed Job's flocks because Job was also a merchant with many things to sell.
Job 1:15 And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
These Sabeans were willing to destroy the competition if it were possible.
We can be sure that this was no ordinary merchant caravan.
This queen would not have traveled without her military escort!
This queen had many reasons to visit Solomon and during her visit she found that the rumors she had heard of King Solomon would prove to only tell half the truth of his might and of his fame.
*****1Ki 10:6 And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom.
1Ki 10:7 Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, "the half was not told me": thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard.
This queen had seen the splendor of the palace of Solomon.
This queen had seen royalty like she had never observed before.
This queen had seen the construction projects as she had passed many of them along her route to Jerusalem.
This queen had seen the Temple that was prepared to worship the God of Israel.
2Ch 9:3 And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built,
2Ch 9:4 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.
And it is written that she had no more spirit in her from the sight of all these things!
This queen was overwhelmed by what she had seen and what she had heard!
This queen then had a great desire for a new spirit!
Psa 119:81 My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word.
What does God say to the Church?
Isa 64:4 For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.
1Co 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
What did the Apostle John do when he saw the glory of Heaven?
Rev 1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
We can be sure that as wonderful as we believe Heaven to be, we do not have a clue to the real glory and the real splendor of our Heavenly home.
We do not even know half the truth of the glory of Heaven!
Words by them selves cannot explain the glory of Heaven and it is only when we are like Christ that we can know these things.
This should be our main reason to keep steady in our walk with the Lord!
Our goal must be to tell as many as we can about the Lord Jesus Christ, so they can seek His wisdom for themselves just as this queen had done from Solomon.
*****1Ki 10:23 So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom.
1Ki 10:24 And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.
During this period of King Solomon, the Phoenicians were the dominant sea power, Assyria and Egypt were also great military powers but it was Israel that was the dominant nation of that day and also the richest of all nations.
King Solomon financed the Phoenician sea going operations and King Hiram shared his sea going knowledge with King Solomon but he also paid a considerable tribute to Israel.
We can see that even Egypt sought peace with Israel as Egypt's Pharaoh gave Solomon his daughter for a wife.
Assyria was not near strong enough to challenge Israel at this time.
All the known powers of that day sought out King Solomon to hear his wisdom.
All the known powers of that day paid tribute to Israel and to King Solomon and he and Israel became very rich.
Many other nations followed after Pharaoh and offered their daughters as wives in order to have peace with Israel.
We can see that it takes a strong military presence to insure peace, a weak military is a sure sign you will be attacked even by those that say they are friendly.
These are all facts because it was God who places fear in man!
Psa 102:15 So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
We know that at the return of Jesus Christ all nations will again have this fear of the Lord!
Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
But, Solomon began to use all these things to his advantage to control the economies of the world.
*****1Ki 10:25 And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.
1Ki 10:26 And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem.
1Ki 10:27 And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore trees that are in the vale, for abundance.
1Ki 10:28 And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price.
Solomon used his riches to build a great military machine and placed them strategically through his realm.
Silver had no more value than ordinary stones.
Precious timber had no more value than cheap lumber.
Solomon controlled the price of durable goods and the breeding of pure blood animals.
Solomon's annual intake of gold was 25 tons.
In today's market one ton goes for about 32 million dollars.
That would easily be 8 billion dollars today of tribute paid per year to King Solomon and Solomon reigned for 40 years.
The glory of Solomon was open and visible to the entire world, but inside of Solomon, this outer glory began to influence his inner person!
Solomon fell into great sin!
Nehemiah challenged all of Israel with this truth in a great sermon.
Neh 13:26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin.
Solomon was beloved of God but even in all his wisdom, given to him from God, Solomon fell into the snares of the devil.
The downfall of Solomon began when he began trying to please his many wives!
*****1Ki 11:1 But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites;
1Ki 11:2 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.
Let's listen as Solomon describes his own downfall.
Ecc 4:13 Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.
Solomon became so rich and powerful that no one would tell him that what he was doing was wrong because they feared for their own lives!
Again Solomon wrote of his own downfall.
Ecc 11:8 But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.
Ecc 11:9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.
Solomon realized that though no one else had the power to judge his actions, there was One who would judge him and judge him harshly!
Ecc 12:8 Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
Solomon realized that he had spent to much of his life in vain!
The immediate occasion of the fall of Solomon was the influence of his foreign idolatrous wives!
Solomon did not just have one wife of paganism, Solomon had way too many wives!
*****1Ki 11:3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.
1Ki 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.
1) Not only did these wives sap Solomon's physical strength, they blunted his perception and dulled his morals.
2) They had worshiped false gods all their days and they convinced Solomon to provide them temples so they could worship the idols of their own nations.
3) To make it convenient for them, they insisted that these places of worship be located adjacent to the House of God.
4) They then convinced Solomon to worship with them.
Solomon's 700 wives were mostly from kings who paid tribute and who sought peace with Israel.
Solomon's 300 concubines were considered secondary wives and this seemed to never cause jealousy among the true wives.
But many of Solomon's wives were never truly treated as wives as Solomon says himself.
Son 6:8 There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and "virgins without number".
This would be 60 queens, 80 concubines, and an untold amount of virgins.
The nation of Israel may have been at peace at this time, but Solomon was not at peace with himself!
Solomon sinned grievously against Jehovah who had set him on his throne and had given him such wonderful gifts.
Solomon had violated the kingdom charter given to Moses by God Himself!
Deu 17:14 When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me;
Deu 17:15 Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.
Deu 17:16 But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.
Deu 17:17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
Deu 17:18 And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites:
Deu 17:19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:
Deu 17:20 That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.
Solomon had openly violated the Mosaic Law of marriage and he knew it!
Ecc 9:9 Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life of thy vanity, which he hath given thee under the sun, all the days of thy vanity: for that is thy portion in this life, and in thy labour which thou takest under the sun.
And Solomon fell even deeper into sin!
*****1Ki 11:5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
1Ki 11:6 And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father.
Ashtoreth was the moon goddess of the Phoenicians and she was associated with Baal the sun god.
She was also known as Ishtar, Astarte, and Diana and open sexual behavior was used in this worship of her.
Milcom or Moloch or Chemosh, were considered as fire gods and were worshiped with human sacrifices and mutilation but there were also some who made vows of celibacy and virginity in worship of them, which is still seen in some religions of today.
A place for Milcom was even built on the Mount of Olives.
2Ki 23:13 And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.
*****1Ki 11:7 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.
1Ki 11:8 And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.
And Solomon did these same things for all his wives.
1) Solomon openly violated the first and second commandments of the Laws of Moses.
Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Exo 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
2) Solomon openly defied God.
1Ki 9:3 And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.
1Ki 9:4 And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:
1Ki 9:5 Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.
1Ki 9:6 But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them:
1Ki 9:7 Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:
1Ki 9:8 And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house?
1Ki 9:9 And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil.
3) By placing places of idol worship adjacent to the Temple, Solomon was flaunting an insult directly in the face of God.
4) It is a terrible sin for Solomon to abuse the wisdom that was a gift from God by trying to add religion and philosophy to God given knowledge!
5) It is a terrible sin to place God in competition to false deities!
America is not the nation it once was, because our leaders have allowed paganism to take a foothold in America and the Church has also compromised the Word of God in the name of peace with these false things.
And God became angry with Solomon.
*****1Ki 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,
1Ki 11:10 And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded.
God had personally blessed Solomon at Gibeon but God had also warned Solomon.
1Ki 3:14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.
God had personally blessed Solomon at Jerusalem but God had warned Solomon here also.
1Ki 9:4 And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:
1Ki 9:5 Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.
Solomon had also been given many instructions by his father David.
Solomon had been taught the Word of God by God's prophet Nathan.
Solomon therefore had no excuses for his actions in turning away from God!
We should never doubt the Word of God!
God means what He says and God says what He means!
The Lord Jesus told a great parable to the disciples about the faithful steward and near the end of that parable Jesus had these words!
Luk 12:47 And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
Luk 12:48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required": and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
Luk 12:49 I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?
Luk 12:50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!
Solomon had been given much by the Lord and Solomon was given a great opportunity to spread the Word of God around the known world of that time period but Solomon failed in these things.
Solomon fell at the stumbling block of Satan!
1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1Jn 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
As Solomon fell from the "Grace" of God, so did the nation of Israel, and Israel has not recovered since that day.
1) Israel would soon become a divided nation.
We can also see that America is more divided than at any time in our own history.
2) The division of Israel resulted in the destruction of ten of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Today the people of God are being destroyed all over the world and the world does not seem to care especially our own leaders.
3) Idolatry became the religion of Israel.
Idolatry now rules in America, as wants and desires outweigh the Word of God!
4) Division made Israel a weak nation in the presence of her enemies.
America is now seen as a weak nation in the presence of all our enemies.
5) The destruction of the ten tribes of Israel brought about the Samaritans who were a mixed people who built there own temple and compromised the Word of God.
In America the Word of God is being modernized so much, till it is not even the truth anymore.
6) In Israel philosophy and religion and atheism began to dominate the people.
We can see this same thing happening to America today!
Solomon had allowed God to be just a small part of his life and he had began to rely on his own wisdom to rule in his life.
So therefore God said:
1Ki 11:11 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.
What is the truth?
When rulers live in the splendor of high office and in luxury, they become irresponsible to the moral laws of God!
They will try their best to maintain costly establishments and the people will find that taxation and servant-hood are the dominant themes of these rulers, our own president included.
What does God say?
Rom 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
What is the truth of God?
1Co 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
1Co 1:19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
So, how does God continue to do His work?
1Co 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
God's will, will be done no matter what the leaders of our world try to do in their own wisdom!
Questions?
Let's Pray!
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