Title: Are you committed to following Christ?
Have you ever looked at another individual and thought to yourself: ‘that person is going to do great things?’ Why did you think that about them? More than likely it was because you looked at and considered all of the advantages that they had. You looked at their home life, spiritual life, education, financial, and social standing. And based upon your observations you concluded that if anyone were to ever succeed in life it would be them. And we have all done that haven’t we? But we have also watched as many of those same people began to falter on their uphill climb, only to lose their footing, and thus beginning that long and slow descent down the mountain that we call success. And when they finally hit the floor of the valley below they did not in any way, shape, or form, resemble what they were in the past – they had changed that much.
30 years ago Hollywood produced a movie that captured the very essence of what I have just told you. The movie was called A Portrait of Dorian Gray. The main character of the story, Dorian Gray, was from a noble family. He was a religious man who possessed money, looks, social standing, and a godly aunt who had had great influence on his moral and religious upbringing. If anyone had reason to succeed it was Dorian. And he did succeed until the day that he began to associate with another man, who was also rich, who also had social standing, but who served the god of sensual pleasure. As their relationship grew and they did more things together Dorian’s loyalties became divided. And even though he tried to maintain what he was, at least outwardly, something came alive within him, the lust to please himself regardless of the cost to himself or to others.
And once he opened the door to his own unchecked desires Dorian began that long, progressive, and slow descent to the canyon below. And as he fell he began to change in little ways at first, but as he continued his down hill journey he picked up speed and he began to change in bigger ways. Eventually he found himself doing things that he would have at one time considered unimaginable, such as murder. And when he finally hit rock bottom he didn’t look anything like the man he had been 20 years earlier. But even though he had changed so much his eyes were opened to what he had become and he died a miserable death, crying out to God for forgiveness, because he finally recognized just how far he had fallen. Long before the movie A Portrait of Dorian Gray was produced the Bible pictured for us a life lived in much the same way. That life belonged to none other than King Solomon, the son of King David and Bathsheba. For those who wish to read it later the story of his life can be found in 1 Kings and in 1st and 2nd Chronicles. Solomon’s story was one of glory, fame, majesty, and ultimate shame, apostasy, rejection, and failure. Like Dorian Gray, Solomon began life in the best position possible. He was the favored son of David, Bathsheba, and God.
He was surrounded by positive influences. His mother and father were godly people and his father was even known as a man after God’s own heart. He inherited a kingdom that was stable, prosperous, faithful to God, and rising in prominence among the nations of the world. And as heir to the throne he was secure financially, socially, and he received the best that the nation could afford – he lacked nothing.
And the scripture tells us that in everything that he put his hand to, such as farming, shipbuilding, gold mining, and trading, he excelled, and he excelled because God was with him. And the one thing that crowned all of his achievements, the one thing that made him successful and made him what he was, was the love that he had for the God of his father David. And because he was careful to put God first in everything he and the people he led prospered both physically and spiritually. And these are historical facts, for history tells us that the nation of Israel was so prosperous and so stable that she became the envy of the nations around her. Those other nations around her marveled at her glory, and at the king who led her. As a matter of fact the scripture records a portion of that glory as it was seen through the eyes of the queen of Sheba. Listen to what it says:
“Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. She came to Jerusalem with a very great company, with camels that bore spices, very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so difficult for the king that he could not explain it to her. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all of the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her. Then she said to the king: it was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. However I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard. Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! Blessed be the Lord your God, who delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord has loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness.” (1 Kings 10:1-9)
When she visited Israel the queen of Sheba saw such righteousness, such godliness, such prosperity, and such wisdom that it took her breath away. The scripture tells us that there was no spirit left in her, because the experience left her drained. But not only did the experience prove to be overwhelming for the queen, it also proved to be eye-opening, because she recognized that everything Israel had came from the God of Israel. For the scripture says that “…the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord…” and so she knew that Solomon’s fame was tied directly to the name of his God and that he would have had no fame at all apart from Him. And so God was honored through Solomon’s faithful attention to what He required.
But not only did the Lord’s glory touch the nations around Israel, it also touched the common man as well for the queen of Sheba had said: “…Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom!” Solomon’s servants were happy and that happiness shone in their faces so much that the queen of Sheba couldn’t help but notice it. By why were they happy? They were happy because they were servants of a king who was himself the servant of a greater King. They were happy because they served a king inclined to mercy and justice, because he knew a greater King required it of him. They were happy because under this king they could live their lives in peace, tranquility, and prosperity. And because Solomon honored the Lord by making Him the first priority in his life all went well for quite some time.
But then like many others before and after him Solomon slipped, and he began that long and slow descent to the valley of destruction far below. But what was it that caused him to slip? What was it that caused him to fall? The answer is found in 1 Kings 11:1 for it is in that scripture that we are told that King Solomon loved many foreign women, and it is through that love for them that he violated a command that God had given to His people long ago. For you see in Deut. 7:3,4 God had said: “Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. For they will turn your sons away from following me, to serve other gods…”
Now understand this. God did not forbid the Israelites from marrying foreign women because He was a racist, or because marriage to any of them was in and of itself sinful, but because they were idolaters and He knew they would introduce idolatry among His people. They didn’t come to Israel to serve the Lord and He knew they would insist on worshiping the gods of their own nations. And He knew that through their persistent nagging they would wear their husbands down until finally, not only would their husbands let them worship their gods but they would worship them as well. And that’s exactly what happened with Solomon because the scripture tells us that when he became old his wives and concubines turned his heart towards other gods. And in the twilight of his life the scripture says: “Then did Solomon build a 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. And he did the same for all of his foreign wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed to their gods.” 1 Kings 11:7-8
Now all of this didn’t happen overnight – it developed over a period of years. But even though it took place over a period of years the seeds were sown shortly after Solomon assumed the throne from his father David. For the scripture tells us that shortly after he became king, “…Solomon made a treaty with Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and married Pharaoh’s daughter…” 1 Kings 3:1
Now Solomon didn’t marry Pharaoh’s daughter because he loved her, but because she was to be the glue that would hold his treaty with Egypt together. But unbeknownst to Solomon, Pharaoh’s daughter was to be more than just a political tool she was also going to set a precedent inasmuch as she was to be the first of many. But what of God’s command not to marry foreign women? Didn’t Solomon recognize the dangers associated with them? Of course he did, but at this point in his life Solomon had absolutely no intentions of turning his back on the God of Israel for the gods of Egypt. How do we know? We know because right after he married Pharaoh’s daughter the scripture tells us that “…Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father…” 1 Kings 3:3
Because he loved the Lord Solomon gladly walked in His ways. And as a student of the law he knew that God had no problem with foreigners living among His people provided they lived as the native-born Israelites did. Since he knew this Solomon would not allow his Egyptian wife to worship her gods, she had to worship his. Now shortly after his marriage to Pharaoh’s daughter the scripture says that, “…the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great High Place: Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, Ask! What shall I give you?” 1 Kings 3:4,5
Now most of you know this story and you know that Solomon asked God for wisdom and that God granted his request. And your probably wondering why is he bringing this up? I’m bringing it up for one reason because I want you to understand something. When Solomon married the daughter of Pharaoh it’s true that he knowingly violated the Lord’s decree and yet instead of punishing him the Lord blessed him with the gift of wisdom. Why, because the law was not violated through Solomon’s marriage to the Egyptian, the law was only violated when the God of Israel was forsaken for another god. Listen again to Deut. 7:3,4: “neither shall you make marriages with them; your daughter you shall not give to his son, nor his daughter shall you take for your son. For they will turn your son away from following Me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy you suddenly.” God gave this decree to protect Hs people, to keep them from something that could be harmful to them, but His anger was not aroused because an Israelite married a foreigner. He became angry only when the Israelite turned away from Him to worship other gods. But in this case Solomon did not turn away from God when he married Pharaoh’s daughter and so the Lord was not angry with him. And so because he wasn’t condemned for marrying the Egyptian Solomon felt that whatever danger there was it was very minimal. And so he married more foreigners. As a matter of fact the scripture tells us that Solomon ended up with 700 wives and 300 concubines, a good portion of which were foreigners. And as he began to acquire more and more heathen wives the scripture tells us that “his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.” (1 Kings 11:4b)
What happened to Solomon? How was it that these other foreign women were able to do what his Egyptian wife couldn’t do? The answer is found in 1 Kings 11:1, “But king Solomon loved many foreign women…” Solomon married Pharaoh’s daughter as a political move, but he loved these other women. Now the Hebrew word used for loved means to pant after, to yearn for, to desire. And unlike Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he did not pant after, whom he had no physical desire for, these other women controlled his affections and he began to waver in his loyalty to Jehovah until the day finally came when he began to tolerate the worship of demons by his wives. But Solomon’s moral and spiritual slide didn’t stop there, because not only did he tolerate his wives secret worship of their gods but, he eventually built shrines for them. And he put these shrines in prominent places around Jerusalem so that everyone could see them. And as he slid lower and lower he moved further and further away from God until he began to worship the false gods of his wives as well. For the scripture tells us that Solomon “…went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians and after Molech the abomination of the Ammonites.” (1 Kings 11:5)
Now you would think that the gift of wisdom that God had given to Solomon would have set off warning bells in his mind. And there was a time when it probably would have. But as Solomon lost his spiritual footing the resulting moral decay in his soul spread to everything, including his great wisdom. And as a result the wisdom that God had given to Solomon, a gift that was to be used for the glory of God, became perverted and was used to justify the man rather than to glorify the Creator. Because now instead of using his wisdom to honor God, Solomon used it to question God. He began to entertain the notion that these pagan religions actually contained some truth. And because he had lost his way the scripture says: “and Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father.” (1 Kings 11:6)
Now understand this. There is not the slightest evidence in scripture that Solomon ever completely abandoned the worship of Jehovah or that he ever lost faith in Him as the one true God, for the scripture says he went not fully after the Lord. It didn’t say he no longer followed the Lord it just says that he did not serve the Lord like he used to. He still went into the Temple of God, he still offered sacrifices, but his heart wasn’t loyal to God because even though he still “worshiped” God - he also worshiped demons. And the scripture tells us that a man cannot serve God and idols for in 1 Cor. 10:21 the apostle Paul said: “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.” And when Solomon tried to have it both ways what was God’s response to him? Did He overlook Solomon’s little infraction of the rules? Did He say, ‘oh well, Solomon still considers Me to be the greatest of the gods? Not at all because in 1 Kings 11:9,10 we are told that “…the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel who had appeared to him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the Lord commanded.”
Why was the Lord angry? He was angry because Solomon was trying to split his loyalty between God and things and when it comes to the human heart God demands the whole heart because anything less than the whole is nothing to Him. But Solomon continued down the road he had chosen and because of his disloyalty to God, God withdrew His favor from him and from the nation of Israel. And since God was no longer “The God” but only one of many, He withdrew His presence. And as His presence was no longer felt, justice was no longer the rule of the land for Solomon began to exploit the people, he became somewhat cruel and despotic, and upon his death the nation was divided in divine judgement. And as a result of that judgement one of the longest on-again, off-again, civil wars in history began. Now there are some who believe that before his death Solomon repented of his idolatry and once again worshiped only Jehovah. Unfortunately the scripture doesn’t tell us that in the closing days of his life Solomon put away the false gods he had begun to worship. But it does paint a picture for us of man who started out so well only to end life so miserably. Now as we consider Solomon today, why do you think the Lord allowed his story to be recorded in the Old Testament? The answer is found in 1 Cor. 10:11 for Paul says: “now all these things happened to them for examples: and they were written for our admonition…..”
My friends what happened to Solomon because of the things he allowed were recorded as a warning to all of us living today. Do you think that when Solomon married his first pagan wife he expected it to lead to his downfall? Of course not, but whether he planned it or not really doesn’t matter because it did lead to his downfall. How? Because gradually the affections of his heart were transferred form the God of Israel to women and things made of stone and wood. And it was such a gradual process that he never even knew it was happening until the day he woke up in the valley at the bottom of the mountain and his heart had grown ice-cold towards his God. Sin has a way of doing that to people. It has a way of gradually hardening the heart until the heart has become so callused and so tough that it can no longer distinguish between good and evil. And eventually it gets to the point where it tries to defend the evil it is guilty of.
Many of us Christians are walking the same road that Solomon walked. God has commanded us not to take His name in vain, and most of us probably don’t. But at the same time we have no problem reading books and watching television shows where other people do. The Lord has commanded us not to commit adultery or fornication, and most of us probably don’t. But we are willing to go to the movie theatre and watch while others do. And before long we start judging the things we hear and see on the television with the term ‘oh that wasn’t so bad. There was only a little nudity, they only used a little profanity and if they said a really bad word I pushed the mute button so the kids couldn’t hear it.’ And as time goes by we gradually allow more and more until we eventually find ourselves defending the sin we are allowing. This is exactly the same process that Solomon went through, the same process that caused him to move further and further away from God. Perhaps today the Holy Spirit has spoken to your heart through this message and you know you are moving slowly but surely away from your Lord. If that’s the case then I urge you to be wiser than Solomon proved to be and to return to the God who has redeemed your soul and given you life. For why should you end your life as Solomon did, away from God and full of despair?
