Disobedient dummy...

1 Kings 11

Solomon had it all...fortune, fame, authority, power and above all else, wisdom. King Solomon, the son of David, was considered the wisest of the wise. Why? Because when he was approached by God with an opportunity to choose anything he wanted from God he chose wisdom. And God granted him the wisdom he chose. Unfortunately, Solomon did not always choose to use his great wisdom in his personal life. He often followed is own lust for pleasure. Sad but true.

Here's what I know. I know if I climb up on the roof of the church and dive off that I'm going to break some bones. I might even die. I know the law of gravity. I'm exercising wisdom when I don't climb up on the roof and dive off. Pretty deep stuff. Would it be legitimate to call me a dummy if knowing better than to dive off the roof, I do it anyway? I think so.

God had given clear instructions to Israel on who they could and could not marry. He did not want them marrying foreigners because foreigners worshiped pagan gods. He knew that if an Israelite married a foreigner who worshiped a pagan god that eventually the Israelite would be torn between his loyalty to his spouse and his loyalty to his God. In fact, He knew that the divided loyalty would likely lead the Israelite to begin worshiping the pagan god in addition to or instead of the God of Israel. The instruction was clear - don't marry outside of the nation of Israel.

So what does the wisest of the wise do? You guessed it...he dove off the roof. Dummy.

700 official wives. 300 official lust suppressants. We don't even have time to get into all that's wrong here. But a big thing is that many of these women were...you guessed it again...pagan god worshipers. Dummy.

Can't you just hear the palace dialog..."Solomon, honey, I love what you're doing at your temple but can you make me a place to worship the god of my people?" "Yes dear, whatever you want." Then after he get's it built..."Solomon, sugar, since I go to your temple sometimes can you come to my new place of worship with me today, I feel so alone without my husband there with me." "Sure dear, anything you ask." How does this happen? How is it that the King of Israel, God's representative to His people uses his position to create pagan shrines to pagan gods and even participate in pagan worship?

Who did Solomon think he was? Was he above God's instructions? Did being the king mean that he was somehow exempt from the marriage instruction? Does gravity apply to everyone but the king? No, it applied to him too.

Solomon knew better but did his own thing and fell head first into the trap God warned about. Dummy. God didn't let him off the hook either. He raised up enemies who would continually trouble Solomon and Israel. He took the majority of the kingdom (10 of 12 tribes) away from Solomon's family. He chose a replacement king for Solomon's son and promised to bless him if he would obey. It didn't have to be like that though. Solomon could have wisely obeyed but he chose not to. Dummy.

So...what do we learn from Solomon? God's instructions are for the good of His children. When God says do or don't do something, He means it. When God says that consequences will follow disobedience, He means that too. We can be wiser than Solomon every time we choose to obey the instructions in God's word. We're a dummy if we think God's instructions don't apply to us. Gravity applies to everyone. Don't be a dummy.