Welcome to Week 10 of Desiring the Kingdom and to 1 Kings chapter 11, where we find the end of King Solomon. This week records his collapse into worshiping foreign gods, the Lord’s decision to tear the kingdom away from him, and finally his death and burial.
We’ve already been signalling that Solomon’s story doesn’t have a happy ending, but it’s still difficult to imagine someone starting with the advantages Solomon had, which included personal visitations from the Lord God, ending in such an ignominious fashion.
We’d like to invite you to listen to the Out of Water podcast, where Pastor of Education Rev. Sam Kastensmidt and Mark Lautenschlager, one of our elders here at Rio, take a deeper dive into the passages. New episodes of Out of Water are released every Friday morning on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or Spotify (and also on the Rio smartphone app under Media). For links to subscribe, visit our website at riovistachurch.com/outofwater.
Prayer Initiative
Beginning on January 13th and continuing for 11 weeks, Rio Women invites you to join them for their latest prayer initiative, based on the classic book “The Christian’s Secret to a Happy Life.” They meet via Zoom call on Wednesdays at noon. If you can’t attend the meeting, get the book, find a partner, and follow along. (If you have questions or need assistance, email Beth Hendrikse, our Prayer Coordinator, at bethh@riovistachurch.com.
Index to Days 2 through 5
Day 1
Loving the Wrong Thing
1 Kings 11:1-3
Solomon Turns from the Lord
11 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, 2 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. 3 He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart.
RELATED SCRIPTURES
Exodus 34:12-16
12 Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in your midst. 13 You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim 14 (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), 15 lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice, 16 and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.
Nehemiah 13:26
26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin.
Deuteronomy 30:6
6 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
Hebrews 10:19-22
The Full Assurance of Faith
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Psalm 37:4
4
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Consider
It’s easy to read the prohibition against marrying foreign women in terms of the act itself, but the warning is not about foreign women, it is about allowing your heart to turn away from the Lord—not the act, but the result. We have the example of Ruth, who was herself a Moabite, to show that God did not hate foreign women. Ruth worshiped and followed the Lord, and that resulted in her becoming part of the lineage of both King David and Jesus. Had Solomon led all his foreign wives to worship the Lord God of Israel, instead of allowing them to do just the opposite to him, the outcome would have been different.
But God knew that he wouldn’t. No one knew Israel and whether they would stand or fall better than the Lord, just as no one knows better whether we will stand or fall today. God’s warnings are not because he wants to deny us what we love, his warnings are because he wants us to love him.
Questions for Reflection
- How do you know that you love someone or something?
- If you were asked to prove that you loved someone or something, what would you offer as evidence?
- Would that apply to God as well?
God, sometimes it’s hard to know what loving you should feel like. I know how to love my family and my friends, but how should it feel to love someone I can’t see or touch? Lord, I do see your faithfulness and trust your plan for me. I am filled with wonder at the mercy of your forgiveness. But I want to feel your embrace, to know that you’re near. I want to know you’re all around me wherever I go. Thank you for loving me even when I didn’t love you. I want to learn to love you more as I grow to know you better. Grant this Lord, I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Day 2
No Other Gods
1 Kings 11:4-8
4 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. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. 8 And so he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods.
RELATED SCRIPTURES
Deuteronomy 12:2-5
2 You shall surely destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. 3 You shall tear down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and burn their Asherim with fire. You shall chop down the carved images of their gods and destroy their name out of that place. 4 You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way. 5 But you shall seek the place that the Lord your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name and make his habitation there. There you shall go,
Isaiah 45:5-6
5
I am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
I equip you, though you do not know me,
6
that people may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
Isaiah 44:6-8
Besides Me There Is No God
6
Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel
and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
“I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.
7
Who is like me? Let him proclaim it.
Let him declare and set it before me,
since I appointed an ancient people.
Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.
8
Fear not, nor be afraid;
have I not told you from of old and declared it?
And you are my witnesses!
Is there a God besides me?
There is no Rock; I know not any.”
1 Corinthians 10:19-22
19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
Consider
In the first of the Ten Commandments, God declares we should have no other gods before him (Exodus 20:3). This doesn’t mean we can have other gods as long as the Lord comes first, it means he is the only God we should have. Solomon building these high places would publicly declare he had other gods; his unfaithfulness to the Lord would be on display for the entire nation to see and do the same.
Questions for Reflection
- What would you say is the modern day equivalent of building a high place?
- How should they be torn down?
Heavenly Father, this one hits me hard. I confess that in my sinfulness, I make idols out of the most ridiculous things. Time and again I find myself going down the same road, chasing after things that won’t last and don’t matter, sometimes because they feel good for a moment, but other times for reasons even I can’t understand. You alone are God, you are worthy of all my devotion, all my worship, all my praise, and every minute of my life. I want to take down the idols to the false god of empty pleasure and follow you with my whole heart! Give me the strength to make it so, Lord, I ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Day 3
If God Himself Asked Me
1 Kings 11:9-10
The Lord Raises Adversaries
9 And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord commanded.
RELATED SCRIPTURES
Isaiah 6:1-7
Isaiah’s Vision of the Lord
6 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”
4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
2 Corinthians 12:1-6
Paul’s Visions and His Thorn
12 I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. 3 And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— 4 and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. 5 On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses— 6 though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me.
2 Corinthians 5:6-7
6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.
Hebrews 11:1-6
By Faith
11 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Questions for Reflection
- Why do you believe God exists?
- If God were to appear before you visibly, what would that change?
Lord, I know precisely what it means when your Word says faith is an assurance of things that are hoped for. When I find myself in those low moments, where doubt creeps in and I wonder if you’re really there, a persistent faith that won’t go away reassures me. It doesn’t seem to come from anything in me, yet inside me it is and it definitely won’t let me walk away and forget you. How unusual that you would give us the very thing you want to see in us! What a pleasant mystery that you won’t let us go. Thank you for the gift of faith. Thank you for the assurance of your presence. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen!
Day 4
For the King’s Sake
1 Kings 11:11-13
11 Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. 12 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. 13 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.”
RELATED SCRIPTURES
1 Kings 11:29-36
29 And at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road. Now Ahijah had dressed himself in a new garment, and the two of them were alone in the open country. 30 Then Ahijah laid hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and will give you ten tribes 32 (but he shall have one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel), 33 because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites, and they have not walked in my ways, doing what is right in my sight and keeping my statutes and my rules, as David his father did. 34 Nevertheless, I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of David my servant whom I chose, who kept my commandments and my statutes. 35 But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand and will give it to you, ten tribes. 36 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.
Romans 1:18-19
God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
Romans 3:21-26
The Righteousness of God Through Faith
21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Romans 5:6-11
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Questions for Reflection
- Think of a time when you have been spared judgment over something that you did wrong. How did that make you feel?
- What did it do to the relationship you had with the person or persons who made the decision that spared you?
Merciful God, today was an easy meditation for me. Like a tall glass of cool water when I’m parched like the desert, that’s how it feels to think about Jesus standing in my place and satisfying your justice. There is no other way that I could come before you, because if I know anything at all, I know that I’m not worthy to do so. But Jesus took my sin upon himself and clothed me in his righteousness, and for that reason I can come close to you without hesitation or fear. Hallelujah! What a Savior! I could sing about this forever and never lose the wonder. Thank you seems like it’s nowhere near enough, but you can see what’s in my heart and you know how grateful I am. I am yours because of him in whose name I pray, Jesus! Amen.
Day 5
The Harshness of Protection
1 Kings 11:14-19, 23-28
14 And the Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite. He was of the royal house in Edom. 15 For when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army went up to bury the slain, he struck down every male in Edom 16 (for Joab and all Israel remained there six months, until he had cut off every male in Edom). 17 But Hadad fled to Egypt, together with certain Edomites of his father’s servants, Hadad still being a little child. 18 They set out from Midian and came to Paran and took men with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house and assigned him an allowance of food and gave him land. 19 And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him in marriage the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen.
23 God also raised up as an adversary to him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his master Hadadezer king of Zobah. 24 And he gathered men about him and became leader of a marauding band, after the killing by David. And they went to Damascus and lived there and made him king in Damascus. 25 He was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon, doing harm as Hadad did. And he loathed Israel and reigned over Syria.
26 Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow, also lifted up his hand against the king. 27 And this was the reason why he lifted up his hand against the king. Solomon built the Millo, and closed up the breach of the city of David his father. 28 The man Jeroboam was very able, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious he gave him charge over all the forced labor of the house of Joseph.
RELATED SCRIPTURES
2 Corinthians 12:7-10
7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Galatians 4:13-15
13 You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, 14 and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. 15 What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me.
1 Peter 2:20-24
20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
2 Timothy 3:12-13
12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
Hebrews 12:4-11
4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
6
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”
7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Consider
The decision to judge Solomon was not made solely to punish him, although Solomon certainly deserved punishment. God brought judgment against his people to drive them away from foreign gods and cause them to turn again to him.
In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Paul describes his thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan who harassed him, and God both allowed this and refused three times to take it away. Instead, God told Paul that his power was made perfect in Paul’s weakness. Paul realized that this harsh decision was God’s plan to keep him from becoming conceited. Pride, the original and arguably worst sin, was held at bay by something unpleasant that God permitted in Paul’s life.
Questions for Reflection
- What is worse than discipline?
- How can we determine when something is God’s corrective discipline?
God, I’m sure you protect me every day from things I’ll never be aware of on this side of heaven. I know you order things in accordance with your will, and I want your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, even when that means you need to correct me. I would rather be disciplined as your child than forgotten by you. I would rather be chastised today than cast away from you tomorrow. Even when it’s painful in the moment, I’d rather have that and know it’s from you than to wonder whether you see me. I want to bear fruit for you, Lord, and I trust you to prune away the dead wood. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
Watch for other Personal Worship pushes!
- Friday you’ll receive Worship Prep guidance and Sunday’s songs. Take time to learn those you don’t know so that you can join in worship in full voice!