His love for women was
his downfall. It started with the daughter of Pharaoh, but he took of
additional wives and many lesser partners, notably concubines.
Thus, at least for
that reason, spending twice as long to build his house was because of
his carnal need to house a harem and hold parties. There was no spiritual
justification there.
The corruption was
slow and no doubt he started well, but as he aged he drifted further from the faith
of his fathers (vs 4).
The upshot of it all
was a darkening of Israel’s faith through the acceptance of foreign gods and
practices, like Ashtoreth (another name for the darkest witch of all, Ishtar or
Semiramis).
They also admitted the
practices of Molech, which included child sacrifice.
How Solomon could
sleep alongside the house of God and not feel the fear thereof, is bewildering,
yet it is often as true of contemporary cultures.
God was exasperated
with Solomon and swore to rend his kingdom. There must have been earlier
warnings, but once he drew the line there was no turning back.
All that would remain
of his realm after death was the house of Judah, and with them the Levites. However, Benjamin and a residue of Simeon also joined the southern kingdom.
How much of what we
have going for us is compromised when we lose the cutting edge of our faith and
our first love is tarnished.
That is also reflected
in the warnings that Jesus gave to the churches in his letters of Revelation
2-3, but notable among them was Ephesus which lost her first love.
So God then stirred up
Hadad, of David’s seed. As a child he earlier fled from Joab, to Egypt, where he gained great
favor with Pharaoh. He even married Pharaoh’s sister-in-law. He came against
Solomon when he sensed the vacuum of power in Israel.
Another, Rezon, also
built a private army and usurped Solomon in Damascus.
However, the greatest
regret for Solomon was that the young man who had caught his eye as an
industrious and capable leader during the building of Millo, became his
adversary.
The cause is given as
that. Solomon bred the problem. I have seen it in contemporary politics,
something I call the Robespierre syndrome, where a parvenu is given enough rein to become
a serious threat to the very people who once advanced him.
Well, a prophesy fell
to Jeroboam. Ahijah tore his cloak into twelve pieces and gave ten to Jeroboam,
to symbolize his rise as the future king of the northern kingdom of Israel.
Solomon tried to stop
it all, but the course was set. Jeroboam went into exile, but Solomon soon died
and then came the trouble that God had promised.
The ignominious rise of Rehoboam (1 Kings 12)
The king’s son was
brought to Shechem, to be crowned as the heir to Solomon. However, Jeroboam’s
allegiance was conditional on Rehoboam lifting the heavy yoke of his father. It reveals to us that Solomon's reign was not all so rosy. The people had felt his heavy yoke.
Foolishly, Rehoboam,
bereft of a noble fatherly model, rejected the wise advise of his older
counselors by refusing to lighten what had become a taxing burden on Solomon’s
subject.
Indeed he promised to
make their yoke heavier. What a stupid man.
It was the final
straw. Cessation followed. For a long time there had been a simmering disquiet
over David and Solomon’s cozy relationship with Judah, but no more.
They broke away and
left Rehoboam with the remnant, Judah, Jerusalem and the priests of Levites
that were settled in their cities.
It actually was of
God. He never meant to work through the whole of Israel. His eye was always on
Judah, for from them alone would rise the great redeemer.
The years leading up
to that had built Judah into a compelling nation with almost as many fighting
men as the whole of Israel had when they entered Canaan, but the years ahead
would entrench their identity and strengthen their position, despite 70 years
of exile.
Benjamin stood with
Judah, but God forbade both to fight the cessation. It was of God and it was
done. However, in losing the house of
David, Jeroboam needed a new spiritual center.
As such, he repeated the
folly of Aaron and gave them two golden calves, with the same words “behold the
gods that brought you out of Egypt”.
That was the other
reason why God had to sever Israel. Their propensity for spiritual corruption
was greater and would eventually see them lost forever. He had to keep Judah
from that.
It was a sad moment.
For not the only time, God was willing to let his people go. Exile would also
come and go, the nations would occupy their inheritance and in AD70 they would
all be scattered as the New Covenant overtook the old.
What a tragic outcome
for a people who had been through so much for so long. But God saw the bigger
picture. Salvation had to come to all the nations, not just
to the people he foreknew.
(c) Peter Missing @ bethelstone.com
