"Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the sons of Israel, ”You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods.” Solomon held fast to these in love. He had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away. For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been."
"Now
the Lord was anger with Solomon, because his heart was turned away
from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, and
commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after
other gods, but he did not observe what the Lord had commanded." (1
Kings 11: 1-4, 9-11)
From
this passage of scripture, we must understand that God's anger was not with Solomon
having many wives, but that he went after other gods. However, most
people seem to take issue with him having many wives, because they
tend to look at the law and sin, whereas God looks at the heart and
relationship.
In
the beginning of Solomon's reign, the Lord appeared to him in a dream
and said, “Ask what you wish of me to give you.” (1Kings 3:3) So
Solomon requested an “understanding heart to judge Your people and
discern between good and evil.” This please the Lord so He granted
Solomon’s request and he was also encouraged to follow in the
footsteps of his father David. The Lord also gave him more than he
asked for, including great wealth an honor. Solomon would be like no
other king, wiser than any man before him or after his reign. People
from all over the world came to see and pay tribute to him and to the
Nation of Israel.
Wow,
that would have been quite an epitaph if that was the way it had
ended for him, but it didn't as we all know. So two questions come to
my mind; if Solomon was so wise, why did he choose to have so many
wives and concubines? A total of one thousand women in his household,
1-0-0-0, thinking about that boggles the mind. Not to mention how
offensive it would be to most women, even back then. There is no
record of any women turning him down, but then he was the king after
all. And secondly, why did he go after their gods?
In
answering the first question, we must understand that from time to
time there were exemptions to the laws, rules and regulations
established by God that the Lord granted to holy men, those set apart
by God. For example: Only priests were to make sacrifices for the
people and yet prophets and King David did, as well as son, Solomon.
Another
example was that men were not to have long hair. Yet a number of
prophets did, as well as Samson because of a Nasserite vow. However,
in Samson case, God also planned for him to marry a foreign wife
(Judges 14:4) which his parents didn't realize or approve. In other
situations; the bread in the tabernacle was only for priest and yet
David and his men ate it when they were hungry. Jacob had two wives
and two concubines. King David had fifteen wives. However, there was
never any number as to how many wives a man could
have, just not to have “many” wives.
In
that time period it was not uncommon for certain men to have more
than one wife. However, in most cases one is enough, and it was the
example God set in the beginning with Adam and Eve. Plus, it is now a
law in most countries.
The
Pharisees were always accusing Jesus of breaking the laws. But Jesus
came to do away with the Law, old ones as well as new ones found in
the New Testament. They were not the standard that He Himself would
be. He became the New Covenant, one based on faith and love.
God
knows the heart of everyone, even before they are born; just as
He knew Jacob and Esau’s heart. God chose Saul to be the first king
of Israel and look what happened to him. He also chose David, and
knew what would happen with Bathsheba. God also knew what King
Solomon would do and yet He chose him too. Sure there were some
disappointments, but it also demonstrated the awesomeness of God's
grace, that we too live in.
So
back to my question; why did Solomon, as wise as he was, marry so
many women, plus all those concubines as well? I personally don’t think it had to do with his
hormones being out of control, but maybe they were. There are reasons
behind every action, and sometimes they are inspired by God.
There
are two or more possibilities; first, in part of Solomon’s
dedication prayer of the Temple, he also desired for foreigners to
come to know the one true God of Israel (1 Kings 8:41-43). Maybe he
thought many marriages he could accomplish that, especially after
seeing all that the Lord had done for him and His chosen people. His
wives would in turn would be an influence to their home country.
Unfortunately, these marriages back-fired on him, and he was the one
that was influenced, not his wives.
A
second possibility is that it was a way to secure peace. King David
was a national hero who brought peace throughout the land, and King
Solomon wanted to secure that peace forever, even though it had been
promised by God, if he obeyed all Yahweh's laws and
commandments. Maybe he thought God needed his help, thus he married
the daughters of foreign kings. His first marriage with Pharaoh's
daughter was for a peace alliance, so why not more, a whole lot
more. But this type of marriage can also have its problems as well as dangers that God had
warned the children of Israel. But maybe Solomon felt he was too wise to fall for those gods, but
eventually he learned it the hard way, despite the“good
intentions” he may have had. As wise as he was, he probably never
dreamed he would bow his knees to other gods. So much for all that
wisdom to discern from good and evil. As they say, “pride comes
before the fall.”
There
is also another possibility, maybe God wanted him to have that many
wives and He use Solomon's carnal desire to be a prophecy of
something much bigger than seen by the natural eye. Just as He used
Samson to fulfill His will. God's ways are beyond natural thinking
and often staggering to the human mind. Sometimes he compels us to do
things that seem wrong or even illogical. Why did He make some many
stars in the heavens, if we can't even see them all. There must be a
reason.
So
my second question was; why would Solomon choose to follow other gods
too? The answer is as old as time itself. He fell for the same reason
Adam did. Solomon wanted to please his wives and I'm sure many of
them were complaining too. Rather than loving and obeying God with
all his heart they turned his attention towards them and their gods.
It is a form of mixture and compromise that has continued throughout
histroy. Even in churches today; people and ministers are still
trying to please others instead of God alone.
Many
people lives throughout the Bible were prophetic, a type and shadow
of things to come, and Solomon was one of them—a very important
one. He was a type of Christ, just as Josephs was. The Lord worked
through Solomon’s heart and carnal desires to achieve peace and
joy, prosperity and security for all the children of Israel. It was
also a prophetic picture of The Kingdom of Heaven and Christ
multi-membered Body and Bride. The number of brides and concubines
equaled one-thousand, that number represent perfection. We will all
eventually see more clearly as we reach full maturity by faith, here
and after we leave this world. Just as a baby or child of God who
dies before their time; they will eventually reach full maturity in
heaven as everyone will.
I
believe there was something unseen going on in Solomon’s mind that
compelled to do what many would consider obscene, out-of-order and
foolish. God may ask us to do something that seem wrong or crazy. After all, Jesus spit on a man to restore his sight, Elisha walked naked for three years and John the Baptist ate locus and honey. You never know what God may ask you to do. But, God always has a way of turning our sins, mistakes, carnal
desires and even those things that appear foolish to man into something good and for His glory. And that is the
amazing picture of God’s grace. Solomon, his reign and even the
beautiful temple he built for God, were all a prophetic picture of Jesus
Christ. The incredible power, wealth, prosperity and beauty was a picture of the
Kingdom of God and the New Jerusalem that are all found in Christ.
We
are have access to the wisdom and and knowledge that Solomon had and
so much more, when we first received the Spirit of Christ into our
life. The fullness of Christ is living within our very being, and we can
access it now by faith, not after we die. However, we
should never allow ourselves to be distract from the precious face of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and Heavenly Father.
As
sons and daughters we have been set apart by God to be a holy nation
of kings and priest; no longer slaves or under the law, but living in
a covenant relationship with Abba Father, as the multi-member Bride
of Christ. Our assignment is to love and bring the Kingdom of Heaven
to earth.
