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
Israelites, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they
with you; for they will surely incline your heart to follow their gods”;
Solomon clung to these in love. Among his wives were seven hundred princesses
and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. For when
Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his
heart was not true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father
David. For Solomon followed Astarte the goddess of the Sidonians,
and Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. So
Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not completely
follow the LORD, as his father David had done. Then Solomon built a high place
for Chemosh the abomination of
Then
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, and had commanded him
concerning this matter, that he should not follow others gods; but he did not
observe what the LORD commanded. Therefore the LORD said to Solomon, “Since
this has been your mind and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that
I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and give it to
your servants. Yet for the sake of your father David I will not do it in your
lifetime; I will tear it out of the hand of your son.
I will not, however, tear away the entire kingdom; I will give one tribe to
your son, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of
1 Kings 11:1-13
Why
do smart people do not-so-smart things? Time after time we hear sad stories, or
maybe they are our own sad stories of stupid things we have done. Obviously a
good brain does not keep someone from doing dumb things.
Experience
has shown us that doing dumb things is one way we learn. The Bible showed us
that a smart man like Solomon could serve as a poster boy for bad choices. What
we learn from his experience and that of his father David,
is that the ability to make good decisions demands a heart devoted to God.
The smartest people
know
that God knows best.
Our Daily Bread –