March 19, 2020: Day 47 – I Kings 11

We see that lust is the root of all evil for Solomon.  The Scripture tells us that he had 700 wives who were all princesses from foreign lands.  Let that sink in, and then imagine that he also had 300 concubines aside from those princesses.  But just lust in and of itself was not the downfall for Solomon.  It would have been okay, I guess, for Solomon to have these wives, except for one problem

God had commanded the Israelites not to marry foreign wives for one reason and one reason alone.  Look at vs.2 which is taken directly from Deuteronomy 7:3-4 where we read in I Kings: “You shall not enter into marriage with them (foreigners who worship idols)…for they will surely incline your heart to follow their gods.”  Well, this happened in spades to Solomon.  If you look at vs.4 we read: “his wives turned away his heart after other gods…”

So where does that leave us today in marrying someone who does not have our same religious background or our same faith?  Are we forbidden to marry someone who does not believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior?  We do read Paul who tell us in II Corinthians 6:14 “Do not be mismatched with unbelievers.”  So I think that leaves us with the answer being yes.  We are not to marry those who have a different religious perspective than we do.

Solomon does not follow that advice and so as a result the Lord leaves him and raises up two enemies.  One who will be a military rival for Solomon’s son, and the other will be the king of a divided kingdom.  Jeroboam is a really important figure which you need to remember and keep in the front of your mind. He will develop into a major character in the Bible.