The Love of the World

1 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. 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. – 1 Kings 11:1-8 ESV

In this chapter, the author pulls back the curtain on Solomon’s life, revealing the poorly veiled secret that would prove to be his ultimate downfall. Solomon loved women. And he used his position and power as king to more than satisfy his insatiable desire for the opposite sex. The text reveals the staggering fact that Solomon had amassed a harem of 1,000 wives and concubines. And it had all started with his marriage to the daughter of the Egyptian Pharaoh (1 Kings 3:1). This had probably been a marriage of convenience, allowing Solomon to form a close alliance with another powerful nation. He certainly made the most of this marital union by purchasing thousands of horses and chariots from the Egyptians to equip his army (1 Kings 10:28-29).

But Solomon’s infatuation with women didn’t stop with Pharaoh’s daughter. He went on to add other foreign women to his growing harem, including “Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women” (1 Kings 11:1 ESV). And the author points out the underlying problem with Solomon’s actions. Solomon had chosen to love foreign women “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’” (1 Kings 11:2 ESV).

Solomon was in direct violation of the command of God, given to the people of Israel during their journey from Egypt to Canaan. God had warned the Israelites that they were not to intermarry with the pagans who currently occupied the land He was giving them as their inheritance. Moses conveyed this command in no uncertain terms.

“When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are about to enter and occupy, he will clear away many nations ahead of you: the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. These seven nations are greater and more numerous than you. When the Lord your God hands these nations over to you and you conquer them, you must completely destroy them. Make no treaties with them and show them no mercy. You must not intermarry with them. Do not let your daughters and sons marry their sons and daughters, for they will lead your children away from me to worship other gods. Then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and he will quickly destroy you.” – Deuteronomy 7:1-4 NLT

And God had also prohibited the Israelites from having anything to do with the Ammonites and Moabites.

These nations did not welcome you with food and water when you came out of Egypt. Instead, they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in distant Aram-naharaim to curse you. But the Lord your God refused to listen to Balaam. He turned the intended curse into a blessing because the Lord your God loves you. As long as you live, you must never promote the welfare and prosperity of the Ammonites or Moabites. – Deuteronomy 23:4-6 NLT

But Solomon was a collector. He had a passion for fine things and filled his palace with treasures of all kinds, including women from all over the known world. He treated them like prized possessions, living symbols of his unsurpassed wealth and proof of his obsession with fulfilling his heart’s every desire. Years later, Solomon would confess his narcissistic propensities.

“I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire!

So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure.” – Ecclesiastes 2:8-9 NLT

Despite the warnings of God, Solomon “clung to these in love” (1 Kings 11:2 ESV). Even though Solomon had been gifted with wisdom beyond compare, his obsessive-compulsive tendencies led him to make decisions that were clearly foolish and, ultimately, destructive. God had made His will perfectly and plainly clear.

“The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will turn his heart away from the Lord.” – Deuteronomy 17:17 NL

But Solomon, emboldened by his wisdom and empowered by his position as king, decided that he knew what was best. Fulfilling his physical desires and passions took precedence over his obedience to God. And he would suffer the consequences for his unfaithfulness.

Whenever a child of God places his will above that of God, he will find himself making constant compromises and concessions in order to justify his actions. He will rationalize his decisions in an attempt to convince himself that he is doing the right thing. In doing so, he allows himself to be driven by his desires, rather than guided by the loving hand of God Almighty. And this pattern of behavior can be clearly seen in the life of Solomon. Back in chapter 3, the author declared Solomon’s love for and commitment to God.

Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father… – 1 Kings 3:3 ESV

But by chapter 11, things had begun to change.

King Solomon loved many foreign women… – 1 Kings 11:1 ESV

Solomon never stopped loving God, but he soon found himself with divided affections and a diminished devotion. His love, or better yet, lust for his many wives made it impossible for Solomon to love God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. His capacity to love God had been severely diluted. He had allowed himself to become distracted by the things of this world. And, as the apostle John makes clear, this love affair with material possessions and physical passions always leads to diminished devotion for God.

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.  – 1 John 2:15-17 NLT

Chapter 11 provides the sad and sobering turning point in the life of Solomon. Everything had started out so well. He had been appointed by God to replace his father as king of Israel. He had been gifted with great wisdom and rewarded with wealth and fame. His kingdom was marked by peace and prosperity. And he had been given the privilege and honor of building a temple for God. But the honeymoon was over.

Solomon had failed to heed his father’s warning.

“Take courage and be a man. Observe the requirements of the Lord your God, and follow all his ways. Keep the decrees, commands, regulations, and laws written in the Law of Moses so that you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go.” – 1 Kings 2:2-3 NLT

God had made a covenant commitment to David.

“Furthermore, the Lord declares that he will make a house for you—a dynasty of kings! For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for my name. And I will secure his royal throne forever.” – 2 Samuel 7:11-13 NLT

But David had understood that this promise came with conditions. He knew that the covenant blessings would be forfeited if his son refused to remain faithful to God. And David had shared this important caveat with his son while lying on his deathbed.

“If your descendants live as they should and follow me faithfully with all their heart and soul, one of them will always sit on the throne of Israel.” – 1 Kings 2:4 NLT

Yet here we find the son of David committing the unpardonable sin. He had not only disobeyed God by marrying foreign women, but he had begun to worship their false gods.

Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 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. – 1 Kings 11:5-6 NLT

His love for the world and all the tempting pleasures it offered had turned his heart from the Lord. His life had become a living example of something Jesus later warned about.

“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.” – Matthew 6:24 NLT

It is fascinating to note that Solomon’s love of women eventually produced in him a devotion for their pagan gods. And his affection for these false gods would prompt him to erect shrines or places of worship in their honor. The man who had built the house for Yahweh, the one true God, found himself building altars to Chemosh and Molech, the gods of the Moabites and Ammonites. But notice where he built them – “on the mountain east of Jerusalem” (1 Kings 11:7 ESV). This was the Mount of Olives, the very same place where, hundreds of years later, another son of David would pray the following prayer: “Father… not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42 ESV). On the same location where Solomon had erected altars to false gods, Jesus would declare His commitment to faithfully fulfill the will of God.

It was on the Mount of Olives that Solomon and his many wives offered up their sacrifices to  Molech and  Chemosh. But in the very same place, Jesus, the Son of David and the Savior of the world would humbly and obediently sacrifice His own will for that of His Heavenly Father.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

When I Saw…I Took.

10 The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. 12 Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you. 13 Get up! Consecrate the people and say, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the Lord, God of Israel, “There are devoted things in your midst, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you.” 14 In the morning therefore you shall be brought near by your tribes. And the tribe that the Lord takes by lot shall come near by clans. And the clan that the Lord takes shall come near by households. And the household that the Lord takes shall come near man by man. 15 And he who is taken with the devoted things shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he has done an outrageous thing in Israel.’”

16 So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel near tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was taken. 17 And he brought near the clans of Judah, and the clan of the Zerahites was taken. And he brought near the clan of the Zerahites man by man, and Zabdi was taken. 18 And he brought near his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. 19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord God of Israel and give praise to him. And tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.” 20 And Achan answered Joshua, “Truly I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I did: 21 when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was hidden in his tent with the silver underneath. 23 And they took them out of the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the people of Israel. And they laid them down before the Lord. 24 And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver and the cloak and the bar of gold, and his sons and daughters and his oxen and donkeys and sheep and his tent and all that he had. And they brought them up to the Valley of Achor. 25 And Joshua said, “Why did you bring trouble on us? The Lord brings trouble on you today.” And all Israel stoned him with stones. They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones. 26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his burning anger. Therefore, to this day the name of that place is called the Valley of Achor. – Joshua 7:10-26 ESV

There is in this passage the revelation of a personal sin committed by a single individual, but there is also the corporate consequences of that sin. God had forbidden the Israelites from taking any of the items they found in Jericho as spoil.

18 “But you, keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, lest when you have devoted them you take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel a thing for destruction and bring trouble upon it. 19 But all silver and gold, and every vessel of bronze and iron, are holy to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord.” – Joshua 6:18-19 ESV

All the inhabitants and the livestock were to be destroyed. Nothing and no one was to be spared, except Rahab and her family. And all the gold, silver, and vessels made of bronze or iron were to be placed in the treasury of the Lord, as an offering to Him for His role in delivering the city into their hands.

But someone had disobeyed God’s command. And while the text reveals that it was one man who committed this crime, God held the entire nation of Israel culpable.

“Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them…” – vs 11

“…they have taken some of the devoted things…” – vs 11

“…they have stolen and lied…” – vs 11

“Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies.” – vs 12

“They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction…” – vs 12

God viewed Israel as a covenant community. And while Achan would be revealed as the guilty party, the entire nation was accountable for his transgression. Until he was eventually exposed and his sin confessed and punished, the Israelites would find themselves unable to stand before their enemies. The victory they enjoyed over Jericho would be their last, because the sin in their midst would deny them access to the presence and power of God. And God gave them an ultimatum.

“I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you.” – vs 12

How did they find themselves in this predicament? What led to this dramatic turn in their fortunes? It was nothing more than what John described as “the desires of the eyes” (1 John 2:16 ESV). It’s that craving that rises up within as a result of something the eyes see. Solomon, the son of David and the king of Israel, had a constant struggle with this temptation.

“…whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them.” – Ecclesiastes 2:10 ESV

And Achan, when his sin becomes known, eventually confessed, “when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them” (Joshua 7:21 ESV). He saw. He coveted. He took. A simple, yet devastating process that had resulted in the deaths of 36 Israelite soldiers and had brought the anger of God against the entire nation. Achan, driven by his desires, thought he could get away with his sin. He had hidden the items in his tent, thinking that no one would notice. He had not only disobeyed God’s command, He had ended up stealing from God. The items he took were to have been devoted to God and placed in the treasury of the Lord. But Achan had kept them for himself. The book of James describes the internal process that took place in Achan’s heart and led him to do what he had done.

14 But each one is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires. 15 Then when desire conceives, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is full grown, it gives birth to death. – James 1:14-15 NLT

Achan’s sin had resulted in death – the death’s of the 36 Israelites who had fallen in the battle to take Ai. But there would be more deaths due to his sin. Achan and his entire family were stoned. This was the God-ordained punishment for such a crime. Achan’s real sin was that he had defied the law of God. He had defiantly disobeyed God’s command. And God had given very explicit instructions regarding this kind of behavior.

30 “But those who brazenly violate the Lord’s will, whether native-born Israelites or foreigners, have blasphemed the Lord, and they must be cut off from the community. 31 Since they have treated the Lord’s word with contempt and deliberately disobeyed his command, they must be completely cut off and suffer the punishment for their guilt.” – Numbers 15:30-31 NLT

And immediately after God had given this warning to the Israelites in the wilderness, one of their own was caught gathering wood on the Sabbath, in direct violation of God’s command. And God told Moses exactly what should be done with him.

35 Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must be put to death! The whole community must stone him outside the camp.” 36 So the whole community took the man outside the camp and stoned him to death, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. – Numbers 15:35-36 NLT

We may find God’s solution to the problem as a bit overbearing and heavy-handed but, as human beings, we have a tendency to minimize the impact of sin. We don’t view our decisions to sin as a form of defiance against a holy God. We may not even view our actions as sin at all. But God does and He takes them quite seriously. In the book of Acts, we see a very similar situation. In the early days of the church, as the number of Christians increased, there were those who were selling their possessions and giving the proceeds to the apostles, in order to care for the needs of those who had nothing. When a couple named Ananias and Sapphira brought money to the apostles and claimed that it was the entire profit from the sale of some property they owned, God exposed them as liars. They claimed to be giving all that they had made in the sale, but had actually kept back a portion for themselves. And Peter exposed their sin, saying, “How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!” (Acts 5:4 NLT). And as a result of their sin, their lives were taken from them by God. 

In the case of Ananias and Sapphira, their deaths had a dramatic impact on those within the church. It was a wake-up call to take sin seriously and to treat God reverently. The same would be true for the people of Israel. The deaths of Achan and his family would have had a dramatic and sobering impact on all those who witnessed them. The temptation to violate the will of God would have been greatly diminished. In this passage we have seen the deadly influence of self-confidence and covetousness. The God-given victory at Jericho had led the Israelites to become over-confident and self-reliant. They thought they could win any battle and defeat any enemy – on their own. But they were wrong. And Achan’s personal struggle with covetousness led to Israel’s corporate defeat at the hands of their enemies. His sin infected the camp. He saw…he took…and the community suffered for it. God takes sin seriously. So should we.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)  Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

When Physical Passions Become Spiritually Destructive.

2 Samuel 11-12, 1 Corinthians 8

So if what I eat causes another believer to sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live—for I don’t want to cause another believer to stumble. – 1 Corinthians 8:13 ESV

As human beings, our physical appetites can get us into trouble. Our love of food can cause us to overeat, making ourselves sick and even overweight. Our love for sexual pleasure can cause us to have immoral thoughts or even put those thoughts into action. The simple pleasure of good wine can turn into drunkenness. There is nothing inherently wrong with physical pleasures or even the desire to fulfill them, but we must always understand that our sin nature will attempt to transform these God-given appetites into opportunities for sin. The apostle Paul knew this well. “The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions” (Galatians 5:17 NLT).

In the story of David and Bathsheba we have a sobering illustration of what can happen to a good man who allows his physical passions to get the better of him. David found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. When he should have been at war, he was at home, with far too much leisure time on his hands. While his men fought, David was relaxing on his rooftop, and that's where his trouble began. He saw Bathsheba taking a bath on an adjacent rooftop. David lusted. But rather than stop there, he allowed his passions to take control of him. David experienced what James warned about. “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (James 1:14-15 ESV). David's desire turned into full-blown adultery. He satisfied his sexual appetite in an immoral and improper way. And the result was death.

What does this passage reveal about God?

David's sin was against God. He would later acknowledge that in the Psalm he wrote in response to his sin and God's response to it. “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment” (Psalm 51:4 ESV). Yes, David's actions were damaging to Bathsheba. He coerced her to sin against God and her own husband. David even resorted to taking the life of Uriah in an attempt to cover up his sin. But at the end of the day, David had sinned against God. He had broken God's commands and allowed his physical appetite to become his god. The apostle Paul wrote about this very thing. “…there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth” (Philippians 3:18-19 ESV). David let his sexual appetite control him. He obeyed his desires rather than obey his God. And the result was death.

What does this passage reveal about man?

This is a constant reality for all of us. Our physical appetites are real and ever-present. But we cannot afford to be ruled by our passions. We can't let our physical desires become our gods. When we allow them to control us, the results are rarely good. “For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever” (1 John 2:16-17 NLT). “Those who use the things of the world should not become attached to them. For this world as we know it will soon pass away” (1 Corinthians 7:31 NLT). We should never let the temporal things of this world control us. David's sexual appetite was God-given and good, but when he let it control him, and he gave into its desire for something outside of God's will, he sinned. Gluttony is a serious sin in the life of the believer. It literally means “to gulp down or swallow.” It has to do with over-indulgence and over-consumption. It is to take the desire for something good and to turn it into an overwhelming and uncontrolled obsession for even more. David had wives. He had appropriate means for expressing and fulfilling his sexual desires. But when he let his passions control him, he wasn't satisfied with what he had. He wanted more. His god was his appetite, because he obeyed it rather than do what God had commanded him to do.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

The enemy loves to distort and twist the truth. All the way back in the Garden of Eden, Satan tempted Eve with forbidden fruit. God had give Adam and Eve all the fruit of the garden and had only denied them access to one particular tree. But it was that ONE tree that Satan used to tempt Eve. He tried to confuse her by twisting the words of God. “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” (Genesis 3:1 NLT). He appealed to her sense of right and privilege. He preyed upon her physical appetite. “She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too” (Genesis 3:6 ESV). And the result was death. Eve knew better. She was fully aware of what God had said. But her appetite for food and her desire for power got the best of her. She gave in to her physical passions and disobeyed God.

But there is another area in which I can allow my desires to end up in death. Paul deals with it in 1 Corinthians 8. I may have every right to satisfy my physical desires by eating certain foods or partaking in certain activities because they are NOT sinful. But if I have a weaker brother in Christ whose conscience is uneducated and who wrongly assumes that those activities are sin, I must be willing to give up my rights for his good. “But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble” (1 Corinthians 8:9 NLT). I may have the right to drink wine, but if my doing so causes another brother to sin against his own conscience, I have sinned against Christ. “And when you sin against other believersby encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against Christ” (1 Corinthians 8:12 NLT). I must never allow my physical appetites to rule or run my life. Paul was willing to give up eating meat altogether if he thought it might cause a brother to stumble. What am I willing to give up in order to protect my brothers and sisters in Christ? Too often, we allow our physical appetites to control our lives. But all these things are temporal and fading away. They have little to no lasting value. We eat, only to get hungry again. When we try to satisfy our lives with temporal pleasures, we always end up wanting more. The things of this earth cannot satisfy. Only God can.

Father, forgive me for letting my physical passions rule and reign in my life. I am so prone to giving in to my appetites. Give me the strength to say no when necessary. I don't want my stomach to be my god. I don't want sexual desires to control me. I want to be under Your control. I want to do what You could have me do. But this sinful flesh is always at war within me. Give me the power I need to say no to the flesh and yes to Your Spirit. Amen