Veritas Card# 61 - The End of Solomon's Reign

The End of Solomon's Reign - 1 Kings 11


  Around the time period of 931 B.C. Solomon was known as the wisest man who ever lived. But did he stay wise his whole lifetime? A mistake Solomon did was to not follow the law of the Lord with all of his heart. He was married to many women, which would create enough problems in itself! But many of his wives were worshipers of idols. And Solomon catered to their desires. He not only disobeyed the Lord by marrying foreign women, but now was participating in their idol worship! This was in direct disobedience to what the Lord had commanded in His word to the Israelites. Being married to people who don't worship the True and Living God would cause the person's heart to be led away from the Lord. Solomon's heart wandered away from the Lord. He also built places of worship for the many gods that his wives believed in!
   God was not please with Solomon's actions. God had told the Israelites that if they disobeyed His commands, that they would be punished. God would allow the enemy countries to rise up against them and be victorious over them. As a result of Solomon's disobedience, God was also going to break Solomon's kingdom. Many difficulties arose because of Solomon's turning away from God.
   We can learn lessons from Solomon's life. We must follow God's law. But we know it is impossible for us to keep it. God's law is good for us and for all mankind, but since we have broken His law, we need to have atonement for this. That is why lambs were sacrificed in the Old Testament times. Jesus Christ was the Lamb of God, and became the ultimate sacrifice for our sins when He died on the Cross to atone for our sins. Because of that, we can have our sins atoned for, plus we can have the grace of God (God's help) in obey God and loving Him. We don't have to try to love God more. We need a new heart. With a new heart we can truly love God and repent of our sins. He helps us trust in Him and cleanses us from sin. We must turn to Him and repent of our sins. The He promises to make us new creatures in Christ.