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1 Kings 11:1-13 “Solomon's Abominations”

1 Kings 11:1-13 “Solomon's Abominations”

1 Kings 11:1-13 “’s AbominationS”

Chapter 10 is the fulfillment of many men’s dreams to build their own kingdom here on earth. • BUT – Solomon was never satisfied • BUT – Solomon wasted his life pursuing the whirlwind Ecclesiastes 2:4–11 (NLT) Solomon speaking: 4 I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves. 7 I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned large herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who had lived in before me. 8 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! 9 So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. 10 Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. 11 But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere. 1

1 But (ve) King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites— 2 from the nations of whom the LORD had said to the children of , “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. BUT – Solomon “loved” many foreign women • There was no “love” in Solomon’s attraction to 1000 women • Today we would liken the train wreck of Hugh Hefner’s life to Solomon’s: o Solomon “LOVED” himself only

1 Tyndale House Publishers, Holy : New Living Translation (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2013), Ec 2:10–11. :1-13 1

§ J. Vernon McGee: “I think this is the one place in Scripture where the word love can be changed to sex. That was Solomon’s motive. He had been raised in the women’s palace and had never known anything rough or manly. When he became an adult, Solomon spent his time gathering women. He was accustomed to their company. He was a dandy. He was like many men we have in our society today. God is going to deal with him in this connection.” 2

BUT – Solomon clung to his sin! • Solomon refused to give these women and their pagan practices up! • The avalanche of sin had overwhelmed him and he couldn’t see it! o 1692 [dabaq /daw·bak/] v. A primitive root; TWOT 398; GK 1815; 54 occurrences; AV translates as “cleave” 32 times, “follow hard” five times, “overtake” three times, “stick” three times, “keep fast” twice, “… together” twice, “abide” once, “close” once, “joined” once, “pursued” once, and “take” once. 3 § cleave, cling, stick to, stick with, follow closely, catch, keep close to, join to, overtake. 4

3 AND (ve) he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. 519 وَ Arabic ;ו TWOT demonstr. adv. and conj. so, then, and (Ph. . Aramaic ָו ,וּ ,ו◌ְ • (wa); Ethiopic ወ (wa) Assyrian u Dl (but between vbs. the usual connective is the enclitic ma KAT 508, Dl§ 82, 150). 5

4 For (ve) it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and (ve) his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father . Deuteronomy 17:16–17

2 J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary, electronic ed., vol. 2 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997), 270. 3 James Strong, Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2001). ed. R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old ”, ָדּ ַבק Earl S. Kalland, “398 4 Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1999), 177. 5 Francis Brown, Samuel Rolles Driver, and Charles Augustus Briggs, Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 2000), 251. 16 But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the LORD has said to you, ‘You shall not return that way again.’ 17 Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself. • Not only many bad women, many strange and pagan women as well. o Evil’s earmarks: § Lust of the eyes § The pride of life § Flagrant disobedience of the Lord God of Israel

• So Balaam advised Moab concerning Israel. The daughters of Moab fascinated the poor by their charms, and when once they had been brought to prostitute their bodies, the transition was soon made to the prostitution of their souls. 6

• Is this why the Lord, through James, tells us that a double minded man is unstable in ALL of his ways? James 1:5–8 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

• Jon Courson: “There is a misconception in today’s society on the part of both men and women that says, “If I just had someone else, I’d be happier. If I was with someone else, I know I’d be more fulfilled.” It’s a subtle lie of Satan that he whispers in our ears and it was whispered in the ears of Solomon, as well. He thought that happiness was right around the corner—the next relationship, the next concubine, the next marriage— surely then he would be fulfilled. But he wasn’t. Keep Solomon in mind next time you’re tempted to think you’d be happier with someone else. Solomon had the opportunity to experiment greatly in that area. It didn’t work for him, and it won’t for you.” 7

5 For (ve) Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and (ve) after the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD,

6 Robert Hawker, Poor Man’s Commentary: 1 Kings–Esther, vol. 3 (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2013), 76. 7 Jon Courson, Jon Courson’s Application Commentary: Volume One: Genesis–Job (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2005), 991. 1 Kings 11:1-13 3 and (ve) did not fully follow the LORD, as did his father David. 7 Then (ve) Solomon built a high place for the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, (on the Mount of Olives facing Jerusalem) and (ve) for Molech the abomination of the people of . 8 And (ve) he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods. • Not just the pagan women, Solomon participated as well.

Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians: • The text says that Solomon “went after” Ashtoreth o He pursued against all better judgment o He practiced sin, teaching others that 2 gods could be successfully worshipped § God of Israel § Goddess of the Sidonians

• Ashtoreth was the Sidonian goddess of fertility whose worship involved not only sexual rites, but astrology; also known as: , Ashtoreth, Ashtaroth, Ishtar, , Ashtoret, Ashtarot, Astartu, Uni-Astre, Ashtart, Athtart, “the queen of heaven” ( 44:25) 8 o the moon goddess of the Phoenicians, representing the passive principle in nature, their principal female deity; frequently associated with the name of , the sun-god, their chief male deity (Judg. 10:6; 1 Sam. 7:4; 12:10) o These names often occur in the plural (Ashtaroth, Baalim), probably as indicating either different statues or different modifications of the deities. This deity is spoken of as Ashtoreth of the Zidonians. She was the Ishtar of the Accadians and the Astarte of the Greeks (Jer. 44:17; 1 Kings 11:5, 33; :13). o There was a temple of this goddess among the Philistines in the time of Saul (1 Sam. 31:10). Under the name of Ishtar, she was one of the great deities of the Assyrians. The Phoenicians called her Astarte. o Solomon introduced the worship of this idol (1 Kings 11:33). ’s 400 priests were probably employed in its service (1 Kings 18:19). It was called the “queen of heaven” (Jer. 44:25). 9

Chemosh, the abomination of the Moabites • Meaning: the destroyer, subduer, or fish-god • the god of the Moabites (Num. 21:29; Jer. 48:7, 13, 46) o On the “Moabite stone” (q.v.), (:5) ascribes his victories over the king of Israel to this god, “And Chemosh drove him before my sight.” 10

Milcom the abomination of the Ammorites • The worship of Milcom or Molech included human sacrifices, especially of children. 11

8 Jack W. Hayford, ed., Spirit Filled Life Study Bible, electronic ed. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1997), 1 Ki 11:5. 9 http://www.christiananswers.net/dictionary/ashtoreth.html 10 http://christiananswers.net/dictionary/chemosh.html 11 Jack W. Hayford, ed., Spirit Filled Life Study Bible, electronic ed. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1997), 1 Ki 11:5. 1 Kings 11:1-13 5

Leviticus 18:21 And you shall not let any of your descendants pass through the fire to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.

2 special reason Solomon is to be judged: 1. God appeared personally to Solomon (vs 9) a. His heart turned regardless b. God commanded him regarding this specific thing 2. You have not kept my covenant and statutes (vs 11) a. I personally commanded you b. You, Solomon, did this – no one else is responsible – you did this!

9 So (ve) the LORD became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the LORD God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, 10 and (ve) had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but (ve) he did not keep what the LORD had commanded. 11 Therefore (ve) the LORD said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and (ve) have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. 1 Kings 11:11 (NIV) So the LORD said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. 12

12 Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 However I will not tear away the whole kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.” • So, from 1Kings1 to 1Kings11 we have witnessed the rise and fall of a great kingdom. o Because an otherwise godly man would not have self control. Galatians 5:9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump.

It would take an 8 year old Boy-King to fix Solomon’s wrongs: 2 Kings 23:1–16 1 Now the king sent them to gather all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem to him. 2 The king went up to the house of the LORD with all the men of Judah, and with him all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the house of the LORD. (they all sat and listened as Josiah read the Pentateuch). 3 Then the king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, to follow the LORD and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people took a stand for the covenant. 4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the priests of the second order, and the doorkeepers, to bring out of the temple of the LORD all the articles that were made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried their ashes to .

12 The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), 1 Ki 11:11. 1 Kings 11:1-13 7

5 Then he removed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the places all around Jerusalem, and those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven. 6 And he brought out the wooden image from the house of the LORD, to the Brook Kidron outside Jerusalem, burned it at the Brook Kidron and ground it to ashes, and threw its ashes on the graves of the common people. 7 Then he tore down the ritual booths of the perverted persons that were in the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the wooden image. 8 And he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba; also he broke down the high places at the gates which were at the entrance of the Gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were to the left of the city gate. 9 Nevertheless the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brethren. 10 And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire to Molech. 11 Then he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathan-Melech, the officer who was in the court; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 The altars that were on the roof, the upper chamber of , which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, the king broke down and pulverized there, and threw their dust into the Brook Kidron. 13 Then the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, which were on the south of the Mount of Corruption, which Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the people of Ammon. 14 And he broke in pieces the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images, and filled their places with the bones of men. 15 Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he broke down; and he burned the high place and crushed it to powder, and burned the wooden image. 16 As Josiah turned, he saw the tombs that were there on the mountain. And he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar, and defiled it according to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words.

1 Kings 11:1-13 9

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