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I think it’s time to address the elephant in the room.

Solomon was given wisdom beyond his experience by God. But, here’s the thing. That’s how Solomon started—but that’s not the whole story. The beginning of his story was impressive: He ruled with wisdom, foreign dignitaries came from all over to learn from him, he build a magnificent temple, he greatly strengthened Israel’s defense force, and God gave him peace from all the surrounding kingdoms.

Then we see in 1 Kings 11 Solomon’s unchecked weakness that brings it all down. Let’s check it out: “Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh’s daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and from among the Hittites. The Lord had clearly instructed the people of Israel, “You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.” Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the Lord. In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord, his God, as his father David had been.”

This chapter goes on to list all the pagan shrines that Solomon built to please his wives. This, understandably, made God “very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. He had warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the Lord’s command.” God goes on to tell Solomon that the kingdom will be torn—not from outside threats, but from the inside.

So let’s talk about the elephant in the room. How can such a wise man turn his back on God and become such an utter fool? I used to wonder how this could even happen. How can such a wise person who had done so much for God—literally built the Temple—fall so far? Sadly, I’ve seen many formerly godly people slowly turn their backs on what they know to be wise, true, and right all to chase things that are wrong, sinful, and foolish. I’ve seen men abandon their families to chase women who aren’t half the women their wives are. I’ve seen leaders who had so much potential throw it all down the drain for quick gain. I’ve seen people shipwreck their life because of fleeting passions—only to spend the rest of their life in bitter regret. If you’ve lived long enough, I bet you’ve seen it, too.

So how does this happen? It’s a slow fade. 

Solomon’s heart didn’t flip like a light switch from worshipping God to worshipping pagan gods in one moment. Our hearts aren’t like that. They’re more like dimmer switches—they can move incrementally millimeter by millimeter, slowly changing the direction of our lives. If you notice in verse one, Solomon didn’t start with worshipping pagan gods or building them shrines—he “loved many foreign women.” It was a slow fade, an incremental creep. “So I have a thing for women and sex—I’m the king, I can afford it.” 

A little time passes, then he tells himself, “I don’t see any consequences even though I’m explicitly breaking God’s commands. I think I’ll keep going—add a few more women into the mix.” A little time passes. “I’ve got quite the collection here. Oh, you miss your homeland? What can I do for you, baby? Build a shrine to your god? If it makes you happy.” A little more time passes and more shrines are built to make more wives happy. “You want me to worship with you at the shrine? Well, I guess so. I want to keep you happy so you’ll keep me happy.”

Do you see how this can happen? Small, seemingly insignificant choices put us on a path to compromise, regret, and destruction. How does a person cheat on their spouse? By starting to DM that person from high school who’s giving them a little attention. How does large-scale embezzlement happen? By taking just a little but of the coffers to pay for something—you’re going to put it back and no one will notice. I could go on and on, but you get the point. 

To help you put this in order, Solomon’s days of living in wisdom were early in his life. First Kings 4:32 tells us that most of his works were written before the Temple was complete. “He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs” (the Books of Proverbs and Song of Solomon). The Temple isn’t complete until 1 Kings 7. Of course, his fall begins in 1 Kings 11. Solomon would have been wise to remember his own advice in Proverbs 4:32: “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”

So why didn’t he remember his own wisdom? I think it goes back to the definition of a fool. Fools aren’t ignorant of wisdom and do have the life experience it takes to be wise. Fools are those who choose to go their own way despite knowing the consequences. Fools buy into the same lie that Eve did way back in the garden of Eden. “God is holding out on you. There’s a lot of life to live and a lot of pleasure to have outside of God’s path.” Just like Eve, Solomon had to eat the bitter fruit of living his own way.

So how did Solomon’s life end? Solomon wrote one more book before his death—the Book of Ecclesiastes. When you read it, you see it’s very different in tone from the optimistic and helpful Proverbs and the young-and-in-love Song of Solomon. The tone of Ecclesiastes is bitter, regretful, and down right depressing. It’s the writing of a man who literally chased everything life has to offer—sex, money, property, fame, accomplishment, pleasure, power, and knowledge—only to come up still needing something more. 

Here are the final two sentences Solomon has recorded in the Bible—hear them in light of the life we’ve talked about today—full of bitterness and regret: “Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.” Does that not sound like a man who has come to the realization that all the pain in his life could have been avoided if he’d only stayed within the guardrails of God’s commands?

Solomon’s life serves as a warning. No matter where we are now, we can become ensnared in sin and wreck our lives: 

Wisdom shouldn’t make is arrogant: “I’ll never be as foolish as that.” 

Wisdom should humble us: “I must be careful or that could be me, too.” 

In the end, Solomon came back to God—we rejoice that God offers forgiveness and grace when we come back. But how much pain could have been avoided if Solomon had humbly walked in the wisdom God gave him?

So what does this mean for us? We must guard our hearts and watch our steps. 

In the year before Billy Graham’s death, many pastors met with Billy Graham to have final conversations with the legendary evangelist. In every account I have heard about these meetings, these visiting pastors would ask Billy Graham how they could pray for him. His answer wasn’t for healing or for a longer life. His answer was always this: “Pray I finish my race well.”

Pray I finish my race well? You’re Billy Graham! If anyone finishes a race well, it will be Billy Graham! That’s when it hit me. That’s true humility. That’s a man who wants to please God and understands we are all at risk of falling into the trap. If Billy Graham wants prayer so he can finish his life well, I certainly do. And I bet you do, too.

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See you next time—grace and peace.

Copyright © 2022 by Stephen Castleberry @https://www.youtube.com/c/StephenCastleberry No part of this article may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from Lifeword.org.