Solomon's Fall from God - The Books of 1 Kings & 2 Chronicles

Published Jun 9, 2024, 9:30 AM

In this Bible Story, we behold the vast wisdom of the Philosopher King Solomon. However, Solomon had a weakness for women. He amasses a harem of hundreds of wives and concubines from other nations. Eventually, he began to worship foreign gods. This story is inspired by 1 Kings 10-11:25, 42-43 & 2 Chronicles 9. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.

Today's Bible verse is 1 Kings 11:11 from the King James Version.

Episode 116: Under Solomon, Israel became such a wonder that rulers and dignitaries from all over the world would come to visit. One such visitor was the queen of Sheba, who came from far away with questions and a caravan of gifts. When she arrived and after she had left, she was amazed at the kindness, wealth, and wisdom of King Solomon. But all of Solomon's wisdom could not keep him from the sin developing in his heart. Because of this, Solomon would lose the united kingdom of Israel that God had placed under him.

Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com podcast. This Biblical Audio Experience will help you master wisdom from the world’s greatest book. In each episode, you will learn to apply Biblical principles to everyday life. Now understanding the Bible is easier than ever before; enjoy a cinematic audio experience full of inspirational storytelling, orchestral music, and profound commentary from world-renowned Pastor Jack Graham.

Also, you can download the Pray.com app for more Christian content, including, Daily Prayers, Inspirational Testimonies, and Bedtime Bible Stories.

Visit JackGraham.org for more resources on how to tap into God's power for successful Christian living.

Pray.com is the digital destination of faith. With over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible, the Pray.com app has everything you need to keep your focus on the Lord. Make Prayer a priority and download the #1 App for Prayer and Sleep today in the Apple app store or Google Play store.

Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max Bard

Producer: Ben Gammon

Hosted by: Pastor Jack Graham

Music by: Andrew Morgan Smith

Bible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn

Let us pray. Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon. Forasmuch as this is done of THEE, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes which I have commanded Thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from THEE and will give it to thy servant first Kings. Eleven eleven, Heavenly Father, with every new breath that I take, and as I watch you bring goodness and increase into my life, help me not to forget that apart from you and your presence, there is no true life. I will not forget that it is in You that I live, I breathe, and I have my being. So when temptations and the pleasures of this world try to lure me from your path of godliness, I will hold fast and combat the lie that life is better without you. I will reject the many I that will try to divide me from your divinity. Like Solomon in his latter years, I will speak to my mind and heart and command it to remember the God of your youth, the God who has always been there, guiding, loving, protecting me on the way to my design destiny. I confess that my future is secure as long as I secure myself in your ways. God, Thank you for preserving me and protecting me and drifting away from my spiritual foundation. You Lord in Jesus name, Amen. Listening to these daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God. Continue hearing from the Lord by listening to today's Bible in a Year, brought to you by Bible in a Year dot com.

Solomon's fall from God. In our last story, the Temple of God was finally built. David's dream to see God's home amongst the people of Israel had finally been fulfilled through his son Solomon. King Solomon dedicated the temple to God, and a new age of peace fell upon the Hebrews for the first time in their history. In this story, Solomon meets the Queen of Sheba and slowly begins to fall from God. Solomon will seek to fill a hole in his heart with women as his final years bring war to the land of Israel. Inspired by the books of First Kings and Second.

Chronicles, Hi, this is Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible in a Year podcast. In our lastep, we heard how Solomon built the Temple for the Lord, a glorious temple Israel was in a time of unprecedented prosperity and peace, and the people gathered to worship God in this magnificent temple that Solomon had built, the place where God's presence would dwell among them. But as we will hear today, as Solomon's fame grew, bringing wise men and royals from far and wide to seek his council, he became distracted by things other than God. It would spell the end of peace for Israel and mar his legacy forever. So let's listen now to today's reading from God's Word.

Under the rule of Solomon, Israel became the crown jewel of the Eastern world. Kings and queens of all nations would visit Israel to marvel at Solomon's temple, libraries, architecture, gardens, and fields. Solomon's fames spread across the deserts, forests, and ranges. Wise men and women would travel far and wide to seek his counsel. He was the heralded philosopher king, and all adored his kind and wise nature. One day a caravan emerged from the south. A sea of camels, jewels, spices, and gold paraded into the city streets. At the top of her carriage, pulled by prized camels, the Queen of Sheba sat lounging in the mild Israeli sun. She had heard of Solomon's great wisdom and sought to ask him questions of ethics, politics, philosophy, and theology. Solomon watched as the Queen's caravan filled Jerusalem like a golden river. He beckoned her into his palace, and the two spoke of deep things among his gardens. The queen had profound questions and challenging problems that needed solving. However, nothing was too hard for the king. Gently and kindly, Solomon walked the queen through every issue. She was amazed at his wisdom. She had not realized just how knowledgeable the king truly was, nor did she expect the riches of Israel to be so vast and immaculate. She watched the way Solomon's servants worked diligently and with joy. She awed at the warship in the temple, and she could not understand the depth of Solomon's kindness despite his riches. I had heard much about your country and its achievements, the queen said, However, it has exceeded my wildest dreams. A smile came across her face. How happy your people must be to live here, and how happy your officials must be to learn under you. Praise your God for what has happened here. Then she gave Solomon a gift of nine thousand pounds of gold, along with spices and precious jewels. After saying goodbyes, the queen departed, determined to bring similar wisdom and joy to her land. Solomon was gifted with great wisdom and riches, yet even his intellect and wealth could not protect him from the darkness within his own heart. Solomon slowly began to search for meaning in things other than God. His heart often wandered aimlessly, seeking satisfaction and carnal activities. Solomon had a love for foreign women. What started as marriages to form alliances quickly turned into a sick addition to new women and new pleasures. Besides his first wife from Egypt, Solomon married women from Moab, amman Edom, Sidon, and Hittite. He immersed himself in the strange sexual practices of other cultures. Soon his mind began to wander into the dark recesses of other religions. This is why the Lord had strictly warned the people of Israel to not marry those with other gods. Solomon was reaping the terrible consequences of his Actionslomon amassed a harem of seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines, Continually wanting to satisfy himself with new women, he began to forget what it meant to love faithfully. Solomon's heart began to fall from God. Solomon had built the Temple of God for this. He would be remembered forever for his faithfulness. However, his union with many different cultures and nations also led him to build shrines and altars to false gods. With each passing year, Solomon would give a peace of his soul over to a new God. This caused a deep anger in God, he had gently warned Solomon many times. However, his heart was corrupted, just as his ancestors in the wilderness. God's wrath burned against Solomon, and he decided to divide his kingdom among his descendants. As Solomon engaged in his sexual idle worship, rebels and adversaries began to emerge from the depths of Israel, giving Solomon and his first taste of war. Rebellion from the east and south began to emerge, and Solomon was finally called to war. His era of peace had been interrupted by doubt, bloodshed, and conflict. This was a representation of Solomon's heart. For the last years of Solomon's life, he warred against rebellion and felt no peace. For forty years Solomon ruled over Israel. He brought the nation into an unprecedented era of peace. His heart to worship God reflected his father's, and his wisdom gave him more riches than he could ever have imagined. However, the last few years of his rule was marked with woe. Towards the end of his life, Solomon's writings became contemplative and sorrowful. He reflected on the meaningless pursuit of knowledge, riches, and success. As his eyes began to dim and his bones grew brittle, Solomon finally came to the understanding that there is no meaning in life apart from God's presence. With his dying breath, he praised God and his son Ria Boam took his place as king.

As we begin today's passage, Solomon has become a man of great renown, not only in Israel, but all around the world. Word of his wisdom and kindness spread far and wide to kings and queens and sages from distant lands, just as God had promised him. Solomon's wisdom was matched by no one, but his wealth and prosperity was also without equal. It was an opportunity for Israel to be a shining witness to the rest of the world. As when the Queen of Sheba came to see Solomon, she was impressed by his great mind and by the wealth that she saw in his country. She even seemed to praise God for what he had done for Israel, But in reality she wasn't interested as much in the giver of blessings as she was in the blessings and all the benefits themselves. Though she had a chance to turn to God, the One True God, and honor him, what she really wanted in the end were the riches. Unfortunately, it wasn't just the Queen of Sheba who missed the point of things. As his fame and influence grew, Solomon's attentions turned away from God and then came the gratifying of the flesh. Like so many before him, Solomon's appetite for sexual pleasure clouded his vision, and being a man of such power and influence, he was able to take many wives for himself. As he would later write in Ecclesiastes, Solomon denied himself nothing he desired. That is a recipe for disaster. He married women from many different countries, women who worshiped other gods. Taking wives from other nations was against God's will, and in First Kings eleven, verse two, we hear why you shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods. But Solomon, for all of his wisdom, ignored God's command, and sure enough his heart became divided. He took more than seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines, and each of these unions chipped away at his relationship with the Lord and his ability to lead. Despite multiple warnings from God, Solomon allowed himself to be corrupted by lust, and eventually God's anger could be held back no more. The peace that Israel had experienced was shattered as wars broke out once more. Not only that, but Solomon's own peace was destroyed and sorrow filled his heart. For much of his latter years. Because of his persistent sin, God would split the kingdom intwo, but this would not happen until his son Raya Boam became king. It is the tragic result of sin and unfaithfulness, and it is a powerful reminder that what Israel needed, what we all need, is a king that was not just wise, but one who is perfectly good and pure. And there is only one king who is above all kings. He would one day rise from the House of David as Savior and Lord and give us the power to defeat sin. Jesus is the king of kings and the Lord of lords. Solomon came to understand at the end of his life what his father knew, that there is nothing that compares to being in God's presence. Solomon repented and praised God once more before he went to his final rest and the kingdom passed into the hands of his son Raaboam. Would the new king model the wisdom of his father, or was Israel headed for more pain. We'll find out the next time. Dear God, we remember the words of the hymn which says, prone to wander, Lord, I feel it prone to leave the God I love we are all prone to leave the God that we love, just like Solomon. We want to wander. But God, we ask you to move in our hearts to sanctify and purify us, and by your grace and because of your forgiveness, that we would live holy and godly lives. Help us to keep our eyes on you and to worship you and you only. May you be our King and our Lord, forever and ever. Amen. Thank you for listening to today's Bible and a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. Download thepray dot com app and make sure that prayer and Bible reading is a priority in your life. If you enjoyed this podcast, let someone else know, share it with someone you love, and let's get the word of God out to many, many people. And if you want more resources as to how you can learn and live the Christian life, be sure to visit Jack Graham dot org. That's Jack Graham dot org.

Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

Hear the Bible come to life as Pastor Jack Graham leads you through the official BibleinaYear.com po 
Social links
Follow podcast
Recent clips
Browse 792 clip(s)