Things were not going well with Solomon. Constantly troublesome news reached the royal palace, to the annoyance of the king and his ministers.
The foretold mischievous acts of Hadad (1 Kings 11:25) disturbed him greatly, because he could not control them. People of the nation also showed anger and discontent because of heavy taxes.
Sinister thoughts began to trouble Solomon. The prophecy of Ahijah frightened him. Fearful forebodings of some great calamity coming on haunted the king at night. He could not shake them off; they followed him even in his dreams.
One night, Solomon’s mind was especially agitated. He could not get to sleep at all, nervously tossing in his bed from one side to the other. His conscience would not give him rest as pictures of his life of indulgence and the departing from faithfulness to God appeared to him with a force that caused his frame to shiver.
How had he wasted his years on things that did not profit at all! It was all vanity, vanity, vexation of spirit (Ecclesiastes 1:14).
All at once horrible fear gripped the king. The one thing—a thousand times worse than all his searching out of mirth, pleasure—rolled like a mighty avalanche over his mind so that it made his hair stand up—his terrible apostasy from the great God of Israel, who appeared to him twice and had showered him with countless blessings.
This threw him out of bed; trembling, his heart beating loudly, his pulse racing, Solomon staggered like a drunkard through the dim-lit palace, as a wave of horror about his enormous guilt engulfed his senses. In a merciless grip that seemed to squeeze out his sanity, the ugly reality of the squandered years stood in this decisive moment of truth, crystal clear before him.
He pressed his hands over his ears as if to shut out the thunder of the accusing voice of his conscience, “You are finished, your life is a failure, you are lost, you are lost!”
A violent tremor seized his body, so that Solomon could not stand on his feet; the torture of his haunted mind made him fall on his knees, crying out with quivering jaw, the bones shaking: “Yes, it is true, utterly true, what have I done, what have I done! I am the worst of all men, the worst sinner on earth, I have become a monster!” . . .
He breathed heavily, chest heaving up and down he gasped for air. The agony of his soul made such havoc with Solomon that it threw his quaking frame in total despair to the floor.
The perturbed king could not endure this ordeal any longer; consumed with grief and heartrending sorrow
for his sins, with bitter tears streaming down his face, and with a repentance from the innermost depth of his being, Solomon cried out in his agony:
“O God of Abraham and Isaac, you forgave Jacob, and David my Father; have mercy on me. I have done worse than all before me, I acknowledge in the bitterness of my soul my terrible crime against Thee, but for Thy mercy’s sake, blot out my transgressions.”
Never had the walls of the royal palace heard such words—and then there was silence—a silence of peace.
The voices of amusements, gaiety, and laughter never echoed through the marble walls again. But words of thanksgiving, prayer and admonishing and warning (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes) were recorded by holy angels—who beforehand shuddered with abhorrence and incredible sadness, loathe to transcribe Solomon’s abominable actions—but now with heavenly delight rejoiced in their task.
In all the remaining years of Solomon, who at last realized his wrongs, he never would go again to his wives—they were shut out of his mind. He had experienced that among them there was not one pleasing to God, but “were snares and nets” and their “hands as bands” (Ecclesiastes 7:26), pulling him down to the abyss of hell.
The grace of God and His love for the deluded king would not let go of Solomon. And the Holy Spirit would with force trouble his mind that night—and Solomon responded. Then all heaven was rejoicing “over one sinner that repenteth.” Luke 15:7
At the resurrection of the just, and throughout eternity, Solomon will, with most ardent gratefulness, adore the Saviour, knowing that He alone, by His divine longsuffering and grace, had plucked him out of the abyss into the embrace of the everlasting arms of the infinite love of God. . . . Amen.
Concluding Thoughts
The life of Solomon is a sobering topic. It is not an example to be followed—but rather to be shunned with all emphasis!
It was a life of selfishness and passion with catastrophic results. Solomon was, of course, not to be a Saviour for the world, but as a king of God’s chosen nation; he could have been a perfect model of obedience to God’s commandments and statutes, which was to be his daily duty as a wise ruler: “That He shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests and Levites: . . . and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them.” Deuteronomy 17:18–19
“Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.” v. 17
Solomon could have been the greatest royal missionary to draw all the nations who came to hear his wisdom to the great God of the Universe, to present His commandments and explain the plan of salvation, to which Israel was appointed to.
To compare his life with that of Jesus is as looking as to dark clouds and to pure light.
Solomon denied himself nothing, no, he “gave [his] heart to know wisdom. . . and . . . madness and folly.” Ecclesiastes 1:17. “And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy.” Ecclesiastes 2:10
What a contrast was the life of Jesus, the incarnate Son of God on earth! Being the Creator of the Universe, the adored One of the angels in heaven, He came to this earth as one who had “not where to lay His head.” Matthew 8:20
Solomon was exalted, and honored by God and men, but Jesus “made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant. . . . humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death.” Philippians 2:7–8
Jesus, coming to His own, “received Him not.” John 1:11. Instead of honour He was “despised and rejected of men [was falsely accused, hated for nothing]; a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. . .” Isaiah 53:3
Jesus Christ emptied Himself of all His divine honour and glory “for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame.” Hebrews 12:2
The life of Jesus was one of constant self-denial, of poverty, hardship, labour, to minister to the sick and sin-laden, to tell them of His Father’s love for them and to bring them back to the fold of God that became separated by sin.
But Jesus was misunderstood by the majority of God’s chosen people because He did not appear as the Messiah of their ideas who would restore the glory of Israel, casting out the hated Romans as their mighty King.
His humility and kindness to the common people, but most of all His powerful teaching, bearing heavenly authority, irritated the religious leaders the most; therefore, they hated, persecuted, and killed Jesus to get Him out of their way.
The Saviour of the world, “was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities. . . . He was oppressed and He was afflicted. . . He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter.” Isaiah 53:5, 7
Praise God that Jesus would “not fail nor be discouraged” (Isaiah 42:4), because of the ill-treatment He received during His selfless ministry, but He “set [His] face like a flint” (Isaiah 50:7) to finish and accomplish what He came for, to “save His people from their sins.” Mathew 1:21
The life of Jesus was a constant sacrifice, an emptying of self until there was nothing more left, but a broken heart from a soul that was “poured out. . . unto death” (Isaiah 53:12), so that sinful man would be redeemed from the power of evil.
While this world shall last, there will always remain a shadow upon the name of King Solomon, regardless of his conversion and making up for his wrongs; the “But” still leaves a bitter taste behind.
But Jesus, “became obedient. . . even [to] the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:8. “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. . . and. . . every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:8–11
Jesus did it all because of love for you and me; let His life be our only example, but learn from the mistakes of others given to us in the “Holy Book.” Amen.
Edda Tedford, Canada