Addiction-Solomon
Addiction - Solomon
In this passage, we see King Solomon indulging his desire to have many women in his life. He marries 700 women and keeps 300 more on the side. Even after God’s clear instructions not to marry these women, who worshiped false gods, Solomon ignores him. Instead, he follows his immediate wants, almost as if he has a compulsive need for the attention and intimacy of these women. Solomon falls deeper and deeper under the influence of his wives and concubines and casts his faith in God aside. He allows the women to distract him and convince him to worship their false gods. Because of this, God delivers some harsh consequences for Solomon’s disobedience, vowing to take the kingdom out of King Solomon’s bloodline.
Solomon’s overpowering desire to marry these women and chase the feelings he got from them doesn’t look too far off from the way many struggle with addiction today. Solomon allowed the voice of his addiction to drown out the voice of God in his life, and if we aren’t careful, our addictions and habits can do the same. The subject of our addiction can quickly become the object of our worship, which can have lasting consequences.
The influence of our addictions can be powerful, but God is stronger. If you’re ready to return to God, away from the bondage of your addiction, there’s no better day to start than today. Ask God to forgive you for ignoring his voice in your life, and take a step to get help.
“King Solomon loved many foreign women in addition to Pharaoh’s daughter: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women from the nations that the Lord had told the Israelites about, “Do not intermarry with them, and they must not intermarry with you, because they will turn you away from Me to their gods.” Solomon was deeply attached to these women and loved them. He had 700 wives who were princesses and 300 concubines, and they turned his heart away from the Lord. When Solomon was old, his wives seduced him to follow other gods. He was not completely devoted to Yahweh his God, as his father David had been. Solomon followed Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom, the detestable idol of the Ammonites. Solomon did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, and unlike his father David, he did not completely follow Yahweh. At that time, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the detestable idol of Moab, and for Milcom, the detestable idol of the Ammonites, on the hill across from Jerusalem. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who were burning incense and offering sacrifices to their gods. The Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from Yahweh, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. He had commanded him about this, so that he would not follow other gods, but Solomon did not do what the Lord had commanded. Then the Lord said to Solomon, “Since you have done this and did not keep My covenant and My statutes, which I commanded you, I will tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. However, I will not do it during your lifetime because of your father David; I will tear it out of your son’s hand. Yet I will not tear the entire kingdom away from him. I will give one tribe to your son because of my servant David and because of Jerusalem that I chose.””
1 Kings 11:1-13 HCSB
https://bible.com/bible/72/1ki.11.1-13.HCSB
In this passage, we see King Solomon indulging his desire to have many women in his life. He marries 700 women and keeps 300 more on the side. Even after God’s clear instructions not to marry these women, who worshiped false gods, Solomon ignores him. Instead, he follows his immediate wants, almost as if he has a compulsive need for the attention and intimacy of these women. Solomon falls deeper and deeper under the influence of his wives and concubines and casts his faith in God aside. He allows the women to distract him and convince him to worship their false gods. Because of this, God delivers some harsh consequences for Solomon’s disobedience, vowing to take the kingdom out of King Solomon’s bloodline.
Solomon’s overpowering desire to marry these women and chase the feelings he got from them doesn’t look too far off from the way many struggle with addiction today. Solomon allowed the voice of his addiction to drown out the voice of God in his life, and if we aren’t careful, our addictions and habits can do the same. The subject of our addiction can quickly become the object of our worship, which can have lasting consequences.
The influence of our addictions can be powerful, but God is stronger. If you’re ready to return to God, away from the bondage of your addiction, there’s no better day to start than today. Ask God to forgive you for ignoring his voice in your life, and take a step to get help.
“King Solomon loved many foreign women in addition to Pharaoh’s daughter: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women from the nations that the Lord had told the Israelites about, “Do not intermarry with them, and they must not intermarry with you, because they will turn you away from Me to their gods.” Solomon was deeply attached to these women and loved them. He had 700 wives who were princesses and 300 concubines, and they turned his heart away from the Lord. When Solomon was old, his wives seduced him to follow other gods. He was not completely devoted to Yahweh his God, as his father David had been. Solomon followed Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom, the detestable idol of the Ammonites. Solomon did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, and unlike his father David, he did not completely follow Yahweh. At that time, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the detestable idol of Moab, and for Milcom, the detestable idol of the Ammonites, on the hill across from Jerusalem. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who were burning incense and offering sacrifices to their gods. The Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from Yahweh, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. He had commanded him about this, so that he would not follow other gods, but Solomon did not do what the Lord had commanded. Then the Lord said to Solomon, “Since you have done this and did not keep My covenant and My statutes, which I commanded you, I will tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. However, I will not do it during your lifetime because of your father David; I will tear it out of your son’s hand. Yet I will not tear the entire kingdom away from him. I will give one tribe to your son because of my servant David and because of Jerusalem that I chose.””
1 Kings 11:1-13 HCSB
https://bible.com/bible/72/1ki.11.1-13.HCSB