Solomon’s Mistake: A Beautiful Temple but a Decaying Heart

By: Megan  Taylor

I was studying the book of Proverbs this morning and it led me down a character study of the writer, Solomon. I decided to look up more about Solomon and found myself in 1 Kings.

In 1 Kings, at first, I was super impressed with Solomon. God blessed Solomon with a wise and discerning mind, unlike anyone ever had before, beyond measure and breadth of mind, like the sand on the sea shore (1 Kings 4:29).

Solomon had tons of wealth and riches, and throughout the book, we see Solomon put that wealth and wisdom into action. But at the end of the book, something happens, and Solomon turns away from God. And the life of Solomon and Israel is used as a proverb (1 Kings 9:7).

I wanted to know exactly how this all played out, so I started digging deeper.

I began reading about the relationship between God and Solomon. And I wanted to know why Solomon spent so much time and effort building such a detailed and extravagant house in God's honor after God blesses Him with wisdom. And I was trying to find the place in scripture where God gave him instruction to do so.

You know what I realized? God never asked Solomon to build the house for Him. When the house is finished, God does say to Solomon, concerning the house he decided to build, "if you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you which I spoke to David your father. And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake my people." And God does consecrate the house he built, and put his name on it forever.

However, God didn’t ask Solomon to build such an extravagant house in the first place. God wanted Solomon's whole heart, love, integrity, and obedience.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it was wrong for Solomon to build the house, as I do believe God will bless what we do for His glory and Solomon was also honoring his father David in the process by fulfilling David's intention to God.

However, I cant help but wonder if striving to build the extravagant house led to Solomon's downfall and caused him to miss God's true desire for him.

You see, from the beginning, Solomon's heart was divided. He loved God, but scripture says he still offered sacrifices to other gods (1 Kings 3:3).

And throughout the book we see how people were drawn to Solomon because of his wealth and wisdom.

And while we are not responsible for who we attract, we are responsible for who we entertain. And Solomon, when he could have used that attraction to turn someone's heart to the Lord, ends up attracting and entertaining foreign women who end up influencing him and turning his heart against God.

It was the shiny wealth and extravagant buildings that drew the foreign women to Solomon. He had a practice of building fancy things, even for them (1 Kings 9:24, 1 Kings 11:11).

And it was the foreign women who turned Solomons heart away from God, as he clung to them in love (1 Kings 11: 2-6).

God was not asking Solomon to do BIG, huge, showy things for Him. Again, he asked Solomon to walk with "integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, keeping my statutes and rules" (1 Kings 9:4-5).

I cant help but wonder if in the pursuit of trying to do BIG, seemingly fancy things to earn God's approval, Solomon abandoned the original calling God had for Him and it led to his downfall.

Solomon seemed to be working for God's love and approval, instead of from it.

And I cant help but wonder if today, if in our pursuit of the BIG, shiny, things for God, we are abandoning the actual things God has made clear for us to be at work doing in His word and getting distracted by the time and attention that comes with it.

We are called to live with love, Integrity, walk upright, and be obedient to the word of God.

But those don’t always feel or look like big, fancy things, do they?

Those don’t seem to compare to "building a house" for the Lord.

So what do we do?

We strive to build big careers. We strive to hold big conferences. We strive to build big brands, and have big platforms. Many reach for the big microphones and podcasts, and desire the big audiences. Many have a desire to want to do BIG extravagant things for the Lord (preaching to myself as well here).

And while this is happening, we have people dying of loneliness in the pews and half knit together communities we claim to be the body of Christ and countries with less than 1 percent of Christianity.

My message and intention is not to condemn, but to spread a word of caution.

It is so incredibly important to tune into your heart + motives from the very beginning of your pursuits and check in with them often.

If those big audiences are causing you to dilute the gospel, have a divided heart and attention, perhaps that is not the path for you.

If your successful career is causing you to shrink back from spreading the gospel or becoming too burnt out to have energy for anything else but working, perhaps that is not the career and path for you.

I hope we aren't missing the forest for the trees and getting distracted from our main purpose.

What is that main purpose? If you are a Bible believing Christian and have obeyed the gospel laid out in the Holy Scriptures, you are a child of God, your purpose is laid out in the Holy Scriptures.

And in there we find our first purpose is to realize our worth in Him, and live and walk in obedience and confidence in the powerful new identity we have been given.

Our second purpose? Work from that love, and continue living out His will which we find infused throughout His word such as:

"He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." Mark 16:15-16

And along the way continue:

Growing in the knowledge of his word (2 Peter 3:18) and learn how to divide it rightly (2 Timothy 215).

Living out the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 6:19-22)

Loving others and taking care of the widows and orphans (1 John 4:19-21) (James 1:27)

Bearing one another's burdens (6:2)

Being in community with other believers (Hebrews 10:25)

Not being afraid of correction done in love or correcting others (Proverbs 12:1)

Being slow to anger (Proverbs 19:11)

Resting (Psalm 127:2)

Taking care of your God designed body (1 Cor 3:16-17)

And so much more.

But most of all, not growing weary (Galatian 6:9).

How? By leaning into the way and words of Jesus and learning from Him and realizing you have the Holy Spirit living in you, equipping you along the journey.

Remember:

Sometimes your nation consists of those under your roof.

Sometimes your nation is your neighborhood.

Sometimes your nation is perhaps partly a platform on social media.

I don’t know what your nation looks like, I just write this in hopes you are not missing it by being distracted and discouraged by trying to build something BIG for the Lord instead of working in and with Him.