The Apostasy of King Solomon

King Solomon's story is a complicated one of worship and devotion to Almighty God, and his eventual disobedience to God's commands.

As it is written in 1 Kings, Solomon's fall from the Lord's grace followed a time when the King was devoted in his worship of Almighty God; but due to his disobedience, he suffered the punishment of his sins.

In 1 Kings 8:54-61, we see an example of Solomon's sincere prayers and blessings to his people of Israel.

54 And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.  

55 And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying,  

56 Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.  

57 The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us:  

58 That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers.  

59 And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the Lord, be nigh unto the Lord our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require:  

60 That all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there is none else.  

61 Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.

 
Solomon gives God the glory of the great and kind things he had done for Israel. He stood up to bless the congregation, but began with blessing God.

He compares the blessings God had bestowed upon them with the promises he had given them, that God might have the honour of his faithfulness and the truth of that word of his which he has magnified above all his name. 1. He refers to the promises given by the hand of Moses, as he did to those which were made to David. There were promises given by Moses, as well as precepts.
 
He blesses himself and the congregation, expressing his earnest desire and hope of these four things:
1. The presence of God with them.
2. The power of his grace upon them. 
3. An answer to the prayer he had now made.
4. The glorifying of God in the enlargement of his kingdom among men.

Solomon's prayer, like the prayers of his father David, the son of Jesse, are ended (Psalms 72:19-20): Let the whole earth be filled with his glory. We cannot close our prayers with a better summary than this, Father, glorify thy name.

He solemnly charges his people to continue and persevere in their duty to God. Having spoken to God for them, he here speaks from God to them, and those only would fare the better for his prayers that were made better by his preaching. His admonition, at parting, is, "Let your heart be perfect with the Lord our God. Let your obedience be universal, without dividing—upright, without dissembling—constant, without declining."  (Matthew Henry)

 In 1 Kings 11, we read about the sins of Solomon, his acquiring and multiplying great sums of gold, horses and chariots. Solomon's "wives turned his heart after other gods", their own national deities, to whom Solomon built temples, thus incurring divine anger and retribution in the form of the division of the kingdom after Solomon's death.

⁹And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice,  

¹⁰And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the Lord commanded.  

¹¹Wherefore 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. 

¹²Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father’s sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. 

¹³Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen.  

God's anger against Solomon for his sin. The thing he did displeased the Lord. Time was then the Lord loved Solomon and delighted in him, but now the Lord was angry with Solomon, for there was in him sin.

1. The most base ingratitude that could be. He turned from the Lord who had appeared unto him twice, once before he began to build the temple and once after he had dedicated it.

2. The most willful disobedience. This was the very thing concerning which God had commanded him—that he should not go after other gods, yet he was not restrained by such an express admonition. Those who have dominion over men are apt to forget God's dominion over them; and, while they demand obedience from their inferiors, to deny it to him who is the Supreme.

The Lord said unto Solomon (it is likely by a prophet) that he must expect to smart for his apostasy.

1. The sentence is just, that, since he had revolted from God, part of his kingdom should revolt from his family; he had given God's glory to the creature, and therefore God would give his crown to his servant: "I will rend the kingdom from thee, in thy posterity, and will give it to thy servant, who shall bear rule over much of that for which thou hast laboured." This was a great mortification to Solomon, who pleased himself no doubt with the prospect of the entail of his rich kingdom upon his heirs for ever. Sin brings ruin upon families, cuts off entails, alienates estates, and lays men's honour in the dust. 

2. Yet the mitigations of it are very kind, for David's sake, that is, for the sake of the promise made to David. Thus all the favour God shows to man is for Christ's sake, and for the sake of the covenant made with him. The kingdom shall be rent from Solomon's house, but not immediately. Solomon shall not live to see it done, but it shall be rent out of the hand of his son, a son that was born to him by one of his strange wives. What comfort can a man take in leaving children and an estate behind him if he do not leave a blessing behind him?  Solomon did not quickly nor wholly turn away from God; therefore God did not quickly nor wholly take the kingdom from him.

Upon this message which God graciously sent to Solomon, to awaken his conscience and bring him to repentance, we have reason to hope that he humbled himself before God, confessed his sin, begged pardon, and returned to his duty, that he then published his repentance in the book of Ecclesiastes, where he bitterly laments his own folly and madness, and warns others to take heed of the like evil courses and to fear God and keep his commandments.

 That penitential sermon was as true an indication of a heart broken for sin and turned from it as David's penitential psalms were, though of another nature. God's grace in his people works variously. Thus, though Solomon fell, he was not utterly cast down; what God had said to David concerning him was fulfilled: I will chasten him with the rod of men, but my mercy shall not depart from him  (2 Sam 7:14-15 ).  Though God may suffer those whom he loves to fall into sin, he will not suffer them to lie still in it. Solomon's defection, though it was much his reproach and a great blemish to his personal character, yet did not so far break in upon the character of his reign but that it was afterwards made the pattern of a good reign, where the kings are said to have done well, while they walked in the way of David and Solomon. But, though we have all this reason to hope he repented and found mercy, yet the Holy Ghost did not think fit expressly to record his recovery, but left it doubtful, for warning to others not to sin upon presumption of repenting, for it is but a peradventure whether God will give them repentance, or, if he do, whether he will give the evidence of it to themselves or others. 

Great sinners may recover themselves and have the benefit of their repentance, and yet be denied both the comfort and credit of it; the guilt may be taken away, and yet not the reproach." (Matthew Henry)