1 Kings 10-13 CSB
King Solomon loved many foreign women in addition to Pharaoh’s daughter: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women from the nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, and they must not intermarry with you, because they will turn your heart away to follow their gods.” To these women Solomon was deeply attached in love. He had seven hundred wives who were princesses and three hundred who were concubines, and they turned his heart away. When Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away to follow other gods. He was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his father David had been. (11:1-4)
Every time I read these verses it shocks me. How could the wisest man in all the world do something so very foolish? God had appeared to him on multiple occasions, God had given him his heart’s desire and God had prospered Solomon at every turn. Yet, I am reminded of the words of Jeremiah, “The heart is desperately wicked and deceitful above all things; who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9) Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, allowed his wisdom and his riches to go to his head. He took advantage of his prestige and power to satisfy his deceitful heart by having 1000 women! Can you imagine; 700 wives and 300 concubines?
If Solomon’s wisdom could not protect him from falling into the trap of the enemy, then we are certainly not “wise” enough to keep ourselves from sin. We have no hope but Jesus. Only Jesus and His imputed righteousness in our lives can preserve and protect us. Not only was Solomon in sin by having multiple wives, but he allowed those wives to draw him even deeper into depravity. By the time he was old, he was worshipping the gods of his wives and mixing them in his relationship with the Lord. God is a jealous God and He allows no other gods but Him. He will not share you with anyone else so you must be careful what you do, and “who” or “what” you worship.
I doubt that anyone today will have the problem of having 700 wives and 300 concubines. Yes, here in Africa polygamy is a problem, but never to that level. However, the bondage of pornography is pervasive and while no man has 1000 women in his life, many men get sucked into the trap of committing “virtual” adultery with thousands of women online. Pornography is poison. In the same way that Solomon’s wives drug him down into darker and deeper sins, pornography seeks to do the same thing to you today. It is the tool of Satan designed to destroy your life. Be smarter than that! Understand that your heart is desperately wicked and deceitful; don’t listen to it when it tries to convince you to look at what you know is forbidden. It is a road that leads to shame and bondage; just like it did for Solomon.
