Seeds of Disunity

MEMORY VERSE: “It came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.” —I Kings 11:4

I KINGS 9:15,20,21; 10:21,22

WITH the temple completed, Solomon directed much of his energy toward making himself rich and increasing the glory of his courts. I Kings 9:10—10 recounts some of Solomon’s activities in this connection and the outstanding success he achieved. This attracted the attention of other monarchs, notably the queen of Sheba. The information which had reached her in Ethiopia seemed so incredible that she journeyed all the way to the court of Solomon to make a personal investigation. When she saw the glory and wealth of this fabulous king of Israel she was overwhelmed, and declared that the half had not been told.—ch. 10:7

Probably the queen was given a “conducted tour” to make sure that she saw only what Solomon wanted her to see, for in addition to noting the great wealth and glory which was displayed, she observed, “Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom.” (ch. 10:8) This perhaps was true insofar as those close to Solomon were concerned. But by this time there was much dissatisfaction throughout the kingdom, for Solomon was increasing his wealth to a large degree through taxes and slave labor.

This is highlighted by an incident which occurred shortly after Solomon’s death, when his son Rehoboam became king. Jeroboam, who had fled from Solomon into Egypt, upon hearing of the king’s death, returned, and led a company of complainers to appear before the new king, Rehoboam. They said to him, “Thy father made our yoke grievous: now, therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.”—ch. 12:4

Rehoboam asked for three days’ grace, and consulted the elder statesmen of Israel as to what to do about this demand, and they advised that he yield to it. But Rehoboam was not satisfied with this advice, so he consulted the younger men, those who had grown up with him, and they advised him that instead of making the burdens of the people lighter, he should increase them. He followed this advice. The result was a rebellion against Rehoboam, ten of the tribes making Jeroboam their king, leaving but the one tribe of Judah willing to serve Rehoboam.

Thus we see that one of the seeds of disunity was oppression—oppression that served but the one purpose of increasing the riches and glory of King Solomon and his court at the expense of the people. The Lord does not condemn riches, nor the acquiring of them, but he does condemn injustice in our dealings with our fellowmen, whatever the motive might be. When injustice is practiced upon a people, sooner or later they will rebel, and often, under such circumstances, seem quite willing to follow the leadership of an opportunist like Jeroboam in order to break the cords of bondage.

I KINGS 11:3, 4

All know of Solomon’s seven hundred wives, and three hundred concubines. Their number is not particularly condemned, because plural marriages were countenanced in Israel. But the Lord had forbidden the Israelites to intermarry with the people of heathen nations, and Solomon had acquired many of his wives and concubines from the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Edomites, the Zidonians, and the Hittites, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, an Egyptian.

This was bad enough, but in addition to this sin he allowed these heathen women to turn away his heart from worshiping the true God of Israel. This sort of conduct was sure to lead to disunity in the nation, and ultimately to decay and destruction.

Solomon was allowed to continue his reign, but upon his death the seeds of disunity which he had sown quickly sprouted, and grew into a state of discord which afflicted the Israelites for many generations thereafter.

QUESTIONS

What notable personage visited Solomon to inspect his riches?

Were the people as a whole really happy under Solomon’s rule?

What were the seeds of disunity which were sown by Solomon?

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