By Deacon Dr. Napoleon Paxton
1 Kings 11: 1-3
1. But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites:
2. Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.
3. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.
Many of us have read about Solomon, "The wisest man that ever lived". He obtained great wealth and made significant contributions to how we understand what true wisdom is. The problem is that even with all of Solomon's wisdom he still found himself a victim to the influence of un-Godly people. I have always wondered about this and asked myself "If Solomon was so wise then why did he listen to those un-Godly people?" I believe the answer to this question can be found in 1 Kings 11:1 – 3. Here the Lord warned the Israelites that they should not cohabit with people from foreign lands because those people would influence the Israelites to turn their hearts towards foreign gods.
Solomon with all his wisdom had a great weakness, women. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines from many foreign lands. He loved these women and he wanted to please them. His weakness was so powerful it caused him to turn his back on God even though he knew it was wrong.
Here Solomon has taught us a valuable lesson. Even if you are the wisest person around, and you know what you are doing is wrong, you can still lose your way if you associate with the wrong people.
Each of us has a weakness that can lead to destruction if we allow it to be tempted. Let's stay away from those people that can do the tempting and continue to grow in Christ our Lord!