Solomon’s Heart Turned Away From God

Solomon’s Heart
Turned Away From God

Rabbah Moab Roman Temple
The modern town of er-Rabbah preserves the ancient name of Rabbah Moab.
In the Roman and Byzantine period, the city was known as Areopolis (City of [the god] Mars).
According to an inscription, this Roman temple was dedicated to the emperors Diocletian and Maximian, who ruled jointly from 286-305 A.D.

But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians (also known as the Amalekites), and Hittites:

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.

And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart (1 Kgs 11:1-3).

God didn’t want Solomon to have one of them as his wife, nor did he want him to have more than one wife (Deut 17:17).

For 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.

For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.

And ² Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father.

The Ammonite Fort on Jebal Amman beside the Ministry of Antiquities.
Ammon, also referred to as the Ammonites and children of Ammon, was an ancient nation best known from the Old Testament, which describes Ammon as located east of the Jordan River, Gilead, and the Dead Sea, in present-day Jordan.
The chief city of the country was Rabbah or Rabbath Ammon, site of the modern city of Amman, Jordan’s capital. Milcom and Molech (who may be one and the same) are named in the Bible as the gods of Ammon.

Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.

And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.

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

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

Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon,For as much 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.

Notwithstanding 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.

Howbeit 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  (1 Kgs 11:4-13).

This is why God always told His people to stay away from the Canaanites and the like, He knew this would happen.  All of God’s commandments, statutes, rules, laws, regulation, and so forth are for ² our benefit.  The righteous and the evil are like ³ water and oil.

Edom
The name Edom was given to Esau, the first-born son of Isaac and twin brother of Jacob, when he sold his birthright to the latter for a meal of lentil pottage.
The country which the Lord subsequently gave to Esau was hence called the country of Edom and his descendants were called Edomites. Edom was called Mount Seir and Idumea also.
Edom was wholly a mountainous country. It embraced the narrow mountainous tract (about 100 miles long by 20 broad) extending along the eastern side of the Wadi Arabah from the northern end of the Gulf of Elath to near the southern end of the Dead Sea.
The ancient capital of Edom was Bozrah.
Petra appears to have been the principal stronghold in the days of Amaziah (B.C. 838).
Elath and Ezion Geber were the seaports.

For it came to pass, when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the host was gone up to bury the slain, after he had smitten every male in Edom;

(For six months did Joab remain there with all Israel, until he had cut off every male in Edom:)

That Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him, to go into Egypt; Hadad being yet a little child.

And they arose out of Midian, and came to Paran: and they took men with them out of Paran, and they came to Egypt, unto Pharaoh king of Egypt; which gave him an house, and appointed him victuals, and gave him land (1 Kgs 11:14-18).

Pharaoh liked Hadad and gave him his sister-in-law to marry, and she gave birth to his son, Genubath.  And when Hadad heard that David and Joab were dead he asked Pharaoh to let him go to Israel.

And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah (1 Kgs 11:23). 

And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, beside the mischief that Hadad did: and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria (1 Kgs 11:25).

Jeroboam also lifted up his hand against Solomon, and God made him ruler over all the house of Joseph.  When he left Jerusalem the prophet, Ahijah, caught up with him and tore the garment into 12 pieces and gave 10 of them to Jeroboam and said, 

Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee (1 Kgs 11:31).

And God said, 

Hittite Libation Scene
Ancient Hittite god facing right, bearded and with long, curled pig tail, wearing pointed, horned helmet, short sleeved, belted, bordered tunic and boots with upturned toes, curved sword with crescent pommel in belt, holding in right hand raised behind him an object like a boomerang, in left hand before him a 3-pronged object (a beam of lightnings).
A similarly god, facing right, in a 2-wheeled cart, with body in form of a bird,

Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father.

Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant’s sake, whom I chose, because ⁴ he kept my commandments and my statutes:

But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes.

And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light alway before me ⁵ in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there.

And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel.

And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee.

City of the Negev
Like many cities in the Holy Land, Arad was repeatedly settled because of its strategic geographical location.
Though situated in an area with little rainfall, Arad was inhabited frequently in ancient times because of its position along the routes coming from the east and southeast.

And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not forever (1 Kgs 11:33-39).

After that Solomon sought to kill Jeroboam so he ran to King Shishak in Egypt and stayed there until Solomon died.  Solomon reigned 40 years.

¹ Solomon asked for forgiveness and made peace with God near the end of his life in when he wrote The Preacher (Ecclesiastes).

² For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.

Early Bronze City
Arad was 30 acres in size in the Early Bronze period (3000-2300 B.C.) and never reached this size again.
Its importance at this time was because of trading expeditions which traveled from here – to Sinai in the south to mine copper, and to the east for extracting bitumen from the Dead Sea.

Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;

And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled  (Heb 12:6-15).

³ Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

The “Arad House”
The houses at this site had very similar features (not unlike today’s suburban tracts in the U.S.).
The “Arad House” was found at other sites in the Early Bronze, but nowhere more than here.
The features include a broad-room style house, benches lining the walls, a stone pillar base in the center to support the roof, and a door socket on the left-hand side of the entrance.

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you (2 Cor 6:14-17).

And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old.

And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.

But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved (Lk 5:36-38).

⁴ David had sinned, but he never worshipped other gods or thought his fame came from his own doings, as you will see later that some do that and it is against God.  None of David’s sins were against God Himself.  Read what the Apostle Paul says inRomans 7:15-25 & 8:1.

Border Fortress
In the Iron Age, a major fortress was erected on the summit of the site to protect Israel’s southeastern border.
While Amalekites and other nomadic peoples could be troublemakers, Judah’s chief enemy in this direction was Edom.
This fortress was destroyed by the Edomites at least once.

⁵ These statements are a reflection of the New Jerusalem that Jesus talks about in Revelations: 

Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name (Rev 3:12).