So I’ve been more than hinting that Solomon’s rulership ended in disaster.
Yesterday, I gave you four reasons WHY that happened.
Today, I wanna give you four ungodly or red-flag characteristics that Solomon displayed.
These should enable you to determine whether your leaders, political or religious, whether of your country or congregation, are on a strong footing with the Lord or not.
So let’s get started.
UNGODLY CHARACTERISTIC 1: “Love Is Above All Theology”
Solomon let love override obedience to the Lord’s commands.
I would say this is Christianity’s biggest detriment.
Everything is cool as long as it’s done in love.
Performing homosexual marriages is permitted as long as it’s done in love.
Eating unclean foods the Messiah himself would never have eaten is fine and dandy as long as prayers are said in gratitude using Jesus’s name.
Marrying an unbeliever is permitted as long as you love that person.
You get the idea?
That last example was Solomon’s downfall, as his excuse for marrying hundreds of gentile wives was that he loved them.
That turned out to be a major disaster.
Onward.
UNGODLY CHARACTERISTIC 2: “Turning Money & Wealth Into Idols”
Solomon let his love of money reach extreme levels of absurdity to the point where even his daily dining utensils were made out of gold.
I’m reminded of the words of the master.
“No one can serve two masters.
Either you will hate the one and love the other,
or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other.
You cannot serve both God and money.“
-Matthew 6:24
To be fair, at the end of his life, Solomon seemed to have a repentant heart in this area.
This is what he wrote in the Book of Ecclesiastes at the end of his life:
“Whoever loves money never has enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied
with their income.
This too is meaningless.”
-Ecclesiastes 5:10
Onward.
UNGODLY CHARACTERISTIC 3: “Tolerance For Different Religions & Gods”
Solomon became the ultimate left-wing poster boy who promoted tolerance and “love” for the heathen religious practices of the gentile nations surrounding Israel.
Again, this is where his marriage to gentile women really hurt him, as they turned his heart away from the God of Israel to worship of their gods.
Onward.
UNGODLY CHARACTERISTIC 4: Using Citizens As Pawns To Selfishly Fulfill Ambitions
I’m talking about heavy taxes and forced labor.
Solomon drafted 30,000 Israelite men to work in Lebanon cutting timber, in shifts of 10,000 a month: one month there, two months home (1 Kings 5:13-14).
He also had 70,000 carriers and 80,000 stonecutters in the hills (1 Kings 5:15).
Things were so bad that after Solomon died, the people told his son Rehoboam, “Your father put a heavy yoke on us (1 Kings 12:4).”
Contrast this with the words of the Messiah who said, “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:30)”
Alrighty, so following on the heels of that last point, I wanna close with this takeaway.
While your eternal fate is determined based on your individual faith in the Lord.
The fate of your earthly life will be heavily impacted by your nation’s leadership.
Ancient Israel didn’t have the freedom of choice to elect their own leaders.
But if you live in a democratic nation, you do have that choice.
And I believe you should exercise that right.
In fact, I would say that it is your godly duty to do so.
If you don’t, you and your fellow citizens only have yourselves to blame if you end up with a leader that displays the above four characteristics I just went over.
Ya feel me?
Done.
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