The Slavery of Solomon

Scripture: …the LORD had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. 1 Kings 11:2

Observation: Solomon, as wise as he was, allowed his love of the forbidden to override his love of God. Romans 6:16 reminds me that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness.. Solomon became a slave to his desires. He thought the 700 wives and 300 concubines belonged to him, but in the end, he ended up belonging to them as their slave, for they wrested the love of God right out of Solomon’s heart.

Application: What is out there that can wrest my heart from God? What am I owning that might end up owning me? I am amazed at how easy it seems to be for us to take small steps into sin, only to find out we are miles deep faster than we could have imagined. The past two weeks of preaching on the tactics of Satan have opened my eyes to his efforts to gain footholds in my life through my sin. He certainly had 1,000 footholds in Solomon’s life. I must be on the alert. I am listening to God about hooks and snares that could trip me up.

Prayer: God, I love you more. Please help me submit to you anything that will turn away my heart from you.