Lessons from the Apostasy of Solomon

By:  Dale Weckbacher

1 Kings 11:1-2

King Solomon fell in love with many foreign women (besides Pharaoh’s daughter), including Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. ² They came from nations about which the Lord had warned the Israelites, “You must not establish friendly relations with them! If you do, they will surely shift your allegiance to their gods.” But Solomon was irresistibly attracted to them.

 (ESV)

Many a leader begins with a grand plan and good intentions often founded on Godly principles.  However, just because one starts with a Godly plan does not mean things will continue down that path.  Therefore leaders, especially godly leaders, must be on guard against apostasy and compromise when it comes to their values.  While Solomon began by seeking God’s wisdom and a discerning heart (1Kings 3:9), in the end he spoke of the vanity of life (Ecclesiastes 1:2).  Let us now take a moment and learn from the apostasy of Solomon so we do not as leaders succumb to the same apostasy.

1 Kings 11:1-2 tells us how Solomon started down the road to apostasy.  Even though scripture does not tell us specifically why Solomon fell for these foreign woman, I believe there may be two possibilities. 

1)      Political expediency – Solomon’s father David was a warrior king whose reign was dominated by warfare against the enemies of Israel (i.e. Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites).  Perhaps not wanting to engage in warfare against these nations in the future, Solomon believed marrying women from these nations would promote peace.

2)      Lust – Another possibility is that Solomon, like his father David, had a problem with lust (2 Samuel 11:1-5).  1 Kings 10 records the account of the visit to Israel of the Queen of Sheba and Solomon’s great wealth telling us that Solomon was well known among other leaders and someone of great wealth.  Perhaps the women of these other nations were attracted to Solomon’s great power and wealth and coupled with lust led to Solomon's disobedience to Gods specific command not to intermarry with the women of these nations. 

The United States began as a nation founded on the principle of unalienable God given rights with the purpose of government being the protector of these rights as stated in the Declaration of Independence.  (1)  Unfortunately, since that time the nation has fallen into an apostasy driven by political expediency and the lust for power.  This apostasy has led to an increase in governments influence over the lives of citizens through progressive taxation punishing the producers and job creators of the nation and onerous regulations curtailing creativity and productivity. 

Most recently with the passage of Obamacare, the door to single payer or government run health care has been opened which will give government control over the health care decisions of citizens.  With this control, government will be empowered to decide who receives life-saving health care, in essence determining who lives and dies.  If the authors of the Declaration of Independence were alive and able to speak today, I believe they would be among the loudest voices speaking out against this travesty. 

Unfortunately, our apostatized Congress and Senate who are driven to maintain their power and positions instead of serving the people electing them, are paralyzed when it comes to repealing this liberty stealing legislation.  (2)  This same apostasy also threatens Trump’s tax cuts and tax reform as legislators’ fear loss of political power provided through the progressive income tax system in the United States. 

The Constitutional purpose of taxes is the raising of revenue to fund necessary governmental functions such as national defense.  Unfortunately, since the passage of the sixteenth amendment legalizing the taxation of income, (3) taxation has evolved into a political issue empowering politicians to promote their agendas through “Initiating various tax reforms: decreasing (or increasing) tax rates, changing the definition of taxable income, and creating new taxes on specific products etc.”  (4)  The fact that the Supreme Court rules Obamacare’s individual mandate to purchase health insurance or be penalized through the tax code as constitutional stands as a clear example of how taxation is used to advance a political agenda.  (5) 

President Trump ran for and won election to office on a promise to drain the swamp.  The swamp he is speaking of is a swamp of political apostasy occupied by swamp creatures who run for office promising to help the common man but who once in office become obsessed with the lust for political power.  As such they resist any attempt to curtail their power through regulatory or tax reform, viewing it as a threat to their positions. 

2018 provides an opportunity for us as the voters to pull the plug on the drain in the swamp by removing from office the swamp creatures obsessed with the apostacy of political power.  These elections are a little more than a year away so now is the time to begin the process. 

1. ushistory.org. The Declaration of Independence. www.ushistory.org. [Online] [Cited: October 30, 2016.] http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/.

2. Clark, Anita Kumar and Lesley. Fear of base voters keeps GOP lawmakers lined up with Trump. www.kansascity.com. [Online] The Kansas City Star, July 18, 2017. [Cited: August 12, 2017.] http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article162231703.html.

3. constitutionus.com. The Constitution of the United States. constitutionus.com. [Online] [Cited: January 21, 2017.] http://constitutionus.com/.

4. Roach, Brian. Taxes in the United States:. www.ase.tufts.edu. [Online] Global Development And Environment Institute, Tufts University. , 2010. [Cited: August 12, 2017.] http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/education_materials/modules/Taxes_in_the_United_States.pdf.

5. Shapiro, Ilya. The Obamacare "Tax" That Chief Justice Roberts Invented Is Still Unconstitutional. www.forbes.com. [Online] Forbes, May 12, 2014. [Cited: August 12, 2017.] https://www.forbes.com/sites/ilyashapiro/2014/05/12/the-obamacare-tax-that-chief-justice-roberts-invented-is-still-unconstitutional/#5f01722822b7.