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The familiar prevailed. In spite of God's plagues in Egypt that freed Israel from slavery; in spite of the dry land crossing of the Red Sea; in spite of God's preservation of Israel in the wilderness; in spite of the God-given conquest of Canaan; in spite of David's heart and psalms; the familiar prevailed. With the trust that depends and the love that surrenders, David led Israel to honor God, not the gods. Before he died, Solomon led Israel back down to the gods.
That should not be difficult to understand. Religiously and spiritually, the familiar commonly prevails. Even today religiously and spiritually, we give preference to the familiar. WHEN a matter is not in violation of biblical revelation, WHEN the change is in keeping with the Bible's teachings, Christians still prefer the familiar. We prefer the comfortable over the more correct.
Solomon, David's son, began his rule in an impressive manner. Solomon's prayerful requests of God are among the most inspirational thoughts in the Bible. Yet, even at that time, Solomon took a step in the direction of the gods.
Moses clearly declared in Deuteronomy 12 (1) "You shall totally destroy the places where the people of Canaan worshipped their gods, on the high mountains and hills and under the trees" [verse 3]. (2) "You will seek God only in the place that He chooses" [verse 5]. (3) "Only in that place will you offer your sacrifices" [verse 6]. (4) "You will avoid offering your sacrifices in cultic places" [verse 13].
Solomon loved God. He followed his father's example with one exception: he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. Solomon sacrificed a thousand burn offerings to God in Gibeon on the altar of the great high place [1 Kings 3:3-14]. That night in a vision God promised to grant him any request. Solomon replied, "I am as a little child. You placed me as leader of this great nation, and I do not know what to do. Of myself, I am not capable of serving as a judge to this nation. Give me an understanding heart that allows me to distinguish between good and evil."
Solomon's request deeply pleased God. He asked for the ability to be just, not for a long life, or wealth, or victory over his enemies. God promised that he would be a unique king on earth. God would give Solomon understanding, but He would also give him wealth and honor.
In the fourth year of his rule, Solomon built God's temple [1 Kings 6]. His prayer of dedication was extraordinary [1 Kings 8]. "God, You are unique. No god can compare with You" [verse 23]. "Is any person foolish enough to think that the entire earth could house God? This house I built certainly cannot" [verse 27]! Then Solomon petitioned God on behalf of many people. He asked God to hear their prayers when they came to the temple. Among those requests is this one: hear the prayers of people who are not Israelites who pray at the temple [verses 41-43]. Solomon understood that the God of the tent was not limited by geography! Solomon did not attempt to limit the outreach of the God of the tent by building a temple. Solomon wanted the temple to be a site of prayer even for those people who had not known the living God. Why? "That all the peoples of the earth may know Your name and reverence You."
A Christian who reads Solomon's prayer should stand in awe of this man's concept of God. I would that today's Christians had such a good concept of God! Solomon clearly understood that the significance of the temple was not in the fact that the building existed. The significance of the temple would be appreciated only if people saw the divine nature of the God of the tent. God's presence made the temple significant. The temple did not make God significant.
Frighteningly, even Solomon reverted to the familiar. That was Israel's history. When Joshua led Israel into Canaan to possess it, that generation (one generation!) followed the God of the tent exclusively. The following generations reverted to the familiar. They turned back to the gods [Judges 2:7-11]. When David was king, he successfully focused Israel on God. However, before Solomon died, he directed Israel back to the familar--the gods.
Solomon made many political alliances. Then (as in other times) political alliances between nations were sealed by placing a member of the royal family in the court of the allianced nation. This "guaranteed" that the alliance would be honored. Solomon's alliances were sealed by his marriage to a woman from the other royal family.
Solomon's wives came from many places: Egypt, Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidonia, Hittite, etc. Foreign wives came from nations with whom God commanded Israel not to associate. God warned that these people would turn Israel to their gods [Exodus 34:12-16]. Solomon had seven hundred wives (princesses) and a thousand concubines (wives of lower status) [1 Kings 11:3]. In his old age his wives turned his heart to the gods [1 Kings 11:4-8].
His heart no longer belonged exclusively to God. He worshipped the Sidonian female goddess Ashtoreth, and Milcom the Ammonite idol. He built a high place to worship Chemosh (on what we know as the Mount of Olives), and worshipped Molech. He established sites for the gods and worshipped them with incense and sacrifices.
The Jerusalem temple Solomon built for God stood in its magnificence, but Solomon's understanding of God grew dim. When Solomon became king, he clearly understood that God was distinct and unique. Old age and the influence of his foreign wives motivated Solomon to look at God as just one of the gods.
Solomon angered God [1 Kings 11:9-13]. Twice God commanded him not to follow the other gods. Solomon ignored Him. Because Solomon broke his covenant with God, God declared that He would rip the nation from the rule of Solomon's son and establish another king.
Before Solomon died, God sent the prophet Ahijah to inform Jereboam that he would rule over ten of the tribes [1 Kings 11,12]. God promised Jereboam if he would be devoted to God, his descendants would be established continually as kings.
After Rehoboam (Solomon's son) began to rule, ten of Israel's twelve tribes appointed Jereboam to be king. Jereboam was afraid to allow the people to worship in Jerusalem. He feared they would return to Rehoboam and kill him. He built two worship centers, Dan and Bethel, and placed a golden calf at each. He declared that (1) it was too much to ask them to travel to Jerusalem, and (2) these were the gods who delivered them from Egypt. The date he established to be their worship festival competed with Jerusalem's worship festival.
Never did these ten tribes officially worship God at the temple in Jerusalem. From the time this kingdom began until the Assyrians destroyed it, officially they worshipped the gods. They considered the gods of the golden calves to be their deliverers.
The kingdom of Judah also followed the gods. Only a rare reformation turned them back to God.
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