A rhetorical question

1 Kings 11:5-7

“For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not fully follow the LORD, as did his father David. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon.”

2 Kings 23:13

“Then the king [Josiah] defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, which were on the south of the Mount of Corruption, which Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the people of Ammon.”

It’s mind-boggling to consider that this is the same Solomon who authored 3 books of the Old Testament (Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon and Proverbs.) 

My question is: How could a man, who literally wrote the Bible commit such hideous evil and leave such an awful legacy . . . a legacy that persisted for generations?

Let me clarify . . . I’m not seeking a technical explanation of the cause of Solomon’s downfall, as numerous explanations already exist, based upon theories of polygamy, trusting in riches, political expediency, reliance on military might, taking foreign wives, etc.

Rather, I’m asking, how could King Solomon so hideously defile something so incredibly sacred (Israel’s worship of Jehovah God)?

Imagine a wife,  upon discovering her husband’s affair, screaming, “How could you do such a thing?”  She’s not necessarily looking for a technical explanation (i.e. “it all started when my secretary wore a miniskirt to work and bent over to pick up a pen”.)

Rather, the wife is actually asking, “How could you take something so precious, sacred and holy (your marriage vow) and defile it in such a vulgar manner?” Granted, it’s somewhat of a rhetorical question, but one worth asking.

It’s similar to Ozzy Osbourne urinating on the Alamo in 1982. Indecency, public exposure and drunkenness weren’t the real issue. Defiling something sacred (a former church, nonetheless) was the heart of the matter.

After all, if sacred things aren’t treated with appropriate respect, then the entire concept of something being able to be sacred ceases to exist.

Likewise, how could King Solomon literally erect shrines to demonic Gods, leading the entire nation of Israel astray for 400 years?

I imagine God felt exactly like a jilted lover when Solomon did such a thing. 

“How could you do it, Solomon? How could you do it?”

The question is somewhat rhetorical, but still worth asking.

A man after my own heart

Psalm 42:3: “My tears have been my food day and night …”

To me, no passage in the Bible better illustrates what it feels like to go through a severe emotional trial.  I can remember several occasions in my life that my tears truly have been my food, for days on end.  David was also no stranger to such trials.  He is therefore able to write such words with the uptmost credibility.

David goes onto say, in Psalm 42:5 “Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you mourn over me and be disquited within me? …”

It’s interesting, how David separates himself from his ‘inner self’.  I believe David’s ‘innner self’ is what we call his ‘heart’. David was suffering from a broken heart, in other words.

David concludes Psalm 42:5 with“… Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, my help and my God.

By encouraging himself with such words, David’s mind is actually able to influence his heart.   I’m more familiar with the opposite principle . . . .   that is, my gireving heart influencing my mind (and sending it spiraling into depression.)  In fact, I find it very difficult to think, or speak, positively, when I’m discouraged or in despair.

So, what was David’s secret?  How was he able to do it?  What did David know that I don’t know?