1 Kings 11-12 | All The Way To The Finish Line

"For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been." (1 Kings 11:4)

He was the wisest man in the world, made so by God.

How could this happen? Solomon had one evident sin. He "loved many foreign women." God had warned him, but he refused to heed God's clear command. The result was that he lost his intimacy with God and ultimately lost his kingdom. His sin, seemingly harmless and explainable to him and others, I'm sure, affected his sons—a tragic ending to an otherwise well-used, faithful life.

He knew (because God had warned him) that if he "loved many foreign women," his wives would "turn his heart away after their gods."

This is a consistent principle that God speaks to us repeatedly: if you have an affection for something God has forbidden, it will gradually turn your heart to the God behind that affection. You will not be a man after God's own heart like David was, but a man whose heart is turned away after other gods, like Solomon.

Where is it in my life or yours that we think we are above God's warnings? Where do we think we can cheat the system by holding on to one pet sin with no consequences? Where have we been distracted and pulled away from simple, pure devotion to Jesus Christ?

If you want the possibility of losing it all and affecting many generations that follow you, hold tightly to your sin. If you long for an enduring legacy of a faithful life until the end, release the hold on your sin. It cannot substitute for what God can give.

Father, show me every false God I'm following, every substitute for You. Give me the grace to repent and turn back to You and restore my first love. Sustain me, as David said in Psalm 51, with a willing spirit.