1 Kings 11:9 And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord commanded.
Deuteronomy 3:26 But the LORD was angry with me because of you and would not listen to me. And the LORD said to me, ‘Enough from you; do not speak to me of this matter again.
Deuteronomy 9:8 Even at Horeb you provoked the LORD to wrath, and the LORD was so angry with you that he was ready to destroy you.
2 Samuel 6:7 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.
Psalms 78:58-60 For they provoked him to anger with their high places; they moved him to jealousy with their idols. When God heard, he was full of wrath, and he utterly rejected Israel.
Psalms 90:7-8 For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.
Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.”
2 Timothy 4:10 For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me
Ben Dunson; “As the Israelites were on the verge of entering the Promised Land, Moses preached to them about what God would require of his people so that they would not be exiled from the land once they had taken possession of it. Deuteronomy, in fact, is largely comprised of Moses’ sermons expressing God’s commitment to Israel, and Israel’s necessary response of faithfulness to God. Among the many things that Israel needs to know are the qualifications for its future kings, which are laid out for us in Deut 17:14-20. The king must be an Israelite (v. 15); he “must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses” (v. 16); he must “not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away” to idolatry (v. 17); he must not “acquire for himself excessive silver and gold” (v. 17); and finally, he must diligently and humbly keep God’s law (v. 18). In sum, Israel’s king must avoid trusting in earthly power (symbolized by horses), idolatry, resting in wealth, and neglecting God’s commands.
“Solomon had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen” (see Deut 17:16). These large numbers are not necessarily sinful, but as Deuteronomy warns, such a large accumulation of horses will tempt Israel’s kings to trust in their own military might, rather than in the power of God to save his people.
Solomon’s love of these women violates God’s warning to his people that they should “not enter into marriage with them, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods”
Solomon, as a king, is very different from us, but as a sinner with divided loyalties and a propensity to turn away from God, he is all too like us today. In fact, we can see in his life many of the most pressing temptations that all believers face in every age, namely, the temptations that come along with money, power, and love, as well as the idolatry that so easily takes root in our hearts. If our hearts are not fixed on our Lord, love for other stuff, trusting in our own wealth and power will become all-consuming, and as with Solomon, will easily lead our hearts away from God so that we too become “not wholly true to the Lord [our] God”.
We must allow the word of God to correct us in the same way we allow it to encourage us. Stay in God’s word and learn from it. Listen to it speak to your heart. Cling to it, believe it, rely on it, and obey it with all your heart, soul and mind. There is nothing more precious to the soul than to be in His word and then to be led by God to repent and turn away from that which is not pleasing and honoring to Him.
