In the eyes of God, the sin of idolatry was greater than the sin of adultery; when comparing the lives of David to Solomon. David repented when he sinned against God---he was a man after God's own heart. After Solomon's reign the Kingdom of Israel was torn asunder.

Solomon's heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as "the heart of David his father had been." The disaster was not take place in Solomon's lifetime, on account of the devoutness of David toward God. God allowed Solomon to have the honor of ruling over the kingdom of Israel all his days. It was for David's righteousness that his royal house was perpetuated, although at a reduced scale.

The Scriptures says in 1 Kings 11:9 that God was "Angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from the Lord." The severity of God's punishment also points to the severity of Solomon's sin. The kingdom was torn away from Solomon and his heirs (11-13). Added to that the fact, there is no evidence Solomon repented after the Lord confronted him. following God's stinging rebuke, we hear only the king's dull silence. The king knew God had announced Jeroboam would rule 10 tribes, the evidence still showed he continued in the apostasy (33-40). Furthermore, the seriousness of his disobedience was intensified enormously when Solomon deliberately violated the command of God in spite of God's gracious personal appearance (9).

It is true that the king did not totally abandon his worship of Yahweh; he half-heartedly worshipped God. In God's eyes half-worship of God is no better than outright apostasy. Stubborn disobedience is obviously a sin, but so is falling short, so is halting between opinions, so is try to serve two masters. The Bible consistently condemns divided allegiance as a sin. Solomon mistakenly assumed that allowing idolatry to exist alongside Yahweh worship was a commendable form of neutrality, an admirable example of broad-mindedness or being politically correct. But in actuality, Solomon's actions were an abomination to God.

Today many Christians are full of misconceptions as to what God expects. Most Christians are full of misconceptions. A person who is torn with doubts as to God's ability to give victory in life and whether God's way is the best way not the politically expedient way. If we doubt God's promise or cushion our responsibilities of faithful maturity, it speaks of an attitude and disposition of the heart.

A double-minded person is someone who behaves in two diametrically opposite ways, according to what they view as expedient; a double-minded person is a hypocrite. You cannot hold on to the world's religions with one hand and with the other hand hold on to the Lord Jesus Christ's sacrificial atonement. If you do, you will enjoy neither the worldly religion or a walk with the Lord. Jesus' verdict was that a house divided cannot stand.

A person who has a divided heart is unstable in all his ways. This person is never able to settle down. Their actions and leadership hurt themselves and others. A true Christian must resolve to stand on solid ground and remember that you are underneath the everlasting arms of the Lord.

Many today are trying to say that the Muslim religion is a great religion and at the same time they are saying they have a heart for the Lord. As Americans we tend to compartmentalize: a.. one room for the world b.. one room for God God always looks upon our lives, and God sees our hearts.

Years before, David had learned this lesson that his son, Solomon, so tragically ignored. If only Solomon had been more sensitive to his father's devotion to God and how he prayed and confessed his sins to God. God's Scripture teaches us the way and He gives us a heart to walk therein if we submit. But there is two principles struggling for soveignty. Peoples' minds are divided between the Lord and the world. Our desires should be flood-gates flowing toward the Lord alone. The person who fears the Lord and grows in the Lord will mature in wisdom and does not have a divided heart and soul. Our heart, soul, and strength must be at one with the Lord.

We must properly honor and reverence God. With regard to God, our hearts must be single in view and purpose. There is no more appropriate prayer which we as Christians can offer than that our hearts have such a unity of purpose and that nothing be allowed to interfere with that one supreme purpose. This is a necessity, a benefit, and a reasonable requirement in our faith.

Another lesson which comes to light in this passage is the gradual degeneration of Solomon's commitment as a warning that sin's victory in our lives most often occurs not by sudden satanic assaults but by slow moral erosion. Romans 5 tells how tribulation produces patience, and patience produces character, and character hope. But in this story, we are reminded that power produces pride, and pride produces arrogance, and arrogance, forgetfulness of God. Solomon's failure seems to have resulted from a gradual loosening of his allegiance to God and the things of God.

In spite of Solomon's abundant blessings, in spite of God's miraculous appearance to him on two different occasions, in spite of his incomparable God given wisdom, Solomon still failed and if he failed, how can we hope to avoid the fatal consequences of sin without a firm and undiluted faith?

Solomon's life was a tragedy, having a disastrous ending brought about by moral weakness. Even though most of his years were characterized by wisdom and wealth, his life's ending was disastrous.

In addition to providing information about the decline of Solomon's empire, these events provide lessons. God can and does use godless, pagan people to accomplish His will. While evil and suffering are not always the result of sin, and while trouble in our lives is not always sent by God, there are times when God uses evil, and He did to chastise His children and to redirect them to follow His paths alone.

Solomon sought the wisdom of God. It was his desire to administer his government according to the law and the will of Yahweh. He had enormous talent and knowledge. Solomon not only made Israel a majestic kingdom of this world; he erected the temple to the glory of the spiritual world; he lavished upon it countless treasures. At the temple's dedication, Solomon stood as one of the most imposing figures in human history.

But gradually, almost impossible to perceive, Solomon's glory began to fade. This was brought on by luxury, pleasure, compromise, and disobedience; Solomon began to exchange his godly wisdom for the wisdom of the world. He lost the strength of his convictions and he began to justify and participate in idolatry! Can you image? The same man who built the magnificent temple on Mt. Zion also built, in order to be politically correct he built altars to Chemosh and Molech on Mt. Zion in the very face of God's house. By degrees the glory passed away, and darkness and hopelessness triumphed in the end. He wore one of the fairest and noblest crowns a mortal could wear, but it was perishable, not enduring like the crown of life promised to the faithful.

Finally, the wisest man and king in history is the personification of two biblical truths: a.. "For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man given in exchange for his soul" (Mt 16:26)? b.. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever (1 Jn 2:17) We do not want to be before God in judgment, weighed down with the excess baggage of so many things which you thought were so important in life, but which are so, utterly empty, worthless, futile, when we have one responsibility--- "Fear God and keep His commandments."

In Christ, timothy maranatha