Tag Archives: 1 Kings 11

Rockstar Realities

December 12, 2022 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.
1 Kings 11:6 (NIV)

A number of years ago, Nickleback made famous a song that I have always thought was the perfect embodiment of earthly desires, and it’s catchy enough to be an earworm (my apologies):

I’m through with standing in line
To clubs I’ll never get in
It’s like the bottom of the ninth
And I’m never gonna win
This life hasn’t turned out
Quite the way I want it to be
(Tell me what you want)
I want a brand new house
On an episode of Cribs
And a bathroom I can play baseball in
And a king size tub big enough
For ten plus me
(So what you need?)
I’ll need a credit card that’s got no limit
And a big black jet with a bedroom in it
Gonna join the mile high club
At thirty-seven thousand feet
(Been there, done that)
I want a new tour bus full of old guitars
My own star on Hollywood Boulevard
Somewhere between Cher and
James Dean is fine for me
(So how you gonna do it?)
I’m gonna trade this life for fortune and fame
I’d even cut my hair and change my name
‘Cause we all just wanna be big rock stars
And live in hilltop houses driving fifteen cars
The girls come easy and the drugs come cheap
We’ll all stay skinny ’cause we just won’t eat
And we’ll hang out in the coolest bars
In the VIP with the movie stars
Every good gold digger’s gonna wind up there
Every Playboy bunny in her bleach blond hair, and we’ll
Hey, hey, I want to be a rock star
Hey, hey, I want to be a rock star

With today’s chapter, the story of King Solomon’s rather amazing life comes to an end. His story started out so well and showed such promise. When given the choice, he asked God for wisdom rather than fortune and fame, so God said He would give Solomon both. As I get to the end of the story, I find that fortune and fame overpowered Solomon’s wisdom and led to foolishness.

What’s funny about this observation is the way I find Solomon continues to be revered by so many of my fellow believers. My perception of this is that most have never really read Solomon’s entire story. They only know the Cliff Notes bullet points that Sol asked for wisdom and God gave Sol everything he could possibly want. He was an ancient “Rockstar” who was both God’s man and got a life that compares to Nickleback’s lyrics.

Jesus talked a lot about the dichotomy between this temporal world and the eternal Kingdom of God. He also was quite direct about the reciprocal relationship between earthly fortune and eternal fortune. In fact, Jesus addressed the matter when a very Solomon-like individual approached Him:

One day one of the local officials asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to deserve eternal life?”

Jesus said, “Why are you calling me good? No one is good—only God. You know the commandments, don’t you? No illicit sex, no killing, no stealing, no lying, honor your father and mother.”

He said, “I’ve kept them all for as long as I can remember.”

When Jesus heard that, he said, “Then there’s only one thing left to do: Sell everything you own and give it away to the poor. You will have riches in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

This was the last thing the official expected to hear. He was very rich and became terribly sad. He was holding on tight to a lot of things and not about to let them go.

Seeing his reaction, Jesus said, “Do you have any idea how difficult it is for people who have it all to enter God’s kingdom? I’d say it’s easier to thread a camel through a needle’s eye than get a rich person into God’s kingdom.”

“Then who has any chance at all?” the others asked.

“No chance at all,” Jesus said, “if you think you can pull it off by yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it.”

Luke 18: 18-27 (MSG)

In the quiet this morning, I have to confess that I have my own “Rockstar” fantasies though they look a little different than the Nickleback version. I am also conscious of the fact that my impression of wealth is always in relationship to the small percentage of earthly Rockstars who have way more of it than me. By that standard, I never think I’m wealthy. Yet, I am wealthy in relation to the vast majority of people on this earth that have far less than me. The conclusion is that it doesn’t take Rockstar wealth to lead me to Solomon-like, spiritual foolishness. It takes just enough to fuel discontent, fear, pride, greed, lust, and/or envy within me. Once that’s done spiritual wisdom can easily give way and can be overcome by foolishness.

“Wherever your treasure is,” Jesus said, “is where your desire is and where you’ll end up.”

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Enjoy the Dance

October 14, 2014 Tom Vander Well 4 Comments

King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love.
1 Kings 11:1-2 (NIV)

Wendy and I have had held a running conversation throughout our relationship. It ebbs and flows. It weaves its way into our conscious thought, then goes away for a time. Its the never ending subject of Mars and Venus, male and female, man and woman. Wendy has publicly made the comment many times that she knows she can easily manipulate me any time she wants to do so. I, on the other hand, know that I can put my foot down and forcefully demand my way when I desire. So it goes, the give and take of power, control and negotiation within marriage. It has been mysterious ebb and flow of relationship between men and women since the Garden of Eden.

Solomon was a wise man in many ways, but he had a fatal flaw. Solomon loved women. He loved a lot of women. According to today’s chapter the dude had 700 wives “of royal birth.” Most of these were likely to have been arranged marriages with the daughters of kings and rulers throughout the region. A king threatened by Solomon’s power would give his daughter to Solomon in marriage figuring that his son-in-law would want to maintain an amicable relationship with family. Solomon also had 300 concubines. These were likely girls of a lower social class that Solomon saw, desired, and attained by leveraging his royal authority. How interesting that Solomon’s mother, Bathsheba, was attained by his father David in a similar manner.

While I am married to one women, God has seen fit to surround me with females. Along with Wendy I have daughters Taylor, Madison who still stand under my umbrella, and sister-in-law Suzanna who has joined us under our roof. I will admit that I, at times, find it wearying to navigate my relationships with all the women in my life. They are each unique with their own unique personality, communication style, needs, and wants. I can’t even fathom trying to navigate relationship 997 other women at the same time. It would be impossible.

As a man, however, I can imagine that Solomon had his favorites among his 1,000 wives and concubines. I also imagine that Solomon’s wives were constantly, actively vying for power and position. They would have had to manipulate people, situations, and Solomon himself in order to gain attention and favor. The political intrigue within the royal harem had to have been intense.

There is also no way that Solomon could have meaningful relationship and influence over so many women from so many different tribes and backgrounds. His foreign wives would naturally want to worship their foreign gods. Solomon needed to keep the peace among all his wives. It’s not hard for me to imagine how it all went wrong. Solomon allowed his wives to worship the gods of their people. He had some favorite wives he wanted to make happy and compliant, and so when they wanted Solomon to build a shrine to their god he found it easier to say “Yes, dear. Whatever you want.”

Today, I am thinking about men and women. I am appreciative of the beautiful, strong women God has placed in my life and all that I learn about both God and life in the ebb and flow of our relationships. I am thinking about what it means to be a man and how I am called to bring balance to those relationships. I am thinking about fatal flaws and what happens if I don’t capably play my part. It is an eternal mystery, this dance of relationship between male and female. I have more questions than answers. I’m just trying to:

lead well
avoid stepping on any feet
enjoy the dance.

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day 1 Kings 11

January 20, 2010 Tom Vander Well 1 Comment

As Solomon grew older, his wives beguiled him with their alien gods and he became unfaithful—he didn't stay true to his God as his father David had done. 1 Kings 11:4 (MSG)

I've watched many people as they grow older. I've watched certain individuals as their relationship with God grew deeper and more meaningful with each stretch of the journey. I witnessed them becoming more loving, more compassionate, more transparent, and increasingly grateful.

The other day my daughter spoke of a friend who was concerned with what she was witnessing in her parents. Children finally grown, the nest empty, her parents appeared to be drawing away from the things of God. I have, sadly, witnessed similar situations. Like Solomon, the further along in the journey the more alienated and distant they grew from God.

While my relationship with God has certainly changed with time, I can attest it has only gotten deeper, more genuine, and more pure. I often think of one of my wife's favorite phrases from C.S. Lewis: "further up and further in."

I find Solomon's story to be a tragic one. Wisdom was given and then that wisdom was abandoned.

God, may I be faithful in pressing on in life that I might journey further up and further in to relationship with you. May those around me witness the purification of my faith, the steeling of my hope, and the deepening of my love.

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and stathis1980