The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Kings — Section 241

Vers. 40-48.-Solomon's End. There is peculiar interest attaching to the earlier and later days of men who have made a figure in history. Here we have the brief record of the end of a character famed for wisdom above all mere men, upon which we have sadly to meditate that- I. HE SAKK UKDER A DENSE CLOUD. 1. His m01'Wing wa,s very bright. (1) From his youth he was beloved of God. In token of this he received from God the name J edidiah (2 Sam. xii. 24, 25). Could any distinction be more glorious? Let the young among us aspire to this distinction. (2) When he came to the throne this name was changed to Solomon, the Peaceable. The wars of his father David were everyw-here so triumphant, that no adversary now appeared (eh. v. 4). The love of God brings peace. (8) He was zealous and faithful in building the temple of the Lord, which he devoted to God in a noble dedicatory prayer, and had an answer in the descent of the holy fire upon the sacrifices, and in the Shekinah taking pos- session of the house. Those who are beloveci of God and rejoice in His peace are fit agents for the building of the spiritual temple of the Lord. (4) He was blessed by God with extraordinary wisdom, not only in the arts of government, but also in Yarious walks of learning (1 Kings iii. 8-10; iv. 88). The profoundest philosophers have been godly men. The boast of sceptics to the contrary is not sustained by fuct. (5) He was inspired by God to contribute books to the sacred Scriptures. The Chaldaisms which occur in the Ecclesiastes are not sufficient to wrest the authorship of that book from Solomon, to whom the Jews have ever ascribed it; for these it may have acquired in passing through the hands of Ezra. 2. But hia evening was very black. (1) His reign extended over forty years, and a considerable portion of that period he was under bad influences. Pharaoh's daughter is thought to have been a proselyte to Judaism, but of this there is no proof. (2) This foreign ma1Tiage was followed by about seven hundred more. These were distinguished as princesses (ver. 3). Not that they were daughters of kings, but wives of Solomon, of the second order, Pharaoh's daughter being queen. Beside these were the three hundred concubines. Such a harem, in its number alone, was a plain violation of the law (Deut. xvii 17). But he was still further guilty in making alliances with heathen women (Exod. :x:xxiv. 16; Deut. vii. 3, 4). (3) The very evils predicted happened to Solomon ; through these he was drawn into the grossest idolatry (vers. 5-8). (4) The last act recorded of him was that of seeking to kill Jeroboam, who to avoid his resentment took refuge with Shishak, king of Egypt. Shishak was brother-in-law to Hadad, the Edomite adversary of Solomon, but not the father of Solomon's wife, as some have supposed. H, as the narrative suggests, this design upon the life of Jeroboam was in consequence of his knowledge of the prophecy of Ahijah, it was an evidence of extreme wickedness, for it was :fighting against God. It was the very sin of Saul against his father David. And in this purpose he seems to have persisted to his death; for Jeroboam remained in Egypt until that event. How fearful are the evils of apostasy I How admonitory I II. BuT IS THERE NO SUNSHINE IN THE CLOUD? Some think they see it-I. In the promise of God to David. (1) The promise referred to is recorded 2 Sam. vii 12--17. But was not Solomon, who was chastened with the rod of men by Hadad, Rezon, and Jeroboam, the subject of the mercy of God, in that his family was con- tin:ied in the throne of Judah? In this he was distinguished from Saul, whose succession was cut off. (2) Unless this answer can be shown to be insufficient, the Calvinistic argument based upon this text for the infallible final perseverance of the aaints is simply a begging of the question. 2. In the Divine approval of the reign of Solomon. (1) The passage relied upon in this statement is 2 Chron. :x:i. 17. But when the commencement of the rule of Rehoboam in Judah, for three years, is commended as according to the example of David and Solomon, the allusion, &.e far as Solomon is concerned at least, was to the manner in which he commenced his reign. (2) This is sufficient for the consistency of the text. To make it prove more would In9,ke it prove too much by committing God to the approval of what He hu CJB, XI. 14-43.) THE FIRST BOOK OF RINGS. 245