The Way
A Heart Turned Away
The old king's heart turns away
Story
A strange altar rose on the hill facing Jerusalem. It was a high place for Chemosh, the god of Moab, and beside it another went up for Molech, the god of the Ammonites. The man who built them was King Solomon, who had once asked for wisdom at Gibeon. His foreign wives burned incense and offered sacrifices there. The smoke climbed into the sky across from the temple.
Besides Pharaoh's daughter, Solomon loved women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon and the Hittites. These were the very nations of which the Lord had said, Do not marry them, for they will turn your hearts to other gods. He had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. As Solomon grew old, his wives turned the king's heart away. The king followed Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom, the god of the Ammonites.
The Lord was angry. He had appeared to Solomon twice. The Lord said to Solomon, “Since you have not kept my covenant, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. But for the sake of your father David, I will do it in your son's day. And I will not tear away the whole kingdom; for the sake of David and of Jerusalem, which I have chosen, I will leave one tribe to your son.”
Walk this scene on the map →Words of God and the Prophets
Since you have not kept my covenant and my commands, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant.
For the sake of your father David, I will not do it while you live; I will tear it out of your son's hand.
I will not tear away the whole kingdom. For the sake of my servant David and of Jerusalem, which I have chosen, I will give one tribe to your son.
The sayings are fresh renderings of the original meaning in today's language. Text: 1 Kgs 11:1–13
Background
The southern summit of the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, was later called the Mount of Corruption. The high places Solomon built there stood for some three hundred years, until King Josiah defiled them and tore them down.
Pause and Reflect
What is slowly drawing my heart away from God?