Solomon Teaches Us From His Mistakes

I discovered that a seductive woman is a trap more bitter than death. Her passion is a snare, and her soft hands are chains. Those who are pleasing to God will escape her, but sinners will be caught in her snare. [Ecclesiastes 7.26] 

Because we know a thing or two about Solomon from Bible sources other than just Ecclesiastes, we can understand from some of the things said in Ecclesiastes that Solomon, in his then-present condition, had digressed in his undiluted faith in God ALONE. Solomon teaches us from his mistakes.

First, by the time Solomon penned Ecclesiastes, he had certainly already amassed his 700 wives and 300 concubines. From the Scriptures we know with certainty that these women were mostly foreign women with foreign gods who led Solomon headlong into idolatry.

Based on everything else Solomon said just in today's One Year Chronological Bible reading, we can see that Solomon's wisdom, in conjunction with his idolatry, left him conflicted and fatalistic. And, in this condition, Solomon groveled in his conflicted fatalism without recognizing his own role in it.

Verse 26 of Ecclesiastes 7 suggests that Solomon's groveling, conflict, fatalism, and idol-induced blindness came even in the midst of his unmatched wisdom. Solomon fully recognized the curses of the "seductive woman" without a moment's accountability for having willfully and intentionally invited the "seductive woman" (women) into his own life. Verses 27-29 then actually reveal just how complete Solomon's idol-induced blindness had become:

“This is my conclusion,” says the Teacher. “I discovered this after looking at the matter from every possible angle. Though I have searched repeatedly, I have not found what I was looking for. Only one out of a thousand men is virtuous, but not one woman! But I did find this: God created people to be virtuous, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path.” [Ecclesiastes 7.27-29]

Every possible angle? Really? If we can see it, Solomon fully recognized his wives' and concubines' role in his fate but did not see his own contribution to it. Solomon held out as the one-in-a-thousand virtuous man who was fatefully (as in, randomly) cursed. The one angle from which Solomon failed to look at his present situation was the angle where he had ignored God's Word about taking multiple foreign women unto himself. Such is the age-old work of Satan's blinding device of idolatry.

As we look at the seductive woman's captivating effect that Solomon described, we see everything Jesus came to set aright:

“The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the LORD’s favor has come.” [Luke 4.18-19]

Jesus' quote of Isaiah 61.1-2 here referring to captives being released, the blind seeing, the oppressed being set free, and the time of God's favor all clearly address the problem Solomon defined in Ecclesiastes 7.26.

It should not be overlooked in Ecclesiastes 7.26 that Solomon, whether intentionally or not, indicted himself accurately in his reference to "those who are pleasing God" because "those who are pleasing to God" are those who sincerely (undividedly) believe God:

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. [Hebrews 11.6]

To sincerely seek God is to trust Him ALONE. While Solomon never denied the existence of God in his life, his disobedience of collecting foreign women and their foreign gods, effectively blinded him to the fact that the trap more bitter than death described in Ecclesiastes 7.26 was the exact opposite of God's reward for undivided (sincere) faith. In fact, Solomon revealed his own faithless exit from God's pleasure into God's displeasure without seeing that he had begun to trust in idols. Consequently, Solomon never 'connected the dots' between the "meaningless life" he described in Ecclesiastes and his own gross faithlessness to God ALONE.

Sadly, such is the condition of the Church today where every curse abounds and "good people" blindly attempt to attribute "bad things" to random fate (albeit somehow lovingly ordained by God). Satan's deception is still at work blinding people today just as he blinded Solomon centuries ago, all induced by idolatry: trusting other gods in addition to God, instead of sincerely trusting God ALONE.

Curses don't lie, but deceived people do because the one who deceives them is a liar himself - a God "damned" liar who insists that curses mean nothing. Satan wants nothing more than for people to deny curses' implications, because to do so is to deny God's Word, and therefore, to deny God. It all started in the Garden of Eden.

This is an uncomfortable reality to reconcile with. So, let's talk about grace!

New Testament grace is for "believers in Jesus ALONE." Jesus always advocated for and demanded undivided faith in God ALONE. Partial faith in God means the rest of man's faith is in something else. That "something else" is idolatry - taking "wives" that are forbidden by God - "seductive foreign women" and the idols attached to their allure. Any trust in any idol blinds the idol-believer to any accountability on his part for his "captive" situation(s). Holding to these idols simply cannot be reconciled with Jesus' strict demand:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24 (also, Mark 8.34 & Luke 9.23)]

The person who effectively gives up their own way, takes up their cross, and follows Jesus SHOULD reflect Jesus' resurrection life in EVERY WAY: captives should be released, the blind should see, the oppressed should be set free, and God's favor (every blessing/reward of God upon obedience) should come. But, we don't see this because we, like Solomon, are blinded to the truth and have satisfied ourselves that our circumstances are random (someone else's fault) when those circumstances are instead the direct product of our own selfish lust for idols. The Church today is warned against by the apostle Paul:

You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that! [2 Timothy 3.1-5]

To be clear, man's idols in the 21st Century are as complex and advanced as man himself. The idols that blind mankind today have many names and are found in the broad categories of debt, insurance, medicine and technology. These industries do not demand that we outright deny God, but lure us (as would a seductive woman) to add them to our belief in God diluting our faith in God ALONE effectively blinding us to the obvious curses we suffer just like those who deny God altogether (the world). Our subsequent blindness to the Biblical implication of curses manifested on our lives necessitates, like Solomon in Ecclesiastes, that we "wisely" attribute them to randomness and fate out of our control. 

To further blind people, the devil has convinced the Church to embrace unbiblical ideas about "bad things" randomly happening to "good people." Amazingly, Solomon's own Proverbs from earlier in his life say otherwise:

Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse will not land on its intended victim. [Proverbs 26.2]

The Bible continues to reveal that past, present, and future captivity of idolatry. But these words will be as meaningless to us as they were to Solomon as long as we hold to our forbidden foreign wives, the idols that convince us that our circumstances are nothing but random fate (thus negating our need to repent).

Father, I am more convinced today that Christianity is, by and large, as deceived as was Solomon regarding his captivity to idolatry. The distinguishing curses that the Church powerlessly suffers just like the world tell all. By Your Word, shine light on our path that we might see the gross idolatry that we have, up to this time, been in denial of. By Your Word, Jesus, may we give up our own way, take up our cross, and follow Him. May Your people look different than the world. So be it.

Big Words - God's Purpose

And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear him. [Ecclesiastes 3.14] 

Big words are spoken here, especially when it comes to talking about God's purpose.

Why does God exist? So people should fear him.

Why did God create the earth? So people should fear him.

Why did God give man rules? So people should fear him.

Why did God give His Son? So people should fear him.

Why did God create heaven and hell? So people should fear him.

Okay, so we get the idea of what motivates God. So then, what does it mean for us to fear God? We should look to the first demonstration of actually and intentionally fearing God recorded in the Bible (Abraham):

“Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” [Genesis 22.12]

To fear God is to believe Him. However, it must be understood that to fear God is not just to believe in him as we believe in a plethora of things, but to fear God is to believe ONLY in him with no deference whatsoever to human reason (i.e., unconditionally). To fear God is to quite literally abandon ourselves entirely to Him.

It should not surprise us that God in the flesh, Jesus, confirmed this in no uncertain terms:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24 (also, Mark 8.34 & Luke 9.23)]

God's purpose is that people should fear Him - believe in Him as He manifested Himself in Jesus Christ demanding singular, undivided obedience to (faith in) Him ONLY.

But, what about love? Well, let's look at love:

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. [John 3.16]

Although God' love is unconditional for mankind, man's receipt of the benefit of God's love is very strictly conditioned upon fearing Him - believing in Him ONLY. God’s purpose is that people should fear him.

In today's One Year Chronological Bible reading, there is an important statement that just happens to immediately follow the subject verse above:

What is happening now has happened before, and what will happen in the future has happened before, because God makes the same things happen over and over again. [Ecclesiastes 3.15]

Just as God's purpose is unrelenting, so it is that everything that opposes God is unrelenting. And, what is everything that opposes God? Idolatry.

Idolatry is the recurring "problem" of the Bible (the same thing happening over and over again). It is for this purpose that God’s purpose is that people should fear him. Remember that fearing God is believing in Him ONLY - believing in Jesus Christ ALONE - giving up every way of our own (idols), taking up our cross (the indisputable proof of undivided love), and following Him.

God’s purpose ...that people should fear him is the reason we have the entire Bible.

Father, may we be found fearing You - having given up our own way, taken up our cross, and following Jesus ONLY. So be it.

Nothing Is Not The Answer

Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh’s daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and from among the Hittites. The LORD had clearly instructed the people of Israel, “You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.” Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the LORD. In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the LORD his God, as his father, David, had been. Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. In this way, Solomon did what was evil in the LORD’s sight; he refused to follow the LORD completely, as his father, David, had done. On the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, he even built a pagan shrine for Chemosh, the detestable god of Moab, and another for Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. Solomon built such shrines for all his foreign wives to use for burning incense and sacrificing to their gods. [1 Kings 11.1-8] 

Solomon's 700 wives of royal birth account for some of the women in his life that turned his heart away from God.

With only a little consideration of the Scriptures, it becomes obvious that marriages with foreign women in general was frequently the direct result of agreements with foreign nations. For example, Solomon did business with Hiram king of Tyre who was a Sidonian (1 Kings 5) - Sidon being one of the places noted above that some of Solomon's foreign wives were from. In other Bible references, Solomon did "trade" with several other nations. There can be little doubt that many (if not most) of these trade agreements involved marriages - 700 wives and 300 concubines had to come from somewhere!

So, what's the point?

The point is, idolatry lies dormant in the simplicity of "trade." If God's people want to be on alert for idols, the first place to be cautious of would be "trade." While "trade" is a necessary fact of life, it can also be a portal for idolatry as it sadly appears to have been for Solomon.

With this established, our "trade" begs to be considered - where does our money go? In all our money transactions, what "foreign wife" idea is attached to the deal?

We should understand that the Sidonian goddess Ashtoreth was a female deity associated with sexual sin. How many of the industries to which our money goes entices buyers (not us of course) with sex? In other Bible references to the goddess Ashtoreth, it specifically mentions images of Ashtoreth. If Ashtoreth was a goddess associated with sexual sin, what might those images have depicted? No doubt, "images of Ashtoreth" was early porn.

And, as Ashtoreth is often found Biblically in reference along with Molech, it should be understood there might indeed have been a practical association, a symbiosis, if you will, between the two as Molech is overwhelmingly associated with child sacrifice. No surprise there! Sexual sin and child sacrifice "fit together" perfectly (think, "abortion").

As long a "trade" pumps sex, abortions will necessarily have to continue. And, that is precisely what happened to Solomon. No doubt, Solomon did not set out to betray God, but everything else he did with "trade" and the "foreign wives" associated with trade led to sexual sin and child sacrifice. 

Solomon's story serves as a grave warning to us today. Where does our money go? Again, what "foreign wife" is included in the deal?

It is ludicrous for modern society to think idolatry is not alive and well in our midst. All the indicators are there, but, because the Church is so heavily involved in the "trade" of the world, it refuses to see the "foreign wives" that have been "married" that have subtly, but surely, led the Church into gross idolatry just like Solomon.

No, it's not an Old Testament thing either...

Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. [2 Corinthians 6.17]

And, if this verse alone is not convincing enough, one only has to consider its context to see that it is specifically about idolatry:

Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty.” [2 Corinthians 6.14-18]

 Jesus' words only become stingingly more apropos:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24 (also, Mark 8.34 & Luke 9.23)]

What do we do then? To be sure, "nothing" is not the answer.

Father, may Your Word waken us from our idolatrous slumber. May our eyes see and may our ears hear the truth. May we, as Jesus did, confront our own ways by giving them up. May we, as Jesus did, confront death by taking up our own cross. May we be found following Jesus and not idols! So be it.

The Key To Understanding Song Of Solomon Is "Abandon"

This is Solomon’s song of songs, more wonderful than any other. [Song of Solomon 1.1]

I first referenced this verse in an article written in 2006 not long after I first began intentionally and methodically reading the Bible and writing something in response. That article was titled Erotic Writing and, I believe, definitely worth the read. That initial response was the beginning a journey.

After 17 years of intentionally and methodically reading the Bible and writing something in response, I wrote another article in 2023 specifically referencing Song of Solomon 1.1: All I Am Going To Say. Again, I believe this article, too, is worth the read specifically for its brevity and the prayer that concludes it. That prayer revealed a milestone in my relationship with God.

Then, in 2025, Song of Solomon 1.1 was again referenced in my article Wonderful Song?. In this article, it is obvious (particularly in my prayer) that I was experiencing a shift in thinking... 

It should be understood that by the year 2025 that a notable focus (revelation, understanding) on idolatry had become obvious in all my writing - a focus on idolatry that still prevails to this day in my daily responses. It is this focus on idolatry that leads me to what is said here today in 2026...

The two main characters of Song of Solomon, the young man and the young woman, reveal in shocking detail what a genuine relationship with God looks like. 

The titillatingly sexual references of Song of Solomon graphically (and effectively) convey the absolute 'abandon' of the young woman giving herself to the young man. Jesus Christ demanded no less abandon:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24 (also, Mark 8.34 & Luke 9.23)] 

The young man's enthrallment with the young woman clearly speaks of God's graphically unrestrained 'abandon' for mankind. Jesus described that relationship as well:

For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. [John 3.16]

God's 'ultimate abandon' of Himself to enter earth and to physically die on a cross for those He loves is undeniable. Remarkably, the following sentence is included in the Song of Solomon:

Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, its jealousy as enduring as the grave. Love flashes like fire, the brightest kind of flame. [Song of Solomon 8.6, bold added]

The graphic nature of Song of Solomon quite effectively conveys just how serious (and jealous) God was from the beginning about our relationship with Him. 

“I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. “You must not have any other god but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. “You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name. [Exodus 20.2-7]

God remains just as serious (and jealous) about our relationship with Him through Jesus Christ today. 

God is fully committed to His people. However, relationship with God does not exist unless His people are fully committed to Him. Grace does not apply where faith is not found (see Romans 4). Idolatry and adultery are the same thing. The Bible's message is clear, but man's selfish lust for 'forbidden fruit' (idolatry/adultery) clouds his vision of what the Bible says, and therefore of God.

The key to understanding Song of Solomon is "abandon."

Father, I never imagined just how much my thoughts on Song of Solomon would change over twenty years of committed methodical reading of Your Word... but they clearly have. In the (truly more wonderful than any other) text of Song of Solomon, I find today confirmation of my need to continually and completely abandon myself, giving up my own way, taking up my cross, and following Jesus, as He abandoned Himself for me. May my words here help others to grow in You as I can see that I am growing in You. So be it.

Trust In The LORD

I am teaching you today—yes, you—so you will trust in the LORD. [Proverbs 22.19] 

This verse speaks to me.

And you.

The Condition Of Ignorance

Ears to hear and eyes to see—both are gifts from the LORD. [Proverbs 20.12] 

Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands. They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear, and noses but cannot smell. They have hands but cannot feel, and feet but cannot walk, and throats but cannot make a sound. And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them. [Psalm 115.4-8]

The idols of the nations are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands. They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear, and mouths but cannot breathe. And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them. [Psalm 135.15-18] 

And he said, “Yes, go, and say to this people, ‘Listen carefully, but do not understand. Watch closely, but learn nothing.’ Harden the hearts of these people. Plug their ears and shut their eyes. That way, they will not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand with their hearts and turn to me for healing.” [Isaiah 6.9-10] 

He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. That is why I use these parables, For they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand. This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says, ‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend. For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes—so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’  [Matthew 13.11-15]

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24 (also, Mark 8.34 & Luke 9.23)] 

“The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the LORD’s favor has come.” [Luke 4.18-19] 

The condition of ignorance of God's Word (Jesus) is idolatry. Idolatry is trusting anything other than, or in addition to, God. Idolatry is the foundation of all manner of sin.

The Bible has said this all along. But, in our gross ignorance of the Word (written and Living), we have failed to see it. Consequently, we have fallen victim to the idolatrous devices and systems of our own design, effectively rejecting the life-changing power of God with its Kingdom-defining miracles as confirmation.

You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that! [2 Timothy 3.1-5]

Father, the Bible is clear: if we are ignorant of Your Written Word (the Bible) and the Living Word (Jesus, Whom the Bible is all about), we are blind and deaf captives of idolatry and the sin it promotes. May You witness a shift in history as true believers realize their current and obvious captivity to idols and not only give them up, but forsake them altogether distinguishing themselves from the world and its systems, as (the system of) Your favor rests upon them. So be it.

Unplanned Pregnancy?

Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged; parents are the pride of their children. [Proverbs 17.6] 

In the circumstances surrounding an unplanned pregnancy, there are, no doubt, countless people who are disappointed. While the parents of the child may indeed be experiencing their own fear and disappointment, other family members, friends, and church people may communicate disappointment through words, looks, or silence. An unplanned pregnancy has the potential for a LOT of disappointment.

However, there is one person who is not disappointed with an unplanned pregnancy... That person is the precious child conceived. While not a humanly discernable thought is present in the conjugation of egg and sperm at that moment of conception, there is an undeniable explosion of life and will to live that begins the instant that sperm is received by the egg - the presence of a brand new life!

The life that is created at the moment of conception is a unique combination of both the father's and the mother's will to live from deep within their separate bodies. In their sexual act, regardless the conscious circumstances of those parents, the new life formed represents those parents' combined will to live. Naturally, that tiny new human honors and adores its parents, not in conscious thought at first, but in its evident explosion (celebration) of life. That little explosion of life carries not one bit of judgement or disappointment toward its parents. That little explosion of life only celebrates what lies ahead - and all this before any conscious thought ever takes place!

Is it any wonder then, that without even knowing the circumstances of their conception, a child is inherently proud of his or her parents? A newborn's birth proudly screams, "I am alive because my parents live!"

For any parent who is or might be considering abortion as an option for an unplanned pregnancy, this verse from Proverbs presents a thought to be considered... parents are the pride of their children.

And, oh yeah, this only discusses the first part of the verse above! The "grandparent thing" is a whole other level!

Father in heaven, for all the "disappointments" that might accompany an unplanned pregnancy, may the "explosive life" of a new child reveal Your creative power and bring the optimistic hope of the child to the parents. So be it.