1 Kings 11-12

As Solomon aged, his heart turned from serving the Lord. Against God’s command, he married hundreds of foreign women. Over time, these women led Solomon away from following the Lord. Instead, he approved and allowed worship of foreign gods to please his wives. As a result, God tells Solomon that he will divide the kingdom and give it to another. This takes place after his death, leaving his son Rehoboam to rule over Judah. The rest of the tribes appoint Jeroboam as king over Israel.

As we see with Solomon’s life, we must follow and obey God for a lifetime. It does us no good to follow God for a moment and then turn away from him in the end. Solomon took his eyes of following the Lord in one area, and that led to a gradual decline in his faith and increased sin and rebellion. Like we saw with Cain in Genesis 4:7, sin is waiting to overtake us, so we must continually root it out by doing good. Solomon’s end is a lesson for us and a reminder of the importance of living a lifetime of faith.

Is your sin leading you away from the Lord? Or, are you rooting it out and drawing closer to him?