Session 3 1 Kings 11:1-13

WARNING IGNORED (1 KINGS 11:1-3)

listen for the relationships Solomon had formed !`and how these attachments impacted his relationship with God.

1 King Solomon loved many foreign women in addition to Pharaoh’s daughter: !`Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women !`2 from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, !`“You must not intermarry with them, and they must not intermarry with you, !`because they will turn your heart away to follow their gods.” !`To these women Solomon was deeply attached in love. !`3 He had seven hundred wives who were princesses ~!`and three hundred who were concubines, !`and they turned his heart away.

Ask:

• Why might it have seemed smart from a political standpoint for Solomon to take wives from these nations?

Explain:

While Solomon’s marriage to these women might have been useful from a political
or business viewpoint, they represented rebellion against God’s instruction
not to intermarry with the people of these pagan nations.

Discuss:

• How do those who do not know nor have a relationship with God often view His rules and prohibitions?
• How do God’s boundaries actually protect His people? (p. 31)

Highlight:

Having this many wives emphasized to outsiders
both Solomon’s wealth and his virility.
Rather than indicate strength, though, these women represented an internal weakness;
Solomon had a divided heart.

Transition:

Solomon’s deep attachments to the pagan wives turned his heart away from God.