(364) – SOLOMON

In this dark world where men are in constant war against misery and hunger, struggling with pestilences, plagues and curses, fighting their own fellowmen, whose hearts are the source of evil thoughts, deaths, adulteries, prostitution, thefts, false testimonies, and blasphemies, according to the declaration of the very Lord Jesus (Matt. 15:19-20), yes, in this world of crime, lies, deceits, injustices, slavery, etc., there are some fortunate men that are protected by luck. The happiest men of all are those whom Jehovah chose from the womb. We will mention some:

Isaiah, one of the four greatest prophets, was called from the womb. He says: “Listen, islands, to me; and listen, you peoples, from far: Jehovah has called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother has he made mention of my name” (Is. 49:1).  And Isaiah said more: “Now says Jehovah who formed me from the womb to be his servant” (Is. 49:5).

Another great prophet who prophesied when the kingdom of Jehovah — the kingdom of Judah — was taken to the Babylonian captivity, said: “Now the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Before I formed you in the belly, I knew you. Before you came forth out of the womb, I sanctified you. I have appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Jer. 1:4-5). This was Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah, the priest.

Another who was called from the womb was David, son of Jesse, who wrote the Psalm 22 and said: “But you brought me out of the womb. You made me trust at my mother’s breasts. I was thrown on you from my mother’s womb. You are my God since my mother bore me” (Ps. 22:9-10).

The Bible speaks of some other people who were predestined from the womb of their mothers, but we will mention only one: SOLOMON. Who is Solomon? He is the fourth son of Bathsheba, the woman with whom David committed a shameful adultery, even though he knew that she was married with one of his thirty-seven valiant men (2 Sam. 11:3-6; 23:39). As the adulterous woman conceived, David sent for Uriah, who was fighting with the army of Israel against the sons of Ammon (2 Sam. 11:1,6-8). David tried to force Uriah to lay with his wife to hide the truth about the child, but Uriah did not go into the house. He spent the night outside. Seeing that his efforts were useless, for Uriah was just and righteous, David gave orders to Joab, captain of his army, to take Uriah to the heat of the battle and to abandon him there. The plan was successful, and Uriah, righteous, died. Then David married Bathsheba, who had five children. The first one died for the sin of his father, and this is an aberration (2 Sam. 12:13-14).

As we have said, Solomon was the fifth son of Bathsheba (1 Chr. 3:5). Solomon was the tenth in the line of the throne, according to 1 Chr. 3:1-5. None of those who preceded him was the one predestined from the womb. Only Solomon was. Let us enumerate the prophecies. Jehovah spoke to David saying: “Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his enemies all around; for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness to Israel in his days. He shall build a house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever” (1 Chr. 22:9-10). (Read also 1 Chr. 28:4-5).

Jehovah loved Solomon when he was still in the womb of his mother (2 Sam. 12:24). And Solomon was born, grew up, and became wise and prudent, for the wisdom dwells with prudence. When he sat on the throne, after the death of David his father, he prayed to Jehovah, saying: “Now, Jehovah my God, you have made your servant king instead of David my father. I am but a little child. I don’t know how to go out or come in. Your servant is in the midst of your people which you have chosen, a great people, that can’t be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give your servant therefore an understanding heart to judge your people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this your great people? The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. God said to him, ‘Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked for yourself long life, neither have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice; behold, I have done according to your word. Behold, I have given you a wise and an understanding heart; so that there has been none like you before you, neither after you shall any arise like you. I have also given you that which you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there shall not be any among the kings like you, all your days’” (1 Kings 3:7-13). Jehovah promised three things to Solomon: peace (1 Chr. 22:9), wisdom, riches and glory (1 Kings 3:12-13).

Let us begin by the riches. Jehovah declared that he gave riches to Solomon, but he did not. The riches of Solomon came from heavy taxes; in other words, from the heavy yoke he laid upon the people. Let us explain: After the death of Solomon the people spoke to Rehoboam, his son, saying: “Your father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make you the grievous service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, lighter, and we will serve you” (1 Kings 12:4). Rehoboam answered them: “Now whereas my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions” (1 Kings 12:11). The Bible is clear. Solomon received 666 talents of gold each year, besides that of the traders, wares of the merchants and the kings of the Arabs (1 Kings 10:14-15). Six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold equal to 26 million of kilograms of gold extracted from the people by the great wisdom of Solomon. And Rehoboam, his son, confirmed this truth (1 Kings 12:14-15). How great was Solomon’s wisdom, and what great example he gave to his son who was going to rule in his place!

It is important to notice that the wisdom that Jehovah gave to Solomon was an earthly wisdom, for Jehovah compared it to the wisdom of men (1 Kings 3:12). The other kings taxed the people; Solomon taxed them a lot more heavily, for he charged them in the name of Jehovah, and the people contributed for fear of the curses of the law.

The dark wisdom of Solomon led him to lubricity, to voluptuousness, to lust and wantonness, for he married 700 princesses to make peace with the neighboring kingdoms, and had 300 concubines chosen for the carnal pleasure, all of them stranger women: Moabites, Ammonites, Hittites, Sidoneans, etc., exactly the ones whom Jehovah had forbidden the Hebrews to marry (1 Kings 11:1-3). This proves that the wisdom that Jehovah gave to Solomon was earthly, animal, and diabolic (James 3:13-17).

This is not all. The 1,000 women of Solomon perverted his heart and drew him to the basest idolatry, for he worshipped and followed Astaroth, Sidonean goddess, and Milcom, the Ammonite abomination; edified before Jerusalem a high place to Chemos, a Moabite abomination, and also to Moloch, the abomination of the sons of Ammon, where they sacrificed children in the fire, which Jehovah had forbidden them to do under death penalty (Lev. 18:21; 20:2-3). Solomon reached this extreme stupidity with the wisdom given by Jehovah. And the children of the kings of Israel were burnt alive in the mouth of Solomon’s Moloch (2 Chr. 28:1-3; 2 Kings 21:6).

And there is more: The name of Solomon means “peaceful.” Jehovah’s promise to David was that there would be total peace during Solomon’s kingdom (1 Chr. 22:9). This did not happen, for he raised adversaries to Solomon and to Israel (1 Kings 11:14-23). And it is written that these two adversaries tormented Solomon all the days of his life (1 Kings 11:25).

The greatest evil caused by Jehovah’s wisdom that was given to Solomon was the division of the kingdom of Israel in two: “Therefore Jehovah said to Solomon, ‘Because this is done by you, and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant’” (1 Kings 11:11). And Jehovah, in the days of Rehoboam, divided the kingdom of Israel. He gave ten tribes to Jeroboam, son of Nebath, and the tribes of Judah and Levi remained with Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:20).

Jehovah certainly knew that a divided kingdom does not subsist (Matt. 12:25). If it is so, why did he divide it? He did it because he wanted to destroy it, and he did do it: “Jehovah said, ‘I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city which I have chosen, even Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, “My name shall be there”’” (2 Kings 23:27). Now, Jehovah affirms a thousand times that he is god. Then he was supposed to know that a divided kingdom would come to an end. And he himself destroyed the two kingdoms, even though he had the power to preserve them, for he said to Israel: You are the clay and I am the potter (Jer. 18:1-5).

In Revelations we read that the number of the beast is 666. Now, a man with the wisdom of Jehovah, able to do such terrible harm to the kingdom of Israel, could only be a man with the number of the beast (Rev. 13:18; 1 Kings 10:14).

 

By Pastor Olavo Silveira Pereira

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