Prophets and Kings
by Ellen G. White
Chapter 3: Pride of Prosperity
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"Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took
Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the City of David."
Illustration ©
Pacific Press Publ. Assoc. |
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While Solomon exalted the law of heaven, God was with him,
and wisdom was given him to rule over Israel with impartiality and mercy. At
first, as wealth and worldly honor came to him, he remained humble, and great
was the extent of his influence. "Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from
the river [Euphrates] unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of
Egypt." "He . . . had peace on all sides round about him.
And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig
tree, . . . all the days of Solomon." 1 Kings 4:21, 24, 25. {PK 51.1}
But after a morning of great promise his life was darkened
by apostasy. History records the melancholy fact that he who had been called
Jedidiah,—"Beloved of the Lord" (2 Samuel 12:25, margin),—he
who had been honored by God with tokens of divine favor so remarkable that his
wisdom and uprightness gained for him world-wide fame, he who had led others to
ascribe honor to the God of [52] Israel, turned from the worship
of Jehovah to bow before the idols of the heathen. {PK 51.2}
Hundreds of years before Solomon came to the throne, the
Lord, foreseeing the perils that would beset those who might be chosen as
rulers of Israel, gave Moses instruction for their guidance. Directions were
given that he who should sit on the throne of Israel should "write him a
copy" of the statutes of Jehovah "in a book out of that which is
before the priests the Levites." "It shall be with him," the
Lord said, "and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he
may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these
statutes, to do them: that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and
that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left:
to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children,
in the midst of Israel." Deuteronomy 17:18-20. {PK 52.1}
In connection with this instruction the Lord particularly
cautioned the one who might be anointed king not to "multiply wives to
himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to
himself silver and gold." Verse 17. {PK 52.2}
With these warnings Solomon was familiar, and for a time he
heeded them. His greatest desire was to live and rule in accordance with the
statutes given at Sinai. His manner of conducting the affairs of the kingdom
was in striking contrast with the customs of the nations of his time—nations
who feared not God and whose rulers trampled underfoot His holy law. [53]
{PK 52.3}
In seeking to strengthen his relations with the powerful
kingdom lying to the southward of Israel, Solomon ventured upon forbidden
ground. Satan knew the results that would attend obedience; and during the
earlier years of Solomon's reign—years glorious because of the
wisdom, the beneficence, and the uprightness of the king—he sought to
bring in influences that would insidiously undermine Solomon's loyalty to
principle and cause him to separate from God. That the enemy was successful in
this effort, we know from the record: "Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh
king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the City of
David." 1 Kings 3:1. {PK
53.1}
From a human point of view, this marriage, though contrary
to the teachings of God's law, seemed to prove a blessing; for Solomon's
heathen wife was converted and united with him in the worship of the true God.
Furthermore, Pharaoh rendered signal service to Israel by taking Gezer, slaying
"the Canaanites that dwelt in the city," and giving it "for a
present unto his daughter, Solomon's wife." 1 Kings 9:16. This city
Solomon rebuilt and thus apparently greatly strengthened his kingdom along the
Mediterranean seacoast. But in forming an alliance with a heathen nation, and
sealing the compact by marriage with an idolatrous princess, Solomon rashly
disregarded the wise provision that God had made for maintaining the purity of
His people. The hope that his Egyptian wife might be converted was but a feeble
excuse for the sin. {PK
53.2}
For a time God in His compassionate mercy overruled this
terrible mistake; and the king, by a wise course, could [54] have
checked at least in a large measure the evil forces that his imprudence had set
in operation. But Solomon had begun to lose sight of the Source of his power
and glory. As inclination gained the ascendancy over reason, self-confidence
increased, and he sought to carry out the Lord's purpose in his own way. He
reasoned that political and commercial alliances with the surrounding nations
would bring these nations to a knowledge of the true God; and he entered into
unholy alliance with nation after nation. Often these alliances were sealed by
marriages with heathen princesses. The commands of Jehovah were set aside for
the customs of surrounding peoples. {PK 53.3}
Solomon flattered himself that his wisdom and the power of
his example would lead his wives from idolatry to the worship of the true God,
and also that the alliances thus formed would draw the nations round about into
close touch with Israel. Vain hope! Solomon's mistake in regarding himself as
strong enough to resist the influence of heathen associates was fatal. And
fatal, too, the deception that led him to hope that notwithstanding a disregard
of God's law on his part, others might be led to revere and obey its sacred
precepts. {PK 54.1}
The king's alliances and commercial relations with heathen
nations brought him renown, honor, and the riches of this world. He was enabled
to bring gold from Ophir and silver from Tarshish in great abundance. "The
king made silver and gold at Jerusalem as plenteous as stones, and cedar trees
made he as the sycamore trees that are in the vale for abundance." 2
Chronicles 1:15. Wealth, with [55] all its attendant temptations,
came in Solomon's day to an increasingly large number of people; but the fine
gold of character was dimmed and marred. {PK 54.2}
So gradual was Solomon's apostasy that before he was aware
of it; he had wandered far from God. Almost imperceptibly he began to trust
less and less in divine guidance and blessing, and to put confidence in his own
strength. Little by little he withheld from God that unswerving obedience which
was to make Israel a peculiar people, and he conformed more and more closely to
the customs of the surrounding nations. Yielding to the temptations incident to
his success and his honored position, he forgot the Source of his prosperity.
An ambition to excel all other nations in power and grandeur led him to pervert
for selfish purposes the heavenly gifts hitherto employed for the glory of God.
The money which should have been held in sacred trust for the benefit of the
worthy poor and for the extension of principles of holy living throughout the
world, was selfishly absorbed in ambitious projects. {PK 55.1}
Engrossed in an overmastering desire to surpass other
nations in outward display, the king overlooked the need of acquiring beauty
and perfection of character. In seeking to glorify himself before the world, he
sold his honor and integrity. The enormous revenues acquired through commerce
with many lands were supplemented by heavy taxes. Thus pride, ambition,
prodigality, and indulgence bore fruit in cruelty and exaction. The
conscientious, considerate spirit that had marked his dealings with the people
during the early part of his reign, was now changed. From the wisest [56]
and most merciful of rulers, he degenerated into a tyrant. Once the
compassionate, God-fearing guardian of the people, he became oppressive and
despotic. Tax after tax was levied upon the people, that means might be
forthcoming to support the luxurious court. {PK 55.2}
The people began to complain. The respect and admiration
they had once cherished for their king was changed into disaffection and
abhorrence. {PK 56.1}
As a safeguard against dependence on the arm of flesh, the
Lord had warned those who should rule over Israel not to multiply horses to
themselves. But in utter disregard of this command, "Solomon had horses
brought out of Egypt." "And they brought unto Solomon horses out of
Egypt, and out of all lands." "Solomon gathered together chariots and
horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand
horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at
Jerusalem." 2 Chronicles 1:16; 9:28; 1 Kings 10:26. {PK 56.2}
More and more the king came to regard luxury,
self-indulgence, and the favor of the world as indications of greatness.
Beautiful and attractive women were brought from Egypt, Phoenicia, Edom, and
Moab, and from many other places. These women were numbered by hundreds. Their
religion was idol worship, and they had been taught to practice cruel and
degrading rites. Infatuated with their beauty, the king neglected his duties to
God and to his kingdom. {PK
56.3}
His wives exerted a strong influence over him and gradually
prevailed on him to unite with them in their worship. Solomon had disregarded
the instruction that God had given to serve as a barrier against apostasy, and [57]
now he gave himself up to the worship of the false gods. "It came to pass,
when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods:
and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David
his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and
after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites." 1 Kings 11:4, 5. {PK 56.4}
On the southern eminence of the Mount of Olives, opposite
Mount Moriah, where stood the beautiful temple of Jehovah, Solomon erected an
imposing pile of buildings to be used as idolatrous shrines. To please his
wives, he placed huge idols, unshapely images of wood and stone, amidst the
groves of myrtle and olive. There, before the altars of heathen deities,
"Chemosh, the abomination of Moab," and "Molech, the abomination
of the children of Ammon," were practiced the most degrading rites of
heathenism. Verse 7. {PK
57.1}
Solomon's course brought its sure penalty. His separation
from God through communication with idolaters was his ruin. As he cast off his
allegiance to God, he lost the mastery of himself. His moral efficiency was
gone. His fine sensibilities became blunted, his conscience seared. He who in
his early reign had displayed so much wisdom and sympathy in restoring a
helpless babe to its unfortunate mother (see 1 Kings 3:16-28), fell so low as
to consent to the erection of an idol to whom living children were offered as
sacrifices. He who in his youth was endowed with discretion and understanding,
and who in his strong manhood had been inspired to write, "There is a way
which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death"
(Proverbs 14:12), in later years departed so far [58] from
purity as to countenance licentious, revolting rites connected with the worship
of Chemosh and Ashtoreth. He who at the dedication of the temple had said to
his people, "Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our
God" (1 Kings 8:61), became himself an offender, in heart and life denying
his own words. He mistook license for liberty. He tried—but at what
cost!—to unite light with darkness, good with evil, purity with
impurity, Christ with Belial. {PK 57.2}
From being one of the greatest kings that ever wielded a
scepter, Solomon became a profligate, the tool and slave of others. His
character, once noble and manly, became enervated and effeminate. His faith in
the living God was supplanted by atheistic doubts. Unbelief marred his
happiness, weakened his principles, and degraded his life. The justice and
magnanimity of his early reign were changed to despotism and tyranny. Poor,
frail human nature! God can do little for men who lose their sense of
dependence upon Him. {PK
58.1}
During these years of apostasy, the spiritual decline of
Israel progressed steadily. How could it be otherwise when their king had
united his interests with satanic agencies? Through these agencies the enemy
worked to confuse the minds of the Israelites in regard to true and false
worship, and they became an easy prey. Commerce with other nations brought them
into intimate contact with those who had no love for God, and their own love
for Him was greatly lessened. Their keen sense of the high, holy character of
God was deadened. Refusing to follow in the path of [59]
obedience, they transferred their allegiance to the enemy of righteousness. It
came to be a common practice to intermarry with idolaters, and the Israelites
rapidly lost their abhorrence of idol worship. Polygamy was countenanced.
Idolatrous mothers brought their children up to observe heathen rites. In the
lives of some, the pure religious service instituted by God was replaced by
idolatry of the darkest hue. {PK
58.2}
Christians are to keep themselves distinct and separate from
the world, its spirit, and its influences. God is fully able to keep us in the
world, but we are not to be of the world. His love is not uncertain and
fluctuating. Ever He watches over His children with a care that is measureless.
But He requires undivided allegiance. "No man can serve two masters: for either
he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and
despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Matthew 6:24. {PK 59.1}
Solomon was endued with wonderful wisdom, but the world drew
him away from God. Men today are no stronger than he; they are as prone to
yield to the influences that caused his downfall. As God warned Solomon of his
danger, so today He warns His children not to imperil their souls by affinity
with the world. "Come out from among them," He pleads, "and be ye
separate, . . . and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive
you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters,
saith the Lord Almighty." 2 Corinthians 6:17, 18. {PK 59.2}
In the midst of prosperity lurks danger. Throughout the
ages, riches and honor have ever been attended with peril to humility and
spirituality. It is not the empty cup [60] that we
have difficulty in carrying; it is the cup full to the brim that must be
carefully balanced. Affliction and adversity may cause sorrow, but it is
prosperity that is most dangerous to spiritual life. Unless the human subject
is in constant submission to the will of God, unless he is sanctified by the
truth, prosperity will surely arouse the natural inclination to presumption. {PK 59.3}
In the valley of humiliation, where men depend on God to
teach them and to guide their every step, there is comparative safety. But the
men who stand, as it were, on a lofty pinnacle, and who, because of their
position, are supposed to possess great wisdom—these are in gravest
peril. Unless such men make God their dependence, they will surely fall. {PK 60.1}
Whenever pride and ambition are indulged, the life is
marred, for pride, feeling no need, closes the heart against the infinite
blessings of Heaven. He who makes self-glorification his aim will find himself
destitute of the grace of God, through whose efficiency the truest riches and
the most satisfying joys are won. But he who gives all and does all for Christ
will know the fulfillment of the promise, "The blessing of the Lord, it
maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it." Proverbs 10:22. With the
gentle touch of grace the Saviour banishes from the soul unrest and unholy
ambition, changing enmity to love and unbelief to confidence. When He speaks to
the soul, saying, "Follow Me," the spell of the world's enchantment
is broken. At the sound of His voice the spirit of greed and ambition flees
from the heart, and men arise, emancipated, to follow Him. {PK 60.2}
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"Results of Transgression"
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