Strange Women

      By Fern Horst

"But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites: Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. For 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." (I Kings 11:1-4)

Most people underestimate the power of romantic love.

The wisest man in all the world was no exception. In the Bible the above verses follow the long and glowing account of all the vast wisdom and lavish riches God had bestowed upon Solomon in response to his request for wisdom. The picture painted here of his wealth, and the beauty of his house and throne, is amazing. The Lord had warned Solomon, however, that he and his descendents could lose all of this, plus the throne of Israel, if he ever turned away from the Lord:

"But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them: Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people: And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house? And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil." (I Kings 9:6-9)

One would think that the wisest man who ever lived would know better than to ever allow this to happen.

But happen it did. The avenue was subtle. It was through the love of "strange" women - women who did not worship Solomon's God, but who followed after many other gods. In order to please his wives, Solomon built altars to these gods and even worshipped them himself.

They say that the highest form of wisdom is learning through others' mistakes, rather than ignoring the lessons of those in the past and having to learn through our own. If there's ever a lesson to be learned from the wisest man who ever lived, it is this: it is of the utmost importance that we choose very carefully the recipient of our romantic affections.

Our world, and even many of our churches, say that having a romantic love in our lives is a must, even if the "pickings" are slim. Wisdom says that we reserve the affections of our heart only for one whose commitment to the Lord and keeping His Word matches our own. Otherwise we risk the loss of what is most important to us, not only for our earthly lives, but also for eternity.

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matthew 6:21).

© 2000 Fern Horst

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