This first sixteen chapters of 1 Kings provide us with an almost perfect snapshot of Israel’s ongoing Yahweh saga. One the one hand, greatness, and on the other, despair and ruin.

The narrative picks up where 2 Samuel left off. David dies and his son, Solomon, succeeds him as king. In what follows, Solomon is established as, without doubt, Israel’s mightiest sovereign. If you thought King David was impressive, you ain’t seen nothing! This is a Suzerain with increasing vassals, among them, the great Old-Assyrians Tyre and Sidon.

But there is one clear and penetrating reason why Solomon does not make number #1 in the Israelite League of Greatness: Women! Seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines to be precise.

It’s not, apparently, the sheer number of lady-friends that causes him the problem (though, let’s be honest, it must have done). It is, according to the text, that they ‘turned his heart after other gods’ (11:4). He followed Ashtoreth (likely an early form of the Greek goddess Aphrodite, of love, lust and sexuality), Molech (the Bull deity of the Ammonites, traditionally associated with orgiastic child-sacrifice rituals) and Chemosh of the Moabites.

There is much, it seems to me, to be suspected of Solomon by reading between the lines a bit. Remember his father widowed his mother through war and for years Israel had been riddled with upsets and upstarts. Solomon, however, achieved the remarkable: a fully functioning Suzerain state, free from military conflict! (4:24-25) This is new in Israel’s history; they had enjoyed peace, but not power, and power, but not peace. To have both is truly the work of a genius. No wonder the world paid tribute to his wisdom.

Yet, political achievement of this kind does not come without cost. His 700 wives were, according to 11:3 ‘of royal birth’. Seven hundred treaties for peace, with seven hundred rulers, of nations, city states and tribes. Seven hundred women, paid as pawns in the political power-plays of the Ancient Near East. Seven hundred women with minds of their own, able to also play their own games and serve as emissaries for their father’s kings and their gods.

Solomon’s desire to appease and embrace places him in an impossible situation. If he is to retain peace he must placate and woo adversaries and allies. Getting a wife was part of the deal, but keeping her happy was surely the other half of the bargain. If a daughter goes crying to daddy that Solomon wont sacrifice to Chemosh, relations with the Moabites could easily turn sour. Sacrifice to Chemosh is the easy path to political peace – a greater good, right?

We’ve spent several months wondering at the Israelite’s warmongering and questioning their quickness to kill. Now we’re brought up short by the opposite problem: a ‘peace at any price.’

What is the right thing to do?

Solomon’s dilemma is one that any leader will face. What is the extent of our diplomacy? What is more important, truth or unity? Can they be separated? Who decides what’s right?

Israel’s history judges Solomon harshly for his lack of fidelity to Yahweh. But if it had been us on David’s Throne, what would we have done? Stuck with Yahweh and risked a war. For what? To preserve a faith that can’t bring peace?

The sad story of Solomon, and of Israel’s subsequent geo-political split, is one that warns against compromise. The great Solomon failed to delineate boundaries for his rule and for Israel that would keep them all from ultimate ruin. In the event he sacrificed their long-term success for short-term expediency – albeit for perfectly valid reasons.

It’s easy to overprotect oneself with rules and ‘no-gos’ and so on. We only need to look at the Pharisees to see the problems that can cause. But Solomon raises the somewhat thorny issue of finding appropriate limits. In the context of our ‘freedom’ in Christ, where do we freely choose to mark our borders?

Questions for reflection:

1. Do you have any personal boundaries? Too many? Too few?

2. In the various power-plays in your life, in the office, at home, at school, what are the big compromises you have to face? What decisions would call your integrity as a Christian into question? Take some time to think through in advance how you want to handle those situations when they occur. Why not talk it through with a trusted friend to get a second opinion?