When Kingdoms Fall — E.A. Johnston

When J. Sidlow Baxter, the great British preacher and famous Bible commentator, was invited to preach for Dr. Adrian Rogers' Memphis congregation, when he walked onto the huge campus of the mighty Bellevue Baptist Church that boasted of 30 ,000 members, as Sidlow Baxter was walking around and surveying the buildings, he leaned down to his wife, Isa, and remarked, Adrian, best be watchful, lest his kingdom get too heavy.

Solomon's Greatness and the Warning of Falling Kingdoms

And if you're a pastor of a church, friend, you know what that remark means. Well, we're going to peer into the life of a kingdom from the Old Testament this evening and take a look at the wisest and richest king among men in history, who was King Solomon.

Solomon's Wisdom, Wealth, and Tragic Fall

When the Queen of Sheba visited Solomon, she remarked, the half was not told me, thy wisdom and prosperity exceeded the fame which I heard. My message this evening, friends, is entitled, When Kingdoms Fall.

And my text is 1 Kings. You can turn in your Bibles there now, friends. We're going to be in chapter 10 and chapter 11. And as chapter 11 of 2 Samuel detailed the moral bankruptcy of King David, so too chapter 11 of 1 Kings details the moral bankruptcy of David's son Solomon.

But where David fell into adultery, Solomon collapsed into idolatry. Women were the fall of both father and son, Bathsheba for David, 1 ,000 wives for Solomon. But what in the world happened to this king, the wisest and richest of all?

We will peer into the sad chapter of his life as an example and warning to each of us. The Apostle Paul stated, Wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed, lest he fall. And religious leaders all around us today are falling like dominoes.

And I believe this is just the tip of the iceberg, because when we escorted God out the back door of the church, we tossed holiness out the window. Well, let's get to our text and look at the wealth of Solomon.

Solomon's Extraordinary Throne and Wealth

Here now is the word of God. May the spirit of the Lord attend the reading of his holy word. We will begin, friends, in chapter 10 and verse 18. Moreover, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with the best gold.

The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind. And there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood behind the stays, and twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps.

There was not the like made in any kingdom. I will pause there, friends. Solomon had a throne like no other. Now look at what it says, and verse 23. So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and wisdom.

Solomon's Divided Heart and Idolatry

Now, friends, glance over to the first verse of chapter 11, and I want your eyes to fall upon that introductory word to this chapter, but. That word but is loaded with the downfall of King Solomon. But King Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites, of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go into 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. I will stop here, friends. His throne was inlaid with ivory and gold, but there were cracks in it because of his wayward lifestyle. His heart became divided toward God and pagan idols.

God's Anger and the Judgment of a Divided Heart

Solomon provoked a mighty God with his idolatry. Look at verses 9 through 10. And the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods, but he kept not that which the Lord commanded.

And because Solomon's heart toward God, friends, became divided, then God tore Solomon's kingdom and divided it. We see this in the next verse. Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done to thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee and give it to thy servant.

Guarding the Heart and Remembering Solomon's Wisdom

It is sad, friends, that Solomon, in his old age foolishness, forgot the very warning he had penned as a younger man in Proverbs 4 .23, which states, Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.

Had King Solomon spent more time keeping his heart instead of keeping time with a thousand women, he would have ended his life as a wise king and not one that became foolish in his old age. I personally believe that Solomon was brought to repentance by the rebuke of the Lord after this and wrote his book of Reflection on Life and the Vanity of Life with the book of Ecclesiastes and be able to write at the end of it his summation on the whole thing.

The Conclusion of the Whole Matter

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man, for God shall bring every work into judgment with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.

May Solomon's admission be a warning to each of us to keep our hearts from becoming divided against God with this world and its idols and to obey God and to keep his commandments, all for his glory. Let us pray.