1. WHEN WISDOM WAS NOT ENOUGH
KING SOLOMON STRAYS FROM HIS OWN PROVERBS
March 9, 2014
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI
USA

2. MARCH MEMORY VERSE
John 14:6
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the
truth and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through me.”

3. REFERENCE
SEEKING WISDOM – FINDING GOLD
A Study Guide
By
Dr. David Jeremiah

4. TODAY’S LESSON
WHEN WISDOM WAS NOT ENOUGH
- King Solomon loses his “fear of the Lord”.
- How could this happen to the wisest man on
earth?

5. REVIEW OF LAST SUNDAY’S LESSON
Solomon’s Early Years
Spiritual influences that impacted Solomon’s life
– Blessed before he was born.
– Blessed at his birth.
– Chosen by God as Israel’s King to follow David.
– Prayed for by King David.
– God blessed Solomon’s request for wisdom.
– Blessed by God beyond any other man.

6. REVIEW OF LAST SUNDAY’S LESSON
What is wisdom?
– “The right use of knowledge.” – Spurgeon
– “Common sense in an uncommon degree.”
– “Wisdom is knowledge using its head.” Twain
Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and
knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

7. THE 7 PILLARS OF WISDOM
Proverbs 1:1-7
1. Wisdom is Development.
2. Wisdom is Discipline.
3. Wisdom is Discernment.
4. Wisdom is Dignity.
5. Wisdom is Discretion.
6. Wisdom is Depth of Understanding.
7. Wisdom is Devotion to God.

8. HOW DOES WISDOM COME TO US?
1 Corinthians 1:30
30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus,
who has become for us wisdom from God—that is,
our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
• Jesus Christ is our wisdom from God.
• Jesus (Wisdom) dwells in us through the Holy
Spirit.

9. SOLOMON’S EARLY YEARS
1 Kings 4:29-34
29 God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight,
and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the
sand on the seashore. 30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater
than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and
greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 He was wiser
than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser
than Heman, Kalkol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And
his fame spread to all the surrounding nations.

10. SOLOMON’S EARLY YEARS
32 He spoke three thousand proverbs and his
songs numbered a thousand and five. 33 He
spoke about plant life, from the cedar of
Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls.
He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles
and fish. 34 From all nations people came to
listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings
of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.
1 Kings 4:29-34

11. Describe King Solomon’s Early Reign
• Blessed & Generous
• Successful & Popular
• Discerning & Upright
• Productive & Ambitious
• Wisdom & Knowledge
• “Feared the Lord”
• Walked in the ways of the Lord

12. GOD’S INSTRUCTIONS FOR KINGS
Deuteronomy 17:14-20
14 When you enter the land the LORD your God is
giving you and have taken possession of it and
settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over
us like all the nations around us,” 15 be sure to
appoint over you a king the LORD your God
chooses. He must be from among your fellow
Israelites. Do not place a foreigner over you, one
who is not an Israelite.

13. GOD”S INSTRUCTIONS FOR KINGS
16 The king, moreover, must not acquire great
numbers of horses for himself or make the
people return to Egypt to get more of them, for
the LORD has told you, “You are not to go back
that way again.” 17 He must not take many wives,
or his heart will be led astray. He must not
accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.

14. GOD’S INSTRUCTIONS FOR KINGS
18 When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write
for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that
of the Levitical priests. 19 It is to be with him, and he is to
read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to
revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words
of this law and these decrees. 20 and not consider himself
better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to
the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will
reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.
Deuteronomy 17:14-20

15. GOD’S INSTRUCTIONS FOR KINGS
Summary
1. God’s choice & an Israelite
2. Limited number of horses
3. Do not return to Egypt
4. Do not take many wives
5. Do not accumulate large amounts of gold
6. Read and study the scriptures
7. Do not be prideful
8. Obey God

16. DID KING SOLOMON FOLLOW GOD’S
INSTRUCTIONS?
1 Kings 11:9-11
9 The LORD became angry with Solomon because
his heart had turned away from the LORD, the
God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.
10 Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow
other gods, Solomon did not keep the LORD’s
command.

17. 11 So the LORD said to Solomon, “Since this is your
attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my
decrees, which I commanded you, I will most
certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give
it to one of your subordinates.
1 Kings 11:9-11
• What caused Solomon’s downfall?
• What are the lessons for us?
• Buckle your seatbelts!!!!!

18. WHAT CAUSED SOLOMON’S
DOWNFALL?
1. He had an incredible appetite for wealth.
2. He had an incredible appetite for women.

19. SOLOMON’S DOWNFALL:
Appetite for Wealth - Luxury
1 Kings 6:37-38
37 The foundation of the temple of the LORD was laid
in the fourth year, in the month of Ziv. 38 In the
eleventh year in the month of Bul, the eighth
month, the temple was finished in all its details
according to its specifications. He had spent seven
years building it.
1 Kings 7:1
1 It took Solomon thirteen years, however, to
complete the construction of his palace.

20. SOLOMON’S DOWNFALL:
Appetite for Wealth
1 Kings 10:14-15
14 The weight of the gold that Solomon received
yearly was 666 talents, 15 not including the
revenues from merchants and traders and from
all the Arabian kings and the governors of the
territories.
• Solomon received 25 tons of gold annually
• Gold price today in pounds = $19,545
• 25 tons (50,000 lbs.) = $977,250,000

21. SOLOMON’S DOWNFALL:
Appetite for Wealth - Gold
1 Kings 10:21
21 All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all
the household articles in the Palace of the
Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was
made of silver, because silver was considered of
little value in Solomon’s days.
• Solomon would not drink from a silver cup!

22. SOLOMON’S DOWNFALL
Appetite for Wealth - Horses
1 Kings 10:26, 29
26 Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he
had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve
thousand horses, which he kept in the chariot
cities and also with him in Jerusalem.
29 They imported a chariot from Egypt for six
hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a
hundred and fifty.

23. SOLOMON’S DOWNFALL:
Appetite for Wealth
Ecclesiastes 2:8
8 I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the
treasure of kings and provinces.
Ecclesiastes 2:10
10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I
refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took
delight in all my labor, and this was the reward
for all my toil.

24. SOLOMON’S DOWNFALL:
Appetite for Wealth - Throne
1 Kings 10:18-20
18 Then the king made a great throne covered with
ivory and overlaid with fine gold. 19 The throne had
six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both
sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing
beside each of them. 20 Twelve lions stood on the
six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing
like it had ever been made for any other kingdom.

25. SOLOMON’S THRONE
by Edward Poynter 1890

26. SOLOMON’S DOWNFALL:
1. He had an incredible appetite for wealth.
2. He had an incredible appetite for women.

27. SOLOMON’S DOWNFALL:
Appetite for Women
1 Kings 11:1-6
1 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign
women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites,
Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites.
2 They were from nations about which the LORD
had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry
with them, because they will surely turn your
hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon
held fast to them in love.

28. SOLOMON’S DOWNFALL:
Appetite for Women
3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and
three hundred concubines, and his wives led
him astray. 4 As Solomon grew old, his wives
turned his heart after other gods, and his heart
was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the
heart of David his father had been.

29. SOLOMON’S DOWNFALL:
Appetite for Women
5 He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the
Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the
Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did evil in the eyes of
the LORD; he did not follow the LORD completely,
as David his father had done.
1 Kings 11:1-6

30. HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN TO A WISE
MAN?
• Solomon’s words to Israel in dedicating the
Temple built for God:
1 Kings 8:61
61 And may your hearts be fully committed to the
LORD our God, to live by his decrees and obey his
commands, as at this time.”
- What happens to a heart not fully committed?

31. A HEART NOT FULLY COMMITTED
1 Kings 11:4
4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart
after other gods, and his heart was not fully
devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David
his father had been.
1 Kings 11:6
6 So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did
not follow the LORD completely, as David his father
had done.

32. KING SOLOMON KNEW BETTER
Proverbs 3:5–7
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean
not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will
make your paths straight.
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD
and shun evil.

33. IDOLATRY: Not Fully Committed
IDOL: Anything that replaces God in any area of
your life.
- Idolatry is our most basic sin, and in it an
exchange is made: God reveals His truth
about Himself, and we trade in that truth and
walk out with a lie.
- We exchange the glory of God for the glory of
the creature (creation or world).

34. How do we commit idolatry like
Solomon did?
• By worshipping the creation (Wealth, Pleasure)
instead of the Creator.
Romans 1:21-25
21 For although they knew God, they neither
glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but
their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts
were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be
wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory
of the immortal God for images made to look like a
mortal human being and birds and animals and
reptiles.

35. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful
desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the
degrading of their bodies with one another.
25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie,
and worshiped and served created things rather
than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
Romans 1:21-25
- Solomon went from worshipping the Creator to
worshipping the creation (wealth, pleasure)

36. WHAT ARE THE LESSONS FOR US?
1. No person is immune from temptation.
2. No plateau is safe from sin’s allure.
3. No position is safe from sin’s snare.
4. No privileges will protect from Satan’s reach.
5. At no point can you be lenient toward sin.

37. LESSON FOR US
1. No person is immune from temptation.
• Wisdom does not automatically immunize
anyone against the sickness of sin.
1 Corinthians 10:13
13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is
common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will
not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.
But when you are tempted, he will also provide a
way out so that you can endure it.

38. JESUS UNDERSTANDS TEMPTATION
Hebrews 4:15
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to
empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one
who has been tempted in every way, just as we are
—yet he did not sin.
Hebrews 2:18
18 Because he himself suffered when he was
tempted, he is able to help those who are being
tempted.

39. BE CAREFUL WHEN…….
• You say, “_____ is not a temptation for me.”
• You say, “Just this one time only.”
• You say, “No one will know.”
• You say, “God wants me to be happy.”
• You are tired, hungry or upset!

40. LESSON FOR US
2. No plateau is safe from sin’s allure.
I Kings 11:4
4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart
after other gods, and his heart was not fully
devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David
his father had been.
• Solomon is 60 and chasing 1000 women!
• There is no fool like an old fool!

41. No Plateau Is Safe From Sin’s Allure
• Age –
• Marriage –
• Financially secure –
• Empty Nest –
• Retirement –
• Life’s goals are met -

42. LESSON FOR US
3. No position is safe from sin’s snare
• Solomon was the King and God’s chosen.
• He was the wisest man on earth.
• Satan intensifies his attack on people who
should set the godly example.
• Satan is out to make Jesus’ followers look like
hypocrites.

43. LESSON FOR US
4. No privileges will protect from Satan’s reach
1 Kings 11:9
9 The LORD became angry with Solomon because his
heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of
Israel, who had appeared to him twice.
• Solomon had talked personally with God.
• God had chosen and blessed Solomon.

44. No Privileges Will Protect From Satan’s
Reach
• 1,000 wives does not keep you from lust.
• Knowledge and wisdom does not mean godly
actions.
• Wealth does not keep you from greed and
envy.
• Being smart does not keep you from being
stupid.

45. LESSON FOR US
5. At NO point can you be lenient toward sin
• How did Solomon fall so far?
• Solomon did not become an idolater or a
polygamist overnight.
• His demise was a gradual process.
• Solomon slowly lost his “fear of God”.
• It was not a blowout – it was a slow leak!

46. At NO Point Can You Be Lenient
Toward Sin
• Satan’s Tricks
– Desensitization. (slowly lose guilt and shame)
– Delayed punishment from God.
– Doubt: Did God really say………? (Garden of Eden)
– Pleasure must increase over time for satisfaction.
– Pride – I did it my way! I deserve it!
– Make decisions when tired, hungry or upset.

47. At NO Point Can You Be Lenient
Toward Sin
1 Peter 5:8-9
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the
devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking
for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing
firm in the faith, because you know that the
family of believers throughout the world is
undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

48. SOLOMON’S FINAL WORDS
Where Life Finds Its Meaning
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 KJV
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is
the whole duty of man.
14 For God shall bring every work into judgment,
with every secret thing, whether it be good, or
whether it be evil.
• The whole duty of man = A life totally committed.