The Songs Of Ascent – Part 9 – Psalm 127 – Without The Lord All Labour Is In Vain – And A Look At The Evil Of Solomon Series

THE SONGS OF ASCENT – PART 9 – PSALM 127 – WITHOUT THE LORD ALL LABOUR IS IN VAIN – AND A LOOK AT THE EVIL OF SOLOMON

PSALM 127 A SONG OF ASCENTS, OF SOLOMON

[A]. SADLY WE WILL CONSIDER SOLOMON WHO WROTE THE PSALM

The first things we note here is that this Psalm was penned by Solomon. This man is what we might call “a mixed bag”. A study of Solomon’s life reaches the conclusion that this was a very inconsistent man and we wonder what his eternal status might be.

When he was young and he had ascended to David’s throne, God appeared to him saying, “Ask what I shall give you.” At that time Solomon was humble and asked for wisdom and knowledge and God granted that along with riches and honour. However, this man offered a long prayer to the Lord at the dedication of the Temple, which on face value, was a great prayer but he did not live according to it.

Solomon gathered the proverbs together which are in the book of Proverbs, but sadly he did not live according to many of them. For example, here in Ecclesiastes, he wrote, {{Ecclesiastes 12:1 “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no delight in them.”}} That was a description of Solomon’s life.

He very quickly departed from God because he was an uncontrollable sexual addict. The biblical record has given us this – {{1Kings 11:3 “He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away.”}}

I know often in these times a king’s greatness and standing was sometimes measured according to how many wives he had. Something of the same mindset operated among the tribes of Africa and possibly still does now, and in the Islamic harems. However in Solomon’s case it was outrageous. One thousand women were kept at public expense but that was just the tip of the iceberg.

This is how the bible records this disgraceful incident – {{1Kings 11:1-2 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the LORD had said to the sons of Israel, “You shall NOT associate with them, neither shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods.”}}

Solomon held fast to these in “love”. I can not see how a man can love 1 000 women at the same time. As I said he was a sexual addict. You might excuse a man for loving two or three women at the one time (though not permitted biblically) but one thousand? Impossible. I put it down to uncontrollable lust.

Solomon’s act was in absolute disobedience to the statutes of God. He departed from God’s decree once he took the first heathen wife, but then the second, and the third, and the fourth . . . up to 1 000. This was in total disregard and defiance of God. It was sin at its worst because of what it developed into.

What did it develop into? Here is what happened – {{1Kings 11:4-8 “for it came about when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods, and his heart was not wholly devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been. SOLOMON WENT AFTER ASHTORETH the goddess of the Sidonians and after MILCOM the detestable idol of the Ammonites, and SOLOMON DID WHAT WAS EVIL in the sight of the LORD, and did not follow the LORD fully, as David his father had done. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon. Thus also he did for all his foreign wives who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.”}}

Even the Temple was not spared and his idols were found there. No true man of God would do that. Solomon filled the land with idols and heathen practices. He became an idolater of the worst kind because he promoted it, and this is what God in the bible says about idolaters – {{1Corinthians 6:9 “or do you not know that the unrighteous SHALL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor IDOLATERS, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals.”}} Solomon introduced and promoted idolatry into Israel and it continued until Assyria destroyed Israel/Samaria, and Babylon destroyed Judah, all because of idolatry introduced by Solomon.

We also have this record – {{1Kings 11:9 “Now the LORD was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.”}} Stupid Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, in all his youthful stupidity said to the people the following – {{1Kings 12:11 “Whereas MY FATHER LOADED YOU WITH A HEAVY YOKE, I will add to your yoke. MY FATHER DISCIPLINED YOU WITH WHIPS, but I will discipline you with scorpions.”}} That, and another verse, says that Solomon was arrogant and cruel and dictatorial.