On January 22, 1984, President Ronald Reagan issued a presidential proclamation designating the third Sunday of January (or close to that) as National Sanctity of Human Life Day. Today is the 39th anniversary of that first Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, as well as the first since Roe vs. Wade was overturned. While we have seen many encouraging results in the fight over the sanctity of Human life, there is still much to be done, especially in the state of New Mexico. This morning I want us to look at the life of King Solomon, a man who went from proclaiming that children are a gift and reward from God (as recorded in Psalms 127:3) to doing the unthinkable near the end of his life.
Solomon’s Downfall
It doesn’t take us long to see in scripture that Solomon grew up understanding the preciousness of human life. He would have been taught from scripture that no matter the age, from conception to well-seasoned adults we are all image bearers of God and created in His image (Genesis 1:26-27). Solomon would have been taught by his father that God cares deeply for us, starting when we were still in the womb (Psalms 139). He would have been taught by the teachers of the Law that God takes hurting or killing others, at any stage of life, very seriously (Exodus 21:22-25, Genesis 9:6, Leviticus 24:17, Numbers 35:30-31, etc.). Solomon would have known that life was sacred in the eyes of God, but as Solomon got older things began to change. What he knew to be true was no longer being lived out in his life and soon there were severe consequences to those actions.
Solomon's Initial Disobedience - 1 Kings 11:1-3
1 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh’s daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and from among the Hittites. 2 The Lord had clearly instructed the people of Israel, “You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.” Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. 3 He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the Lord.
It’s very easy to pinpoint the moment Solomon's downfall started. It began when he started to give in to his temptation when it came to women and power. As we have said before, temptation is not a sin in itself, but it’s what we do with temptation that causes us to sin. Solomon evidently had a temptation problem with women (700 wives and 300 concubines show that as well as his confession in the book of Ecclesiastes), but he also seemed to struggle when it came to gaining and retaining power. These two temptations together became a problem in his life, so much so that he was blatantly disobedient to God in order to obtain political power and alliances with a marriage. In chapter three of 1 Kings, we are told that his marriage to Pharoah's daughter (who is mentioned specifically here) was for political reasons. It’s probably the same story when it comes to the women mentioned here from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and from the Hittites. God had told all Israelites not to marry any foreign women because they will turn their hearts from the LORD to false gods (notice the little “g” used here). Solomon made a small change in how he lived his life and slowly he began his descent. It’s usually not a big sin that causes us to fall. It’s usually a very small sin we give way to that takes a larger foothold than we ever imagined causing us to stumble.
Solomon’s Slow Descent - 1 Kings 11:4-8
4 In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the Lord his God, as his father David had been. 5 Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6 In this way, Solomon did what was evil in the Lord’s sight; he refused to follow the Lord completely, as his father, David, had done. 7 On the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, he even built a pagan shrine for Chemosh, the detestable god of Moab, and another for Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. 8 Solomon built such shrines for all his foreign wives to use for burning incense and sacrificing to their gods.
Solomon’s fall was not sudden. It started with a small act of disobedience to God. He had a good reason (in his own mind) to be disobedient. He thought he was keeping God’s people safe. It doesn’t matter if we think we have a good reason to be disobedient, disobedience in all its forms is still a sin. I’m sure this descent into sin started innocently enough, with Solomon letting his wives practice their own religions to keep them happy. Soon Solomon had divided loyalties. God said those who marry foreign women will have their hearts turned away from the Lord and Solomon did just that. Instead of following God wholeheartedly he slowly began to divide his devotion between the worship of the true God and the worship of the false goddess Ashtoreth and god Molech. God called this seemingly small division of Solomon's loyalties evil. I’m sure Solomon thought, what will it hurt? Maybe he even said, “It’s not a big deal, especially if I don’t mean it.” To God, all sin is a big deal and will lead to destruction. His slow fade into sin and ultimately to judgment doesn’t stop there. He builds pagan altars, one for Chemosh and one for Molech. While the shrine to Chemosh was devoted to fertility and emphasized prostitution at the shrine, the shrine to Molech was much worse. Molech was fashioned to look like a man with the head of a bull and would be made out of metal with his arms outstretched. Those who attended the shrine would build a fire in or around the metal creature and would heat the metal to an extreme temperature. At that point, they would call for parents to bring their firstborn babies. The parents would then place their baby in the scorching arms of Molech and have to endure the baby’s screams until they finally succumbed to their injuries. The priest of the altar would then tell them the sacrifice of their child would ensure their future financial success and the future health of all children who would come into their family. Who would have thought the man who dedicated the temple to the Lord a few years before, would be in a situation that He would allow babies to be killed, all for the sake of finances and a false god?
Solomon’s deserved punishment - 1 Kings 11:9-13
9 The Lord was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10 He had warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the Lord’s command. 11 So now the Lord said to him, “Since you have not kept my covenant and have disobeyed my decrees, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. 12 But for the sake of your father, David, I will not do this while you are still alive. I will take the kingdom away from your son. 13 And even so, I will not take away the entire kingdom; I will let him be king of one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, my chosen city.”
God will not be mocked; our sins will find us out. Solomon’s sins did and did so quickly. His kingdom was going to be taken away from his family. I think the most amazing part of this passage is the intermingled grace that was in this punishment. Although the judgment of God was being carried out on Israel due to the disobedience of Solomon, God left a path for grace and mercy in the judgment He laid out. We don’t see exactly why this is important until we read the genealogies in the gospels that this path God left open, instead of completely destroying Israel, was to bring Jesus through the line of David into the world to save it from sin.
This is Sanctity of Life Sunday so why are we talking about Solomon? We have a lot in common with Solomon. Small, seemingly insignificant acts of disobedience led to the unthinkable. Solomon’s disobedience led his country to sacrifice children on the altar of Molech. We live in a country whose acts of disobedience have led us to sacrifice children on the altar of convenience. In the State of Florida, it’s mandatory to report the reason for an abortion. In 2021, 0.15% (that is just a little more than 1/10th of a percent) of abortions were performed because a woman's health was in danger. In Washington D.C., 52% of all pregnancies ended in abortion. Countrywide 20% of all pregnancies end in abortion and the majority were for convenience's sake. It’s been a slow fade of disobedience to God that has brought us to the place where there are right at one million abortions in this country every year. What can be done? In Solomon’s day, we don’t have a record of anyone taking a stand against the king, but we are blest that God’s people are left here to take that stand. We have been called, commanded, and equipped to do just that.
We are called to stand and advocate for those who can’t speak for themselves (Proverbs 31:8-9). We are commanded to be obedient to God’s word in our own lives (1 John 5:2-3). We are equipped with God’s word to stand upon it even when it goes against popular opinions (2 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 4:12). Most importantly we are to do it all in and with love (1 Corinthians 16:14). These people who participate and advocate for abortion are not our enemies. They are deceived by our enemies. They need a saving relationship with Jesus just as much as we do and they deserve one just as much as we do.
Every chance God gives you to speak for those who can’t, do so with a love that can only come from God. Support those who have more chances to speak up than you are given. Fully love those who disagree with you with a love that can only come from God. Share the Gospel at every opportunity. Always stand on God’s unchanging word. Be obedient to God’s word in every part of your life so you don’t start the slow descent into destruction like Solomon. Stand tall on the word of God and make a difference in the fight for the sanctity of human life.
