An Unkept Heart

1/19/26 Bible Thought (1 Kings 11)

Photo by Tobias Reich on Unsplash

God’s desire is to reign supreme in the hearts of His people.

A Look at 1 Kings 11

Sadly, as we open today’s text, we see that Solomon’s heart was turned away from Yahweh towards other gods because of his marriage to many foreign women.

The people of God were never supposed to intermarry with other peoples (see Deut. 7:3). It wasn’t for ethnic reasons. It was for religious reasons. All the various “ites” that surrounded the Israelites served other gods. Yahweh knew that if His people were to intermarry, their hearts would be led astray.

Even more, this was especially important for the king. In the laws of Deuteronomy, there were three specific warnings for future kings, the second of which contains the command:

“And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold” (Deut. 17:17, emphasis added).

Solomon’s pursuit of one thousand sexual partners was clearly a mark of pride that brought about his ultimate downfall. As a result of his sin, the kingdom would be torn from his son and would never be the same.

A Man After God’s Own Heart?

It is fascinating to consider how David is always held in high esteem throughout the pages of Scripture. He is known as a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14; Acts 13:22). Yet how could such a wretched sinner be called this?

Remember that David, in quick succession, broke four of the ten commandments! He coveted Uriah’s wife (tenth commandment), he then committed adultery with her (seventh commandment), committed murder to cover it up (sixth commandment), and finally stole her as his own wife (eighth commandment).

Yet David never broke the first commandment.

David never served any other gods. Although he was sinful, his heart was undivided. Yahweh never had to share the heart of David with Ashtoreth, Milcom, Chemosh, or Molech, as it happened with Solomon. That is what made David special. More than his courage, his leadership ability, his good looks, or his military might. David belonged to God and God alone.

Bringing it Home

Where are our hearts at?

It may be easy for modern Christians to believe they never fall prey to this sort of thing. Certainly, the worship of other “gods” is hardly existent in American culture. Or is it? We live in a world that serves the creature above the Creator (see Rom. 1:25).

Consider how the pursuit of pleasure is seen as life’s greatest good. Consumerism and materialism have gone through the roof. Stuff, success, sex, whatever brings joy ought to be pursued at all costs. In fact, the only thing you can do wrong in today’s day and age is disapprove of someone else’s pursuit of these things.

To this, the Christian stands in front of a godless culture proclaiming that there is but one God. He alone is worthy of our allegiance and pursuit. He alone will satisfy. No amount of worldly things that drive people can fill the God-sized hole in the human heart.

We were made to worship and are worshippers by nature. The only task is to ensure that the object of our worship is the God who is altogether worthy, rather than His phony rivals. No matter what era we live in, someone or something is masquerading as His rival.

With this, a heart check is always appropriate. As with tragic irony, Solomon himself once warned:

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (Pro. 4:23).

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Challenge for Today: Do I think I’m beyond the worship of other things simply because I live in the modern era?