SERIES SUMMARY
The Bible is the story of God as King and becoming King in Jesus. And we are his image bearers, created for royal reflection. But we don’t live in a monarchy, so “kingship” and “royalty” can feel like foreign ideas to us. Yet, we’re still called to recognize and submit to God as King. In the Old Testament, it was God’s desire for a king to reign over his people as a reminder of these things. Specifically, God promised David a son who would reign forever, and we see glimpses of this promised king in Solomon. Through his story, we’re reminded that there should be a royal wisdom that defines us as God’s kingdom of priests, the church. But ultimately, Solomon failed in his royal reflection. So, the question is, what does Solomon’s story teach us about ourselves and God? How can the life of Solomon be instructive to us as God’s people today? And most importantly, how does King Solomon (a son of David) point us to King Jesus (the son of David)?
PASSAGE GUIDE
Solomon began with God-given wisdom and used it to amass wealth, complete grand building projects, strengthen the military, and administer the kingdom effectively. Yet the durability of his dynasty depended on inner fidelity, not outward success. The narrative, therefore, closes with decline: unrest rises, adversaries are permitted against him, and Jeroboam’s rebellion emerges. Theologically, these developments are presented as God’s self-judgment on Solomon for violating the law, especially the prohibitions against intermarriage with idol-worshiping nations (cf. Deut 7:1–4; Exod 34:11–16).
His many marriages were chiefly political alliances with neighboring peoples, Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and Aramean groups, mirroring a common royal practice of that time. Israel was forbidden to intermarry with foreign idolaters because such unions would turn hearts toward other gods. That warning proved true: love and divided loyalties drew Solomon away so that he was no longer “whole” toward the LORD. The massive harem (e.g., “seven hundred wives”) underscores the scale and inevitability of this drift.
From this point on, David becomes the benchmark for royal evaluation, “doing what is right,” and Solomon is the first king explicitly said to have “done evil in the LORD’s sight” by personally following other gods. The cults he accommodated included Ashtoreth of Sidon and Milcom/Molech of Ammon, with practices the text labels detestable, possibly involving children “passing through the fire.” Such worship violates the demand to follow the LORD “fully”, exposing the incompatibility of covenant faith with syncretism.
This story also highlights Solomon’s construction and use of high places (e.g., for Chemosh, known from the Moabite Stone), signaling an entrenched pattern of repeated incense-burning and sacrifices to foreign deities. This steady normalization of polytheistic worship eroded internal unity, invited external pressure, and seeded the eventual rupture of the united kingdom. In sum, the theological verdict is clear: despite warning and privilege, law-breaking led to divine discipline, political fracture, and the end of Solomon’s era in spiritual decline.
Taken together, the chapter functions as a cautionary tale: outward brilliance cannot compensate for a heart no longer “whole” toward God. By tolerating syncretism, Solomon undercut the very unity his wisdom had built, and the Lord sovereignly used both internal dissent and external opponents to expose the fault lines. The result is not merely a personal failure but a national turning point, the sowing of division that will soon blossom into a split kingdom.
*We are a church located in Greenville, South Carolina. Our vision is to see God transform us into a community of grace passionately pursuing life and mission with Jesus.
SUGGESTIONS FOR COMMUNITY GROUP QUESTIONS
Remember, these are “suggested” questions. You do not have to go through every single one of them. You do not need to listen to both sermons at both campuses to participate in the discussion.
OPENING PRAYER
Lord, search my heart and make it whole toward You. Expose any divided loyalties or subtle compromises, grant repentance, and restore single-hearted devotion. Give me wisdom that obeys, humility to heed Your warnings, and grace to live faithfully for Your name.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- What stood out to you from the text or the sermon?
- What questions arose as you were listening or reading the text from Sunday?
- If you had to create a big idea from the text or sermon, what would it be? Why?
- How does Solomon’s spiritual drift help us better understand our own drift today?
- The text names Ashtoreth, Milcom/Molech, and Chemosh. What desires/fears did these cults appeal to, and what are modern equivalents?
- Where are you most tempted to justify compromise in the name of effectiveness or growth?
- What communal practices (accountability, Sabbath rhythms, Scripture immersion, liturgy, confession) help detect and correct drift early?
- When reflecting on your life, where have you seen times of divided loyalties and realized spiritual drift?
- If you had one takeaway from the sermon or text, what would it be?
- What two “foreign loves” (idols) most compete for your loyalty right now, and what concrete behaviors feed them?
- Where do you need a clear boundary in relationships/partnerships/media… to protect wholehearted devotion?
Life with Jesus: Spend time reflecting on what two “foreign loves” (idols) most compete for your loyalty right now, and what concrete behaviors feed them.
Life in Community: Invite two people to ask you monthly about divided loyalties and select a time for the first check-in.
Life on Mission: Spend time in prayer asking the Spirit to show you where in your life your gospel witness is being compromised by spiritual drift.
CLOSING PRAYER
Father, thank You for Your mercy and warnings. Make our hearts whole toward You, uproot idols, heal divided loyalties, and teach us wisdom that obeys. Fix our eyes on Jesus, the greater King, and help us steward every blessing to point others to You.