August 13, 2025 • 26 mins
# 214 - Solomon’s Downfall - In this episode of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein, once the wisest and most blessed of kings, Solomon’s heart drifts toward idols, and the God who crowned him now speaks judgment. In this episode, we witness the slow unraveling of a kingdom and the sobering truth that wisdom without worship will not stand.
Episode 214 of The Chosen People with Yael Eckstein is inspired by the Book of Joshua.
Sign up for The Chosen People devotionals at https://www.thechosenpeople.com/sign-up
For more information about Yael Eckstein and IFCJ visit https://www.ifcj.org/
Today's opening prayer is inspired by 1 Corinthians 4:5, “He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart.”
Listen to some of the greatest Bible stories ever told and make prayer a priority in your life by downloading the Pray.com app.
Show Notes:
(02:29) Intro with Yael Eckstein
(03:33) The Queen of Sheba
(21:52) Reflection with Yael Eckstein
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Previously on the chosen people.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
As for you, if you walk before me faithfully, with
integrity of heart and uprightness, as your father David did,
and if you keep my commands and observe my laws,
I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever. But
if you or your descendants turn away from me and
(00:26):
do not observe my commands, if you serve other gods
and worshiped them, Israel will become an object of scorn
and ridicule among all the peoples.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Your highness, I am Jereboam, son of Labat, of the
tribe of Ivriem.
Speaker 4 (00:42):
I hail from Sareda.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Jeroboam was once enthusiastic about his assignment to fortify the
city of Magido, but his new role in the north
had lost its luster. The northern tribes were reaching their
limit of what they would tolerate from their out of
touch wise king from the tribe of Judah. To them,
(01:06):
Solomon was more obsessed with adding to the grandeur of
his legacy in the south than he was with building
the entire kingdom. Yes, Solomon had made Israel prosperous, but
he also conscripted men from every tribe, pulling them away
from their cities and families. It wasn't technically slavery, but
(01:28):
it was dangerously close to becoming.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
So this is what the Lord God of Israel says.
I'm about to tear the kingdom out of Solomon's hand.
I'll give you ten tribes, but Judah and Benjamin will
remain his for the sake of my servant David, and
for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I chose out
of all the tribes of Israel. For they have abandoned me.
(01:53):
They have bowed down to Ashtreth, the goddess of the Sidonians,
to Shamash, the god of Moab, and to Milk, the
god of the Ammonites. They have not walked in my
ways to do what is right in my sight and
to carry out my statutes and my judgments as his
father David did. I will humble David's descendants because of
their unfaithfulness.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
But not forever a divided kingdom a throne was being offered.
It would be up to Jeroboam to unite the ones
that were tearing away.
Speaker 5 (02:31):
When gold and glory replace faithfulness, even a wise king
can fall Shelloh, my friends, from here in the Holy
Land of Israel. I'm l extein with international Fellowship of
Christians and Jews, and welcome to the Chosen People. What
happens when a great person forgets who gave them their greatness.
(02:52):
That's the question that hovers heavy and strange over the
Bible story that we explore today, First Kings, chapter eleven.
Up until now, Solomon has been blessed beyond imagination. He's
built a temple, he's ruled in peace, He's gained wisdom
from the heavens. But today the descent begins, and we're
left to ask what fractures a heart that once belonged
(03:15):
wholly to God?
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Is it lust?
Speaker 5 (03:19):
Is it pride? Or is it simply forgetting? For Solomon,
that isn't just about failure. It's about the tragic unraveling
of a man who once asked for wisdom but forgot
to guard his heart.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
A headache pounded in Solomon's ears as he climbed the
palace steps toward his private quarters. In his mind, he
could still hear the raised voices echoing off the cedar
paneled walls of the Hall of Judgment. The weariness of
war Council after war Council was beginning to weigh on him.
(03:57):
Gone were the days of hosting diplomat and bantering with queens.
The threat of civil war was pressing in on every front.
Enemies from within the kingdom were uniting against him, and
the foreign enemies of the past, long thought to be
subdued by David, were starting to resurface and wreak havoc
(04:19):
on his carefully crafted peace. Solomon was about to let
out an audible groan of relief when he finally reached
the entryway to his bedchamber, But his beloved Shoulamite was
standing at the window, silhouetted in the pale moonlight, and
the groan died in his throat. The sheerness of her
(04:40):
gown caught the light and illuminated her body beneath in
a way that made his blood heat. But when she
heard him approach, she turned to face him, arms folded,
sympathy shadowing her face.
Speaker 6 (04:54):
I heard about your mother.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Solomon felt as though the wind was knocked out of
him as he was emotionally jostled. Of course, Bathsheba's death
was not unexpected, but it had been a blown nonetheless, yes,
a great loss. He had not seen his Shoonamite bride
in a few weeks, and it was unusual for her
(05:20):
to come to him unannounced. There must be a reason.
His beloved met his gaze and hesitated her forehead, scrunching
and indecision. She had more to say, but was calculating
how much of it to say. Solomon felt his defenses
start to rise. The all too familiar signs of an
(05:40):
argument were being laid before him. Solomon was unsurprised when
her eyes narrowed and she shook her head as she approached,
her tone sharpening.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
Do you even grieve her, Solomon? Or do you bury
it beneath another banquet, another wife, another project?
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Solomon exhaled slowly. He ran a hand through his thinning hair,
staring out past her to the moon kissed rooftops of Jerusalem.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
I honor her by securing the future she wanted for me,
for Israel.
Speaker 4 (06:19):
The future she wanted. Tell me, is this what she
saw for you? You with a thousand wives you barely know,
drowning in gold, while your own people grumble across the
kingdom under the yoke of your vanity projects.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
What would you have me do? Reject what God has
given me?
Speaker 4 (06:44):
What God has given you. Did he tell you to
build those ashi poles? How about the altar to Milcombe?
Have you heard their screams? Solomon?
Speaker 3 (06:56):
What screams?
Speaker 4 (06:58):
The screams of the children they sacrifice on those altars?
You allowed them to build children, Solomon.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
Solomon turned away from her, reflexively, wincing at the truth
in her words. The tension between them coiled even tighter,
but she didn't falter. She pressed a head in her argument,
speaking to him in a way no one else could.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
When was the last time you heard him, Solomon? When
was the last time he spoke to you?
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Solomon flinched, but then clenched his jaw and turned to
face her.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
This is why I never come to see you. You
sound like my mother.
Speaker 4 (07:41):
No, Solomon, you forget I spent years attending your father.
It's his voice speaking, not mine.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Solomon gulped at that. His throat was caught. The tension
between them finally snapped as her face softened and she
stepped back. She closed her eyes and collected her thoughts.
Solomon knew instinctively that what she would say next was
what she had come there to say. She breathed deeply
(08:14):
to settle herself and when she spoke, the grief laced
in her words was devastating to both her and to Solomon.
Speaker 6 (08:24):
I loved you once, the boy who wrote songs about
love and chased me through the vineyards. I don't know
this man before me.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Without another word, she swept past him, grazing his arm
with her hand, and left. Solomon remained staring at the
empty space where she stood, his mind void of thought
or feeling for a long while. But then Solomon did
something he had not done in a long while. He
(08:57):
spoke to the Lord.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Will you not be satisfied unto you? Pry every last
thing you gave me out of my hand? Or turn
my family against me? Was your promise to me empty?
I did what was right. I asked for wisdom. I
came to you with a humble heart and asked for
what no other young king would ask for. You promised
to give me what I did not ask for, both
(09:21):
riches and honor, so that no king will be my
equal during my entire life. Well, I'm still alive, and
my kingdom's on the brink of civil war. You took
away my mother. You turn my one true love against me.
Everyone dangles the memory and legacy of my father before me,
like some unattainable prize. My own son doesn't honor me
(09:45):
or heed me at all. Did you turn against me too?
When Nathan left? Did he know the truth? Did he
conspire with the prophet Hydra to plot my downfall? I
built you a temple. I built you a temple finer
than any god has on the face of the earth.
And you accepted it, didn't you? The cloud filled the sanctuary,
(10:08):
the fire came down. You wouldn't have done that if
you'd forsaken me. So why, why, why are these final
days of my reign? Is it's all falling apart?
Speaker 1 (10:21):
All the years of wondering had he done enough? Had
he been enough? Came bubbling up to the surface.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Are you silent because I've sought more accessible voices? Are
you silent because I've not sought yours alone? What else
was I to use my wisdom? For? I made Israel prosperous,
I preserve the peace. Is it so wrong that I
should want more and use this gift you gave me?
(10:50):
But now you tear it all away? What of your
promises to your people? What of your promises to me?
Speaker 1 (10:57):
The weight of Solomon's words hung in the roar and reverberating,
only to be swallowed by silence. His breath came heavy
and uneven, waiting, listening, pining for a voice, for an answer,
for anything, But there was nothing. The silence stretched, vast
(11:22):
and merciless, pressing in from all sides. It was the
kind of silence that mocked him. His breath shuddered as
he sank to his knees, his hands bracing the cold
stone beneath him. Images of that vision flashed in his mind,
the temple cracking, weeds coiling, a kingdom fractured. Solomon looked
(11:49):
up and out the window, toward the heavens. No answer
came in the tortured quiet, only deafening silence. Solomon stared
into the eyes of his council, expecting the worst, as
(12:10):
he had come to expect in recent days. The men
around the table in the Hall of Judgments shifted in
their seats, avoiding his stare at all costs. Solomon could
almost see their fear in the air, tense, thick and visceral.
He was a shadow of the man he once was.
(12:31):
His confidence was shattered, his sense of control thinning like the.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Hair on his head.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
Beniah, the commander of Israel's army and the final remnant
of David's mighty men, was the first to break the silence.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
My king.
Speaker 7 (12:48):
The northern tribes grow restless. Jeroboam, who has successfully evaded
our assassins, is now reported to be in exile in Egypt,
but his name is everywhere. They're rallying around.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Him, closing up to the new pharaoh, Shishakh. No doubt
one who has no incentive not to attack Israel, mark
my words, especially you reabon. This pharaoh will not be
so easily convinced to keep the peace between Egypt and
Israel like his predecessorive, especially not with jeroboahm poisoning his
(13:24):
thoughts against me and my kingdom. The Lord was with
us when we were righteous, when we obeyed him. Tell
me Ria, Bon, my son, are we righteous?
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Ria Boham shrank back at that. Solomon scoffed. His son
was weak of heart and mind. Solomon knew they were doomed.
He saw the writing on the walls they were living
on borrowed time. Enemies were circling them, and this time
there would be no marriage pact or promise of pallaces
(14:00):
to avoid the inevitable collision.
Speaker 7 (14:03):
And there's more. Hey, Dad, your father's old enemy has
been officially instated as the king of Edom. He has
allies and is no friend of ours. Enemies to the
south and reason, another of your father's enemies has risen
to be the king over Damascus and Aram. They say
he's assembling an army more enemies to the north.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
Perhaps they'll become Jeroboam's problem should he succeed in wrestling
the northern tribes away from me.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Solomon exhaled slowly. His kingdom, the golden empire of his making,
was splintering at the edges, with enemies within and pressing
in on all sides.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
We'll deal with them as my father did.
Speaker 7 (14:50):
With respect my king, your father led his men into battle.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
And I built a kingdom where our soldiers didn't have
to go to battle. My wealth is our defense, Our
alliances are our shields. We still have Avon, We still
have Moab and Tire and Sheba.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Solomon's voice trailed off as he saw Beniah exchange looks
with the other military men and advisers at the table.
He couldn't help but sense the unease between them. Beniah
steeled himself and spoke the unspoken consensus of the table, My.
Speaker 7 (15:29):
King, I served your father long enough to know the signs.
This unrest, This is judgment.
Speaker 6 (15:37):
Isn't it?
Speaker 1 (15:38):
The words settled like an accusation. Solomon's grip tightened on
the edge of the table, his jaw clenched.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Did I hear one more whisper of a nonsense? I
will cut up the tongue.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Will you know?
Speaker 1 (15:57):
The military men stiffened. Boham shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
Beniah's gaze was steel. Solomon's jaw clenched, and he swallowed
a scoff. Solomon flicked his hand, dismissing them. All night fell.
(16:19):
With the darkness came a quiet. It was a disturbing,
unsettling silence. Solomon leaned over the terrace, gazing out toward
the Temple mount, then breaking the silence, a sharp, terrifying scream.
To the right of the Temple Mount in the distance,
(16:40):
he could see firelight. Another festival to Molik was being held.
Solomon could hear the drums, the women, and the crying
of infants, drunken rituals idle worship child's sacrifice. The sound
of it echoed downward to the streets of Jerusalem, the
(17:00):
city of David Solomon had allowed it, for what more riches,
more influence?
Speaker 3 (17:10):
What have I done?
Speaker 1 (17:13):
Then suddenly the Lord spoke, son of David. Solomon fell
to his knees, his crown clattering on the stone floor,
trembling in awe and fear, as the Lord's thundering voice
surrounded all his senses, his hands and forehead pressed to
(17:35):
the floor. The mighty voice came not in rage, but
in profound, otherworldly sorrow, speaking directly to Solomon's tortured, unspoken thoughts.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Because you have done this, because you have turned your
heart from me, because you have chased after the gods
of your wives, and because you have not kept my
covenant and my statutes, as your father David did, I
will tear the kingdom from your hands and give it
(18:09):
to your servant, now, your enemy, Jeriboem.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Solomon's breath was shallow, moistening the stone beneath his lips,
his heart raising his suspicions confirmed at last, the words
were a dagger to his soul.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
I will not do it in your lifetime for the
sake of your father David, but I will tear it
out of your son's hands. Yet I will not tear
the entire kingdom away from him. Your line will keep
one tribe for the sake of my servant David, and
(18:51):
for the sake of Jerusalem that I chose.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
The weight in the room vanished, but it left behind
an emptiness so vast it made his bones feel hollow.
Solomon gasped his hands, pressing into the cold stone as
if it could anchor him. But there was nothing to
hold on to, nothing at all. He had spent a
lifetime building a kingdom that would not last. It was
(19:19):
the epitome of vanity, a vapor. Solomon dragged himself upright
and pulled his knees to his chest, but remained on
the ground. He wept for an untold amount of time.
When his tears had finally dried, and his soul felt
hollow and empty, unbidden words sprang to his lips.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
Vanity of vanities, says the collector of wise sayings, Vanity
of vanities, all his vanity. I said in my heart,
I have a quiet Greek wisdom, surpassing a all who
were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had
great experience of wisdom knowledge. And I applied my heart
(20:09):
for no wisdom, and to no madness and folly. I
perceived that this also is but a striving after wind.
For a much wisdom is much vexation, And he who
increases knowledge increases sorrow.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
Solomon felt his heart harden and seal off, but he
lifted his head to the loose parchment and pens that
always lay ready on the table in his bedchamber. Solomon
numbly stood and walked to the table, his footsteps echoing
in the hollow hall. He stood and looked down at
(20:47):
the empty pages he would write. He would collect all
his wise sayings and proverbs, but he knew they would
not save him, They would not change the fate he
had seen. He swallowed hard and picked up the pen.
It was heavy with the weight of destiny in his hand. Outside,
(21:08):
the golden city stood gleaming under the moonlight. But Solomon
knew it was already dust. His legacy will not last,
his wisdom will not save him. His son will inherit
the throne, only to lose it.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
And the Lord.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
The Lord had left him. The Golden Age was over.
He knew it in his stubborn heart. He then pulled
the pages toward him and picked up the pen all
that would remain of his convoluted legacy.
Speaker 5 (21:55):
Today we witnessed a different kind of downfall. There's something
that I've noticed as we've been studying God's word each day.
Is very rare that the Bible gives a reason for
any of God's laws. But in today's story we actually
do get a reason. In Doe drid Me seventeen seventeen,
the Bible says this, he the king must not take
many wives, or his heart will be led astray. Here
(22:18):
the Bible does give a reason for the law. If
the king has multiplicity of wives, they may lead him
in the wrong direction. Jewish tradition teaches that in response
to this law from God, Salomon said, I will have
many wives, but I will not be led astray. In
other words, Solomon believed the reason God gave this law
only applied to regular kings, but not to him, not
(22:42):
to King Solomon, who God had given such great wisdom.
And this this was Solomon's fatal error, and it led
to the downfall of his kingdom. Many of his wives,
who came from a background of idle worship, established houses
of idolatry right there in the whole land. And so oh,
because Solomon thought that God's law didn't apply to him,
(23:03):
he actually brought great catastrophe and all of Israel. We
often want to know the reason for God's laws.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
Don't we?
Speaker 5 (23:11):
But maybe it's better if we don't know God's reasons.
Because if the great and wise king Solomon could rationalize
away God's laws, certainly so can we. And that is
a big part of faith, isn't it. So as we
continue studying God's word, let's commit to observing it even
when we don't fully understand his reasons. He knows better
(23:34):
than we do. Solomon's fall didn't begin with rage or
violence or some reckless rebellion. It began with building stone
by stone, treaty by treaty, wife by wife. And I
can't help but feel it was familiar. You remember Bavil, right,
that old tower that reached the heavens, where men said,
(23:55):
let us make a name for ourselves, where unity became arrogant,
where structure became defiance. Well, Solomon wasn't building a sanctuary
for God anymore. He was building it for himself. Solomon
wasn't just forgetting God. He was trying to make himself unforgettable.
But God doesn't bless self made alters, he actually breaks.
(24:17):
Then there's a painful paradox at the heart of Solomon's story.
He knew better, and he still chose otherwise. Solomon had
great wisdom. He understood wisdom, he spoke it, he wrote it,
he even passed it on to others. But in the
end his life became a cautionary tale and a source
(24:38):
of wisdom itself. Here's the question that I'll leave you
with today. What has your heart? Not just what do
you say you love, but what do you actually love?
What do you fear losing? Deep down, we all want
to be remembered. We want to leave a mark. We
want to write a book, or build that thing, or
start that movement. We all want to stamp our name
(24:59):
in the wes of history. But history forgets the only
thing that actually endures is faithfulness. Not fame, not success,
not admiration, just quiet, humble faithfulness to God. And that
that's the best legacy there is. You don't need to
(25:20):
be Solomon, you don't need palaces or thrones. You just
need a soft heart and a willingness to return to God.
He's waiting not with condemnation, but with welcome, turn back
to him. He loves you.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
You can listen to The Chosen People with Isle Eckstein
ad free by downloading and subscribing to the pray dot
Com app today. This prey dog comproduction is only made
possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Katina,
Max bod Zach Shellabaga and Ben Gammon are the executive
producers of the Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, edited by
(26:00):
Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by
Jonathan Cotten, Aaron Salvado, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold,
Sylvia Zaradoc, Thomas Copeland Junior, Rosanna Pilcher, and Mitch Leshinsky,
and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore. Music
(26:20):
by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Aaron Salvado, bre Rosalie
and Chris Baig. Special thanks to Bishop Paul Lanier, Robin
van Ettin, Kayleb Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller, Rabbi Edward Abramson, and
the team at International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. You
can hear more prey dot com productions on the Prey
(26:40):
dot Com app available on the Apple App Store and
Google play Store. If you enjoyed The Chosen People with
Yeile Eckstein, please rate and leave a review.
Previously on the chosen people.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
As for you, if you walk before me faithfully, with
integrity of heart and uprightness, as your father David did,
and if you keep my commands and observe my laws,
I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever. But
if you or your descendants turn away from me and
(00:26):
do not observe my commands, if you serve other gods
and worshiped them, Israel will become an object of scorn
and ridicule among all the peoples.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Your highness, I am Jereboam, son of Labat, of the
tribe of Ivriem.
Speaker 4 (00:42):
I hail from Sareda.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Jeroboam was once enthusiastic about his assignment to fortify the
city of Magido, but his new role in the north
had lost its luster. The northern tribes were reaching their
limit of what they would tolerate from their out of
touch wise king from the tribe of Judah. To them,
(01:06):
Solomon was more obsessed with adding to the grandeur of
his legacy in the south than he was with building
the entire kingdom. Yes, Solomon had made Israel prosperous, but
he also conscripted men from every tribe, pulling them away
from their cities and families. It wasn't technically slavery, but
(01:28):
it was dangerously close to becoming.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
So this is what the Lord God of Israel says.
I'm about to tear the kingdom out of Solomon's hand.
I'll give you ten tribes, but Judah and Benjamin will
remain his for the sake of my servant David, and
for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I chose out
of all the tribes of Israel. For they have abandoned me.
(01:53):
They have bowed down to Ashtreth, the goddess of the Sidonians,
to Shamash, the god of Moab, and to Milk, the
god of the Ammonites. They have not walked in my
ways to do what is right in my sight and
to carry out my statutes and my judgments as his
father David did. I will humble David's descendants because of
their unfaithfulness.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
But not forever a divided kingdom a throne was being offered.
It would be up to Jeroboam to unite the ones
that were tearing away.
Speaker 5 (02:31):
When gold and glory replace faithfulness, even a wise king
can fall Shelloh, my friends, from here in the Holy
Land of Israel. I'm l extein with international Fellowship of
Christians and Jews, and welcome to the Chosen People. What
happens when a great person forgets who gave them their greatness.
(02:52):
That's the question that hovers heavy and strange over the
Bible story that we explore today, First Kings, chapter eleven.
Up until now, Solomon has been blessed beyond imagination. He's
built a temple, he's ruled in peace, He's gained wisdom
from the heavens. But today the descent begins, and we're
left to ask what fractures a heart that once belonged
(03:15):
wholly to God?
Speaker 3 (03:17):
Is it lust?
Speaker 5 (03:19):
Is it pride? Or is it simply forgetting? For Solomon,
that isn't just about failure. It's about the tragic unraveling
of a man who once asked for wisdom but forgot
to guard his heart.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
A headache pounded in Solomon's ears as he climbed the
palace steps toward his private quarters. In his mind, he
could still hear the raised voices echoing off the cedar
paneled walls of the Hall of Judgment. The weariness of
war Council after war Council was beginning to weigh on him.
(03:57):
Gone were the days of hosting diplomat and bantering with queens.
The threat of civil war was pressing in on every front.
Enemies from within the kingdom were uniting against him, and
the foreign enemies of the past, long thought to be
subdued by David, were starting to resurface and wreak havoc
(04:19):
on his carefully crafted peace. Solomon was about to let
out an audible groan of relief when he finally reached
the entryway to his bedchamber, But his beloved Shoulamite was
standing at the window, silhouetted in the pale moonlight, and
the groan died in his throat. The sheerness of her
(04:40):
gown caught the light and illuminated her body beneath in
a way that made his blood heat. But when she
heard him approach, she turned to face him, arms folded,
sympathy shadowing her face.
Speaker 6 (04:54):
I heard about your mother.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Solomon felt as though the wind was knocked out of
him as he was emotionally jostled. Of course, Bathsheba's death
was not unexpected, but it had been a blown nonetheless, yes,
a great loss. He had not seen his Shoonamite bride
in a few weeks, and it was unusual for her
(05:20):
to come to him unannounced. There must be a reason.
His beloved met his gaze and hesitated her forehead, scrunching
and indecision. She had more to say, but was calculating
how much of it to say. Solomon felt his defenses
start to rise. The all too familiar signs of an
(05:40):
argument were being laid before him. Solomon was unsurprised when
her eyes narrowed and she shook her head as she approached,
her tone sharpening.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
Do you even grieve her, Solomon? Or do you bury
it beneath another banquet, another wife, another project?
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Solomon exhaled slowly. He ran a hand through his thinning hair,
staring out past her to the moon kissed rooftops of Jerusalem.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
I honor her by securing the future she wanted for me,
for Israel.
Speaker 4 (06:19):
The future she wanted. Tell me, is this what she
saw for you? You with a thousand wives you barely know,
drowning in gold, while your own people grumble across the
kingdom under the yoke of your vanity projects.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
What would you have me do? Reject what God has
given me?
Speaker 4 (06:44):
What God has given you. Did he tell you to
build those ashi poles? How about the altar to Milcombe?
Have you heard their screams? Solomon?
Speaker 3 (06:56):
What screams?
Speaker 4 (06:58):
The screams of the children they sacrifice on those altars?
You allowed them to build children, Solomon.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
Solomon turned away from her, reflexively, wincing at the truth
in her words. The tension between them coiled even tighter,
but she didn't falter. She pressed a head in her argument,
speaking to him in a way no one else could.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
When was the last time you heard him, Solomon? When
was the last time he spoke to you?
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Solomon flinched, but then clenched his jaw and turned to
face her.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
This is why I never come to see you. You
sound like my mother.
Speaker 4 (07:41):
No, Solomon, you forget I spent years attending your father.
It's his voice speaking, not mine.
Speaker 1 (07:52):
Solomon gulped at that. His throat was caught. The tension
between them finally snapped as her face softened and she
stepped back. She closed her eyes and collected her thoughts.
Solomon knew instinctively that what she would say next was
what she had come there to say. She breathed deeply
(08:14):
to settle herself and when she spoke, the grief laced
in her words was devastating to both her and to Solomon.
Speaker 6 (08:24):
I loved you once, the boy who wrote songs about
love and chased me through the vineyards. I don't know
this man before me.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Without another word, she swept past him, grazing his arm
with her hand, and left. Solomon remained staring at the
empty space where she stood, his mind void of thought
or feeling for a long while. But then Solomon did
something he had not done in a long while. He
(08:57):
spoke to the Lord.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Will you not be satisfied unto you? Pry every last
thing you gave me out of my hand? Or turn
my family against me? Was your promise to me empty?
I did what was right. I asked for wisdom. I
came to you with a humble heart and asked for
what no other young king would ask for. You promised
to give me what I did not ask for, both
(09:21):
riches and honor, so that no king will be my
equal during my entire life. Well, I'm still alive, and
my kingdom's on the brink of civil war. You took
away my mother. You turn my one true love against me.
Everyone dangles the memory and legacy of my father before me,
like some unattainable prize. My own son doesn't honor me
(09:45):
or heed me at all. Did you turn against me too?
When Nathan left? Did he know the truth? Did he
conspire with the prophet Hydra to plot my downfall? I
built you a temple. I built you a temple finer
than any god has on the face of the earth.
And you accepted it, didn't you? The cloud filled the sanctuary,
(10:08):
the fire came down. You wouldn't have done that if
you'd forsaken me. So why, why, why are these final
days of my reign? Is it's all falling apart?
Speaker 1 (10:21):
All the years of wondering had he done enough? Had
he been enough? Came bubbling up to the surface.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Are you silent because I've sought more accessible voices? Are
you silent because I've not sought yours alone? What else
was I to use my wisdom? For? I made Israel prosperous,
I preserve the peace. Is it so wrong that I
should want more and use this gift you gave me?
(10:50):
But now you tear it all away? What of your
promises to your people? What of your promises to me?
Speaker 1 (10:57):
The weight of Solomon's words hung in the roar and reverberating,
only to be swallowed by silence. His breath came heavy
and uneven, waiting, listening, pining for a voice, for an answer,
for anything, But there was nothing. The silence stretched, vast
(11:22):
and merciless, pressing in from all sides. It was the
kind of silence that mocked him. His breath shuddered as
he sank to his knees, his hands bracing the cold
stone beneath him. Images of that vision flashed in his mind,
the temple cracking, weeds coiling, a kingdom fractured. Solomon looked
(11:49):
up and out the window, toward the heavens. No answer
came in the tortured quiet, only deafening silence. Solomon stared
into the eyes of his council, expecting the worst, as
(12:10):
he had come to expect in recent days. The men
around the table in the Hall of Judgments shifted in
their seats, avoiding his stare at all costs. Solomon could
almost see their fear in the air, tense, thick and visceral.
He was a shadow of the man he once was.
(12:31):
His confidence was shattered, his sense of control thinning like the.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Hair on his head.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
Beniah, the commander of Israel's army and the final remnant
of David's mighty men, was the first to break the silence.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
My king.
Speaker 7 (12:48):
The northern tribes grow restless. Jeroboam, who has successfully evaded
our assassins, is now reported to be in exile in Egypt,
but his name is everywhere. They're rallying around.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Him, closing up to the new pharaoh, Shishakh. No doubt
one who has no incentive not to attack Israel, mark
my words, especially you reabon. This pharaoh will not be
so easily convinced to keep the peace between Egypt and
Israel like his predecessorive, especially not with jeroboahm poisoning his
(13:24):
thoughts against me and my kingdom. The Lord was with
us when we were righteous, when we obeyed him. Tell
me Ria, Bon, my son, are we righteous?
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Ria Boham shrank back at that. Solomon scoffed. His son
was weak of heart and mind. Solomon knew they were doomed.
He saw the writing on the walls they were living
on borrowed time. Enemies were circling them, and this time
there would be no marriage pact or promise of pallaces
(14:00):
to avoid the inevitable collision.
Speaker 7 (14:03):
And there's more. Hey, Dad, your father's old enemy has
been officially instated as the king of Edom. He has
allies and is no friend of ours. Enemies to the
south and reason, another of your father's enemies has risen
to be the king over Damascus and Aram. They say
he's assembling an army more enemies to the north.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
Perhaps they'll become Jeroboam's problem should he succeed in wrestling
the northern tribes away from me.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
Solomon exhaled slowly. His kingdom, the golden empire of his making,
was splintering at the edges, with enemies within and pressing
in on all sides.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
We'll deal with them as my father did.
Speaker 7 (14:50):
With respect my king, your father led his men into battle.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
And I built a kingdom where our soldiers didn't have
to go to battle. My wealth is our defense, Our
alliances are our shields. We still have Avon, We still
have Moab and Tire and Sheba.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Solomon's voice trailed off as he saw Beniah exchange looks
with the other military men and advisers at the table.
He couldn't help but sense the unease between them. Beniah
steeled himself and spoke the unspoken consensus of the table, My.
Speaker 7 (15:29):
King, I served your father long enough to know the signs.
This unrest, This is judgment.
Speaker 6 (15:37):
Isn't it?
Speaker 1 (15:38):
The words settled like an accusation. Solomon's grip tightened on
the edge of the table, his jaw clenched.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Did I hear one more whisper of a nonsense? I
will cut up the tongue.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Will you know?
Speaker 1 (15:57):
The military men stiffened. Boham shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
Beniah's gaze was steel. Solomon's jaw clenched, and he swallowed
a scoff. Solomon flicked his hand, dismissing them. All night fell.
(16:19):
With the darkness came a quiet. It was a disturbing,
unsettling silence. Solomon leaned over the terrace, gazing out toward
the Temple mount, then breaking the silence, a sharp, terrifying scream.
To the right of the Temple Mount in the distance,
(16:40):
he could see firelight. Another festival to Molik was being held.
Solomon could hear the drums, the women, and the crying
of infants, drunken rituals idle worship child's sacrifice. The sound
of it echoed downward to the streets of Jerusalem, the
(17:00):
city of David Solomon had allowed it, for what more riches,
more influence?
Speaker 3 (17:10):
What have I done?
Speaker 1 (17:13):
Then suddenly the Lord spoke, son of David. Solomon fell
to his knees, his crown clattering on the stone floor,
trembling in awe and fear, as the Lord's thundering voice
surrounded all his senses, his hands and forehead pressed to
(17:35):
the floor. The mighty voice came not in rage, but
in profound, otherworldly sorrow, speaking directly to Solomon's tortured, unspoken thoughts.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Because you have done this, because you have turned your
heart from me, because you have chased after the gods
of your wives, and because you have not kept my
covenant and my statutes, as your father David did, I
will tear the kingdom from your hands and give it
(18:09):
to your servant, now, your enemy, Jeriboem.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
Solomon's breath was shallow, moistening the stone beneath his lips,
his heart raising his suspicions confirmed at last, the words
were a dagger to his soul.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
I will not do it in your lifetime for the
sake of your father David, but I will tear it
out of your son's hands. Yet I will not tear
the entire kingdom away from him. Your line will keep
one tribe for the sake of my servant David, and
(18:51):
for the sake of Jerusalem that I chose.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
The weight in the room vanished, but it left behind
an emptiness so vast it made his bones feel hollow.
Solomon gasped his hands, pressing into the cold stone as
if it could anchor him. But there was nothing to
hold on to, nothing at all. He had spent a
lifetime building a kingdom that would not last. It was
(19:19):
the epitome of vanity, a vapor. Solomon dragged himself upright
and pulled his knees to his chest, but remained on
the ground. He wept for an untold amount of time.
When his tears had finally dried, and his soul felt
hollow and empty, unbidden words sprang to his lips.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
Vanity of vanities, says the collector of wise sayings, Vanity
of vanities, all his vanity. I said in my heart,
I have a quiet Greek wisdom, surpassing a all who
were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had
great experience of wisdom knowledge. And I applied my heart
(20:09):
for no wisdom, and to no madness and folly. I
perceived that this also is but a striving after wind.
For a much wisdom is much vexation, And he who
increases knowledge increases sorrow.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
Solomon felt his heart harden and seal off, but he
lifted his head to the loose parchment and pens that
always lay ready on the table in his bedchamber. Solomon
numbly stood and walked to the table, his footsteps echoing
in the hollow hall. He stood and looked down at
(20:47):
the empty pages he would write. He would collect all
his wise sayings and proverbs, but he knew they would
not save him, They would not change the fate he
had seen. He swallowed hard and picked up the pen.
It was heavy with the weight of destiny in his hand. Outside,
(21:08):
the golden city stood gleaming under the moonlight. But Solomon
knew it was already dust. His legacy will not last,
his wisdom will not save him. His son will inherit
the throne, only to lose it.
Speaker 3 (21:27):
And the Lord.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
The Lord had left him. The Golden Age was over.
He knew it in his stubborn heart. He then pulled
the pages toward him and picked up the pen all
that would remain of his convoluted legacy.
Speaker 5 (21:55):
Today we witnessed a different kind of downfall. There's something
that I've noticed as we've been studying God's word each day.
Is very rare that the Bible gives a reason for
any of God's laws. But in today's story we actually
do get a reason. In Doe drid Me seventeen seventeen,
the Bible says this, he the king must not take
many wives, or his heart will be led astray. Here
(22:18):
the Bible does give a reason for the law. If
the king has multiplicity of wives, they may lead him
in the wrong direction. Jewish tradition teaches that in response
to this law from God, Salomon said, I will have
many wives, but I will not be led astray. In
other words, Solomon believed the reason God gave this law
only applied to regular kings, but not to him, not
(22:42):
to King Solomon, who God had given such great wisdom.
And this this was Solomon's fatal error, and it led
to the downfall of his kingdom. Many of his wives,
who came from a background of idle worship, established houses
of idolatry right there in the whole land. And so oh,
because Solomon thought that God's law didn't apply to him,
(23:03):
he actually brought great catastrophe and all of Israel. We
often want to know the reason for God's laws.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
Don't we?
Speaker 5 (23:11):
But maybe it's better if we don't know God's reasons.
Because if the great and wise king Solomon could rationalize
away God's laws, certainly so can we. And that is
a big part of faith, isn't it. So as we
continue studying God's word, let's commit to observing it even
when we don't fully understand his reasons. He knows better
(23:34):
than we do. Solomon's fall didn't begin with rage or
violence or some reckless rebellion. It began with building stone
by stone, treaty by treaty, wife by wife. And I
can't help but feel it was familiar. You remember Bavil, right,
that old tower that reached the heavens, where men said,
(23:55):
let us make a name for ourselves, where unity became arrogant,
where structure became defiance. Well, Solomon wasn't building a sanctuary
for God anymore. He was building it for himself. Solomon
wasn't just forgetting God. He was trying to make himself unforgettable.
But God doesn't bless self made alters, he actually breaks.
(24:17):
Then there's a painful paradox at the heart of Solomon's story.
He knew better, and he still chose otherwise. Solomon had
great wisdom. He understood wisdom, he spoke it, he wrote it,
he even passed it on to others. But in the
end his life became a cautionary tale and a source
(24:38):
of wisdom itself. Here's the question that I'll leave you
with today. What has your heart? Not just what do
you say you love, but what do you actually love?
What do you fear losing? Deep down, we all want
to be remembered. We want to leave a mark. We
want to write a book, or build that thing, or
start that movement. We all want to stamp our name
(24:59):
in the wes of history. But history forgets the only
thing that actually endures is faithfulness. Not fame, not success,
not admiration, just quiet, humble faithfulness to God. And that
that's the best legacy there is. You don't need to
(25:20):
be Solomon, you don't need palaces or thrones. You just
need a soft heart and a willingness to return to God.
He's waiting not with condemnation, but with welcome, turn back
to him. He loves you.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
You can listen to The Chosen People with Isle Eckstein
ad free by downloading and subscribing to the pray dot
Com app today. This prey dog comproduction is only made
possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Katina,
Max bod Zach Shellabaga and Ben Gammon are the executive
producers of the Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, edited by
(26:00):
Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by
Jonathan Cotten, Aaron Salvado, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold,
Sylvia Zaradoc, Thomas Copeland Junior, Rosanna Pilcher, and Mitch Leshinsky,
and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore. Music
(26:20):
by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Aaron Salvado, bre Rosalie
and Chris Baig. Special thanks to Bishop Paul Lanier, Robin
van Ettin, Kayleb Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller, Rabbi Edward Abramson, and
the team at International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. You
can hear more prey dot com productions on the Prey
(26:40):
dot Com app available on the Apple App Store and
Google play Store. If you enjoyed The Chosen People with
Yeile Eckstein, please rate and leave a review.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.