Was Solomon Saved? – LIVE Q&A for November 14, 2024

Was Solomon Saved?

We received this question from Belinda, through email:

Our study group is studying 1 Kings. As I was listening to your commentary on 1 Kings 11 and 12, you made the comment that you were not certain about Solomon’s salvation. I am curious about that comment.

Do you believe a lost soul could be inspired by the Holy Spirit to write not one but three books of God’s Holy Word?

Let’s look at the relevant passages in 1 Kings 11.

1 Kings 11:1-3

But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites—from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, “You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.

Verse 3 tells us, his wives turned away his heart. Of course they did. Based upon the Song of Solomon, we can say that at the first Solomon seemed to know what true love was with one woman. Yet his subsequent history shows us that it is possible to be in that place and depart from it.

1. We don’t know when Solomon added his second wife. When he did, it was easy for him to rationalize it – after all, the greatest King of Israel, his father David, had several wives and concubines.
2. As Solomon added wives, he broke the specific commandment God gave to the future kings of Israel in Deuteronomy 17:17: Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away. Solomon did multiply wives for himself (by any account 1,000 marriage partners is multiplication), and it did turn away his heart.

“The whole story of King Solomon is full of the most solemn value. His was a life full of promise, but it ended in failure and gloom, because his heart turned from loyalty to God, in response to the seductions of his sensual nature.” (Morgan)

1 Kings 11:4-8

For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as did his father David. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon. And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.

1. [4] When Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods: Age did not make Solomon wiser. He seemed to be wiser in his youth, and old age hardened the sinful tendencies that were present in his younger days.
2. [5] For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians… after Milcom… [7] Solomon built a high place for Chemosh… and for Molech: This seems almost unbelievable. We might not accept it unless the Scriptures clearly stated it. This man of great heritage, wisdom, and blessing turns to the most depraved gods of the pagan nations.
3. We should all carefully consider: If this was the case with the wisest man of his time, then what hope do you have apart from constant dependence upon Jesus Christ? Let the example of Solomon drive you to greater dependence upon and abiding with Jesus.

God announced judgement, but also mercy to Solomon – mercy for the sake of his father David. In 1 Kings, this mercy is in regard to the kingdom, and not specifically stated to be in regard to Solomon’s soul.

1 Kings 11:43 records the death of Solomon:

1 Kings 11:43

Then Solomon rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

1. [43] Then Solomon rested with his fathers: This does not necessarily mean that Solomon died a saved man. It is a familiar phrase used in 1 and 2 Kings (used 25 times) and was used of such wicked kings as Ahab (1 Kings 22:40). It simply means that Solomon passed to the world beyond. We cannot say with certainty that he is in heaven.
2. The last look at the life of Solomon in 1 Kings leads us to believe that he died in apostasy. There is no hopeful or cheerful end to the story in this account.

If Solomon did repent, 1 Kings tells us nothing about it. The silence of 1 Kings is a warning to all believers that they must persevere in the faith.

1. However, it may be that Solomon was shown special mercy for the sake of David his father (as in 2 Samuel 7:14-15, if that promise also applies to Solomon as well as the Messiah).

2 Samuel 7:14-15

I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.

Some also believe that Solomon wrote the Book of Ecclesiastes at the very end of his life as a renunciation of his fall into vanity.

The Puritan commentator John Trapp wrote what some others also believe, that Ecclesiastes was Solomon’s statement of error and penance, and evidence that he turned back to God at the end of his life – despite the absence of such assurance in 1 Kings 11. “He penned this penitential sermon, grown an old man.” (Trapp)

So – was Solomon saved? I think so, because of the promise God made to David. Yet, the Bible deliberate leaves this unclear or cloudy, so that we can learn and be warned. You’re not wiser than Solomon!

Why is the Wisdom of Solomon not in the Enduring Word commentary?

What version of the Bible is the Enduring Word based upon? Both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches include the Wisdom of Solomon its canon in their Bibles. I do not see it listed on your web page along with the other books of the Old and New Testament. Is this because Enduring Word does not view them as scriptural canon? Thank you.

Yes, that’s exactly it. The apocryphal books that we find in Bibles published by Orthodox and Roman Catholic believers include the Old Testament books known as the Apocrypha, which means they’re supplemental. I would not consider them to be part of the biblical canon. They weren’t regarded as so in the days of the New Testament. The New Testament does not quote from the Apocrypha in the way that it quotes the Old Testament.

I don’t believe that the Apocryphal books are inspired Scripture in the same way that the other 66 books of the Bible are inspired Scripture. I don’t think those books are necessarily evil. If somebody wants to read them, go ahead and read them. No problem. There can be value and benefit in reading them. But there’s a big difference between a beneficial book and Holy Scripture, God’s eternal and enduring word.

The Bible translation that I use in my commentary work is based on the New King James Version. I think there are many good Bible translations out there, but for several reasons, I prefer the New King James, not the least of which is I put 40 years and 4.4 million words into describing and understanding the New King James Version. So, I’m kind of partial to it.

With all the wives and concubines, how many children did Solomon supposedly have?

That’s a great question. When I answer these questions, I pull from the Bible knowledge in my head, which is certainly not infallible. But to my remembrance, despite having 700 wives and 300 concubines, the Bible only names one child of Solomon: Rehoboam. That’s it. One named son. Isn’t that remarkable? Rehoboam is the one descendant of Solomon that we know of by name, and we know that he was a fool.

This shows us that God’s blessing was not upon all the marriage and concubine relationships that Solomon had with his 700 wives and 300 concubines. We hear of the multiple sons of Abraham, the multiple sons of Jacob or Israel, the multiple sons of David, and so on. But concerning Solomon, we are only told of one son. If Solomon had more children than that, we are not told about it in the Bible.

I believe that’s because God wanted us to know that His blessing was not upon the polygamous marriage and practice of Solomon. Friends, polygamy is not of God. Now, was it practiced in the Old Testament? Yes, it’s true, it was practiced. Even some great men of God were polygamous in the Old Testament. But let me tell you something, whenever you see a polygamous family functioning in the Old Testament, it’s a disaster of family life. Look at what happened with David and his wives. Look at what happened with Jacob and his wives. Whenever we see a profile of a polygamous family in the Bible, it’s a disaster, and it goes against what God declared at the very beginning. Jesus explained this in Matthew 19, that from the beginning God said that a man shall leave his father and mother and cling to his wife and be made one flesh with her. He did not say one flesh with her and three or four other women, but one flesh with her alone. God’s blessing is not upon polygamy. The lack of descendants of Solomon is one evidence of that in the Scriptures.

Is our soul and spirit right now in heaven, according to Ephesians 2:6 and Revelation 6:10?

Ephesians 2:6 – …and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…

Revelation 6:10 – And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

First of all, Revelation 6:10 is not talking about believers on earth. It is speaking about believers who have been martyred, who are asking God to exercise judgment against their persecutors who are still on the earth. But your question is very valid regarding Ephesians 2:6.

The Bible says that believers sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, in a spiritual sense. How does that work? The believer is said to be in Christ, abiding in Christ. Christ is in you, and you are in Him. Where, geographically speaking, is Jesus Christ? He’s enthroned at the right hand of God the Father on high. So, if Jesus is enthroned and we are in Him, there’s a sense in which we are seated with Him in heavenly places. Praise the Lord for that.

But there are two errors we can commit when we think of this glorious statement that the believer is seated together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. First, we can err by thinking too literally about it. Right now, my entire being – body, soul, and spirit – is here on earth, not in heaven. If you think about this statement in an overly literal sense, it will require a division of soul or spirit and body. The Bible doesn’t give any indication of that being possible at all. The second error we can make is the opposite, to assume that it really doesn’t mean anything. No, there is a way that by faith I am enthroned, spiritually speaking. I am with Jesus, seated with Him in heavenly places right now. And that’s something I can enjoy and rest in.

I would not say that my spirit is in heaven. It has access to heaven, but it’s not in heaven. My spirit is right here with me. I am a cohesive being. I’m not a being that is split between body, soul, and spirit, as if they’re in three different locations. But spiritually speaking, because I am in Christ, I am in heavenly places. And I think we need to appreciate that more as believers. It should give peace to your soul and assurance to your heart. It should give you a sense of confidence right now that you are, as a believer, seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And you’re not seated in heavenly places because you’re so awesome. No, it’s because you are in Christ. He is our righteousness. He is our standing.

Matthew 7:21-23 says those who do the will of the Father shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Is that inferring salvation by works?

On the concept of salvation not being our work: I understand Jesus’s death and being reconciled to God the Father. Then comes Matthew 7:21-23, which says those who do the will of the Father shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Is that by work? Us doing?

Matthew 7:21-23 – “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”

Great question. We must do the will of God. We must do the works of God and the will of God. The works of God for mankind begin with putting their trust in God’s Messiah, in who He is and what He did to rescue them, especially by what He did through His sinless life, His substitutionary death and His glorious resurrection.

Having done that, yes, we are to will and to work, but we need to put it in this context. The will of God and the work of God for anyone who wants to please God begins with putting their faith in Jesus Christ. Once that’s done, yes, we live, we work, we walk, we do that. But nobody can do the work or the will of God without beginning there first. Let’s say that someone lives a good, moral life, but they reject and denounce Jesus Christ. Listen, it’s good that they live a good moral life; that’s not bad. But they haven’t done what it really takes to please God, because they have rejected God and His ultimate display of who He is through the person and work of Jesus Christ. When we do the work of God and the will of God, it begins with trusting in, relying on, clinging to Jesus Christ, both who He is and what He did to save us, especially in His sinless life, His substitutionary death, and His glorious resurrection.