The Problem with a Divided Heart (1 Kings 11)

A Few Thoughts to Consider

Do you struggle with a divided heart?

You love God but have some things you’d like to do that you know are not aligned with his desires. This was Solomon’s primary challenge. 1 Kings 11:2 says, “Solomon was deeply attached in love” to multiple women—700 wives and 300 concubines, to be exact. “The numbers of wives and concubines with their children are deemed beyond enumeration,”

As August H. Konkel notes, “^[1]The wives are princesses, women of high political rank (v. 3). The Moabites and Ammonites are subject nations under Solomon’s domain; the Phoenicians and Egyptians are allies^[2].”^[3] Despite the political expediency of these unions, Solomon ignored God’s command to avoid intermarriage with pagan nations (Deut. 7), and as a result, 1 Kings 11:4-6 says,

⁴ When Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away to follow other gods. He was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his father David had been. ⁵ Solomon followed Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom, the abhorrent idol of the Ammonites. ⁶ Solomon did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, and unlike his father David, he did not remain loyal to the Lord.

The major issue was that Solomon had a divided heart. 1 Kings 3:3 says, “Solomon loved the Lord by walking in the statutes of his father David.” But he also loved the political and personal advantages of women. The verb “to cling to,” used in verse 3 of this chapter, is the same verb used in Deuteronomy 10:20 when God tells his people to cling to him. “The Israelite was to love the LORD wholeheartedly (Deut. 6:5),” Iain Provan writes, “But Solomon’s heart was divided (v. 4); he was a man unable to practice his own advice to his subjects (8:61).”^[4]

As a result, the ^[5]Lord is angry with Solomon, and in verse 11, the Lord says, “Since you have done this and did not keep my covenant and my statutes, which I commanded you, I will tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant.” Solomon’s divided heart resulted in a divided kingdom, and within a few short years, the once great nation of Israel became fractured, and God’s chosen people turned against him.

This should serve as a stark warning for us today. Trying to serve God with a divided heart initially feels like the “best of both worlds.” We gain the benefits of knowing him while still getting to do what we want to do. However, it’s not long before we’ll experience disastrous consequences. Like a marriage union, God asks for our total commitment to him and him alone. Anything less than this, and our covenantal relationship starts to unravel.