The Deadly Dangers of Passive Discernment
King Solomon was the very model of discernment. The Scriptures state that his wisdom “surpassed the wisdom of all the sons of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt” (1 Kings 4:30). Moreover, God bestowed upon him unparalleled discernment, saying, “Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you” (1 Kings 3:12). However, those of us familiar with the rest of the story are quick to point out that Solomon’s life didn’t end well, despite his great wisdom.
Solomon was a tragic failure in his later years. The Bible records this disheartening assessment of the wisest man who ever lived:
“Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the sons of Israel, ‘You shall not associate with them, nor shall they associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods.’ Solomon held fast to these in love. He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away. For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites. Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as David his father had done. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon. Thus also he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods. Now the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from the Lord.” (1 Kings 11:1 – 9)
But Solomon’s downfall didn’t happen suddenly at the end of his life. The roots of his ruin were planted right from the start. First Kings 3, the same chapter that records young Solomon asking for discernment, also shows that he “formed a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt” (1 Kings 3:1). Verse 3 tells us, “Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David, except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.”
From the beginning, his obedience was lacking. With all his wisdom, he surely knew better, yet he allowed compromise and idolatry among God’s people (1 Kings 3:2) – and even took part in some of the idolatrous practices himself!
Discernment without obedience is a formula for apostasy. What’s the use of knowing the truth if we don’t act in line with it? That’s why James wrote, “Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (James 1:22). Failing to obey is self – deception; it’s not true discernment, no matter how much knowledge we have in our heads. Solomon is a biblical example that even genuine discernment can be replaced by a self – destructive delusion. Disobedience always weakens discernment. The only way to prevent this is to be people who put the Word of God into action, not just those who listen.
