King Solomon Mixed Religious Practices and God Was Not Pleased
In the Old Testament of the Bible, God tells his people to not marry those from other nations, folks who believe differently and worship other gods (Deuteronomy 7:3).
This isn’t so much to keep the bloodline of his chosen people pure but to keep them safe and their faith in God intact.
That’s why he says to not worship other Gods (Exodus 34:14). Mixing religions never works.
King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, wasn’t so wise when it came to women. Aside from having a ton of wives and lots of women on the side, many came from other nations who believed in different gods and not the God of the Bible.
It could be Solomon forgot what God commanded his people to do or that Solomon didn’t care. It might be he thought the rule was silly or it didn’t apply to him.
Perhaps he assumed he was too smart to let his foreign-thinking wives influence him. Newsflash: he wasn’t (1 Kings 11:2).
In his old age, his foreign wives distract him, turning his heart away from God and toward foreign gods. This divides his attention, and God isn’t pleased.
Though Solomon doesn’t fully turn his back on God, his devotion waivers. He splits his heart’s focus. In addition to biblical God, Solomon also pursues Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek, the god of the Ammonites.
He honors these gods and worships them (1 Kings 11:4-13).
God Is a Jealous God
The Bible says that God is a jealous God (Deuteronomy 6:15 and Exodus 34:14). He’s jealous of our attention and isn’t content with part of it. He wants all of it.
Because Solomon divides his attention, God removes some of the blessings he had previously given to the king and punishes him.
If we want a relationship with the God of the Bible, we need to do what the Bible says. We must give God our full attention. If we try to mix in other spiritual or religious practices into our pursuit of biblical God, it dishonors him and splits our attention.
If we’re merely trying to make ourselves feel good or find some sort of enlightenment, we can pursue any course that works for us. We can mix religions, practices, and philosophies to produce something that makes us happy. But that’s as far as it goes.
However, if we want a relationship with the God of the Bible, we need to do what the Bible says and pursue only him. Mixing different religious practices won’t work.
If we try that, we run the risk of making God into our own image instead of recognizing that he made us in his image.
Mixing different religious practices together is making up our own religion. It may make us feel good now, but it offers little hope of spending eternity with the God of the Bible.
With time in perpetuity at stake, we better do what the Bible says and ignore all other ideas as mere distraction.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.
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