Loose Love
“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.” I Kings 11:1-2 NKJV In spite of the inspiring presentation of Solomon’s relationships with the Lord before this chapter, “ But King Solomon loved many foreign women …” implies a loose qualification on his love for the Lord. We know that this unfortunate scenario started when Solomon began to love what the Lord forbad: “ You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods ”. But how is this scenario possible for someone whose love for the Lord attracted many people, affluence, prosperity, and even those who were forbidden as marriage materials? It is a...