Darn women! Foiled again! I have a couple questions after reading this chapter. First, what does any man do with 1,000 women??? We already know Solomon to be a humble (enough) man of excess wealth and treasures, but his abundance of wives finally got him. Women were his downfall. I’m sure many men can relate. Second, what happened to the 12th piece of Ahijah’s cloak??? The chapter says that Ahijah tore his cloak into 12 pieces. He gave 10 to Jeroboam and saved one for Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. I guess I’ll just assume that Ahijah kept the 12th piece for himself. It was his cloak after all.
It seems after all Solomon’s blessings and all that God did for him, he still couldn’t get it right, and we have yet another bad turn of events awaiting in the pages for the Kingdom of Israel. We can get a little angry at Solomon (and past leaders) for being so careless with God’s blessings, but we really have no room to talk or judge. I think with all that wealth and power, I would have messed up long before Solomon did and probably in worse ways. Through Solomon, we continue to see God’s mercy and grace, even though we get the feeling that Israel is about to go through some devastating times.
Writing prompt: grace
What can you see in your own life when comparing it to Solomon’s? Write about the grace God has shown you, and thank Him for His never-ending mercy in your writing today. Ask Him for wisdom as deep as Solomon’s and for understanding of hardships and devastation that we see in abundance on Earth.
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