June 27

Today's Reading: 1 Kings 11:1-43

Today we begin a new section in our reading plan. After Solomon, the monarchy splits into the Northern Kingdom (10 tribes, "Israel"/"Ephraim," based in Samaria) and the Southern Kingdom (2 tribes, "Judah," based in Jerusalem) and spirals into sin.

Personally I can't imagine having 700 wives and 300 concubines. I'd be lucky to even remember a few of their names. God had given Solomon clear instructions not to take wives from the surrounding nations. But primarily for military and political purposes he had ignored what God had commanded. So his reign, which had started out very promising, ended in complete disaster when Solomon was influenced by these women to abandon the Lord and serve other gods.

As a result, God vowed to split the kingdom in two. Solomon's descendants would only reign over two of the ten tribes after the reign of Solomon ended.

There is an important lesson for all of us here. When we get so caught up in the things of this world and ignore the clear commands of God, we should expect that chaos will come not only to us personally, but also to others in our lives.