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Post by Leeza on Apr 10, 2015 20:41:02 GMT
From the looks of these scriptures, it looks like Solomon died unsaved. What do you think?
1 But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites— 2 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. 3 And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. 4 For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David.
5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as did his father David. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon. 8 And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
9 So the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not keep what the Lord had commanded. 11 Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. 12 Nevertheless I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I will tear it out of the hand of your son.
1 Kings 1-12
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Post by elizabeth on Apr 10, 2015 21:30:10 GMT
Here's the answer from gotanswers.com. I don't believe that Samson is in heaven however, I believe he is in paradise with the rest of the O.T. saints. Question: "Was Solomon saved?" Answer: Of course, Solomon lived in the Old Testament dispensation and thus did not experience being “born again” or the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, for that was not possible before the Christ’s ascension and the birth of the church (see John 16:7). The terms born again and saved (in the sense of eternal salvation) are New Testament terms. That kind of language is not used of Old Testament saints. So, when we speak of Solomon’s being “saved,” we are simply referring to his justification before God and his presence in heaven today. King Solomon was greatly used by God in many ways. He received wisdom and riches from God. He built a beautiful temple because God chose him for that, and God’s presence later dwelt there. Solomon’s dedication of the temple in 1 Kings 8 is a humble, awe-filled occasion marked by thousands of sacrifices and a prayer overflowing with faith and praise. God used Solomon to write three books of the Bible: Proverbs, Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes. God said concerning Solomon, “I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father” (1 Chronicles 28:6). Surely, these facts allow us to surmise that Solomon was saved and is in heaven today. On the other hand, King Solomon also sinned greatly against the Lord (1 Kings 11:3–13). Sadly, he married pagan wives, built pagan altars for them, and even participated in pagan worship himself. The only reason God did not immediately take the kingdom from Solomon was that God wanted to keep His covenant with David (1 Kings 11:12). The record of Solomon’s sins, plus the dismal tone in Ecclesiastes, has led some to suggest that Solomon was not saved and is not in heaven today. Some point to the fact that Solomon is not mentioned in the great hall of faith of Hebrews 11 as another clue that he was not saved. However, many other Old Testament characters are not mentioned there, either, and Hebrews 11 was never intended to be a comprehensive list of the redeemed. Just as in the life of David, there were periods of disobedience in Solomon’s life that required confession and repentance. Do believers today ever sin? Of course they do. The actions of God’s people don’t always match up with what they profess. When believers stumble, they should confess their sins and receive God’s promised cleansing (1 John 1:9). We know that David did exactly that (Psalm 51). Did Solomon? Yes, we believe he did. The book of Ecclesiastes is a dark study on a life lived apart from God. Solomon looks back over his wasted years and finds no joy in them, only futility, vanity, and “a chasing after the wind” (Ecclesiastes 1:14). But he had learned his lesson—albeit the hard way—and he wraps up the book with this advice: “Now all has been heard; / here is the conclusion of the matter: / Fear God and keep his commandments, / for this is the duty of all mankind. / For God will bring every deed into judgment, / including every hidden thing, / whether it is good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13–14). This surely sounds like a man who has returned to the Lord and is trusting in Him. Of course, the ultimate answer to whether or not Solomon was saved rests with God, not with us. Salvation is in the hands of God and God alone because, as Scripture says, God looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). But we believe that Solomon did trust in God and, in spite of his disobedience, was a son of God. His writings clearly speak of a man who had a personal relationship with God and knew firsthand the folly of living without God. We assume that, upon his death, Solomon went to heaven to be with the God he loved and served. Despite his failures and shortcomings, Solomon was saved, by grace through faith, just as we are today. Read more: www.gotquestions.org/was-Solomon-saved.html#ixzz3WwbK3fqYfair use for educational and discussion purposes |
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Post by Leeza on Apr 10, 2015 23:24:14 GMT
Thanks, Liz. Good article. I really like gotquestions.org. Anyway, I thought that was a good explanation. Come to think of it, if Solomon ended up lost, would the Lord allow his writings to be included in the canon of scripture? I doubt it. It would be like seeing the Book of Judas being included in the writings in the New Testament.  |
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Post by Gr8tful on Apr 11, 2015 0:38:43 GMT
Good question and good answer ladies!!! Very good topic. I remember this question from yrs ago and it's just as interesting as it was back then!  |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2015 15:20:01 GMT
I enjoyed this and it was a good question with an equally good answer.
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Post by shiloh on Apr 14, 2015 13:26:37 GMT
Was Solomon Saved?
Q. I keep on hearing that King Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes after he repented from his fallen state (Although never got biblical support of this) marrying foreign women and worshiping their gods. This perplexes me because Solomon’s fall angered God and He swore to tear the kingdom apart. If Solomon repented how could God’s decree over Solomon’s kingdom have stood? Can you please share your views as to in which state Solomon was in when he wrote this book and elaborate farther?
A. There are arguments for both sides of this issue but to me they seem to be put forth by people who first decided in their own minds and then looked for Biblical proof to support their opinions. Those who argue for Solomon’s salvation point to his early relationship with God and his comments in Ecclesiastes about the folly of rebellious behavior, presumably his own. Those who argue against it base their opinion on the absence of any clear statement of repentance from him.
Everyone agrees that Solomon lived a life of extraordinary self indulgence. His palace, his stables, his income, and his harem all went beyond any standards of the time (1 Kings 10:14-29) and were conspicuous violations of God’s laws concerning the kings of Israel (Deut 17:16-17). As examples, his annual salary was equivalent to 30 tons of gold (about $1.15 billion today), and for him to take 1000 women to wife as 1 Kings 11:3 tells us (the difference between wife and a concubine is that only the former could inherit) would have required weddings on the average of once every two weeks for the entire length of his 40 year reign. And it’s clear that his wives led him into idolatry (1 Kings 11:4-6) which greatly angered the Lord.
We think of being saved by grace as a new testament idea, but if Solomon was saved he would certainly qualify as one of the Bible’s prime examples of salvation by grace alone.
gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/was-solomon-saved/
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