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There is peculiar interest attaching to the earlier and later days of men who have made a figure in history. Here we have the brief record of the end of a character famed for wisdom above all mere men, upon which we have sadly to meditate that -

I. HE SANK UNDER A DENSE CLOUD.

1. His morning was very bright.

(1) From his youth he was beloved of God. In token of this he received from God the name Jedidiah (2 Samuel 12:24, 25). Could any distinction be more glorious? Let the young among us aspire to this distinction.

(2) When he came to the throne this name was changed to Solomon, the Peaceable. The wars of his father David were everywhere so triumphant, that no adversary now appeared (1 Kings 5:4). The love of God brings peace.

(3) He was zealous and faithful in building the temple of the Lord, which he devoted to God in a noble dedicatory prayer, and had an answer in the descent of the holy fire upon the sacrifices, and in the Shekinah taking possession of the house. Those who are beloved of God and rejoice in His peace are fit agents for the building of the spiritual temple of the Lord.

(4) He was blessed by God with extraordinary wisdom, not only in the arts of government, but also in various walks of learning (1 Kings 3:8-10; 1 Kings 4:33). The profoundest philosophers have been godly men. The boast of sceptics to the contrary is not sustained by fact.

(5) He was inspired by God to contribute books to the sacred Scriptures. The Chaldaisms which occur in the Ecclesiastes are not sufficient to wrest the authorship of that book from Solomon, to whom the Jews have ever ascribed it; for these it may have acquired in passing through the hands of Ezra.

2. But his evening was very black.

(1) His reign extended over forty years, and a considerable portion of that period he was under bad influences. Pharaoh's daughter is though[ to have been a proselyte to Judaism, but of this there is no proof.

(2) This foreign marriage was followed by about seven hundred more. These were distinguished as princesses (ver. 3). Not that they were daughters of kings, but wives of Solomon, of the second order, Pharaoh's daughter being queen. Beside these were the three hundred concubines. Such a harem, in its number alone, was a plain violation of the law (Deuteronomy 17:17). But he was still further guilty in making alliances with heathen women (Exodus 34:16; Deuteronomy 7:3, 4).

(3) The very evils predicted happened to Solomon; through these he was drawn into the grossest idolatry (vers. 5-8).

(4) The last act recorded of him was that of seeking to kill Jeroboam, who to avoid his resentment took refuge with Shishak, king of Egypt. Shishak was brother-in-law to Hadad, the Edomite adversary of Solomon, but not the father of Solomon's wife, as some have supposed. If, as the narrative suggests, this design upon the life of Jeroboam was in consequence of his knowledge of the prophecy of Ahijah, it was an evidence of extreme wickedness, for it was fighting against God. It was the very sin of Saul against his father David. And in this purpose he seems to have persisted to his death; for Jeroboam remained in Egypt until that event. How fearful are the evils of apostasy! How admonitory!

II. BUT IS THERE NO SUNSHINE IN THE CLOUD? Some think they see it -

1. In the promise of God to David.

(1) The promise referred to is recorded 2 Samuel 7:12-17. But was not Solomon, who was chastened with the rod of men by Hadad, Rezon, and Jeroboam, the subject of the mercy of God, in that his family was continued in the throne of Judah? In this he was distinguished from Saul, whose succession was cut off.

(2) Unless this answer can be shown to be insufficient, the Calvinistic argument based upon this text for the infallible final perseverance of the saints is simply a begging of the question.

2. In the Divine approval of the reign of Solomon.

(1) The passage relied upon in this statement is 2 Chronicles 11:17. But when the commencement of the rule of Rehoboam in Judah, for three years, is commended as according to the example of David and Solomon, the allusion, as far as Solomon is concerned at least, was to the manner in which he commenced his reign.

(2) This is sufficient for the consistency of the text. To make it prove more would make it prove too much by committing God to the approval of what He has elsewhere explicitly condemned.

(3) Rehoboam, who as king of Judah, like his father Solomon, began his reign well, fell into the snare of Solomon in multiplying wives (see 2 Chronicles 11:21).

3. In his authorship of the Ecclesiastes.

(1) The argument is that upon the message of God, by Ahijah, as is supposed (vers. 9-13), Solomon repented, and afterwards wrote this book, in which he confesses the vanity of his past life.

(2) But the theory of his repentance upon that occasion ill consorts with the history of his seeking the life of Jeroboam, because he was destined to give effect to the burden of that message. True repentance will bear meet fruit (Matthew 3:8).

(3) The Ecclesiastes was more probably written before than after the apostasy of Solomon. The allusions to his experiences as "king over Israel in Jerusalem" may have been prophetic anticipations, which may explain the past tense, "was king," which is agreeable to the prophetic style. When all has been said that can be alleged to encourage hope in Solomon's end, the doubt is grave enough to instruct us that we must not presume upon God's mercy, and sin. Let us rather hope in His mercy, repent, and sin no more. Praise God for the Great Atonement! - M.

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KJV: Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.

WEB: Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam; but Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, to Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.