The Consequences of Disobedience
1 Kings 11:4-13 - Thursday, February 8, 2024 - the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's reading provides us with the answer as to united kingdom of David split into two kingdoms: Judah and Israel. The biblical author places the blame on Solomon. Despite being gifted with wisdom and blessed with riches, Solomon departs from the way of the Lord and allows himself to be influenced by his foreign wives. He goes so far as to build a place of worship for foreign gods, thus violating the first commandment of the Lord: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me" (Ex. 20:2-3).
Solomon's sin finds precedence in the story of Adam and Eve, where the woman leads the man to transgress God's command. In the story of Adam, the Lord tells him: "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life" (Gen. 3:17). In today's story, the Lord tells Solomon: "Since this is what you want and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I commanded you, I will deprive you of the kingdom and give it to your servant" (1 Kings 11:11).
In our society, where everyone is encouraged to they please, we often forget the message of the Bible: transgressing God's commandments has tragic consequences. Adam lost his place in the Garden of Eden, and Solomon's son lost most of his father's kingdom. The tragic consequences of Israel's disobedience reached their climax in the loss of the Promised Land in 586 BC. Yet, in each case, God warned those involved about the consequences of disobedience. Adam knew that if he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would die. God told Solomon twice not to go after other gods. And for centuries, the prophets called people to repentance, but all to no avail. Finally, God relented and allowed them to do as they wished.
Someone aptly said that there are two types of people: those who say to God, "let Your will be done," and those to whom God says, "let your will be done." The first group commits themselves to doing the Father's will, while the second group wants to live according to their own desires, disregarding God's warnings about the possible tragic outcomes of their choices. As long as Solomon obeyed God's law, he was successful; however, the moment he disregarded God's commandments, things began to fall apart. This is the fundamental message that the biblical author wants to communicate to us.
But not everything is lost. For the sake of David, God left a portion of Solomon's vast kingdom in the hands of Solomon's son, and even when that portion was lost in 586 BC, God promised to bring the people back from the Babylonian exile. Sin is indeed a tragic thing, but God's mercy is limitless. Moreover, when we experience the tragic consequences of our sins, we learn the hard way that God's commandments are for our own good. It is through these experiences that we come to our senses, like the prodigal son, and return to the Lord. And He welcomes us with open arms because "where sin increased, grace abounded all the more" (Rom 5:20).