Legacy

June 13, 2019

Today’s Scripture reading from 1 Kings 11 highlights the problems of King Solomon’s excess and self-indulgence. The writer attributes the difficulties of Solomon’s reign to his insatiable sexual appetite, with the words, “Solomon loved many foreign women.” Indeed, he is said to have had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines, i.e. women who didn’t have the status of marriage, but were kept for sexual favors. 

He learned his lessons well. His father’s lack of self-control led him to rape, murder, and lie. David’s sons followed in his footsteps, Solomon being the worse perhaps only because he had the wherewithal to live a completely profligate life. 

But there is something else going on in this chapter of 1 Kings. Neighboring countries had been (often brutally) conquered and suppressed by Solomon’s father, and by Solomon himself. On top of that, although this was considered the Golden Age of ancient Israel, the burden upon ordinary citizens was staggering. All was not well in Never Never Land. Upon Solomon’s death, his son, who had none of the wisdom of his famed father, exposed his political ineptitude which allowed age-old tensions that had been smoldering for generations flamed to life. The violence and corruption that plagued the royal dynasties of both Saul and David came back to haunt the latter’s grandson.

There is always a reckoning. David was a violent man. Although his name means “peace,” Solomon wasn’t much better. And neither of them would have won any prizes for chastity or self-control. I am not a young man anymore, but the lesson is not lost on me. No matter what age I attain, failure to maintain integrity, generosity, and simple kindness is likely to have devastating effects, if not in me, then in those who follow in my footsteps. I am thankful that my father was a man of peace and faithfulness. He was not perfect, but his example of faith and sacrifice for my mother and our family has remained with me all these years. I am blessed beyond measure and beyond most men’s experience, and hope I can pass that same legacyon to my children and grandchildren.