Page 19 - No Apologies

cast these things down must be prepared for resistance.
I have considered at length the testimony the Scriptures provide of Solomon’s life.
Here was a man who loved God, and who was greatly loved by Yahweh. Solomon also loved
many women. Many of Solomon’s wives were foreign women who were brought up in the
worship of other gods. These women were accustomed to their annual celebrations, feast
days, and rituals. They urged Solomon to let them continue to observe those things they had
loved since childhood. What harm could it do to decorate a tree at the winter solstice, and
give gifts to others? What was the real harm in painting and decorating eggs during the
spring equinox, or letting the women dress up in special festive clothes and hats? What was
wrong with baking cakes for the queen of heaven, or setting out offerings of food and drink
for their deities? (This is where the practice of leaving out cookies and milk for Santa
originated.) With such arguments the heart and mind of Solomon was won. He wanted to
please his wives, and he brought the worship of the Baal, Asherah, and other deities to
Jerusalem.

I Kings 11:4-8
For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his
heart was not wholly devoted to Yahweh his God, as the heart of David his father had
been. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after
Milcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites. Solomon did what was evil in the sight
of Yahweh, and did not follow Yahweh fully, as David his father had done. Then
Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, on the
mountain which is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestable idol of the sons
of Ammon. Thus also he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and
sacrificed to their gods.

Sisters in Christ, what is your influence upon your husbands and fathers? Would you
encourage them to follow the idolatrous practices that have infiltrated the church as
Solomon’s wives urged him? Is there in you a heart of covetousness? Would you be content
to abstain from Christmas and Easter celebrations when all around you are partaking of
them? The Jezebel spirit does not always appear as an enemy. It can be very attractive. It
will dress itself in whatever adornment that is most appealing in order to allure you. The
Jezebel spirit appeals to the lusts within your own heart.
Are you willing to stand out from the crowd, and to walk alone? The seven thousand
in Israel who were faithful to Yahweh had a very lonely walk. Few will surrender to be led
of Christ out of Babylon that they might arrive at Zion.

Jeremiah 3:14
“Return, O faithless sons,” declares Yahweh; “For I am a master to you, and I will
take you one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.”

Observe a hidden mystery in these words. Jeremiah was speaking to a people who had
fallen far into idolatry. Baal was worshiped widely. Baal is a Hebrew word that means
“lord,” or “master.” The people of Israel worshiped a lord after the fashion they had adopted
from the nations around them, but they were not worshiping the one, true Lord in holiness
according to His commandments. If you read the above passage in the original Hebrew you
will see that it states, “Return, O faithless sons... for I am a Baal to you.”