In Ecclesiastes, chapter ten, verse one, “Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savor: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honor.” Just as dead flies by their decay spoil a batch of perfume, so a little foolishness can counteract the effects of great wisdom. Wise plans are good, but a foolish mistake can spoil them all.
“Great men are not always wise,” as in the beginning of Job thirty-two, verse nine. Solomon was one of the wisest men in the Old Testament, and the Lord asked him a question in First kings three, verse five, “In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.” Solomon asked the Lord in the following verse nine, “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?” In verse ten, “And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.”
The great thing Solomon did was rare because he could have asked God for something selfish, but did not. However, as he grew older, the king, as he was, loved strange women, as in First Kings eleven, verse one, “But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites.” Solomon began as a man who loved the Lord, walked accordingly, and built His temple. He experienced God’s love, grace, and salvation. Nevertheless, Solomon became hardened by the deceitfulness of sin and turned away from the Lord to serve other gods. If this could happen to Solomon, then it could happen to anyone serving God.