In First Kings, chapter eleven, verses five through seven, Solomon first tolerated the false gods of his wives, then turned his own heart after them, as in verses two through nine. In addition to his worship of the Lord, Solomon added the worship of the Sidonian goddess Ashtoreth involving immortal rituals and the worship of the stars, a Moabite god Milcom or Molech involved child sacrifice, as in Leviticus twenty-one, verse eight, and chapter twenty, verses one to five, and the Ammonite god Chemosh, a sun god. No longer could Solomon say that the covenant Lord was the only true God in Deuteronomy six, verse four.
Solomon’s idolatry shows that mere knowledge of God alone is inadequate to keep us from sinning. Sin comes from the heart and resists as one’s heart turns to faith and love toward God. Solomon, a preacher who warned others, fell into such blatant that he directly sanctioned spiritism, encouraged immorality and cruelty, defiled Israel, and dishonored the one true God.
Solomon, initially through his father David, only knew of one true God. However, through his wives, he knows and is aware of the gods they grew up serving. When Solomon married them, it left an open door to compromise, which will only be a matter of time before continually committing to the living God or eventually submitting to the other gods through his spouse is the spiritual battle when a person marries a person outside their beliefs. The problem with unequally yoked marriage situations is the tolerance of the in-law traditional family ways, and upbringing is the risk or sacrifice they make because it will eventually wear on you. The challenge is the believer either sustains and wins over the spouse to God or vice versa. The daily struggle when love leads over belief.