The Absence of Righteousness

“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” – 1 John 2:1 I’ve been sharing about wisdom, knowledge, and righteousness. As promised, let’s look again at God’s servant Solomon. Solomon was known for his great wisdom and knowledge. But what did he lack? Righteousness. As a young man, I was surprised by this, because in Sunday school we only hear about wise King Solomon—the one who built the temple, accomplished great things, and was admired by all. After building the temple—a huge achievement that even his father David was not allowed to do—Solomon’s story takes a turn. He began to ignore and break the principles for kings in Deuteronomy 17.  Solomon married many foreign women, even though kings were warned not to do so. He formed alliances by