Where was the Nathan in Solomon's life?

October 9th, 2025
by John Thweatt

I was reading 1 Kings 11 yesterday which is about the turn of Solomon’s heart. The man who is called wise, the man who experienced God come to him not one but twice, the man who was the son of the man after God’s heart, didn’t end well.

Verse 3-4 tell the story, “He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.”

This is not a “look at the wicked woman” post. I want you to look at the man who turned from God because he had no accountability. As I read the chapter, I kept asking myself, who was the Nathan in Solomon’s life?

David was a man after God’s heart, but he wasn’t the best of all the men in the Bible…his sins are well known, but David had accountability built into his life. He was as powerful as his son, maybe even more so, but he wasn’t above a prophet like Nathan coming in with a “you are the man” message.

Do you have a Nathan? Do you have a Paul pouring into your life? Do you have a Timothy in whom you are pouring? There is this line in 1 Kings that reveals the issue with Solomon and David’s sons. It’s in chapter 1 where Adonijah began boasting, “I will make myself king.” Listen to what verse 6 says, “Now his father, King David, had never disciplined him at any time, even by asking, ‘Why are you doing that?’”

It would seem Solomon and his brothers grew up with no accountability. Maybe that is David’s greatest failure, but it doesn’t have to be ours! Surround yourself with people who can ask the hard questions point out the sin, and hold you accountable.