Quick Question About Solomon Options

What did he did exactly in order to dishonor God, in the Bible.

I doubt it was the magic because the magic was given to him by God and the angels themselves.

What did he did exactly in order to dishonor God, in the Bible.

I doubt it was the magic because the magic was given to him by God and the angels themselves.

You might find 1 Kings, the eleventh chapter, somewhat illuminating.

The general consensus is that Solomon was persuaded by his wives into idolatry. This may be more than the weakness for women elsewhere described in regard to Solomon. One of the reasons Solomon ruled in relative peace was the fact that his wives included the daughters of important dignitaries elsewhere in the region. It is probable that they had hoped to secure a place in the newly-established kingdom through ties to the throne, and that effort in and of itself implies a certain pride among those tribal chiefs and national leaders.

Three deities are mentioned by name.

One is Ashtoreth, otherwise Astaroth, goddess "of the Sidonians," and probably the oldest deity mentioned in the Bible. This shrine had special importance at the time, since it was in the "House of Ashtoreth" that the armor of Saul had been kept. See Samuel 31. making a shrine to Ashtoreth was a great way to say "you folks helped establish this kingdom, and now you will continue to have a part in it."

Another deity mentioned is Molech, which is probably correctly translated as "king." Later in the Bible the name is associated more with the rites of the same name and less with the entity to which they were dedicated. It is apparent from Biblical and some very limited archaeological evidence that this rite involved infanticide. Consider the number of abortions performed today, and imagine that abortion was comparatively rare, and you can see the "rationale" behind having institutionalized infanticide. The abomination of Moloch was destroyed eventually, after having become so terrible that thousands of years later it continues to be considered the model of Hell itself.

There is also mentioned Chemosh, otherwise Shammash, the Sun. This deity is elsewhere gven human sacrifices in the scriptures, but that is probably an exception to the rule for the routine of this cult. It is no surprise to find Sun-worship in the ancient middle east. This sort of establishment was probably also a matter of public pressure, with shrines erected to preserve the idea of legitimacy in the ruler. If you have something like fifteen million people and half of them want to perform solar rituals - we call them holidays - you are pressured to cave-in and let them have a place for such festivals.

The Koran exonerates Solomon of idolatry, essentially claiming that he made those sanctuaries but retained his personal faith. The Testament of Solomon, and later rabbinical texts, suggest that it was not Solomon who became corrupt, but Asmoday who had stolen Solomon's ring and adopted the exact likeness of the king, banishing him into the Orient to live as a wandering cook. So the story goes, Solomon happened to rediscover his stolen magic ring in a fish, and was able to banish Asmoday and reclaim the throne at last.

The magic, as you say, was a gift of the angels. Specifically it was the gift of Raziel, who brought speech to Adam and religion to Abraham. This view of the ring, and of the magic it represents, suggests that the spiritual authority of magic is on par with the revelations of speech and prayer, conferring tremendous status and a mark of significant development. The ring worked wonders, but its true vitrue was only revealed when at long last Solomon was stripped of his worldly gains and discovered genuine love, without which he was not fit to rule even himself.