6 "But if you or your sons betray me, ignoring my guidance and judgments, taking up with alien gods by serving and worshiping them, 7 then the guarantee is off: I'll wipe Israel right off the map and repudiate this Temple I've just sanctified to honor my Name. And Israel will become nothing but a bad joke among the peoples of the world. 8 And this Temple, splendid as it now is, will become an object of contempt; visitors will shake their heads, saying, 'Whatever happened here? What's the story behind these ruins?'
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Kings 9:6-8
Commentary on 1 Kings 9:1-9
(Read 1 Kings 9:1-9)
God warned Solomon, now he had newly built and dedicated the temple, that he and his people might not be high-minded, but fear. After all the services we can perform, we stand upon the same terms with the Lord as before. Nothing can purchase for us liberty to sin, nor would the true believer desire such a licence. He would rather be chastened of the Lord, than be allowed to go on with ease and prosperity in sin.