Solomon, the third king of Israel, continuing the golden age begun by his father David, reigned over Israel in extravagance and grandeur which lasted for 40 years. This is all the time it took to destroy Israel's course forever.
Solomon, who at the beginning of his reign, loved the God of Israel and covenanted with Him that he would walk in obedience throughout his reign and administration, blessed with incredible wisdom that exceeded that of any man, ended up being a man of foolishness. A man, fortunate enough to have the Lord appear to him twice and blessed with riches that far exceeded the riches of any man or king, sent Israel into temporal and spiritual bankruptcy. Within a year of his death, the land was divided into two kingdoms and the course of Israel's history was altered permanently (Old Testament Student Manual, Vol 2, p. 1)
Solomon followed in the footsteps of his father, lacking the tenacity to endure to the end. His is a story of tragedy of immense proportion not only because he caused his downfall but because he caused the downfall of a whole nation. Solomon excelled in two things: wisdom and riches. He ascended the throne at 20 years of age, reigning with his father as co-regent until David's death (1 Kings 1). His young age, inexperience and inherited responsibility weighed heavily on his mind as is evidenced in his conversation with the Lord at Gibeon where he went to offer sacrifices. The sacrifices which he offered to the God of Israel were excessive in number and are indicative of the great love he had for the Lord (1 Kings 3:3,4). Even in the beginning Solomon did things in a big way, offering 1,000 burnt offerings upon Gibeon's sacrificial altar. It was in this place of his great devotion that the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him that whatever he wanted, the Lord would give it to him. Imagine God asking you such a question. What would you answer? Obviously that which is at the center of your heart. Solomon remembering the great responsibility that rested on his shoulders asked for wisdom that he might judge Israel in righteousness (1 Kings 3:9). He, however, did something more by his reply to God than his request for an understanding heart. He acknowledged the true King of Israel and lowered himself down to be nothing more than His servant by saying: "And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude" (1 Kings 3:8). The request he made of God was not so that he coul judge his people but so that he could judge 'God's' people. He never referred to Israel as his people or his subjects. In one fell swoop he showed humility and acknowledged the God of Israel as his sovereign. This is in stark contrast to Saul, who's power as king went to his head.
Following such a demonstration of humility, God granted Solomon his wish making him the wisest man that has ever lived or ever will live and also promised him riches and honour which would make him a king with no equal (1 Kings 3:12,13). All God's promises to Solomon were realised. He became a man unrivaled by any upon the face of the earth. "For many years Solomon's sagacity blessed the lives of his people. Through this gift he successfully arbitrated difficult issues (1 Kings 3), built up peaceful relations with surrounding nations (1 Kings 5), attended to the thronging guests from every quarter of the earth who sought out his wisdom (1 Kings 4:10) and oversaw the establishment of Israel's first permanent temple (1 Kings 5:8). Indeed, Israel was blessed both materially and spiritually for many years of Solomon's reign" (Taylor D. Halverson, OT Lesson 26, Meridian Magazine). Not only was Israel great in the eyes of other nations during Solomon's reign, it stood as a monument to the power of the true and living God as was expressed by Queen of Sheba who came to witness its' fame and the fame of its' king (1 Kings 10:9). Solomon judged Israel in righteousness and with exceeding wisdom. He is credited with 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs (1 Kings 4:32). The fame of his wisdom reached so far and wide that 'there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth....' (1Kings 4:34)
Of all Solomon's achievements, the greatest was the building of the temple which the Lord promised David would be built by his son after him and to whom He gave explicit instructions, through revelation, for its' construction. Solomon built a splendid temple with the finest materials and dedicated it himself through an amazing dedicatory prayer once again affirming his devotion to the God of Israel (1 Kings 8:23-53). The temple was indeed magnificent, but not as magnificent as Solomon's house that he built for himself. The temple was in reality about the same size as the modern mini-temples we have today dotting the earth. Solomon's temple took 7 years to build and was about 100 feet long and 30 feet wide and 45 feet high. Modern mini-temples average about 110 feet by 80 feet, and are about 50 feet high. Compare that to the Salt Lake Temple which took 40 years to build and is 186.5 feet long and 118.8 feet wide and 210 feet high. Solomon's temple was, however, adorned with fine materials such as gold which was worth 108,000 talents in the Old Testament currency which translates to a worth of $41,796,000,000.00 of today's money (Ted Gibbons, OT Lesson 26, "King Solomon: Man of Wisdom, Man of Foolishness")
Solomon's wealth was staggering. The scriptures suggest that Solomon received annually 666 talents of gold (1 Kings 10:14). At today's prices that is in the neighbourhood of around $15,000.000.00 (Ted Gibbons, OT Lesson 26). That is an exorbitant annual income even in today's day and age. And herein begins Solomon's downfall. The riches turn him into a man of excess. Whereas the temple took 7 years to build, his house took 13 years. The description of his wealth and extravagances is astonishing (1 Kings 10:14-23). In the end Solomon's reign enforced great economic changes in the kingdom and his massive building projects created serious problems. 'He taxed the people heavily and used forced labour to complete his massive projects. The people began to complain and a deep resentment, especially in the northern tribes, began to fester......For the first time in Israel's history, there began to be a distinct difference between 'rich' and 'poor'. The king and his household were rich; the common people were poor. In between were the salaried civil servants and the merchants and artisans, many of whom had organised craft guilds by that time. Such class separations had not been known in the Israel where a shepherd boy like David could be anointed king - only 50 years earlier" (Great People of the Bible, pp 192-93, Old Testament Student Manual Vol 2., p 8).
If wealth and riches which made Solomon a man of excess, were the beginning of his downfall, marrying 'strange' women became the finishing touch of his foolishness. For all his wisdom, Solomon became incredibly unwise for 'one was not wise, regardless of his vast learning, if his actions did not comply with his righteous beliefs' (Old Testament Student Manual, Vol. 2, p. 13). Following the dedication of Solomon's temple, the Lord appeared to Solomon for the second time and acknowledging the dedicatory prayer, accepted the temple which Solomon dedicated to Him. At the same time, however, he issued a grave and serious warning to the king of Israel. He warned Solomon that if he and his children do not keep his commandments and if they go and serve other gods and worship them, that He will cut off Israel out of the land which He had given them, that He will destroy the temple which was built, and 'Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people' (1 Kings 9:6,7).
It is interesting to me that the Lord appeared to Solomon for the first time following Solomon's marriage alliance with Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Solomon married Pharaoh's daughter, brought her to Jerusalem and even built her a house when he built his palace and the temple. This marriage alliance was the greatest act of Solomon's foolishness. It was the beginning of him marrying many idolatrous women out of the covenant and the beginning of his many political alliances which signaled that he had more faith in these alliances than in God who was willing to fight and win Israel's battles. You might say he was beginning to lose the plot. God who knows all things from beginning to the end knew that Solomon was heading in the direction he should not want to go. So why make the promise of wisdom and wealth and honour if it was going to lead him to his demise? I suspect it was because the Lord knew that Solomon would in the end deny the one true and living God so he made Solomon's greatness proportionate to his fall. Marrying foreign women who led him and all Israel into idolatry aborted Solomon's ability to endure to the end and changed the course of Israel's history. "We cannot begin to calculate the damage Solomon did by introducing idolatry to the children of Israel. From that point on, the history of Israel was a losing battle fought by prophets against the forces of disloyalty to God. The same is true of us in our own spheres. Faithfulness to our covenants can bring untold blessings to ourselves and our families. Turning aside from these covenants will bring untold misery, struggle, and conflict. The story of Solomon is a cautionary tale to every man and woman in the kingdom of God" ((Breck England, OT Lesson 26, Meridian Magazine).
The greatest mistake Solomon made was that he went to his grave unrepentant, unlike his father David. He who loved the Lord forsook the integrity of his heart and came to worship false gods who had no power to give him any of the blessings he received from the God of Israel. He who had the greatest wisdom ended up being the most foolish. So it is sometimes with us. We overlook what the Lord has done for us and what He is capable of giving us if we stay the course. So we become foolish and dabble in sin and we allow sin to make us stupid, stupid because when we sin we become 'deaf, dumb and blind to the ways of the Lord. Stupid because habitual sin drives the Spirit away, leaving us outside the protective influence of the Holy Ghost. Stupid because it makes us incapable of drawing upon the powers of heaven. Being stupid costs a lot' (Sheri L. Dew)..........is not this foolish? is not this forsaking of wisdom?.........'sin costs a lot too. It can cost time, money, peace of mind, progress, self-respect, your integrity and virtue, your family, the trust of those you love, and even your Church membership. Sin is just plain stupid. And the cost is off the charts. So repent now. Repent daily. If you want to be sanctified, repentance is not optional'. (Sheri L. Dew, You Were Born to Lead, You Were Born for Glory, BYU Speeches, Dec. 2003)
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