Solomon, the
king who continued the golden age of Israel begun by his father David, was the
third king who proved Jehovah right when he warned the people through Samuel
that they should not be governed by kings. Solomon reigned over Israel in
extravagance and grandeur which lasted for 40 years. This is all it took to
destroy Israel's course forever.
Solomon,
like his predecessors, loved the God of Israel and at the beginning of his
reign covenanted with Him that he would walk in obedience throughout his
administration but like his father, he lacked the tenacity that could enable
him to endure to the end. Blessed with incredible wisdom that exceeded that of
any man, he ended up being a man of foolishness. A man 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
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. This, more than anything, shows how much Jehovah was
willing to help the kings of Israel succeed. 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
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). 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 was a great beginning indeed.
Following
such a demonstration of humility, God granted Solomon his wish making him the
wisest man that has ever lived 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 unrivalled by any upon the face of the
earth and for many years Solomon blessed the lives of his people. 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).
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 the 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, adorned with fine materials such as gold which was
worth 108,000 talents, estimated to be millions of dollars in today’s currency but
in reality it was about the same size as the modern mini-temples of our day (1
Kings 6). It took 7 years to build but Solomon’s house took 13 years (1 Kings
6:38; 7:1)…..and so the cracks began to appear…..
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
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