Who is King Solomon?

September 30, 2023

The Biblical account of King Solomon begins with his father David and his mother Bathsheba, the former wife of Uriah. 2 Samuel 12:24 details, “Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her and lay with her. So she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. Now the Lord loved him.” The name Solomon literally meant peace which is something that David and Bathsheba were in desperate need of after the death of their first son. Solomon was very loved by the Lord.

He was the third king of Israel after the reign of King Saul and his father David. Solomon’s reign as king was 40 years as accounted in 1 Kings 11:42. He is the author of the book of Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and most of the book of Proverbs. All three books have powerful revelation of the wisdom of Solomon that was given to him by the Lord.

In the beginning of Solomon’s reign as king he absolutely loved the Lord. As the son of King David, he followed in his father’s footsteps following the laws of God for a good majority of his life. The Lord loved his father David because of the way that he lived his life as a man after God’s own heart, Acts 13:22. Therefore the blessings that the Lord gave David were passed onto Solomon.

The Lord came to him in a dream asking him “…what shall I give you,” 1 Kings 3:5. In other words, God was allowing Solomon to ask for absolutely anything and He would grant him with it. His answer to God’s question was unexpected, he asks the Lord to give him wisdom to judge His people with the ability to discern between good and evil, 1 Kings 3:9. Solomon’s wisdom was so remarkable it had never been seen before.

God was extremely pleased by what he had requested because of the fact that he wasn’t seeking anything for himself. He wanted to have the ability to rightly and honorably judge God’s people. The Lord ends up giving him way more than he asked for 1 Kings 3:13 describes, “And I have also given you what you have not asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among the kings all your days.”

Solomon’s wealth, honor, and wisdom were something that was beyond extraordinary and had not been seen by the kings of the Earth in that time. The wisdom of Solomon was displayed several times throughout his 40 year reign as king. One instance in particular was his ability to discern between two women that came to him for guidance on a matter concerning their children.

One woman was lying about the death of her child and the second woman was telling the truth but it was a matter that was very hard to distinguish. Due to the wisdom that the Lord had given Solomon he knew exactly how to resolve the issue differentiating the true mother of the living child versus the one of the dead child.

When all of Israel heard how Solomon resolved this situation, they were in awe of the king. 1 Kings 3:28 details, “And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.” There was no question in anyone’s mind that God had given this great king incredible wisdom.

Another biblical narrative given that showcased Solomon’s wisdom was when the Queen of Sheba decided that she wanted to test his knowledge, 1 Kings 10:1. She came to Jerusalem with a mighty army, very much gold, and precious stones ready to disclose what was on her heart, 1 Kings 10:2.

She was amazed at how he was able to answer her questions with ease. 1 Kings 10:3 details, “So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so difficult for the king that he could not explain it to her.” The Queen of Sheba saw his insight by the way that his house was built, how his food was laid out on the table, his attending servants, and every other aspect of how he had his territory set up, 1 Kings 10:4-5.

Her response is very telling and it is captured in 1 Kings 10:6 it portrays, “Then she said to the king: “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom.” She saw the hand of the Lord on King Solomon with her own eyes and for herself and she believed the reports.

Solomon’s Building Projects

One of the greatest building projects that King Solomon built was the temple of the Lord. His father David was not able to accomplish the building of this temple due to the wars that were fought against him on all sides, 1 Kings 5:3. God explained to David how His temple was to be created.

1 Kings 5:5 gives us this account when it states, “And behold, I propose to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spoke to my father David, saying, “Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he shall build the house for My name.”

Solomon took the building of the temple seriously. He quickly began the preparation of it by sending a message to Hiram whom was the king of Tyre at that time. The king sent workmen and materials to Jerusalem to build the temple for Solomon. Hiram rejoiced in the fact that he was a part of building such a monumental building because he knew that Solomon was given wisdom by the Lord.

Along with Hiram’s workmen, Solomon also raised up a labor force out of Israel of about thirty thousand men, 1 Kings 5:13. He made sure the temple was built with the plans that were given to him by his father King David, 1 Chronicles 28:11. With Solomon’s cooperation and instructions it took the workmen 7 years to complete the amazing temple of the Lord.

Other projects that King Solomon partook in were: the building of his own house, the House of the Forest of Lebanon, a house for Pharaoh’s daughter, amongst other building projects that he participated in with Hiram.

Solomon’s heart turns from the Lord

One of the greatest weaknesses of Solomon was forbidden women. The Lord was very clear on His stance when it came to the children of Israel marrying foreign women. The reason that He was so adamant about them staying away from these particular women was because of the gods that they worshipped. He knew that they would turn their hearts away from the true God.

Solomon fell for the trap as disclosed in 1 Kings 11:1 it states, “But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites.” In his old age his foreign wives turned his heart after other gods and he was no longer loyal to the God of his father David. In fact he was setting up places for his foreign wives to sacrifice burnt offerings to their foreign gods.

The Lord was not pleased one bit and made it known to him that he was going to snatch the kingdom that out of his hands. However because of his father David He was not going to take it away from him, but He would take it from Solomon’s son in the day that he is king, 1 Kings 11:12. After forty years of reigning as king of Israel, he died of natural causes and his son Rehoboam reigned in his place.

It came to pass exactly as the Lord promised Solomon. As soon as Rehoboam becomes king he immediately faces challenges within the tribes of Israel. He refused to listen to sound advice from the elders about how to handle matters and the result was catastrophic for him. The children of Israel made Jeroboam king over their entire nation except for one tribe and that was the tribe of Judah. The outcome was exactly as the Lord stated that it would be, 1 Kings 11:13.

Also, don’t forget to check out my other blogs:

Who is the Prophet Isaiah

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Fight Back

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Feed Your Spirit

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Renouncing

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Confess and Repent

Recognizing Spiritual Strongholds

What are Spiritual Strongholds?

The Spiritual Laws of God-Poverty Part 1

The Spiritual Laws of God-Poverty Part 2

The Spiritual Laws of God-Restoration

The Spiritual Laws of God-The General Principles