As King David was lying in his deathbed, his eldest surviving son began to celebrate his kingship. God had promised that Solomon would become king and had him anointed as such. After David died, Solomon went about completing David’s unfinished business: exiling Abiathar and Shimei and executing Joab for the wrong they had committed during David’s lifetime. As Solomon was sacrificing, the LORD appeared to him. When Solomon asked for wisdom, God granted his request by making him the wisest man to ever live and giving him riches and honor. People from the surrounding nations came to hear Solomon’s wisdom. There was peace in the land, so Solomon had the temple built from the blueprints given to David and dedicated it. The Lord came to dwell in the temple. God consecrated the temple for himself, but warned Solomon that if his sons do not keep his commandments, he would leave from the temple and Israel would become an object of scorn. Solomon gained many riches and the people of the world were in awe of him. Israel experienced a golden age, practically literally. Yet Solomon was not without his faults. He loved many foreign women and began to intermarry with the nations around him. His seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines turned his heart away from God to other gods. Due to Solomon’s idolatry, God said he would remove the kingdom from him and give it to his servant, but because of David’s faithfulness to God, he would not do so during Solomon’s lifetime. God began to raise up Solomon’s enemies and a prophet predicted that God would leave only one tribe for the Solomon’s son. The other ten would go to his enemies. Solomon ruled for forty years and then he died.

As David was dying, one of his son’s celebrated becoming king. The problem was that he wasn’t becoming the king; David had promised Bathsheba that Solomon would become king. So David made sure that Solomon did become king indeed. Solomon began as a God-fearing king. He completed some of his father’s unfinished business. He asked God for wisdom to rule and God made him the wisest man to ever live. Solomon built God’s temple. God came to live in it but told Solomon that if he or his children did not keep God’s commandments, He would leave. God gave Solomon victory over his enemies, a lot of gold, and very famous for his wisdom. Solomon was a good king for a while, but he had a problem: he loved many women. He had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. Most of these were not Israelites. They came from countries that worshiped other gods. They led Solomon to also worship these other gods, so God told Solomon that He would tear the kingdom away from him. A prophet said that God would only leave one tribe for Solomon’s son, while the other ten went to someone else. However, because of David’s faithfulness to God, Solomon would get to keep the kingdom during his lifetime. Solomon was king for forty years and then he died.

Every human being is born sinful; we all have a weakness. When Satan finds our weakness, he will exploit it. Solomon’s weakness was women. He loved women. When he succumbed to that weakness, he was led to idolatry. He didn’t completely abandon God, but was no longer wholeheartedly devoted to Him. His relationship with God paralleled his relationship with his wife. He was not wholly faithful to either. This is the area in which I also struggle. Pornography is so readily available that I am tempted to be unfaithful every day. When David failed, he repented and returned to God, but Solomon did not repent. Whenever I fail, it is vital to confess my sin, repent, and return to God.