God's Story from Beginning to End: Solomon

 
Introduction 
 
The story and life of Solomon is both inspiring and tragic. It is inspiring in that we see how God uses him for His glory regardless of his sinful disdain for God.  In Solomon we see that God uses him mightily for his plan, purpose, and Kingdom.  But his life story is rollercoaster of sin and righteousness and despite his success and failures God gracefully accomplishes amazing things in and through his life.  Yes, Solomon was born in effect, with a silver spoon in his mouth yet his life was far from easy, carefree, and perfect.  Solomon has gone down in history as the wisest and wealthiest King in the history of Israel.  Solomon was unique because when he first became king God told him to ask him for anything he wanted, and Solomon responded with the desire to have and rule with wisdom over the nation of Israel.  This was a noble and humble request of a King who was granted a wish to ask for anything he wanted.  He knew the importance of having godly wisdom in ruling over God’s people.  I will talk more about this in a little bit.
 
Unfortunately, Solomon didn’t always rule with wisdom.   The more fame, fortune, and power he acquired he began to make unwise and sometimes sinful decisions like taxing his people unfairly, marrying multiple wives, and being ok with them continuing to worship their pagan gods.  Despite his flaws and folly Solomon’s reign resulted in a period of peace for the nation of Israel, but after his passing the nation experienced the fallout of his sin which resulted in a nation divided (northern - Israel and southern – Judah). 
 
God blessed Solomon with 40 years of leadership over the nation of Israel.  For the most part He ruled in godly wisdom and yet, he was an imperfect ruler as well.  There is a little debate over whether Solomon ever truly turned his life around and came back to the Lord before his death.  The book of Ecclesiastes gives evidence that he did as he realized all the material wealth, power, and influence he had was all empty, void, and meaningless if the Lord was not present in his life.    
 
Background
Before we move forward let’s pause and look back at Solomon’s legacy.  King David was Solomon’s father and many of you know that David had a turbulent and dysfunctional kingdom and family life.   He was blessed as he was considered a man after God’s own heart, and historically it is believed that David was the greatest king of the nation of Israel.  God promised David that the Messiah would come through his lineage (the Davidic Covenant).  It was also King David who had the vision and plan to erect a temple or house for the LORD.  He was also a man ridden with sin, dysfunction, and pain that ultimately affected his family.
 
1 Kings 1:1 – 10
Shortly after David and Bathsheba lost their first son due to his sin, Solomon was born to the couple.  Solomon was the second heir to the throne of David, right behind Adonijah (his fourth son with his wife Haggith).  When David was on his deathbed Adonijah prematurely proclaimed himself heir to the throne.   However, Bathsheba and Nathan informed him that he was not going to be king. 
 
I Kings 1:17
Unbeknownst to Adonijah, David promised his wife, Bathsheba, that Solomon would be heir to the throne.  Adonijah went away without an issue and thus Solomon became king.  Unfortunately, the story is not as simple as it seems.  There is much involved in this story that I will not go into today, but it does conclude with the bloody death of Adonijah and others.  This account can be read in 1 Kings 2:13 – 25.
 
Solomon became king of Israel after the death of his father.  He was a good king for most of his life.  He accomplished, as we will see soon, what no other king before or after him.  He was as a fair and just ruler, he built the Temple of God in Jerusalem, he established trade with other nations, and he possessed wisdom and wealth that surpassed his contemporaries worldwide.  Solomon wrote over 3,000 proverbs and 1,500 songs.  Most of the Old Testament book of Proverbs, all of Ecclesiastes and The Song of Songs (Solomon) were written by King Solomon. 
 
Unfortunately, unlike his father, he did not walk with God through the course of his life.  For better and worse Solomon is renowned for was his abundance of wealth, wisdom, and women. 
 
Today we will look at three key characteristics of Solomon’s life (good and bad) that may help us understand God’s purpose in using people for his glory despite their fame, flaws, and failures.
 

1. A Man of Wisdom and Wealth: The mere mention of Solomon should lead the Bible reader and serious Bible student to associate him with wisdom and wealth.  Solomon was as a leader of great wisdom and wealth. He was a leader of a nation who ruled with great wisdom (He is often referred as the wisest man in the Bible) and he was a leader who acquired great wealth.  
   
   1 King’s 3:3 - “Solomon loved the Lord and followed all the decrees of his father, David”  This is a great start to his reign as a king. 
   
   1 Kings 3:5 – 14 - One night in Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream and asked Solomon, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!”  Take a moment and pause.  Pretend for a moment that God comes to you one night and asks you for anything you want.  How would you respond?  I find this to be a difficult question to answer because naturally I would want to respond as Solomon does, “Lord I want whatever you can give to me that will make me a wise ruler and benefit your Kingdom.” However, I know me, and my inner sinner would respond, “Lord, give me stuff!  Give me money!  Give me power and influence!  I promise I will use it for you and your glory!”  (don’t judge me this is my dream.)  Thankfully God has never granted me that wish, and we have never had this discussion.  Yet, he did have this conversation with Solomon, and he has (to use the words of the Grail Knight from Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade), “Chosen wisely”.  This is what Solomon says, “Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?” Solomon asks for wisdom to rule over the nation of Israel and God grants him his wish.  God not only tells Solomon that He will give him what he asks for, but He will also give him “both riches and honor, so no other king shall compare with you, all your days.”  
   
   How cool would that be?  I can’t even imagine.  Well, God kept his word and gave to Solomon all he promised. 
   
   2 Chronicles 9:1 – 4:  The Queen of Sheba (modern day Yemen) came to see Solomon and to test him to see if he was the real deal.  Solomon answers all her questions and she, in turn,  saw his home, his table with food, his officials, his servants, his clothes, his burnt offerings, and she was speechless.  She was so impressed that she gave him gold, spices, and precious stones.  In return Solomon gave her anything she asked.  Solomon had it all.
   
   2 Chronicles 9:25 – 28:  Solomon’s wealth and wisdom was well known, and many nations heard of his fame.   
   
   
2.  A Man Who Makes a Dream a Reality: God gives Solomon wisdom, and he is blessed above all kings before and after him.  With his wisdom and wealth comes the ability, the vision, and the calling to build the Temple of God that his father envisioned.  In his fourth year as king Solomon begins building the house of the Lord.  His father, David has the original vision to build a house for God.  However, the Lord was He forbids David to build it because he was a man of war. Instead, God instructs him to collect all the materials, create a plan for the temple, and he would commission an heir, Solomon, to make his father’s vision a reality. 
   
   1 Kings 6:1 – 4: David was the visioneer and Solomon makes the dream a reality. 
   
   When the temple was complete Solomon brought in all the gold and silver his father had stored and dedicated and all the vessels in the treasuries of God.  He then assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the father’s houses of the people of Israel to bring in the Ark of the Covenant.
   
   1 Kings 8:62 – 64:  Solomon blesses the house of the Lord and then prays a prayer of dedication of the Temple and offers a sacrifice to the Lord... 22,000 Oxen and 120,000 sheep and he held a fourteen-day feast for all of Israel.   He held nothing back for his God and for His people.    
   
   
3. His Fall from Grace (…and possible repentance)Unfortunately, Solomon’s story doesn’t end on the high note one would expect.  God did give him great wealth and wisdom, he blessed him in making his father’s dream a reality however the Bible tells us that Solomon turns away from the Lord. 
   
   I Kings 11:1 – 12: Solomon had a weakness, and his weakness was women.  He loved many foreign women and he intermarried which was something the Lord explicitly had forbidden.  God didn’t want his people intermarrying because he was racist but because he is a jealous God and will take the back seat to no one.  He knew the foreign women who worshiped foreign and Pagan gods would turn his attention from Him and Solomon would be easily swayed into following or at least tolerating their foreign gods. 
   
   Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines!  Men, let that sink in for a minute.  Now, I am a not a mathematician, but I can conclude that is a lot of wives!  The downfall of having all these wives was “they did turn his heart away from the Lord.”  This was Solomon’s downfall.
   
   Solomon’s sin angered the Lord and in his loving grace and kindness He warned Solomon about following these foreign gods.  Solomon did not heed this warning so God told him he would divide the kingdom (after he passed). 
   
   We do not have a detailed record to shows if Solomon ever repented of his sin.  We can only speculate through the reading of Ecclesiastes that he possibly came to his senses towards the end of his life.  Solomon proclaims throughout Ecclesiastes that having everything means nothing if you don’t have God. 
   
   Ecclesiastes 12:13 – 14:  Ecclesiastes closes with this, “Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.”  This is the only hope we have that Solomon came to his senses at the end of his life.

 
Conclusion
The reality is that whether Solomon came to realize his folly before it was too late or not shouldn’t really matter for us today.  Why?  Because we can learn from his successes and mistakes and finish our lives in victory.  In conclusion I want to highlight some points that can be applied from the life of Solomon for us today
 

1. Seek the wisdom of God in all your decisions in life:  Whether you are an employer, employee, student, stay home mom or dad, retiree, widow, or widower seek God first in all matters of your life.  Seek God and his counsel.  Ask him to give you the wisdom you need to live your life so you may bring him honor and glory in your life.  Don’t be afraid to ask God for big things for his glory. 
   
   
2. Be aware of what God is doing and what he is asking you to do.  Christianity is not intended to be something you do, it’s what you are.  You and I must seek his counsel, determine what he is up to, and be available to use us for his glory.  We need to determine what God is doing and get on board with him so can accomplish all he has called us to do.
   
   
3. Keep your eyes on Jesus.  There are so many things in this world vying for your attention, affection, and devotion and many seem attractive and compelling.  God wants you to keep your eyes on him.  You or I cannot allow anything or anyone to distract you from following Jesus.  Do not have the legacy of Solomon that reads, “they did turn his heart away from the Lord.”  Whenever you allow your worship or focus turn from God to something or someone else this is displeasing to God.  May your legacy be this, “(Insert your name) was a man/woman who loved the Lord, walked with the Lord, and finished the race with his/her eyes fixed on Jesus.”

 

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