What if I told you the wisest man who ever lived hid a terrifying secret behind the golden throne and divine wisdom? Solomon walked a path so dark that scripture itself seems reluctant to fully expose it. While the world celebrated his glory, something sinister was growing in the shadows of his palace. Something that would ultimately consume him. They say God appeared to him three times. But what happened in the darkness between those encounters? 700 wives, 300 concubines, altars to demons erected on the very hills surrounding God's holy temple. The man who spoke with divine wisdom began whispering prayers to Mollik and Kosh, gods that demanded the unthinkable. How does the builder of God's house become the architect of Israel's destruction? Here's the prophecy they tried to bury. The kingdom will be torn from your hands. Not by war, not by invasion, but by Solomon's own choices. The greatest king became the greatest warning. And the most chilling part, he saw it coming. He knew the cost. Yet he chose the darkness anyway. This is not the Solomon of Sunday school. This is the untold prophecy. The dark side of the wisest king that changed Israel's destiny forever. King David was old, very old. the man who had killed Goliath, who had united Israel, who had conquered armies. Now he couldn't even keep himself warm. His servants brought him blankets, but nothing worked. So they found a young woman named Abishag to care for him in his final days. But while David lay dying, his son Adonijah decided he didn't want to wait for the throne. He was handsome, born right after Abselum, and he thought the kingdom should be his. So Adonijah threw himself a party and declared himself king. He invited his brothers. He invited the royal officials of Judah. But there was one person he didn't invite. Solomon. Nathan the prophet heard about this and went straight to Ba Sheba Solomon<unk>s mother. In first Kings 1:13, Nathan told her what to say. Go into King David and say to him, "Did you not, my lord the king, swear to your servant, saying, Solomon, your son, shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne? Why then is Adonijah king?" Ba Sheeba went to David's bedroom, where he lay weak and frail. She bowed and told him everything. How Adonijah had declared himself king. How he was celebrating right now with sacrifices and feasts. Then Nathan the prophet came in and confirmed every word. David sat up. The old king found his strength one last time. In verse 29, he said, "As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my soul out of every adversity, as I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, saying,"Solomon, your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place. Even so will I do this day." They didn't waste time. Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Baniah the warrior took Solomon down to Guehon. They put him on David's own mule, a clear sign of royal authority. [music] Zadok brought out the horn of oil from the sacred tent and anointed Solomon right there. They blew the trumpet and all the people shouted, "Long live King Solomon." The noise was so loud that Adonisia heard it from his party. He was in the middle of celebrating his own coronation when someone ran in with the news. David had made Solomon king. Adonia's guests panicked and scattered. And Adonia, he was terrified. He ran to the altar and grabbed hold of the horns, refusing to let go until Solomon promised not to kill him. Solomon sent word back as recorded in verse 52. If he will show himself a worthy man, not one of his hairs shall fall to the earth. But if wickedness is found in him, he shall die. They brought Adonijah before the new king. He bowed down and Solomon simply said, "Go to your house." But David's final instructions to his son were clear and cold. In first kings 2:es 5 and 6, the dying king said, "Moreover, you also know what Joab the son of Zeriah did to me, how he dealt with the two commanders of the armies of Israel. Abnner the son of N and Amasa the son of Jetha whom he killed. Act therefore according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to Shol in peace." David died and was buried in the city of David. And Solomon began to deal with the threats to his throne. When Adonijah made the foolish move of asking for Abishag as his wife, Solomon saw it as a play for power. He sent Baniah, who struck Adonijah down. Next was Joab. When Joab heard that Adonijah was dead, he ran to the tent of the Lord and grabbed hold of the altar horns. But Solomon showed no mercy. [music] He sent Banayiah with orders. In verse 34, it simply says, "Then Baniah, the son of Jehoyada, went up and struck him down and put him to death. Shimeme was given a final warning. Stay in Jerusalem or you'll die." 3 years later, when Shimeme left the city to chase his runaway servants, Solomon summoned him. Baniah was sent once more and Sheime died. The text in verse 46 concludes, "So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon. Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and married his daughter." This was huge. Egypt was the superpower of the ancient world, and now Israel was family with them. But Jerusalem wasn't ready for a queen yet. So Solomon brought Pharaoh's daughter to the old city of David while he worked on everything else. In those days, there was no temple. The people were still sacrificing at high places because the house for the Lord's name hadn't been built yet. And Solomon loved the Lord. First Kings 3:3 tells us, "Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David, his father. The most important high place was at Gibian. That's where the ancient tabernacle was, the bronze altar that Moses had made. So Solomon went there to sacrifice. And when I say sacrifice, I mean he went allin. Verse four says he offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. That night God came to him in a dream. The Lord appeared to Solomon and said something incredible. In verse 5, God told him, "Ask what I shall give you." Think about that. The creator of everything standing before a young king saying, "What do you want? name it. Solomon could have asked for anything. Long life, victory over enemies, more wealth than any king had ever seen. But he didn't. Instead, in verses 6-9, Solomon said, "You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David, my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And now, oh Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen. Give your servant, therefore, an understanding mind to govern your people, [music] that I may discern between good and evil. He asked for wisdom, not for himself, but to lead God's people well. He called himself a little child who didn't know how to lead. And God loved that answer. Verse 10 says, "It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this." Then in verses 11 through13, the Lord told Solomon, "Because you have asked this and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right. Behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you, and none like you shall arise after you. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you all your days." God gave him the wisdom he asked for, and threw in wealth and honor on top of it. But there was one more thing. Verse 14 adds a condition. And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days. Long life wasn't automatic. It came with obedience. Solomon woke up and he realized it had been a dream. But not just any dream. This was real. God had spoken. So he went back to Jerusalem, stood before the ark of the covenant, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then he threw a feast for all his servants. It didn't take long for Solomon's wisdom to be tested. Two women came before the king and they had a problem. Both of them were prostitutes, both living in the same house, and both had given birth to baby boys within 3 days of each other. But one of the babies had died in the night, and now both women claimed the living child was theirs. The first woman told her story in first Kings chapter 3 starting at verse 17. Oh my Lord, this woman and I live in the same house and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth, and we were alone. And this woman's son died in the night because she lay on him. And she arose at midnight and took my son from beside me while your servant slept and laid him at her breast and laid her dead son at my breast. When I rose in the morning to nurse my child, behold, he was dead. But when I looked at him closely in the morning, behold, he was not the child that I had born. But the other woman immediately interrupted, "No, the living child is mine and [music] the dead child is yours." The first woman shot back, "No, the dead child is yours and the living child is mine." And they argued right there in front of the king. Solomon sat on his throne and looked at them. No witnesses, no evidence, just two women and one living child and one dead one. The young king thought for a moment. Then he said something that must have made everyone in the room go silent. Verse 24 tells us, "And the king said, "Bring me a sword." So a sword was brought before the king. Then Solomon gave his order. Verse 25 records it. And the king said, "Divide the living child in two and give half to the one and half to the other." The room must have been in shock. But then something happened that revealed everything. Verse 26 says, "Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king, because her heart yearned for her son, oh my lord, give her the living child and by no means put him to death." And but the other said, "He shall be neither mine nor yours. Divide him." One woman was willing to lose her child to save his life. The other woman wanted to see the baby die if she couldn't have him. And in that moment, Solomon knew. Verse 27 gives us Solomon's final decision. Then the king answered and said, "Give the living child to the first woman and by no means put him to death. She is his mother." The sword was never meant to touch that child. Solomon had used the threat to reveal the truth, to force both women to show who they really were. Word of this judgment spread across Israel like wildfire. Verse 28 tells us the result. And all Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered and they stood in awe of the king because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice. Solomon's kingdom stretched from the Euphrates River all the way down to the border of Egypt. First Kings 4:21 lays it out. Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life. This wasn't just Israel anymore. This was an empire. Nations that used to be enemies were now bringing gifts and paying tribute. and the people. Verse 20 tells us, "Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea. They ate and drank and were happy. Our peace, prosperity, happiness." Verse 25 paints an even clearer picture. And Judah and Israel lived in safety from Dan even to Beersa. Every man under his vine and under his fig tree all the days of Solomon. From the northern tip to the southern edge of Israel, people were safe. But running an empire takes resources. Solomon's daily provisions were massive. Verse 22 lists them. Solomon's provision for one day was 30 core of fine flour and 60 core of meal, 10 fat oxmen, 20 pasture-fed cattle, 100 sheep besides deer, gazels, Robux, and fattened fowl. He had officials over everything. Verse 7 tells us, "Solomon had 12 officers over all Israel who provided food for the king and his household. Each man had to make provision for one month in the year." [music] Solomon also had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots and 12,000 horsemen. But the most remarkable thing about Solomon wasn't his territory or his provisions. It was his wisdom. Verse 29 puts it plainly. And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore. Verse 30 goes further. So that Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. He was wiser than the famous wise men of his time. Verse 31 names them. For he was wiser than all other men, wiser than Ethan the Ezraite, and He-Man, Calol, and Darda, the sons of Mahal. And his fame was in all the surrounding nations. His creativity was astounding. Verse 32 tells us, "He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,05." 3,000 proverbs and over a thousand songs. And he was a scientist, too. Verse 33 says, "He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hissup that grows out of the wall. He spoke also of beasts and of birds and of reptiles and of fish." The result, verse 34, "And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom." Solomon had one dream that overshadowed everything else. Building a house for God. His father David had wanted to do it, had planned for it, had gathered materials for it, but God had told David no. In 1 Chronicles 22:8, God had explained why. You have shed much blood and have waged great wars. You shall not build a house to my name. David was a warrior. His hands had won Israel's battles. But those same hands couldn't build God's temple. That job would go to his son. But Solomon needed help. Israel didn't have the expertise for a project this massive. So he reached out to Hyram, king of Ty. Solomon sent a message recorded in First Kings 5, starting at verse 3. You know that David, my father, could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God, because of the warfare with which his enemies surrounded him. But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side. And so I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God. Then Solomon made his request. Verse six. Now therefore command that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me, and my servants will join your servants, and I will pay you for your servants such wages as you set. The forests of Lebanon were famous. Those cedars were massive, straight, strong, and beautiful. Hyram's response shows he was genuinely excited. Verse 7 says, "As soon as Hyram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, blessed be the Lord this day, who has given to David a wise son to be over this great people." Hyram agreed immediately. Verse 8 records his reply, "I am ready to do all you desire in the matter of cedar and cypress timber. My servants shall bring it down to the sea from Lebanon, and I will make it into rafts to go by sea to [music] the place you direct. The deal was simple. Timber in exchange for food. Verse 11 specifies, Solomon gave Hyram 20,000 cores of wheat as food for his household and 20,000 cores of beaten oil. Solomon gave this to Hyram year by year. But timber wasn't enough. Solomon needed workers. Verse 13 says, "King Solomon drafted forced labor out of all Israel, and the draft numbered 30,000 men." Verse 14 explains the rotation. "And he sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month in shifts. They would be a month in Lebanon and 2 months at home." And that wasn't all. Verse 15 continues, "Solomon also had 70,000 burdenbearers and 80,000 stone cutters in the hill country. Over them were supervisors." Verse 16, "Besides Solomon's 3,300 chief officers who were over the work. The scale was unbelievable." Verse 17 says, "At the king's command, they quarried out great costly stones in order to lay the foundation of the house with dressed stones. In the 480th year after Israel came out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign, the construction began. First Kings 6:1 marks this moment precisely. The temple's dimensions were specific. Verse two gives us the measurements. The house that King Solomon built for the Lord was 60 cubits long, 20 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. And here's something remarkable. Verse 7 says, "When the house was built, it was with stone prepared at the quarry, so that neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being built. Every single stone was cut at the quarry." When they arrived, they fit perfectly. No noise, no hammering. The house of God went up in silence. Then in the middle of construction, God spoke. Verse 11 says, "Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon." Desert verses 12-13, "Record God's message concerning this house that you are building. If you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father. and I will dwell among the children of Israel. The temple was important, but obedience was more important. Solomon kept building. He lined the interior walls with cedar from floor to ceiling. Then he built the inner sanctuary, the most holy place, 20 cubits long, wide, and high, a perfect cube. Verse 20 tells us he overlaid it with pure gold. The whole interior was covered in gold. Verse 22 says, "And he overlaid the whole house with gold until all the house was finished." Inside the most holy place, Solomon made two cherubim of olivewood, each 10 cubits high. Verse 27 describes their position. He put the cherubim in the innermost part of the house. And the wings of the cherubim were spread out so that a wing of one touched the one wall and a wing of the other cherub touched the other wall. Their other wings touched each other in the middle of the house. He carved all the walls with figures. Cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. He covered the floor with gold. The foundation was laid in Solomon's fourth year. And verse 38 tells us when it was finished. And in the 11th year in the month of Bull, the house was finished in all its parts. He was 7 years in building it. The temple was finished, but it was still empty. The ark of the covenant was missing. Solomon called an assembly. First Kings 8:1 tells us who came. Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the father's houses of the people of Israel before King Solomon in Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord. This wasn't a small ceremony. Verse two says, "And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the feast. The priests and Levites carried the ark. King Solomon and the entire assembly went before the ark sacrificing sheep and oxen. Verse 5 says there were so many that they could not be counted or numbered. Then the priests brought the ark into the temple. Verse 6, then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place in the inner sanctuary of the house in the most holy place underneath the wings of the cherubim. Inside the ark was nothing but the two stone tablets Moses had put there at Horeb, the Ten Commandments. Then something happened that stopped everyone cold. Verse 10. And when the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord. The glory of God had come down. Verse 11 describes what happened next. So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud. For the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. The presence was so overwhelming that the priests couldn't function. Solomon understood. He turned to the people and explained it in verse 12. Then Solomon said, the Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. Then verse 13, I have indeed built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever. Solomon stood before the altar, spread out his hands toward heaven, and prayed. It was a long prayer, asking God to hear prayers made toward this place, to forgive, to restore. When Solomon finished praying, he blessed the assembly. Then came more sacrifices. Verse 63 tells us, "Solomon offered as peace offerings to the Lord 22,000 oxmen and 120,000 sheep. The celebration lasted 14 days. Then Solomon sent the people home. Verse 66 says, "They blessed the king and went to their homes joyful and glad of heart." After the temple dedication, God appeared to Solomon again. First Kings 9:2 tells us, "The Lord appeared to Solomon a second time as he had appeared to him at Gibian. [music] And God's first words were acceptance." Verse three, I have heard your prayer and your plea which you have made before me. I have consecrated this house that you have built by putting my name there forever. But then God turned to Solomon personally. Verses four and five carry a promise. And as for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David, your father. Walk like David walked. Keep the commands. Do that and your dynasty will last forever. But God didn't stop there. What came next was a warning. Verses 6 and 7. But if you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them. And the house that I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. turn away from God, worship other gods, and everything would be destroyed. The temple itself would be thrown out of God's sight. Verse 8 continues, "And this house will become a heap of ruins. Everyone passing by it will be astonished and will hiss, and they will say, why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?" And the answer would be obvious. Verse 9. Then they will say, "Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore, the Lord has brought all this disaster on them." God laid it all out for Solomon. The promise was glorious, an eternal dynasty, a consecrated temple. But the warning was equally clear. Turn away and you'll lose everything. Solomon's first major political marriage was to Pharaoh's daughter. This wasn't just any alliance. Egypt had been Israel's ancient enemy, the nation that had enslaved them for 400 years. Now Solomon was marrying into their royal family. It showed just how powerful Israel had become. But there was a problem from the start. In first Kings 3:1, we read, "Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh, king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her into the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem. She couldn't live in David's palace. Why?" 2 Chronicles 8:11 explains, "Solomon brought Pharaoh's daughter up from the city of David to the house that he had built for her. For he said, "My wife shall not live in the house of David, king of Israel. For the places to which the ark of the Lord has come are holy." The ark had been in David's palace area, and that made it holy ground. An Egyptian princess, a foreigner who didn't worship the God of Israel, couldn't live there. So Solomon built her a separate palace. On the surface, this seems respectful. Solomon was protecting the holiness of the sacred spaces. But something deeper was happening. [music] He was beginning a pattern marrying foreign women for political gain. Back in Deuteronomy 7:es 3 and 4, God had commanded Israel, "You shall not intermar with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your sons from following me to serve other gods." And there was more. When God gave instructions specifically for Israel's kings in Deuteronomy 17:17, he said, "And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away." Solomon knew these commands. He had all the wisdom in the world, but he was choosing political advantage over obedience. The marriage to Pharaoh's daughter brought peace with Egypt, opened trade routes, and made Israel look powerful. It made sense from every angle except one. God had said not to do it. The marriages didn't stop. They multiplied. What started with Pharaoh's daughter turned into something massive, something out of control. Solomon kept taking wives and the numbers grew to levels that seem almost impossible to believe. First Kings 11:3 gives us the final count. He had 700 wives who were princesses and 300 concubines. And his wives turned his heart away. 700 wives. 300 concubines. That's a thousand women in Solomon's household. But these weren't random marriages. Verse one tells us where they came from. Now King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh, Moabitete, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women. Every single nation on that list was a nation God had specifically told Israel not to marry into. Verse two makes this clear. from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, "You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods." Solomon clung to these in love." God had warned them. He told Israel exactly what would happen if they intermarried with these nations. Their hearts would be turned away to other gods. And Solomon knew this. Yet the text says he clung to these in love. H the word there is strong. It's not casual affection. Solomon was attached to these women, committed to these alliances, holding tight to these relationships, even though God had forbidden them. Why did he do it? Political power. Every marriage was a treaty. Every wife represented an alliance with another kingdom. The Moabites were neighbors to the east. The Ammonites controlled trade routes. The had copper mines. The Sidonians were master sailors and traders. The Hittites had military technology. Each marriage made sense politically. Each one brought something valuable to Israel. But each one also brought foreign gods into Solomon's household. And with 700 wives of royal birth, that meant 700 sets of religious practices, 700 different worship traditions, 700 voices telling Solomon that their gods deserved honor, too. The palace must have been chaos. How do you manage a thousand women? How do you give attention to 700 wives? You can't. Solomon couldn't have known most of them personally. They were political symbols more than partners. This wasn't love. This was accumulation. Solomon was collecting women the same way he collected gold and horses. They were trophies, proof of his reach and influence. Building the temple had required massive labor. Building Solomon's own palace required even more. And Solomon didn't stop with just two buildings. He built the wall of Jerusalem. He built the millow. He built cities for storage and cities for his chariots and cities for his horsemen. First Kings chapter 9:15 lists some of the projects. And this is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon drafted to build the house of the Lord and his own house and the millow and the wall of Jerusalem and Hazer and Megiddo and Gazer. Forced labor. The Hebrew word there means compulsory service, conscription, labor that wasn't voluntary. People didn't have a choice. Now, Solomon did make a distinction. Verses 20- 21 explain all the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the people of Israel, their descendants who were left after them in the land, whom the people of Israel were unable to devote to destruction. These Solomon drafted to be slaves and so they are to this day. The foreign peoples living in Israel became permanent slave labor. They had no rights, no way out. But what about the Israelites? Verse 22 makes a claim. But of the people of Israel, Solomon made no slaves. They were the soldiers. They were his officials, his commanders, his captains, his chariot commanders, and his horsemen. That sounds good, but there's a problem. We already know Solomon drafted 30,000 men from Israel to work in Lebanon, and the burden was heavy. First Kings 12:4 records what the people said to Solomon's son after Solomon died. Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore, lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you." The people were crushed under the weight of Solomon's projects. His building programs looked glorious, but they extracted an enormous human cost. Men were taken from their families for months at a time. The 12 administrative districts Solomon created didn't follow traditional tribal boundaries. And if you look carefully at the list in First Kings 4, you'll notice something. Judah, Solomon's own tribe, isn't included in the [clears throat] districts that had to provide for the king's household. The burden fell on the other tribes. This created resentment. The northern tribes were working and paying to build up Jerusalem and Judah while their own regions were being depleted. Solomon's father, David, had been a shepherd who became king. He'd lived with the people, fought alongside them. Solomon had been born in the palace. He'd never known poverty or hard labor. To him, these projects were necessary. To the people doing the work, they were oppression. The irony is painful. Israel had been slaves in Egypt. God had delivered them with a mighty hand. Now under their wisest king, they were being enslaved again, not to a foreign nation, to their own government. Solomon's wealth was legendary. But the daily provisions for his household were only the beginning of his excess. First Kings 10:14 tells us, "Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talons of gold." That's about 25 tons of gold every single year. Verse 15 adds more. Besides that which came from the explorers and from the business of the merchants and from all the kings of the west and from the governors of the land. Nay the tribute and trade income was so massive that the regular gold shipments weren't even the main source. What did Solomon do with all this wealth? He displayed it. Verse 16 says, "King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold. 600 shekels of gold went into each shield. 200 shields made of pure gold. Each one using about 15 pounds of gold. These weren't for battle. They were for show. Verse 17 continues, "And he made 300 shields of beaten gold. Three miners of gold went into each shield, and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. Then there was his throne." Verses 18- 20 describe it. The king also made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with the finest gold. The throne had six steps, and at the back of the throne was a calf's head, and on each side of the seat were armrests and two lions standing beside the armrests, while 12 lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. Nothing like it was ever made in any kingdom. an ivory throne covered in gold with 14 carved lions and the everyday items. Verse 21, all King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of silver. Silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon. Silver was considered worthless. Verse 27 puts it plainly. And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the shepherd. Solomon also had a fleet of ships. Verse 22. For the king had a fleet of ships of Tarsish at sea with the fleet of Hyram. Once every 3 years, the fleet of ships of Tarsish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. apes and peacocks. Those were luxuries that served no purpose except to show off. Verse 23 sums it up. Thus, King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. But here's what's happening beneath all this glory. Remember what God said back in Deuteronomy 17 16 and 17. only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt. And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away. Nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold. Three specific warnings. Don't multiply horses. Don't multiply wives. Don't multiply gold and silver. Solomon had already violated the wife command. Now look at first Kings 10 26. And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. And where did horses come from? Verse 28 answers, "And Solomon's import of horses was from Egypt and Kuet. And the king's traders received them from Quay at a price. Egypt, the very place God said not to go back to for horses. Solomon had now violated all three commands. Many wives, check. Excessive gold and silver, check. Many horses from Egypt, check. News of Solomon's wisdom had spread to the ends of the earth. And one day, a queen decided to see for herself if the rumors were true. She came from Sheba, a kingdom in southern Arabia, over a thousand miles away. First Kings 10:1 tells us, "Now when the Queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. She didn't come empty-handed." Verse two says, "She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue with camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. When she arrived and met Solomon, she asked him everything she'd been wondering about. And verse three tells us, "And Solomon answered all her questions. There was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her. Every question, every riddle, Solomon had an answer for all of it. But it wasn't just his wisdom that impressed her." Verses 4-7 describe her reaction. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her. She was overwhelmed. She couldn't even speak. When she finally found her words, she said to the king in verses 6 and 7, "The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom. But I did not believe the reports until I came, and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpassed the report that I heard." She'd heard the stories and thought they were exaggerated. Now she was saying the reality was even more impressive. Then she blessed Solomon. Verse 9. Blessed be the Lord your God who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel. Because the Lord loved Israel forever. He has made you king that you may execute justice and righteousness. She recognized that Solomon's position came from the God of Israel. The gifts she brought were extraordinary. Verse 10. Then she gave the king 120 talants of gold and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones. Never again came such an abundance of spices as these that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. 120 talants of gold is about 4 12 tons. And Solomon gave her gifts right back. Verse 13. And King Solomon gave to the Queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked, besides what was given her by the bounty of King Solomon. Then she went home. On the surface, this story is the pinnacle of Solomon's glory. But notice what's missing. There's no record that the queen converted. She blessed God, but then she went home to her own land, presumably to her own gods. And notice what Solomon showed her. His house, his food, his servants, his wealth. The focus was on Solomon's glory, not God's. The queen was impressed with Solomon. She praised God because God had blessed Solomon. This visit should have been about displaying God's greatness. Instead, it became about displaying Solomon's greatness. Time passed. Solomon grew old and something dark began to happen. First Kings 11:4 tells us, "For when Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. His wives turned his heart. The thing God had warned about, it happened, and it wasn't subtle." Verse 5 gets specific. For Solomon went after Ashtarth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites. Ashtareth was a fertility goddess. Milkcom, also called Malik, was even worse. His worship involved child sacrifice. Solomon, the man who built God's temple, was now following gods that represented everything God hated. Verse 6 says it plainly. So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord as David his father had done. David had sinned. But David's heart always came back to God. He repented. He never turned to other gods. Solomon's sins were different. They were about divided loyalty, trying to serve God and other gods at the same time. And Solomon didn't just worship these gods privately. He built them shrines. Verse 7. Then Solomon built a high place for Keosh, the abomination of Moab, and for Mollik, the abomination of the Ammonites on the mountain east of Jerusalem. The mountain east of Jerusalem. That's the Mount of Olives. From the temple mount, you could look across and see these high places. The temple of God and the shrines to demons visible from each other. Verse 8 expands the horror. And so he did for all his foreign wives who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods. All of them. 700 wives, each with her own gods. And Solomon built places for them all. The hills around Jerusalem became dotted with high places, shrines, altars to foreign gods. Think about what this means. Solomon's household was practicing polytheism. Egyptian gods, Moabitete gods, Ammonite gods, Sidonian gods, all being worshiped openly in and around Jerusalem. This wasn't happening in secret. These were public structures on prominent hills. Everyone in Jerusalem could see them. Everyone knew the king had authorized them. What message did that send to Israel? If the wisest king honors these gods, maybe they're worth honoring. If Solomon builds them shrines, maybe they have power. The man who was supposed to lead Israel in worship of the one true God was instead leading them into idolatry. Something fundamental had changed in Solomon. The man who once humbled himself at Gibian, who called himself a little child, who asked only for wisdom. That man was gone. First Kings 11:4 already told us his heart wasn't wholly true to the Lord like David's had been. But it goes deeper than [music] that. Solomon's heart didn't just drift. It turned. Look at what he had received. At Gibian, God had appeared and given him wisdom. After the temple dedication, God had appeared a second time. God had given Solomon wealth, honor, and peace beyond any other king. And how did Solomon respond? By building shrines to gods that demanded child sacrifice, by worshiping fertility goddesses. There's no record that Solomon argued with his wives. No indication that he resisted their influence. Instead, verse 8 tells us he did it for all of them. He accommodated every request. Why would the wisest man in the world do this? Because wisdom without obedience is worthless. Solomon knew what God wanted. He had all of scripture, all the law. He knew the commands. He knew the warnings. But he did it anyway, not out of ignorance, out of choice, deliberate, calculated, repeated choice. Maybe he convinced himself he was being diplomatic. These marriages secured peace. These shrines kept his wives happy and maintained political stability. He could worship God in the temple and let his wives worship their gods on the high places. Everyone was satisfied. Or maybe he convinced himself that he was above the rules. He had more wisdom than anyone. Surely he could handle multiple religious influences without being corrupted. The warnings were for ordinary people, but him he was different. Or maybe after years of everything going right, he simply stopped caring. When you have everything, God's approval starts to seem less important. Whatever his reasoning, the result was the same. Solomon's heart grew cold. He still performed the rituals at the temple. He still offered sacrifices, but his heart was elsewhere, divided among a thousand other interests. The man who'd received more from God than anyone else was treating God like just another political relationship to manage. God had been patient. He'd given Solomon every blessing. He'd appeared to him twice. He'd warned him clearly. Now, seeing what Solomon had done, God's patience ran out. First Kings 11:9 tells us, "And the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice." God was angry, not disappointed, angry. The Hebrew word there means burning anger, fury, wrath, and notice what made it worse. God had appeared to him twice. This wasn't some king who never heard from God. Solomon had face-to-face encounters with the Almighty. Verse 10 continues, "And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods, but he did not keep what the Lord commanded." God had commanded. Solomon had disobeyed. It was that simple. There was no gray area. So God spoke, not in blessing this time, in judgment. Verse 11 records what the Lord said to Solomon. Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. The kingdom would be torn away, not conquered by enemies, torn from Solomon's hand by God himself, and it would be given to a servant. This was the opposite of everything God had promised. At the temple dedication, God had said Solomon's throne would be established forever if he walked in obedience. Now, because Solomon hadn't walked in obedience, the kingdom would be ripped away. But there was a small mercy. Verse 12. Yet for the sake of David, your father, I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. David again. Even now, God remembered his covenant with David. Solomon would keep the kingdom for the rest of his life, but his son would lose it, and not even all of it would be lost. Verse 13. However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son, for the sake of David, my servant, and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen. One tribe would remain, not because Solomon deserved it, because of David, because of Jerusalem. The judgment was set. Everything Solomon had built would come crashing down, not in some distant future, in his son's lifetime, one generation away. And it was all because Solomon chose political convenience over obedience, because he chose his wives over his God. The wisest king had made the most foolish choice imaginable. For most of Solomon's reign, there had been peace. No wars, no invasions, no threats. God had given him rest on every side, just as he'd promised. But now, because of Solomon's unfaithfulness, that peace was about to shatter. First Kings 11:14 tells us, "And the Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite. He was of the royal house in Edom. Hadad had a history with Israel. Years earlier, when David conquered Edom, Joab had stayed there for 6 months, killing every male in Edom. But Hadad was just a little boy then, and some of his father's servants grabbed him and fled to Egypt. Verse 18 says, "They set out from Midian and came to Pan and took men with them from Pan and came to Egypt to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who gave him a house and assigned him an allowance of food and gave him land." Had grew up in Egypt under Pharaoh's protection. He even married Pharaoh's sister-in-law. He had a son there. He was living comfortably in exile. But when he heard that David was dead and Joab was dead, verse 21 tells us, "But when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, let me depart that I may go to my own country." Pharaoh didn't want him to leave. He asked what Hadad lacked in Egypt. But Hadad insisted, "Only let me depart." So he went back to Edom and became an adversary to Israel, harassing them constantly. But Hadad wasn't the only problem. Verse 23 introduces another enemy. God also raised up as an adversary to him, Reszison, the son of Eleada, who had fled from his master, Hadader, king of Zoba. Reszison had gathered men around him and become leader of a raiding band. When David killed the Zobites, Resin and his men went to Damascus and settled there. Verse 24 says, "And they lived in Damascus and made him king there." Now, verse 25 describes the situation. He was an adversary of Israel all the days of Solomon, doing harm as Hadad did. And he loathed Israel and reigned over Syria. two enemies, both raised up by God as judgment against Solomon. The peace that had defined Solomon's reign [music] was crumbling. The borders that had been secure were now under threat. The king, who'd never had to fight a war, was suddenly facing hostility from multiple directions. But the most dangerous threat to Solomon's kingdom came from within. His name was Jeroboam, and he was one of Solomon's own officials. First Kings 11:26 introduces him. Jeroboam, the son of Neabbat, an Ephraimite of Zered, a servant of Solomon, whose mother's name was Zerua, a widow, also lifted up his hand against the king. Jeroboam was from the tribe of Ephraim, one of the northern tribes, and he was capable. Verse 28 tells us, "The man Jeroboam was very able, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious, he gave him charge over all the forced labor of the house of Joseph. Solomon had promoted him, put him in charge of the labor crews from the northern tribes. Jeroboam had proven himself trustworthy and effective. But then something happened that would change everything." Verse 29 says, "And at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Schillonite found him on the road. Now Ahijah had dressed himself in a new garment and the two of them were alone in the open country. A prophet met Jeroboam on a road outside Jerusalem. And what happened next was dramatic." Verse 30. Then Ahijah laid hold of the new garment that was on him and tore it into 12 pieces. 12 pieces, one for each tribe of Israel. And then Ahijah spoke. Verse 31. And he said to Jeroboam, "Take for yourself 10 pieces. For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, behold, I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and will give you 10 tribes." 10 tribes, 10 pieces of the torn garment. God was announcing through his prophet that the kingdom would be split and Jeroboam would rule over most of it. Ahijah explained why in verse 33 because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashttoth, the goddess of the Sidonians, Keosh, the god of Moab, and Milcom, the god of the Ammonites. and they have not walked in my ways, doing what is right in my sight and keeping my statutes and my rules as David his father did. The judgment was because of Solomon's idolatry. But notice the timing. Verse 35 tells us, "But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand and will give it to you 10 tribes, not in Solomon's lifetime, in his son's reign." And verse 36 adds, "Yet to his son, I will give one tribe, that David, my servant, may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I have chosen to put my name." One tribe would remain for Solomon's son. Because of David, always because of David. Then Ahijah spoke directly to Jeroboam. Verses 37 and 38. and I will take you and you shall reign over all that your soul desires and you shall be king over Israel. And if you will listen to all that I command you and will walk in my ways and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments as David my servant did, I will be with you and will build you a sure house as I built for David and I will give you Israel. Jeroboam had the same offer Solomon once had. Obey God, walk in his ways, and your dynasty will be established. But there was a condition just like there had been for Solomon. When Solomon heard about this prophecy, he didn't repent. He didn't turn back to God. Instead, verse 40 tells us, "Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. But Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt to Shishak, king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon. Solomon's response to God's judgment was violence. Kill the man God had chosen. Silence the prophecy by eliminating the prophet's candidate, but Jeroboam escaped to Egypt and waited there in safety. The rebellion had been announced. The future king was in exile and Solomon's kingdom was living on borrowed time. The Bible doesn't tell us if Solomon ever truly repented. There's no record of him tearing down the high places he'd built. No mention of him sending away his foreign wives. No account of him crying out to God for mercy like his father David had done. What we do have is the book of Ecclesiastes. Many scholars believe Solomon wrote it in his final years, looking back on his life with bitter clarity. If that's true, then Ecclesiastes 1:2 gives us Solomon's conclusion. Vanity of vanities, says the preacher. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity. Everything is meaningless. That's the theme of the entire book. Solomon had pursued wisdom, vanity. He'd pursued pleasure, vanity. He'd pursued work and achievements, vanity. He'd accumulated wealth, vanity. Nothing satisfied. Nothing lasted. Nothing mattered. In chapter 2 11 he wrote, "Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it. And behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun. All his building projects, all his accomplishments, all his genius, he looked back and saw emptiness. He'd chased after wind and caught nothing. But then at the very end of Ecclesiastes in chapter 12 13 and 14 comes this conclusion. The end of the matter all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment with every secret thing whether good or evil. Fear God. Keep his commandments. That's what matters. That's the whole duty of humanity. And God will judge everything, even the things done in secret. If Solomon wrote these words, they show he understood. He knew what he should have done. He knew where he'd gone wrong. He knew that all his wisdom and wealth meant nothing compared to simple obedience. But understanding isn't the same as repenting. Knowing what's right isn't the same as doing what's right. And there's no record that Solomon actually changed anything before he died. The high places remained. The foreign wives remained. The compromise remained. The final years of Solomon's reign were unstable. The unity that David had carefully built and Solomon had inherited was fracturing along the old tribal lines. The northern tribes had never fully embraced the southern dominance. They remembered that Saul, Israel's first king, had been from Benjamin, a northern tribe. They remembered that David had ruled from Hebron in Judah for 7 years before the northern tribes accepted him. The division had always been there just beneath the surface. And Solomon's policies had made it worse. The labor conscription fell heaviest on the north. The taxes flowed south to Jerusalem. The administrative districts cut across tribal boundaries, deliberately weakening traditional loyalties and power structures. First Kings chapter 4 lists Solomon's 12 district offices. And if you read carefully, something becomes clear. Verse 19 mentions, Gber, the son of Uri, was in the land of Gilead, the country of Sehon, king of the Amorites, and of Og, king of Bashan. And there was one governor who was over the land. 11 districts are clearly named in verses 7 through9, each with specific territories. But Judah, Solomon's home tribe, seems to be exempt from this system. Some translations add a 12th officer in the land of Judah at the end of verse 19, but it's ambiguous. What's clear is that Judah had special status. The northern tribes noticed this. They were bearing the burden while Judah enjoyed the benefits. Jerusalem grew wealthy and beautiful while their own cities remained ordinary. The temple stood in Judah. The palace stood in Judah, the center of power, wealth, and religious life. All in Judah. This wasn't sustainable. The resentment was building. The tribes that made up the majority of Israel's territory and population were being treated as servants to enrich the minority. And everyone knew it couldn't last forever. Solomon had to know this, too. His wisdom should have told him that you can't build an empire on the backs of people who feel exploited without eventually facing rebellion. But he did nothing to address it. The system remained unchanged. First Kings 11:43 records Solomon's death with stark simplicity. And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rihoboam his son reigned in his place. That's it. No elaborate mourning, no poetic tribute, no list of his accomplishments, just a simple statement. Solomon died and was buried and his son became king. Compare that to how David's death was recorded. 2 Samuel chapter 23 preserves David's last words, his final prophecy about the righteous ruler. First Kings chapter 2 describes his detailed instructions to Solomon. His death is treated as a significant moment, the passing of Israel's greatest king. But Solomon, just one verse, he died. He was buried. next king. The contrast is striking. Solomon had reigned for 40 years, the same length as David. He'd built [music] the temple. He'd brought unprecedented wealth and peace. He'd been visited by the Queen of Sheba. He'd been famous throughout the known world. But scripture gives his death almost no attention. There's no celebration of his legacy, no recording of his final words, no description of national mourning. Why? because his end didn't match his beginning. He'd started with such promise, humble, wise, devoted to God. He'd ended compromised, idolatrous, and under God's judgment. His achievements were real, but they were overshadowed by his failures. The glory had faded. The wisdom had been wasted. The king who'd had everything died, having lost what mattered most, his relationship with God and the unity of his kingdom. And scriptur's brief mention of his death reflects that tragic reality. Rihoboam inherited his father's throne, but not his father's wisdom. And his first test as king exposed his foolishness immediately. First Kings 12:1 tells us, "Rehoboam went to Sheckchham, for all Israel had come to Sheckchham to make him king. Sheckchham was in the north in Ephraim's territory. The northern tribes were sending a message. They would accept Rehoboam as king, but on their terms. This wasn't going to be automatic like it had been for Solomon. When Jeroboam heard that Solomon had died, he came back from Egypt, and he stood before Rihoboam with the representatives of all the northern tribes. Verse four records their request. Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore, lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you. It was a fair request. Lighten the burden Solomon placed on us, and we'll serve you loyally. They weren't asking for independence. They weren't demanding radical change, just relief [music] from the oppressive labor and taxation. Rehaboam asked for 3 days to consider it. Verse 6 says, "Then King Rihoboam took counsel with the old men who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, "How do you advise me to answer this people?" The elders gave wise counsel. Verse 7. And they said to him, "If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever. Be a servant to them. Show them kindness. Lighten their load. Speak graciously and they'll serve you faithfully for the rest of your life. It was perfect advice, but Rihoboam rejected it. Verse 8. But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him. He turned to his friends, the men his own age who'd grown up in the palace with him, men who'd never known poverty or hard labor, men who thought like he did, who, verse 10, records their advice. And the young men who had grown up with him, said to him, "Thus shall you speak to this people who said to you, your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us. Thus shall you say to them, my little finger is thicker than my father's thighs." Show them who's boss. Assert dominance. Make them understand that you're even more powerful than Solomon. Don't give an inch. Verse 11 continues their counsel. And now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions. Scorpions were whips with metal tips or pieces of sharp bone attached. The message was clear. [music] You think Solomon was harsh? I'll be brutal. 3 days later, the people returned to hear Rihoboam's answer. Verse 13 tells us, "And the king answered the people harshly and forsaking the council that the old men had given him. He chose pride over wisdom, harshness over grace." Verse 14 records his exact words. He spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions. In that moment, Rahoboam destroyed everything. One speech, one display of arrogance, and the kingdom his grandfather built and his father maintained was about to collapse. The response from the northern tribes was immediate. First Kings 12:1 16. And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, "What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel. Look now to your own house, David." So Israel went to their tents. We have no part in David. No inheritance in Jesse's son. Go back to your own house, David's dynasty. We're done. And they left. Rhoboam tried to salvage the situation. Verse 18 says, "Then King Rhoboam sent Adoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. He sent the official in charge of forced labor to negotiate. It was the worst possible choice. The northern tribes stoned him to death. They weren't interested in talking anymore. They were declaring independence." Rehobam panicked. Verse 18 continues, "And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. The king fled for his life." And verse 19 gives us the final verdict. So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. The northern tribes made Jeroboam king exactly as the prophet Ahijah had foretold. Verse 20. And when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel, there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only. 10 tribes followed Jeroboam. One tribe, Judah, remained loyal to Rehaboam. The United Kingdom was dead. When Rehoboam got back to Jerusalem, he assembled an army. Verse 21. When Rehab came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors to fight against the house of Israel to restore the kingdom to Rihoboam, the son of Solomon. But God intervened. He sent a prophet named Shemiah with a message. Verse 24. Thus says the Lord, you shall not go up or fight against your relatives, the people of Israel. Every man return to his home for this thing is from me. This is from me. God was saying he'd torn the kingdom. This wasn't just politics or rebellion. This was divine judgment. And remarkably, verse 24 ends with, "So they listened to the word of the Lord and went home again according to the word of the Lord." Rhoboam listened and didn't attack. But it didn't matter. The damage was done. The kingdom Solomon inherited united was now permanently divided. Israel in the north under Jeroboam, Judah in the south under Rehoboam. And they would remain separate, often enemies, until both were eventually conquered and carried into exile. Solomon's story became Israel's defining warning. It was repeated in the histories, referenced by the prophets, remembered by every generation that came after. First Kings 11:4 gives the summary that would echo through scripture. For when Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods. And his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. Not like David. That became the standard. Every king who came after was measured against David, not Solomon. When scripture wanted to praise a king, it said he did what was right like David his father. And when it condemned a king, it said he didn't walk in the ways of David. Solomon, despite all his wisdom and accomplishments, became the example of what not to do. He was the proof that gifts from God require faithfulness to God. that wisdom without obedience is empty, that you can build temples and palaces and accumulate all the wealth in the world. But if you turn away from God, you've lost everything that matters. The prophets would later point to Solomon's compromises when explaining why Israel fell. Nehemiah 13:26 says, "Did not Solomon, king of Israel, sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin. No king like him, beloved by God, made king over all Israel, and still he sinned. Still he fell. If it could happen to Solomon, it could happen to anyone. Solomon's reign asked a question that every generation has to answer. What good is it to gain the whole world if you lose your soul? What profit is there in wisdom if you don't use it to obey God? What value is there in wealth and power if you sacrifice your relationship with the one who gave it to you? Solomon had been given more than any human in history. More wisdom, [music] more wealth, more peace, more opportunity. God had appeared to him personally twice. He'd received promises, warnings, and blessings directly from heaven, and he threw it all away. Not in one dramatic moment, not in a sudden fall, but slowly, one compromise at a time, one foreign wife at a time, one high place at a time, until the man who' built God's temple was worshiping demons on hilltops, and his kingdom was tearing apart. If this story impacted you, subscribe to this channel and hit the notification bell so you don't miss the next Bible story that reveals the truth they don't teach in Sunday school. Share this video with someone who needs to hear Solomon's warning. Drop a comment below telling us what shocked you most about Solomon's fall. And remember, the wisest king lost everything because he stopped listening to God. Don't make the same mistake.
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The Dark Side of Solomon – How the Wisest King Lost Everything | Bible Stories
