Between the biblical characters of the Old Testament, the king solomon He was the one who shone the most for his wisdom and wealth. In fact, the wisdom of Solomon was such that: “He pronounced three thousand maxims, and his poems were one thousand and five” (1 Kings 5:12), moreover, he was chosen among his eighteen brothers, to succeed the throne of his father, King David. Unfortunately, he was the last king to rule over Israel before it was divided. We invite you to discover the history of this wise king, and the events that revolved around his life.
19786 members
Who was King Solomon?
Solomon was the son of David and Bathsheba, and was the product of the adulterous union between the psalmist and the wife of Uri, a soldier in the Israeli army. However, this did not affect him negatively in later years, since it was precisely he who succeeded his father on the throne. Solomon is well known in the Bible for having been the richest and wisest king of all time. For example, we can remember in particular the famous trial to answer two mothers who were fighting over a newborn. On the other hand, the Bible tells us that during his reign: “He made silver and gold in Jerusalem as common as stones, and cedar wood as abundant as the sycamore trees of the Shephelah” (2 Chronicles 1:15), and that he was the author of the book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs. However, at the end of his life, foreign people, including his 1,000 wives, turned his heart away from God to worship his idols.
Main episodes in the life of King Solomon
Solomon’s Wisdom
God replied to Solomon: “Since you make this request of me and do not ask for riches, or possessions, or glory, or the death of your enemies, or long life, but ask for wisdom and intelligence to judge my people, from the which I have made you king, therefore wisdom and understanding are granted to you, and moreover I will give you riches, possessions and glory, such as none of the kings before you had, nor will any after you “” (2 Chronicles 1:11-12).
The construction of the temple
“And the Lord fulfilled the word that he had spoken: I have succeeded my father David and have sat on the throne of Israel, as the Lord had said. I built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.”. (2 Chronicles 6:10)
Solomon’s prayer
“May your eyes be open day and night on this House, on the place where you said that your Name would reside there. Listen to the prayer that your servant directs towards this place! Listen from your abode in heaven, listen and forgive!” (2 Chronicles 6:20-21).
24412 members
God’s answer to Solomon’s prayer
“Then the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night and said: “I have heard your prayer and I have chosen this place as the Temple for the sacrifices. When I close the sky and there is no rain, when I order the locust to devour the country, when I send the plague to my people, if my people, who are called by my name, humble themselves and supplicate, if they seek my face and turns from his wicked ways, I will hear from heaven, forgive his sin, and restore his country.” (2 Chronicles 7:12-14)
Solomon and the Queen of Sheba
“The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, and she went to put him to the test, proposing some riddles to him. She arrived in Jerusalem with an imposing retinue, with camels laden with perfumes, a large quantity of gold and precious stones. When she came before Solomon, she laid out everything she intended to tell him. Solomon answered all her questions: there was no question for him so dark that she could not explain it to him “. (2 Chronicles 9:1-2)
Solomon’s wives
“King Solomon loved many women, besides the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite women, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites, that is, from those nations of which the Lord had said to the Israelites: “Do not join them , and let them not join you; surely they will turn their hearts to other gods.” But Solomon fell in love with them. He had seven hundred wives of princess rank and three hundred concubines, and his wives perverted his heart.” (1 Kings 11:1-3)
Solomon’s disobedience
“The Lord was indignant with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from him, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice and forbade him to go after other gods. But Solomon did not observe what the Lord had commanded him. Then the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have done this and have not kept my covenant and the precepts that I prescribed for you, I am going to take the kingdom from you and give it to one of your servants. However, I will not do it while you live, out of consideration for your father David: I will snatch it from your son’s hands. But I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but I will give your son a tribe, out of consideration for my servant David and for Jerusalem, the one I have chosen.” (1 Kings 11:9-13).