Choices, Choices, choices
Toward the beginning of his rule the Lord appeared to King Solomon and told him that he could choose whatever he wanted and it would be his. Solomon chose wisdom over wealth and this surprised the Lord. So, because of his humbleness, God not only gave him wisdom but also wealth, possessions, and honor like no other king will have or ever have had. Let us now examine some of the choices he made with this new power.
The Two Women
This story is one of the most famous. According to 1 Kings 3:16-27 (NIV) two women approached the king in his throne room, fighting over a baby boy. They had both given birth to a son within three days of each other and had been living with each other in a home. That night the second woman's baby died. Seeing this she switched the dead one with the first woman's live son. Solomon took a sword and said that in fairness he would cut the baby in half. The first woman, the live baby's mother, begged for Solomon to spare the child's life while the second woman fully agreed. Solomon saw this and gave the child to the first woman, the true mother.
This story is one of the most famous. According to 1 Kings 3:16-27 (NIV) two women approached the king in his throne room, fighting over a baby boy. They had both given birth to a son within three days of each other and had been living with each other in a home. That night the second woman's baby died. Seeing this she switched the dead one with the first woman's live son. Solomon took a sword and said that in fairness he would cut the baby in half. The first woman, the live baby's mother, begged for Solomon to spare the child's life while the second woman fully agreed. Solomon saw this and gave the child to the first woman, the true mother.
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The Temple
Solomon is best known for the temple he built. This temple was to be used as a housing for the Ark of the Covenant. His choices for this were wise but not well liked by his people. He made his people labor on the temple and taxed them heavily. But he had good reason for what he did; for one, when god gave him wealth it was distributed to all of Israel in the form of crops and trades. This meant that when he taxed them it wouldn't really affect them too much but would add a bit to his own pockets. |
His Wives
King Solomon had 700 wives, most of which were foreigners, and over 300 concubines. This probably doesn't sound very good, a God fearing king with several hundred wives and female playthings, but it was normal behavior of his time period. These women tried to turn him away from God and toward the worshiping of idols. At first they were unsuccessful but toward the end of his reign they finally started to sway him. This gradual shift led to King Solomon's demise. |
In conclusion, King Solomon was a wise and fair ruler who's only weaknesses were his wives and slightly his own selfishness and greed