The son of King David, Solomon, is a prominent figure in the Bible. He is often talked about, referring to his wisdom, fame, wealth, and many wives. When he is brought up, many only focus on the fact that he was led away from God because of his many strange wives, and while that is the case, Solomon did not start this way. Solomon, believe it or not, had one of the greatest starts to reigning over the children of Israel than many of the other kings, mirroring his great father, David, but there was a specific turning point in his reign where his focus/priority seemingly changed.
Solomon is given great advice by his father, David, even before he is made king of Israel. In 1 Kings 2:1-9, David is giving his farewell speech to his son. He is telling him to focus on God and walk in all of His ways (1 Kings 2:3), describing that a good king makes their primary focus God, and if they do this, they and the kingdom they are ruling will be greatly blessed in return. God favors and blesses those who remain faithful to Him (Deut 7:9, 1 Sam 2:9, Psa 31:23), so it is only right that David would be exhorting his son to remain faithful to the almighty God. David is also warning Solomon of possible troubles so that he does not make the same mistakes as he once did. David passes away, and his son takes over as king, ruling the nation of Israel (1 Kings 2:12).
Solomon starts his reign by getting rid of potential future problems such as Adonijah, Joab, Abiathar, and Shimei (Shimei caused his death by disobeying the king’s orders). Solomon would then go on to do great works for the Lord and His people. He built God’s temple and made it glorious (1 Kings 7:48-51). God’s people prospered under his rule (1 Kings 10:23-29). He was seemingly a great king, but not everything was good under the surface.
Although Solomon started in a good manner, his biggest mistake, which seemingly led him to turn away from the almighty God, began in 1 Kings 3:1. Solomon allied with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and in doing so, married his daughter. This is a problem because God specifically told the children of Israel not to make coalitions with other nations (Exo 23:32-33) and not to intermarry with them (Deut 7:3-4). Although in the specific context of Exo 23:32-33 and Deut 7:3-4, Egypt is not mentioned, the principle is still there; that Israel was not to form alliances or marry into nations that would turn their hearts away from God (Exo 34:15-16). This is exactly what happened later on in the life of Solomon (1 Kings 11:1-2). If only Solomon had followed what Deut 17:17-20 stated, he would have continued to be a great king who was fully devoted to God. While the marriage to Pharaoh’s daughter did not immediately lead him into idolatry, his pattern of foreign marriages violated God’s command and led him to compromise later on in life (1 Kings 11:4-6).
Everyone can learn lessons from the life of Solomon, and the biggest one that man can draw from his life is that man can do great things in their lives, but they must remain focused on God. Solomon started great, but the moment his mind was clouded by the things of this world instead of God, he began to go astray. The moment man turns to the secular things of this life for their answers, pleasures, trust, hope, etc., they create distance between them and the Father of Heaven. Man should take heed to the life of Solomon and choose God over anything that this life has to offer (1 John 2:15-17, Matt 6:24, Jas 4:4) and when God gives warnings of what not to do, they should adhere to those warnings (Heb 2:1). Solomon was a great man but the point where he went wrong is self-evident for all to see and learn.
~Willie Bagwell