Bible Character Spotlight: Solomon
The last two spotlights focused on the rise, fall, and redemption of David. He was a flawed man and king, but, in the end, he was a faithful servant of God. David’s misdeeds led to him being punished greatly, but in His mercy, God did not take everything away from David. David acknowledged God’s goodness in his charge to Solomon.
“I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go and that the Lord may keep his promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’ - 1 Kings 2:2-4Shortly after David spoke those words, he died, and Solomon became king. Solomon was a very different man from his father. David started out as a humble shepherd boy. Solomon was born into royalty. David’s rise to kingship was unusual and happened purely through God’s design. Solomon’s lineage gave him a possible path to the throne. David made his name through his faithfulness to God and his success on the battlefield. Solomon, on the other hand, has a name that’s almost synonymous with wisdom.
Solomon was the son of David and Bathsheba. Ironically, what the Bible portrays as David’s greatest sins are what produced the next king for God’s people. Solomon’s rise was not uneventful though. He was selected by David to be king, but he was one of David’s younger sons. Adonijah was older than Solomon and before David was even dead, Adonijah was setting himself up to be king. When David found out, he took direct action.
So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon mount King David’s mule, and they escorted him to Gihon. Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the sacred tent and anointed Solomon. Then they sounded the trumpet and all the people shouted, “Long live King Solomon!” And all the people went up after him, playing pipes and rejoicing greatly, so that the ground shook with the sound. - 1 Kings 1:38-40Adonijah pretended to accept the decision and pledge fealty to Solomon, but secretly he was plotting with others. Adonjiah asked Bathsheba to request that Adonjiah be given Abishag the Shunammite as his wife. Bathsheba did as she was asked, and her actions prompted what might have seemed like a harsh reaction from Solomon. He eventually had Adonijah killed and others associated with him stripped of their titles. These actions tell us two things about Solomon. 1) He was resolute. He may not have been a leader forged on the battlefield like David, but he was one that could make heavy decisions quickly. 2) He was perceptive. When ruling, just as with playing chess, being able to predict what an opponent might do is key to success when in a position like Solomon’s.
Though Adonijah’s request might have seemed harmless. Solomon, in his wisdom, saw through the ploy and knew that Adonijah was making a play for the throne. Solomon also had Joab and Shimei, others who at some point plotted against the throne, killed. It was clear that Solomon was willing to take swift and direct action to maintain his position. That’s not to say that he was bloodthirsty or merciless. In Shimei’s case, Solomon gave him conditions for how he might continue to live in peace, but Shimei did not abide by promises he made to Solomon and lost his life as a result.
What might surprise some just reading the story is that Solomon hadn’t even gained the wisdom so closely tied to his name at this point in the story. He had proven himself to be calculating, but the wisdom that defined him wasn’t just a trait he had had since birth. It was something he requested of God.
“Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” - 1 Kings 3:7-9When given the opportunity to make a request of God, Solomon asked for the wisdom needed to be a just leader. God granted him that and more. Solomon had not asked for riches and power, but God gave him an abundance of both anyway because he was pleased by Solomon’s request. Maybe, that more than anything else, is something we should learn from Solomon. We all have the ability to make requests of God, but the best requests and the ones that God finds pleasure in granting are the ones that are not born from selfish desires. Solomon was wise enough to understand that, even before God granted his request.
During his reign, Solomon built God’s temple, a royal palace, the wall of Jerusalem, and a fleet of ships. He competently ruled over his many subjects as well as enemies that fell under his authority. He acquired unimaginable wealth as promised by God and was given an abundance of wives. Some of those wives were not Israelites, and Solomon sought to please them by making monuments to the false gods they served. That was a bad decision on his part. Solomon had wisdom and everything a king could want, so he, more than anyone, should have been unwavering in his obedience to God. Unfortunately, just as with David, Solomon’s reign shows us that even when people get everything they want, they still find it difficult to be righteous. Solomon disobeyed God in a flagrant way, and, as was the case with his father, Solomon’s sins had consequences.
The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command. So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son. Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him one tribe for the sake of David my servant and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.” - 1 Kings 11:9-13Most of Solomon’s reign had been marked by progress and prosperity, but his reign ended in turmoil, which was passed on to his son. That was a direct consequence of Solomon’s disobedience. So far, all of the spotlights have focused on figures from the Old Testament, and Solomon’s story is just one more that should be painting a clear picture for us. God showed faithfulness and favor towards his people, but they constantly fell short. Whether it was the common people, the great warriors, or the kings, no matter how good God was to them, they could not hold up their ends of the bargain. Some may wonder why Jesus’ sacrifice was necessary to save us from God’s wrath. Perhaps the primary purpose of the Old Testament is to answer that question. Despite Solomon’s greatness and wisdom (further displayed to us in the Proverbs), even he was unable to avoid falling short. If the man that was able to display admirable wisdom before being blessed with even more wisdom by God was unable to walk a righteous path without fail, what hope did any of us have without God’s intervention?
Chris Lawyer
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