WHO WAS SOLOMON AND WHY DID HE FALL? THE TRUE STORY OF KING SOLOMON IN THE BIBLE

Solomon ranks among the most iconic Kings in history as one of the most prosperous rulers ever he was also among the wealthiest men the world has ever seen in the Bible he is not only noted for succeeding his father King David on the throne of Israel but also for his unparalleled wisdom and extraordinary achievements the foremost being the construction of the first temple in Jerusalem to give you an idea although Solomon is not mentioned in the the biblical text until the final days of David are recorded his name appears about 300 times in the Old

Testament alone and at least 12 times in the New Testament however Solomon's name is also cited in non-biblical writings and involved in Jewish legends that link him to a series of mystical and even dark practices such as a supposed control over demons but in this video you will learn the true story of Solomon according to the Bible King Solomon was the son of David and bath Sheba the woman who had been uriah's wife therefore Solomon was born while David already reigned from Jerusalem he is also called jedadiah in the Bible meaning beloved of the Lord

King Solomon ruled over Israel for about 40 years roughly between 971 and 931 BC there is virtually no information about Solomon's early years and youth however considering the biblical information on David's family life we can set a parameter on the type of environment in which Solomon grew up we know David had several wives which obviously led to many problems among his wives and children who starred in various intrigues usually in pursuit of prestige Solomon himself appears in the biblical story in a context of great tension within the royal family amid a struggle for the throne

of Israel as King David was old and weakened before this Absalom Solomon's half-brother had already attempted to usurp his father's throne but was unsuccessful however later the eldest of David's surviving Sons named adonijah attempted the same Movement by proclaiming himself King over Israel Adonia gained the support of joab David's former General and the priest abar and tried by all means to occupy his father's throne even organizing a coronation festivity when B Sheba the prophet Nathan the priest zadok and other allies learned of adan's plan they worked to remind David of his yet unfulfilled promise regarding

Solomon that he would be his successor thus David ordered Solomon's Ascent to the throne and he was crowned king in Israel anointed by zadok likely King Solomon was no more than 18 years old when crowned Solomon's Reign was lengthy spanning four Decades of governance Scholars debate whether his Reign occurred roughly between 971 and 931 or between 960 and 920 BC with the former possibility being the most likely right after David's death King Solomon followed his father's instructions and acted accordingly to consolidate his position as king and dismantle his opposition thus he ordered the deaths of

Adam niia and joab and the banishment of abar and began to Reign without internal opposition King Solomon inherited from David an extensive territory approximately 128,000 Square kilm during his Reign Solomon greatly improved domestic conditions in Israel he replaced the old tribal divisions with a division of his territory into 12 administrative districts each having an officer commissioned by the king these districts were responsible for providing for the court throughout the year with each district responsible for one month supply the daily Provisions list was quite onerous and according to the record in the first book of Kings

chapter 4 included 9,000 kilos of flour both fine and common 30 cattle both stall-fed and pasture raised 100 sheep and goats in addition to Deer gazel robu and choice foul serving as tabble Delicacies many people think this amount is fanciful yet they forget that these Foods were destined for the entire Israelite court at its peak likely including all officials officers and the extended royal family many scholars believe this quantity probably fed more than 12,000 people King Solomon's Court was quite complete and organized and his government a AES were called princes in the military realm King

Solomon also made significant improvements he introduced chariots and Cavalry into his army he also provided New Roads and established Frontier fortresses to guard trade routes speaking of trade commercial activity was the strength of Solomon's Reign he controlled trade routes and established strategic points of operation that brought him much revenue so much so that silver became as common in his Kingdom as stones and Cedar enabling him to live amid a splendor of riches never seen before in Israel Solomon also gained good revenue from fees charged to Caravans needing to cross his territory moreover King Solomon was

a great Diplomat and throughout his Reign Israel seldom had to worry about any foreign military threat Solomon's first significant trade agreement was with hyram king of Ty in which he paid annually something equivalent to 2,000 tons of Wheat and 400,000 L of pure olive oil in exchange for wood and stonemasons for his constructions King Solomon also made a contract with Merchants from Egypt for the trade of horses and chariots and in turn exported them to the hites and syrians obtaining good profit the commercial activity that brought the most profit to King Solomon was his Maritime

trade where his ships sailed the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea in the Indian Ocean reaching as far as ofir such Journeys could last up to 3 years when considering the annual revenue from his trade strategies the fees he received for the traffic of goods and the taxes paid by the population across the territory he controlled the sum estimate reaches an exceptional level placing King Solomon as one of the wealthiest men in the entire history of humanity but but of all the constructions undertaken during King Solomon's Reign undoubtedly the temple in Jerusalem was the most

important as promised by God himself King Solomon carried out his father's project to build a temple to house the Ark of the Covenant to obtain the necessary Workforce King Solomon resorted to forced labor especially from Canaanite people's subjugated by Israel however the number of Canaanite workers was insufficient to meet his plan so he recruited Israelis for this task also subjecting them to a form of forced labor this measure was quite unpopular a fact that was highlighted in the episode of the assassination of adoniram the superintendent of the worker groups Solomon's Temple was located on Mount

Mariah the place where King David had built an altar to the Lord and likely where Abraham had gone up with Isaac to sacrifice him although David had collected materials for the construction of the temple it was in the fourth year of Solomon's Reign that construction began despite appearing modest in size by today's standards the temple building represented a significant undertaking at the time built with the most valuable materials including tons of gold and Noble Woods when the construction of the temple was completed in the 11th year of his Reign King Solomon planned a grand celebration

where many sacrifices were offered at the dedication of the building among other buildings constructed by King Solomon in Israel we can highlight the house of the forest of Lebanon which was 50 m long 25 M wide and 15 M High a portico of pillars measuring 25x 15 m a hall for his throne where he conducted judgments a house for the pharaoh's daughter of Egypt one of his wives which possessed impressive Grand grure Solomon's own residence was a considerable construction accommodating 700 wives and 300 concubines along with the necessary servants Solomon also built Milo a massive

Fortress to protect the temple but as already mentioned besides wealth King Solomon was known for his wisdom in First Kings chapter 3 and set of Chronicles 1 we read the account of the dream in which the Lord appeared to Sol and asked him what he most desired to receive Solomon could have asked for riches longevity or honor yet the young king asked for wisdom specifically an understanding heart to govern his people prudently one episode that highlights Solomon's wisdom involves two mothers who came before him disputing a single newborn the case was quite difficult as there

were no Witnesses with great wisdom King Solomon proposed that the child be divided in two to solve the problem faced with the possibility of her son's death the real mother preferred to give the boy to the impostor woman allowing Solomon to judge the case impeccably King Solomon's wisdom is also evident in all the literature he produced Solomon composed thousands of Proverbs and songs the depth of his Proverbs also impresses so much so that the Bible reports he spoke about trees animals birds reptiles and fish beyond the biblical accounts many Legends and ancient documents refer to

Solomon's spectacular wisdom among the books of the Bible Solomon is attributed authorship of a large part of the Book of Proverbs as well as Ecclesiastes perhaps The Song of Solomon and at least Psalm 72 and 127 the Bible says Solomon's wisdom was so impressive that people from All Nations and all the kings of the earth came to hear his wisdom one such visit was made by the Queen of Sheba who came from the ends of the Earth to personally hear King Solomon's wisdom the Queen of Sheba asked many questions and riddles to Solomon and the

King intelligently answered all her queries leaving her completely amazed First Kings 10:8 on the occasion the Queen of Sheba gifted King Solomon with many presents in addition to more than four tons of gold despite all his wisdom King Solomon took actions that brought him problems for example Solomon subjected the people to forced labor his International commercial practices somehow led to the introduction of idolatry in Israel through contact with other peoples he applied a heavy tax burden that overburdened the Israelites there was also his intense polygamy which was the main means by which false gods began

to be recognized in Hebrew territory moreover Solomon himself was influenced by his many foreign wives and in his old age practiced mixed worship following other gods speaking of Solomon's conjugal life it seems that marriage was part of his political Maneuvers in other words it appears Solomon used his marriages to secure advantageous International agreements although it is also true that the biblical text recurs that Solomon loved his women indicating that his relationships were not merely strategic be that as it may Solomon reached the impressive number of 700 wives in addition to 300 concubines he was the

Israeli ruler who most disregarded the biblical ordinance that a king in Israel should not have many women lest his heart turn away from the Lord among the wives of King Solomon was the daughter of the pharaoh of Egypt and on the occasion of this Union Solomon received the city of gizer as a dowy some Arab Jewish and Ethiopian Traditions suggest that Solomon also had a romantic relationship with the Queen of Sheba from which a son was born supposedly menelik I the founder of the Ethiopian Royal House however the Bible does not report anything about this

Solomon's Heir rehoboam was born from his marriage with Nama an ammonite woman considering the period of Solomon's Reign 40 years and the age of his son rehoboam when he succeeded him 41 years we can conclude that Solomon's relationship with Nama began before his Reign therefore many scholars believe Nama may have been Solomon's first wife but King Solomon's grave sin of defying the worship of God in Israel when he began to follow other gods to please his foreign wives could not go unpunished the Bible says God was angry with Solomon the truth is the king most

known for his wisdom and unimaginable riches also experienced Decline and the consequent Divine disapproval because ironically he was not wise in the things of God and disregarded his ordinances however in his mercy and love for David God suspended his full judgment during Solomon's Lifetime and did not take the Kingdom from him nonetheless even with the postponement of divine judgment during his life Solomon experien threats from enemies raised by God to be instruments of judgment in his kingdom such as Hadad the Edomite Reon the Syrian and jeroboam among these three opponents jeroboam is the most prominent

in the biblical text he was a strong and hardworking leader who rebelled against King Solomon's policies and during the reign of rioo he divided the Kingdom of Israel becoming King of the northern tribis therefore after Solomon's death Divine punishment was truly poured out on his house and the Glorious unified Kingdom of Israel was taken from his son the Bible does not provide details about Solomon's death what is known is that he ended his life in a melancholic manner leaving a weakened Kingdom on the brink of collapse but undoubtedly he made significant contributions to Israel Solomon

was the king who built the Lord's Temple the king who consolidated ated Israel on the international scene of his time and was the main exponent of Hebrew wisdom literature as for the many extra biblical stories about Solomon there is no evidence that they are true indeed the Bible itself mentions the existence of Records about Solomon some of these records such as the so-called book of the acts of Solomon served as sources for the biblical writer of the books of one and second Kings however these materials have been lost that is they no longer exist what

remains today are only Legends and fanciful writings produced mainly by followers of a more mystical branch of Judaism later on in these Legends Solomon is often depicted as someone involved with magic capable of controlling demons and even conversing with animals but these accounts are generally based on pseudograph writings of unknown authorship and were likely produced in the medeval period unfortunately many people without knowledge prefer to believe in the veracity of these works and reject what is actually recorded in the biblical text which like it or not is the most well-documented work in history it is

common for some people to say that the true story of Solomon was hidden from the Bible but this makes no sense at all because these mystical stories about Solomon emerged long after the biblical text of the Old Testament was written regarding archaeology most archaeologists agree about the historicity of Solomon although there is much debate about the extent and characteristics of his kingdom but recent archaeological findings have increasingly contributed to understanding the period of the Israelite monarchy despite that excavations in the area where the temple stood which might be the most important for possible discoveries from

Solomon's time are always very problematic due to political and religious issues therefore what we really know about Solomon reliably is what is recorded in the Bible and the most important thing in all this is to understand that all the glory and Splendor of Solomon's kingdom typified the Eternal Kingdom of the Messiah so that Psalm 72 attributed to Solomon uses hyperbolic language to simultaneously refer to the human King and announce the Divine King who is Christ now write in the comments what you think about Solomon's story