Session 21: King Solomon
- Teresa
- Aug 6, 2019
- 3 min read
Updated: May 2, 2020
After David dies, Solomon becomes King of Israel. He's often said to be about 20 years or younger when he assumes the throne.
Read the story on King Solomon (1 Kings 1-11) or watch the next video:
Video 1: King Solomon reigns
Source: Sharefaith Kids on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY_rWsbru0U
When God tells Solomon that he can have anything he wants, what does Solomon ask for? How does God respond to his request?
Solomon knows he is young and lacks experience - he asks for wisdom so that he can be a good King. God was pleased with his request, and blessed him not only with wisdom, but also riches and honor.
If God told you that you could have anything you wanted, what would you ask for?
King Solomon became very wise and God blessed him with riches and honor. He wrote thousands of Proverbs (which are wise sayings, or advice), and many of them were recorded in the book of Proverbs.
(There's a famous story on Solomon's wisdom, you can read it about it in 1 Kings 3:16-28 or watch it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9e29YpMBq0k)
Solomon also built a magnificent temple for God on Mount Moriah (where Abraham and Isaac made a sacrifice many years earlier). This would be a permanent place for God to dwell among his people. God renewed his covenant with Solomon, that he had earlier made with his father David - Solomon's kingdom would last forever, as long as King Solomon and his people obeyed God and kept his commandments.
However, Solomon's heart strays from God over time. What did Solomon do, and how did God respond?
As he continued to reign, Solomon makes some really bad choices - he accumulates a lot of wealth, builds himself a great palace, a huge army, and even institutes slave labor for his building projects. Worse, he took hundreds of wives and concubines, many of whom were from other countries and worshiped their other gods and idols. The wives turned his heart away from God. He built temples for his wives for the other gods, and started worshiping them as well.
Because of Solomon's sin, God would take the nation away from his son. Israel would be divided into 2. However, for David's sake, one tribe would be reserved for David's descendants, and the Davidic dynasty would continue.
Read 1 Kings 12 or watch the next video on how Israel divides into 2
Video 2: Israel divides into 2
Source: The Holy Tales on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1FqSCtkrzQ
What did Rehoboam do which caused Israel to split into 2?
The people of Israel were tired of the heavy taxes which Solomon had imposed on them, and had requested Rehoboam to lighten the load. However, Rehoboam not only refused, he threatened to increase the taxes if they kept complaining. The people rebelled and made Jereboam their king, exactly as God had warned Solomon many years ago.
What is the Northern and Southern kingdoms called, which tribes did they rule over, and who are their first kings?
The Southern Kingdom is called Judah, which consists of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. It is ruled by Rehoboam, from the tribe of Judah, who is the son of Solomon.
The Northern Kingdom is called Israel, which consists of the rest of the 10 tribes. It was ruled by Jeroboam (from the tribe of Ephraim), who used to work for King Solomon.
God kept his promise to David and retained one tribe for his descendants to rule over.
In the next 2 sessions, we shall see how the Northern and Southern Kingdoms fare.
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