Solomon

Before we move to Chapter two, where Solomon recounts his achievements in his lifetime. Let's talk a little about the man. He was the son of King David and Bathsheba. He had other brothers but at the urging of Bathsheba and the prophet Nathan, David declared Solomon king on his deathbed. One of the qualities most associated with Solomon was wisdom. He had 700 wives and 300 c0ncubines! One wife was too much for me at times...

In the time of Solomon, there were only a few who God blessed with wisdom: Enoch, Noah and then Solomon. Their lineage was pure and set the way for Jesus to come through them. Solomon prayed to God when preparing to be King, "Give Thy servant an understanding heart to judge Thy people and to know good and evil."1 Kings 3:9.

"So God said to him, 'Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked...'" (1 Kings 3:11-12) The Hebrew Bible also states that: "The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart." (1 Kings 10:24).

What I find particularly interesting about Solomon's accounting with Ecclesiastes is the stature that this man held in his lifetime. A Wikipedia accounting (sorry Professors) was his love of wisdom, which truly must have been a gift from God. My mother recounted this story when I told her what I was blogging, known as the Judgment of Solomon. Two women came before Solomon to resolve a quarrel about which was the true mother of a baby. One mother had her baby die in the night after rolling over it in her sleep and crushing it; each claims the surviving child as her own. When Solomon suggests dividing the living child in two with a sword, the true mother is revealed to him because she is willing to give up her child to the lying woman, as heartbreaking a decision as it is. Solomon then declares the woman who shows compassion to be the true mother, and gives the baby back to her.

We will hear Solomon account for what he had accomplished in his lifetime in Chapter two. Christianity has traditionally accepted the historical existence of Solomon, though some modern Christian scholars have also questioned at least his authorship of those biblical texts ascribed to him. Such disputes tend to divide Christians into traditionalist and modernist camps.

Solomon is accounted for also in the Muslim faith in the Qur'an. It is said he had command over man and animals and could make them dance and he could speak to them. Well, 700 wives and I would need someone to talk to for certain. There are accounting of Genies and magic. He reportedly became disgruntled with a Genie and had him cast in to a bottle and then to the sea. He reportedly received a "magic ring" which gave him power over demons. The seal of this ring was the Star of David and perhaps where this symbol of Jewish faith eminates from.

Such things I know little of, but you might just get a sense of this man's power and allure to the world. In later history, he married women from cultures forbidden by God and they caused him to sin and lose God's favor. Solomon ruled in the 10th century B.C. He certainly did it all in his lifetime. Please research some of this that interests you, for yourself, to try and put a mental image on who Solomon was. I think it makes Ecclesiastes that much more interesting.