King Solomon was an unfulfilled melancholized lonely man with 700 wives and 300 concubines when he penned the Book of Ecclesiastes prior to passing away at age 60. All of his wives were daughters of kings and chosen as political allies; selected to ensure political power. His concubines were selected as he saw them pleasing to his eyes. Naamah, a princess of an Ammonite King, a worshipper of Molech arrived in Jerusalem at age fourteen to marry King Solomon and the to capture his heart. Naamah bore a child named Rehoboam, heir to the throne. With all of these 1,000 women King Solomon wrote in Song of Solomon expressing deep romantic love for a dark-skinned woman, referred to as a Shulammite. (Song of Solomon 3-8) Solomon living in excess having all of 1,000 women with servants and food preparers and every kind of distraction away from the worship of God Almighty and then had his heart set on a young country girl working in the vineyards described as strong, confident who openly expressed her desires, set boundaries and sought out her beloved. The Song of Solomon contains some of the most famous verse about love.
Solomon ruled in Jerusalem for forty years, from the 11th to 10th century BCE. He constructed the temple of God in Jerusalem, built as an exclusive 90 ft. long by 30 ft. wide, 45 ft high, sacred sanctuary for God and the Ark of the Covenant which took seven years to construct during the 4th year of Solomon’s reign. God’s temple was an intimate highly adorned 2,700 sq. ft. sanctuary. The temple was a three-room rectangular floor plan consisting of a porch, a main hall, and the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant, God instructed to create rested. God had given the direction for the construction of the temple directly to King David, Solomon’s father.
While God’s temple took seven years to build, Solomon’s massive royal palace took 13 years to construct. King Solomon’s Royal Palace was a multi-structure complex that was significantly larger than God’s temple and was 11,250 sq. ft. of gold, precious metals, stone and jewels, cedars of Lebanon and imports from around the world. The private living quarter for his wife, Naamah whom he loved was separate from the King’s private living quarter. The massive royal palace housed 700 wives and 300 concubines he did not love. The king kept busy with his fleshly desires; including his Israelite wives. The pagan wives and concubines Solomon began to build altars to their foreign gods throughout Jerusalem was a huge undertaking.
Nothing ever satisfied Solomon. His quest for material wealth and notoriety became insatiable at the cost many miserable lives in Solomon’s kingdom; countless hours of grueling hard labor and slavery by the whip at Solomon’s command.
Soloman noticed poor happy families all around too. King Solomon, the wisest man with unimaginable wealth was miserable throughout his life. He had constant feelings of discontent, dissatisfaction and melancholy, unquenchable desire for joy but felt empty inside. He pondered through all of it; he wrote in the Book of Ecclesiastes inspired by God. The king who God appeared to and told he could ask for anything he desired. Solomon asked for wisdom to rule over Jerusalem. Solomon already had the fleshly desires of his heart from birth, born to King David and Bathsheeba. What more could a man want? A lot more.
Solomon as he grew old, at the bequest of his many pagan wives and concubines began to build altars in high places to pagan gods like Molech and had child sacrifices; to Ashtoreth, Milcom, detestable gods like Chemosh and his wives burned incense and offered sacrifices along with Solomon, the Almighty God of loyal, Abraham and King David who blessed Solomon with everything a king desired.
Solomon was miserable. Despite his God-given wisdom, he was led astray by his foreign wives. According to biblical accounts in the Book of 1 Kings, Solomons greatest sin was apostasy and idolatry. His foreign wives, the Moabites, Ammonites, and Sidonians, God strictly forbid Israelites to marry turned King Solomon’s heart against God. Beyond idolatry Solomon violated instructions for Kings by God written in Deuteronomy 17:16-17, all expressly forbidden to prevent a king’s heart from turning away from God. The man who God talked to personally, abandoned the God of Israel.
Solomon only loved himself. For his betrayal to God, he lost it all. The consequences were that the United Kingdom of Israel would be torn away from his descendants after his death separating the nation into two separate kingdoms. (1 Kings 11) 1 Chronicles 28:9 reminds believers that God looks at the innermost being: “For the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought.”
Listen to the entire Book of Ecclesiastes and understand Solomon’s heartfelt thoughts and feelings and see the conclusion of the matter of life.
Always Christian with love at Anne Fisher Foundation. Amen