I have continued to think about Solomon as I studied Kings and later Corinthians. I believe I have come to a new understanding, and I wanted to share it. Here is what I think the lesson of Solomon is. Please give me your thoughts.

Even when given everything we want, and when given everything we believe is good or helpful, without the radical intervention God, we turn to evil and sin. We turn away from God and are unfaithful. It is only through the Grace of God, and the death and resurection of his son Jesus, that we can escape the trap of sin, and turn back to the Lord.

Solomon was given the kingdom of Isreal. God and David had put the enemies of Isreal under their feet and united the twelve tribes into a great and powerful kingdom. God and Solomon made the kingdom far greater, through trade and treaty, Isreal became a major world power. "Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River [Euphrates] to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These countries brought tribute and were Solomon's subjects all his life. ... For he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, and had peace on all sides. During Solomon's lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, each man under his own vine and fig tree." 1Kings 4:21,24-25

Solomon had wisdom and knowledge. "God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. Solomon's wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the men of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt." 1Kings 4:29-30 This wisdom taught Solomon to fear and follow the Lord. Solomon wrote, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." Proverbs 9:10. And he wrote, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6.

Indeed, Solomon knew God, and as we see from Proverbs, we know that Solomon believed that following and trusting God is good. He knew that God is jealous and would not accept those who turn away and follow other Gods. In his prayer at the dedication to the temple, Solomon said, "Know that the LORD is God; there is no other. Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the LORD our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments." 1Kings 8:60-61. God spoke to Solomon, commanding him, and warning him, "But if you or your sons turn away from me, ... I will cut off Israel ... and will reject this temple. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples." 1Kings 9:7. But even so, Solomon was not faithful to God.

Solomon had everything. People often say and think, "If I only had the money, I could do this good thing." Or "If I only had the power, I could make the world better." "If I was wise or smart..." "If I had a sign..." or "If I knew God better..." Solomon had all these things and more. He knew God. He was wise and intelligent. God spoke to him twice. God said, "I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be." 1Kings 3:12 He had women, wisedom, wealth and power and honor. Anything Solomon desired, he had.

Dispite all this, Solomon's heart turned to foreign gods. He built high places to them and offered sacrifice. Human sacrifice, child sacrifice. Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and the Kingdom was torn apart. Decades of civil war followed, and Isreal was never again a great world power.

In many ways, the story of Solomon is the same as the story of Adam, or Noah, or Lot. God gave the characters of Genesis everything they needed, but they all turned away (except Enoch) and died. The story is the same as the story of Nadab and Abihu. After being consecrated as priests of the LORD God most high, and shown the power and the wonder of God, Nadab and Abihu carelessly ignored God's instructions and were destroyed.

Without the Grace of God given to us through Jesus, we are all dead in sin. As dead as the crab that Dr. Creasy found in his dive in La Jolla. But through God's grace, we don't need to be like Solomon. We will repent and turn to the Lord. We will look to the Son of Man, and we will be saved.

In 1Kings, "Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD," and Dr. Creasy discusses this in detail. As he should! Solomon built high places for the worship and sacrifice to foreign gods, even human and child sacrifice. He also had many foreign wives (there were 1000 women in his harem), accumulated large quantities of silver and gold, and did pretty much everything that God said a king should not do. (Deut 17:17)

But listening to the lessons, for me, brings to mind John's characterization of Judas. John did not like Judas, and as we read through the Gospel, we note that John puts Judas down every chance he gets. To me, it seems Dr. Creasy does the same with Solomon.

Examples include
1) The assertion that Solomon's execution of Adonijah over Abishag the Shunammite was for personal rather than political reasons.
2) The characterization of Solomon's wisdom as nothing more than the wisdom to administer, as opposed to "a wise and discerning heart, ... wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore." (1Kings 3:12, 4:29)
3) The reasoning that the kingdom came apart due to forced labor and high taxes, rather than or, in addition to, the foolishness of Rehoboam and the anger of God with Solomon's infidelity. And the analysis that Solomon's wealth and buildings came high taxes on Israel rather than the trade that "... made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones," and "The whole world [who] sought audience with Solomon,... [and] everyone who came brought a gift." (1Kings 10:27, 24).
4) And the characterization of Solomon's wealth, as a temptation from God, rather than a gift to glorify God and make His name known throughout the world.

So am I off base here? Is Solomon as evil as it seems, or is Dr. Creasy being a little harsh. Solomon is not good, and child sacrifice is not easily forgiven. This needs to be pointed out. But thanks to God, Solomon was the most wise and just ruler that the world has ever seen, and he ruled over Israel during the height of its wealth and power. He built a magnificent temple to the LORD and spread God's Name throughout the earth. Solomon fell into tempation, sin, and evil, but in this I find him no different than many of the unheros that we have followed since Genesis. I just find the lessons a little harsh.