KING SOLOMON: THE WISE BUT

EXTRAVAGANT KING
Silence bell
OPENING PRAYER:
 WHAT IS WISDOM?
WHAT DOES IT REALLY MEAN TO BE
WISE?
Reflection Questions

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DAVID’S PARTING WORDS
TO SOLOMON
• 1 Kings 2:2-3
• What is the
significance of these
words to Solomon as
king?
ANOINTING OF SOLOMON
•Solomon - “peace”
•Simple ceremony: Solomon
rode David’s mule
• Symbol of passing on of royal
authority and responsibility
• Anointed at Gihon by
Priest Zadok and Prophet
Nathan
SOLOMON’S DREAM
• 1 Kings 3:9
• God rewarded Solomon
with great wisdom, wealth
and power.
• What do we usually ask
God for in our prayers?
What is true wisdom?

ⓘ Start presenting to display the poll results on this slide.

WHO IS SOLOMON?
• Second son of David with
Bathsheba
• Inherited the throne of his father
• Known for his deep wisdom
and faith in God
• Most known for being the
Wisest King of Israel
• Story of the two mothers and a baby
1 Kings 3:16 - 26)
SPLENDOR OF SOLOMON’S
REIGN
• “He composed some 3000
proverbs and wrote 1,005
songs” 1 Kings 4:32
• Advisor to many other leaders
(e.g. Queen of Sheba)
• Great Temple of Jerusalem
• Golden age of Israel (wealth,
peace, prosperity)
 TELL ME… WHERE DID I GO WRONG?

“[A ruler] shall not have a great number of horses; nor

shall he make his people go back again to Egypt to acquire
them… Neither shall he have a great number of wives…
nor shall he accumulate a vast amount of silver and gold”
(Dt 17: 16-17).
Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines!
He accumulated 4.5 tons of gold per year!
He possessed some 12,000 horses and chariots!
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SOLOMON’S SINS Attachment to
wealth and power
Foreign
wives Idolatr
Extravaganc y
e Neglect of the people
CONSEQUENC
ES
“I will deprive you of the kingdom and give it to your servant.
I will not do this during your lifetime… I will leave your son
one tribe for the sake of my servant David and of Jerusalem,
which I have chosen” (1 Kgs 11: 11-13).

Rise of Civil
Jeroboam Division of the War
Kingdom
• Divided kingdom of Israel
• North (Ephraim): widespread
idolatry and false worship,
corruption and social injustice
• South (Judah): widespread
idolatry and complacency in faith
• Babylonian Exile: hopelessness
and lack of responsibility for
their sins
“I have seen all things that are done under the sun,
and behold, all is vanity and a chase
after the wind”
(Eccl 1:14).
How do I really want to spend my one and
only life here on earth?

What do I truly, deeply desire?

What am I willing to sacrifice for this

desire?
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 WISDOM BOOKS
1. Psalms (prayerful hymns to God)
2. Job (dramatic poem on suffering and hope)
3. Ecclesiastes (reflections on existence)
4. Song of Songs (love poem about relations)
5. Book of Wisdom (wisdom and its effects)
6. Sirach (maxims on God, relations and self)
7. Proverbs (wise sayings about everyday life)