Jeff Cerletty, age 12, of Montgomery, Ala., for his question:
WHO WAS KING SOLOMON?
Solomon was the king under whom Israel reached its greatest prosperty and glory. His name comes from "shalom," a Hebrew word which means "peace." The full story of King Solomon is told in the Bible.
Soon after he became king, Solomon went to his sanctuary to pray. When the Lord appeared to him in a dream and asked him to name whatever blessing he most desired, Solomon modestly requested only one thing: wisdom to know how best to govern his people and encourage them to lead a godly life, in obedience to the Laws of Moses.
God bestowed upon him not only wisdom, but also wealth, power and victory over his enemies. He became so renowned that he excited the admiration of other countries. Some of their rulers, like the Queen of Sheba, came to see the glory and magnificence of which they had heard so much.
Solomon composed remarkable works on natural history and practical philosophy. He also wrote beautiful poetry, such as the Biblical book Song of Solomon. The book of Ecclesiasttes and a large part of Proverbs are also attributed to Solomon.
Solomon's father was King David and his mother was Bathsheba.
When Solomon felt secure upon his throne, he set out to accomplish the great task his father had not been allowed to perform: building the Temple of Jehova. He went about this undertaking with reverence, desiring to set up a worthy sanctuary for the one true God.
Solomon wanted the temple to surpass in glory the idolatrous temples of the heathen.
In the fourth year of his reign, about 966 B.C., Solomon began building the temple. He finished it in seven or eight years, and used gold and silver worth as much as $4 billion.
The greatness of Solomon's success and prosperity led to his undoing. His unlimited power, unfortunately, led to pride and self indulgence.
The Bible says that Solomon filled his harem with 1,000 wives and concubines. He indulged their religious preferences by Building pagan shrines at which they might carry on their worship.
Soon the way was paved for the deadly influence of idolatry upon the Hebrew nation. Idolatry is the religous worship of idols.
After a few decades the prosperity of Israel dwindled greatly. Economic hardship became widespread, despite an almost complete freedom from war and despite friendly relations with all the neighboring peoples.
This economic hardship finally led to a revolt against high taxes and the system of forced labor which supported Solomon's extravagant building projects.
Solomon's last years were embittered by personal disillusionment and by hostility at home and abroad. When Solomon died, his incompetent son, Rehoboam, could not hold the Hebrew empire together.