The Life of King Solomon

Our review of the book of Proverbs has come to an end. This is a bonus post reporting on the later life of King Solomon, this amazingly wise person who we assume is the origin of most of Proverbs.

What Happened to King Solomon?

King Solomon additionally is the author of Ecclesiastes, the book following Proverbs in the Old Testament. My assumption is that it was also written after Proverbs.

Proverbs radiates confidence and optimism. Strive for wisdom, and you will have a life worth living. It seems to have been Solomon’s attitude to life when he composed Proverbs.

In Ecclesiastes we find the Preacher, a cynical grump speaking (only slightly exaggerated). The Preacher has completely lost hope of any meaning of life. He says he tried wisdom as well as folly to see if they would help him find that meaning. Not even wisdom brought any comfort; he just discovered that all ambition and endeavour is meaningless. On top of it, the wise die just like the fools, it seems.

Even a quick look at the king’s situation reveals that he had assembled an enormous harem: 1000 women from all the surrounding cultures. It could possibly pass at the time but deviated from the spirit of Proverbs. King Solomon was, for all practical purposes, the Supreme Court; you did not dare him without taking a great risk. There was, however, a different authority, Moses, who had spoken about this almost 500 years earlier. The people of Israel regarded his words as divine law. The topic was electing a king.

And [the king] shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold.
Deuteronomy 17:17

Solomon did exactly that, and the fallout was exactly that. His wives enticed him to fall away from the Lord to offer sacrifices to various deities.

He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.
1 Kings 11:3-4

We cannot determine cause and effect with any certainty, but it seems Solomon had a positive outlook on life as long as he stuck with the Lord. He turned into a cynical defeatist when he mixed with all manner of other deities.

How About the Heir?

A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.
Proverbs 10:1

This is the first regular proverb in the book of Proverbs. It appears after a number of chapters containing the words of a father to his son.

The Bible says nothing about Solomon’s opinion about the one of his sons who took over the throne after him, Rehoboam. In any case, Rehoboam’s royal career took a severe blow immediately after his ascension. He should have obeyed this piece of advice:

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Proverbs 15:1

On the contrary, he gave his people a stern response when they complained. Rebellion followed. Right away, Rehoboam lost 85% of the kingdom he inherited. Ten of the twelve tribes of Israel parted company and formed a new kingdom, a major tragedy in the history of Israel. (You may read about this in 1 Kings 11:42 - 12:19.)

Conclusion

Humility is an important part of wisdom, as we learnt in Themes Of Wisdom. A really wise person does not consider himself wise but views himself as constantly on the road. Could it be that Solomon was carried away by his wisdom, enticing him to take liberties? Here is a saying we quoted in a different post:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5

This and other proverbs warn against trying to get independent of God. After all, God is the source of wisdom, according to Proverbs.

The fate of Rehoboam, the heir, is more clear-cut. He obviously broke one of his father’s sayings of wisdom—the difference between giving a soft or a harsh answer. That saying fits squarely in the category of natural laws of human behaviour. It worked back then; it works today.