Of all that Solomon could have requested from God, he chose wisdom and knowledge.
On that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, "Ask! What shall I give you?"
And Solomon said to God: ... "Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of Yours?"
And God said to Solomon: "Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches or wealth or honor or the life of your enemies, nor have you asked long life--but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge My people over whom I have made you king-- wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; and I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings have had who were before you, nor shall any after you have the like." 2 Ch 1.7-12
One of the most memorable stories of the Old Testament is the account of Solomon's wisdom in determining which of two prostitutes belonged a baby of which both claimed to be the mother. 1 Kings 3.16-28
And the king said, "Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other."
Then the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for she yearned with compassion for her son; and she said, "O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!" But the other said, "Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him."
So the king answered and said, "Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him; she is his mother."
And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice. vs 28
1 Kings 4.29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. 30 Thus Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 For he was wiser than all men--than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. 32 He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five. 33 Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. 34 And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon.
Chapters 2 through 7 of Second Chronicles gives details concerning the building of the Temple on Mount Moriah.
The Temple was the designated place of God's special presence in Israel’s midsts.
Behold, I am building a temple for the name of the Lord my God, to dedicate it to Him...
And the temple which I build will be great, for our God is greater than all gods.
But who is able to build Him a temple, since heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him? Who am I then, that I should build Him a temple, except to burn sacrifice before Him? 2 Ch 2.4-6
God’s glory fills the temple with the placing of the ark and the praising of the priests. 5.13-14
Indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying: "[For] [He] [is] good, For His mercy [endures] forever," that the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.
Solomon’s prayer of dedication of the Temple requests God's special recognition for those who recognize the Temple as the place of special meeting with and prayer before God. 6.18-21; 40; 7.1-3
But will God indeed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!
Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O Lord my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You: that Your eyes may be open toward this temple day and night, toward the place where You said You would put Your name, that You may hear the prayer which Your servant prays toward this place. And may You hear the supplications of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and when You hear, forgive.
Now, my God, I pray, let Your eyes be open and let Your ears be attentive to the prayer made in this place.
God’s choosing of the temple as that special place of His presence in the midsts of Israel was evident by the Cloud that filled the temple and by the fire from heaven that consummed the sacrifices. 7.1-3
When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord's house.
When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the Lord, saying: "For He is good, For His mercy endures forever."
The state of the temple is evidence of God’s relationship to Israel. 2 Ch 7.12-22
Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: 'I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice.'
When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people,
2 Chron 7.14: if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. For now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.
Concerning Solomon as leader to direct the people in obedience to God: As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, and do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, then I will establish the throne of your kingdom, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, `You shall not fail to have a man as ruler in Israel.' But if you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods, and worship them,...
then I will uproot them from My land which I have given them; and this house which I have sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight, and will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.
And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and say, `Why has the Lord done thus to this land and this house?' Then they will answer, `Because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this calamity on them.'
When the church prays today, they do not face any particular direction or towards any particular building. This is because the special presence of God is not in a physical building. Today, it is as Jesus said: John 4:21-24: Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth ; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit , and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
There is a special presence of God in the assembly of believers today, but not in a physical structure. It is wrong to carry over Old Testament ideas into the building believers meet in today. There is no altar or sanctuary in the build structure. The special presence of God is among the assembly of believers, wherever that may be: Ephesians 2.19-22: Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
It is also wrong to apply 2 Chronicles 7.14 to the United States. This applies to a theocracy only, namely Israel. It could apply in principle to the local Church as God's people, but the promise of a healed land is with reference to the geographical people of israel--the church is not a geograpical people. Of course, any nation that is governed righteously will benefit from such a governing, but no nation has ever been called the people of God as was Israel, and so it is inaccurate to apply to the USA or the church what applies to Israel.
The half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told me--The Queen of Sheba 2 Ch 9.1-2, 5-6
Jesus: The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here. Luke 11.31
The greatest extent of the boundries of Israel were during Solomon's reign. 2 Ch 9.26; 1 Kings 4.21
Solomon’s kingdom authority was to the extent of Genesis 15.18, yet his reign did not fulfill it; for though many countries paid tribute to Solomon, they were not assimilated into those boundaries.
1 Kings 4.20 Judah and Israel [were] as numerous as the sand by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and rejoicing. 21 So Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the River [to] the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. [They] brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life. ...24 For he had dominion over all [the] [region] on this side of the River from Tiphsah even to Gaza, namely over all the kings on this side of the River; and he had peace on every side all around him.
Zondervan Encyclopedia: Solomon reigned over a vital portion of real estate, Palestine, which has been called the land bridge of the ancient Near East. His counry was strategically located for maximum political power and for tight control over trade routes which criss-crossed his realm. Solomon had troublesome neighbors, but no true rivals. It was a golden opportunity for Israel to make an optimum impact on her world; it was her "Golden Age."
The picture of Solomon's reign does seem to prefigure the Millennial reign of Christ after He returns, restores Israel to the land, and reigns from Jerusalem.
1 Kings 4.25 And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, each man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.
Micah 4:1 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days [That] the mountain of the Lord's house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And peoples shall flow to it. 2 Many nations shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths." For out of Zion the law shall go forth, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 3 He shall judge between many peoples, And rebuke strong nations afar off; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war any more. 4 But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, And no one shall make [them] afraid; For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
Solomon's taking of many foreign women as wives resulted in his his heart not being loyal to God and his practices in idolatry. 1 Kings 11.1-4; see Deut 17.16
But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, [and] Hittites-- from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, "You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods. Solomon clung to these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David.
Solomon's wives' influences is a reminder of the necessity to marry that person who shares the the same belief system you do, for one will influence the other or you will be in conflict. Also, the husband is to be the spiritual leader, but in Solomon's case, his foreign wives led him.
Solomon disobeyed all of Deuteronomy 17.16,17 which said the kings are not to multiply to themselves horses, wives, gold and silver.
Both David and Solomon failed according to Psalm 33:16-17: No king is saved by the multitude of an army; A mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.
However, David never turned away from God for idols. David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. 1 Kings 15.5
About Solomon's personal life...1) He should have had one wife, a godly woman, the daughter of a priest or prophet, to encourage him in the right ways of God; and God would provide an heir for him; 2) he was God's chosen, he did not need to have accummulated great numbers of horses, gold and silver--he did not have to folow the world's standards but trust in God's provision and will.
Because Solomon turns from being loyal to God and practices idolatry (to please his wives), God brings adversity by enemies of Israel and eventual division of the nation into two nations. 1 Kings 11.14,23,25 / 11.11; 26, 29-31
Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, "Because you have done this, and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant."
Now the Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon...And God raised up another adversary against him.
Evidence that something is not right between God and Israel is adversity from their enemies,the division of the nation, and being driven from the land with the temple in ruins.
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