After King David died, his son Solomon became the king of Israel. He was a very young man to have so much responsibility; he was not even twenty years old!

One night, God spoke to Solomon and said, "Ask for whatever you want Me to give you." Solomon answered, "Please give me wisdom and knowledge so that I will know how to lead Your people."

God was pleased that Solomon asked for wisdom, and not riches or fame. He told Solomon, "Because you asked for wisdom, I will also give you great wealth and honor. You will be Israel's greatest king."

King Solomon became very famous because of his wisdom. People from far and wide brought their problems to King Solomon for his advice and to settle arguments. Two women both claimed to be the mother of a baby. After hearing from each of them, King Solomon ordered that the baby be cut in half so that each mother could have half the child.  Everyone who heard his solution gasped in horror.  One of Solomon's men drew his sword, but one of the women raced to stop him. As the other woman reached to pick up the child, King Solomon ordered her to stop.  He said that only a true mother would sacrifice her claim to protect her child, and he awarded the baby to the other woman, who was the child's true mother.  This famous story showed what a wise man King Solomon was!

Although his father David had drawn up plans and gathered the best and most beautiful materials, God told King David that his son should build God's temple.  After David's death, Solomon did just that. It took seven years, but he had a beautiful temple constructed to honor God on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem.  You may have seen or heard about people who pray at the 'western wall' in Jerusalem.  This is all that still remains of Solomon's temple, and it is considered a very important and holy place by the Jewish people.

God promised Solomon that, if he and his sons remained true to Him, they would rule over Israel forever. King Solomon accepted this promise as a great honor. Solomon became not only the wisest but the richest king on earth.  As time went on, Solomon's loyalty to God wavered and he trusted himself instead of asking for God's guidance. He saw all that he had been given as something he deserved instead of something he had received by God's grace. At the end of his life, Solomon had grown distant from God. When he died, God kept his promise: the country Solomon had ruled for 40 years was split in two.