If Saul was mostly a bad king, and David was mostly a good king, then Solomon was mostly a confusing king. And confused. There is hardly anyone in the Bible who started out so wise and ended so foolish.

When Solomon was a young man, he loved the Lord and walked in the good ways of his father David. One night the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream and said, “Ask what I shall give you.” Now what would you do if God was going to give you whatever you asked for? (And no asking for more wishes!) Would you wish for lots of food? Or money? Or good looks? Or superhuman strength? Or an indoor pool? Or a bunch of flying squirrels to bring you breakfast every morning?

Solomon didn’t ask for any of these things. He knew that being king was a big task, and that he was still a little child in many ways. So instead of fame and fortune he asked for wisdom. God was so pleased with Solomon’s request that he gave Solomon exactly what he asked for, and he gave Solomon the fame and fortune he didn’t ask for. The Lord gave Solomon a palace and used Solomon to build the temple.

It seemed that Solomon would be just the king the people needed. One time two women came to Solomon fighting over a child. Each woman claimed to be the baby’s mother. Solomon knew one woman was lying and one was telling the truth, but he didn’t know which was which. So he ordered the baby to be cut in two so the women could share him.

That sounds like a really bad idea! Except the true mom quickly said, “Don’t kill the child; give the baby to the other woman,” while the fake mom said, “Sure, let’s split him half and half.” Right then Solomon knew who the real mom was: the one who was willing to give up her son so that he might live.

Solomon could be so smart. Which is why it is so sad that he ended up being so dumb. The problem for Solomon is that he was not faithful to one wife. In fact, he had seven hundred wives and three hundred girlfriends. Now that is a really bad idea! To make things worse, these women did not worship the God of Israel. When Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods.

The man who could spot a false mom did not stay committed to the true and living God. He was more concerned to please his wives from Egypt, Moab, and Edom than to please the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Solomon had success in the world’s eyes, but not in God’s eyes. The Lord raised up rivals to the king and promised that bad days were right around the corner.