After Solomon completed the dedication of the Temple (see Temples), The Lord (see YHVH, Adonai, Jehovah, LORD) responded with "fire from heaven" as "the glory of The Lord filled the Temple."
"When Solomon had ended his prayer, 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 [see Levites; also The Lines Of Eleazar and Ithamar] could not enter the house of The Lord [see also "My Father's House"], because the glory of The Lord filled The Lord's house. When all the children of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of The Lord upon the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the earth on the pavement, and worshiped and gave thanks to The Lord, saying, "For He is good, for His steadfast love endures for ever." (2 Chronicles 7:1-3 RSV)The Temple was completed and dedicated in the seventh month, in early autumn (see Bible Calendar and Bible Months) at the time the Feast of Tabernacles.
"At that time Solomon held the feast for seven days [see Christ's Feast of Tabernacles], and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from the entrance of Hamath to the Brook of Egypt. And on the eighth day [see Christ's Eighth Day] they held a solemn assembly; for they had kept the dedication of the altar seven days and the feast seven days. On the twenty-third day of the seventh month he sent the people away to their homes, joyful and glad of heart for the goodness that The Lord had shown to David and to Solomon and to Israel his people." (2 Chronicles 7:8-10 RSV)The Lord then provided Solomon with encouragement - and a warning.
"And as for you, if you walk before Me, as David [see King David] your father walked, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping My statutes and My ordinances, then I will establish your royal throne [see also Royal Democracy], as I covenanted with David your father, saying, 'There shall not fail you a man to rule Israel.' "But if you turn aside and forsake My statutes and My Commandments [see The Decalogue] which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will pluck you up from the land which I have given you [see Why Babylon?]; and this house, which I have consecrated for My Name, I will cast out of My sight [see Temple Mount Treasures and Raiders Of The Lost Ark], and will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And at this house, which is exalted, every one passing by will be astonished, and say, 'Why has The Lord done thus to this land and to this house?" Then they will say, 'Because they forsook The Lord the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this evil upon them'" (2 Chronicles 7:17-22 RSV)2 Chronicles Chapter 8
The United Kingdom of Israel was peaceful and prosperous because of the military victories that The Lord had given to King David i.e. Solomon inherited David's rule over other nations as well.
"All the people who were left of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel, from their descendants who were left after them in the land, whom the people of Israel had not destroyed - these Solomon made a forced levy and so they are to this day. But of the people of Israel Solomon made no slaves for his work; they were soldiers, and his officers, the commanders of his chariots, and his horsemen. And these were the chief officers of King Solomon, two hundred and fifty, who exercised authority over the people." (2 Chronicles 8:7-10 RSV)Solomon married many foreign women, including a daughter of an Egyptian Pharaoh.
"Solomon brought Pharaoh's daughter up from The City of David to the house which he had built for her, for he said, "My wife shall not live in the house of David king of Israel, for the places to which the ark of The Lord has come are holy." (2 Chronicles 8:11 RSV)At that time, Solomon was still wise - he was still faithful and obedient to The Lord. Solomon observed all of Christ's Holy Days.
"Then Solomon offered up burnt offerings to The Lord upon the altar of The Lord which he had built before the vestibule, as the duty of each day required, offering according to the commandment of Moses for the Sabbaths [see How To Be A True Christian - Lesson 4], the new moons, and the three annual feasts - the feast of unleavened bread [see Christ's Feast of Unleavened Bread], the feast of weeks [see Christ's Pentecost], and the feast of tabernacles [see Christ's Feast of Tabernacles]. According to the ordinance of David his father, he appointed the divisions of the priests for their service, and the Levites for their offices of praise and ministry before the priests as the duty of each day required, and the gatekeepers in their divisions for the several gates; for so David the man of God had commanded. And they did not turn aside from what the king had commanded the priests and Levites concerning any matter and concerning the treasuries." (2 Chronicles 8:12-15 RSV)Solomon's Navy consisted of trading ships sent to far places in the known world.
"Then Solomon went to Ezion-geber and Eloth on the shore of the sea, in the land of Edom. And Huram sent him by his servants ships and servants familiar with the sea, and they went to Ophir together with the servants of Solomon, and fetched from there four hundred and fifty talents of gold [see The Gold of Ophir] and brought it to King Solomon." (2 Chronicles 8:17-18 RSV)2 Chronicles Chapter 9
The visit of the queen of Sheba (see The Queen Of The South) to Solomon is one of the most famous events of Bible History.
"Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions, having a very great retinue and camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from Solomon which he could not explain to her. And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, and their clothing, his cupbearers, and their clothing, and his burnt offerings which he offered at the house of The Lord, there was no more spirit in her." (2 Chronicles 9:1-4 RSV)Solomon's wealth was displayed to an extravagant extreme, as evidenced by his throne of gold and ivory. Gold was so plentiful that "silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon."
"The king also made a great ivory throne, and overlaid it with pure gold. The throne had six steps and a footstool of gold, which were attached to the throne, and on each side of the seat were arm rests and two lions standing beside the arm rests, while twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. The like of it was never made in any kingdom. All King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon." (2 Chronicles 9:17-20 RSV)Solomon reigned for forty years, the same as his father David. After he died and was buried in Jerusalem, Solomon was succeeded by his son Rehoboam (see the Fact Finder question below).
"Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, from first to last, are they not written in the history of Nathan The Prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father; and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead." (2 Chronicles 9:29-31 RSV)
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