If the most famous and well-loved Israelite king was David, the one who comes just after him in good name is also the one who follows him chronologically. It is his own son, Solomon. But while the glory of David was based on his victories on the field of battle and on his dedication to God, we remember Solomon for his great wisdom and his nearly unimaginable wealth. Like his father, Solomon has a place in the Qur’an, the holy book of Muslims. All those who are named Sulayman today doubtless owe their name to this great king of Israel. So what is the story of this first Sulayman, whom the Bible calls Solomon?
His Request for Wisdom
Solomon was not the firstborn of David’s sons but succeeded his father as king because God himself chose him. At the death of David, Solomon was still young. He was also humble and recognized that he was not up to the task which faced him as king. This humility brought a great blessing from God, as we read in 1 Kings 3 beginning in verse 5:
“At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. God said, ‘Ask. What should I give you?’
And Solomon replied, ‘You have shown great and faithful love to Your servant, my father David, because he walked before You in faithfulness, righteousness, and integrity. You have continued this great and faithful love for him by giving him a son to sit on his throne, as it is today.
‘Lord my God, You have now made Your servant king in my father David’s place. Yet I am just a youth with no experience in leadership. Your servant is among Your people You have chosen, a people too numerous to be numbered or counted. So give Your servant an obedient heart to judge Your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?’
Now it pleased the Lord that Solomon had requested this. So God said to him, ‘Because you have requested this and did not ask for long life or riches for yourself, or the death of your enemies, but you asked discernment for yourself to understand justice, I will therefore do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has never been anyone like you before and never will be again. In addition, I will give you what you did not ask for: both riches and honor, so that no man in any kingdom will be your equal during your entire life. If you walk in My ways and keep My statutes and commands just as your father David did, I will give you a long life.’” (1 Kings 3:5-14).
This request that Solomon made to God is very instructive for us. Many people in such a situation would have said to the Lord, “Give me a kingdom that will never be matched by anyone after me.” But Solomon did not seek personal glory. He simply wanted to be able to carry out God’s will—he wanted to be able to reign over the people of God with intelligence and with justice. God promised to give him what he asked, but he also promised to give him less important but desirable blessings—things other people seek as a higher priority than God’s will. We should think of the words of Jesus in Matthew 6. After having pointed out that the heathen worry about what they are going to eat or wear, Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” (Matthew 6:33). Our greatest concern must be to enter the kingdom of God (to assure ourselves a place in heaven) and to do that which is right in the sight of God. If we have the will of God as our priority in life, we can be confident that God will give us the material things that we truly need. Most people prefer to seek what they need in terms of physical things as more important and to think about God later, if they still have time and are not too tired. They need to reflect on the example provided in Solomon’s request.
A Demonstration of His Wisdom
A famous example of Solomon’s wisdom is preserved for us in the book of 1 Kings:
“Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. One woman said, ‘Please my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I had a baby while she was in the house. On the third day after I gave birth, she also had a baby and we were alone. No one else was with us in the house; just the two of us were there. During the night this woman’s son died because she lay on him. She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while your servant was asleep. She laid him at her breast, and she put her dead son in my arms. When I got up in the morning to nurse my son, I discovered he was dead. When I looked closely at him in the morning light, I realized that he was not the son I gave birth to.’
‘No,’ the other woman said. ‘My son is the living one; your son is the dead one.’
The first woman said, ‘No, your son is the dead one; my son is the living one.’ So they argued before the king.
The king replied, ‘This woman says, “This is my son who is alive, and your son is dead,” but that woman says, “No, your son is dead, and my son is alive.”’ The king continued, ‘Bring me a sword.’ So they brought the sword to the king. Solomon said, ‘Cut the living boy in two and give half to one and half to the other.’
The woman whose son was alive spoke to the king because she felt great compassion for her son. ‘My lord, give her the living baby,’ she said, ‘but please don’t have him killed!’
But the other one said, ‘He will not be mine or yours. Cut him in two!’
The king responded, ‘Give the living baby to the first woman, and don’t kill him. She is his mother.’” (1 Kings 3:16-27).
A Worldwide Reputation
But the wisdom of Solomon was not limited to his role as supreme magistrate. It was manifested in his way of administering his kingdom and also in his literary activity. The Bible says:
“God gave Solomon wisdom, very great insight, and understanding as vast as the sand on the seashore. Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone—wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, sons of Mahol. His reputation extended to all the surrounding nations. Solomon composed 3,000 proverbs, and his songs numbered 1,005. He described trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing out of the wall. He also taught about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. People came from everywhere, sent by every king on earth who had heard of his wisdom, to listen to Solomon’s wisdom.” (1 Kings 4:29-34)
Among the foreign dignitaries who sent to see Solomon was the queen of Sheba. Arabs use the name Balkis for this woman, and the Ethiopians refer to her as Makeda, but the Bible does not give her name. Generally, Sheba is identified as the kingdom of Saba, in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula, where the modern country of Yemen is located. The 27th Surah of the Qur’an speaks a lot about Solomon and the queen who came to see him. As for the Ethiopians, they consider this queen as the ancestor of their royal lineage. Perhaps she was linked to both Arabia and Ethiopia, given that the language and system of writing of the Ethiopians were practically the same as those of the Sabeans. They may have been the same people.
Here is the biblical account:
“The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s fame connected with the name of the Lord and came to test him with difficult questions. She came to Jerusalem with a very large entourage, with camels bearing spices, gold in great abundance, and precious stones. She came to Solomon and spoke to him about everything that was on her mind. So Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for the king to explain to her. When the queen of Sheba observed all of Solomon’s wisdom, the palace he had built, the food at his table, his servants’ residence, his attendants’ service and their attire, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he offered at the Lord’s temple, it took her breath away.
She said to the king, ‘The report I heard in my own country about your words and about your wisdom is true. But I didn’t believe the reports until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, the half of it was not reported to me. Your wisdom and prosperity far exceed the report I heard.’” (1 Kings 10:1-7).
The queen of Sheba praised the God of Israel, and then she offered rich gifts to Solomon. For his part, King Solomon gave the queen all that she desired in addition to all the gifts that he gave her at his own initiative with a royal generosity. Then the queen and her servants returned to their country.
Like the Qur’an, the Gospel also refers to the visit of the queen of Sheba. Jesus quoted this example to blame the Jews for their indifference and incredulity. He said, “The queen of the south will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and look—something greater than Solomon is here!” (Matthew 12:42). Jesus was speaking of himself. To know if what is said of him is true, there is no need to make a long journey across the desert as the queen of Sheba did. Rather it is a matter of taking the time to discover him in the pages of the Bible. Perhaps you will also exclaim, “I was not even told half! He far exceeds all that I heard.”