I Kings 10-11

“King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart” (10:23-24). Briefly, King Solomon’s reign gave Israel a glimpse of what godly rule could look like: full of wisdom, peaceful, beneficial to everyone (10:8). However, Solomon “loved many foreign women” (11:1), and he followed his pagan wives into terrible idolatry (11:7). The great potential of his kingdom was quickly poisoned “because his heart had turned away” from the Lord (11:9).

The best of human achievements – knowledge, charisma, wealth, influence – can’t satisfy or save us. God looks for people who are “fully devoted” to him (11:4).