King Solomon was king of all Israel (1 Kings 4:1), and “Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea; they ate and drank and were happy” (4:20). But this happiness came at a cost: perhaps not to the people of Judah and Israel, but certainly to the other nations that they had conquered.

“Solomon was sovereign over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, even to the border of Egypt; they brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life” (5:1). That is, part of the reason the people of Israel could enjoy life so much was that people from other nations were paying the taxes. And there was a division of forced labor, with Adoram son of Abda in charge of it (4:6). So again, part of the reason life was good for the citizens was that the hardest labor was being done by slaves. People in other lands who were paying heavy tribute to Israel, and slaves within Israel who were bearing the heaviest burdens: perhaps they were not finding life quite so enjoyable. Yet no one seems to have been asking for their opinion.

Meanwhile, we learn that Solomon had prayed for wisdom, and God had granted that request (3:7-12), so much so that Solomon easily won the Who’s Who of wisdom (4:29-30). And “Solomon loved the Lord” (3:3). This is the basis for Solomon’s rich reputation as the wisest and most devout of men.

Yet, as we shall see, this man of wisdom and devotion also had his blind spots, and already today’s reading provides some hints as to how that will turn out: Solomon was marrying princesses from foreign lands (3:1), he was worshiping as seemed best to himself (3:3-4), and he was gathering up a lot of horses (5:6) – though the Torah had warned against this (Deuteronomy 17:14-17).

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We need your wisdom, Lord, wisdom to see the truth despite our blind spots. We want a good life for ourselves, even if it comes at severe cost to others. We want power and freedom and pleasure for ourselves, even if that might lead us away from you. Teach us repentance. Teach us humility. Teach us to depend on you: for you alone are the Lord.

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