"In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said, 'Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and evil: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?' The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, 'Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked...'" (1 Kings 3:4–12).
Ah, Solomon, off to such a strong start. By humbling himself before the Lord and asking for the most valuable thing a man can possess, he immediately gains the approval of the Lord. But as many of us know, Solomon was far from perfect. When David was older the Bible says that he was "unable to get warm" so a super fine honey was brought to David, but he wanted nothing to do with her, so Solomon's older brother, Adonijah who was not given the throne asked for her. Solomon was very disapproving of this. Mainly because Absalom had used one of David's harems to make a claim at the throne in his rebellion. Long story short, Solomon offed his older bro so that there would be no competition. Pretty cold, but hey, you've gotta do what you've gotta do, and Solomon knew all about that. For instance, Solomon almost chopped a baby in half to solve another dispute (1 Kings 3 16-28).
But moving right along...
On a brighter, less morbid note, Solomon was the ultimate and original Playboy Billionaire. I mean, this guy puts guys like Batman to shame. He ended up with around 700 wives and 300 concubines. Wow. There was also a fling with the Queen of Sheba in which the Bible says, " King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired..." (1 Kings 10:13). This also brings up the point that must be made. As wise as Solomon was, he made some foolish choices when it came to women. He married many bodacious babes who led him away from the Lord. The Queen of Sheba was one example of the trap set for Solomon by women. This may not mean anything, but I just thought I would throw this in as a bonus. Shortly after the Bible talks about Solomon's promiscuous activity with the Queen of Sheba among the rest of the many women in his life, the Bible says, "The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents..." (1 Kings 10:14).
But this brings me to the most important reasons I chose Solomon.
#3. Wisdom. Solomon was the wisest man on earth. That in itself is awesome. He wrote the Proverbs, a collection of such wisdom so profound that it surpasses even the wisdom of Yoda. And on top of that, if any man in the history of this world has ever come close to understanding women, it was Solomon. He was the wisest man after all, and he definitely spent enough time surrounded by them to figure something out. Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes 7:26: "And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her." He also writes of the Godly woman in Proverbs 31:26-30: "She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 'Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.' Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."
#2. The Construction of the Temple. One of the coolest things ever. The temple was such an extravagant and incredible work of art and architecture. It would have been absolutely gnarly to see it, let alone orchestrate its construction, granted David first envisioned the construction of the temple. Such a feat of grandeur, beauty, and power, the first temple simply blows the mind. Built of only the finest materials, the temple was awesome. Cedar and gold everywhere. The only way I can try to make you understand how legendary the temple was is to say it is like the Taj Mahal + the Sistine Chapel multiplied by 1,000. (For more information on the First Temple see 1 Kings Chapter 6).
#1. Songs of Solomon. Alright, alright. At least here me out on this one before you pass judgement. A truly outstanding book. Some see the book as an analogy of God and his chosen people, and while I acknowledge that there is substantial evidence to support that claim. I don't believe it is that. I believe it is simply one of the greatest writings on love ever written. The Bible has many examples of Philos and Agape love throughout both the Old and New Testaments. I believe that Song of Songs is simply God using Solomon to show Christians the importance of Eros. The book portrays two lovers longing for each other, and how they appreciate one another for their physical beauty. Which, in my humble opinion, is just God showing us that it is natural to be attracted to beautiful things. And, Solomon had a way with words that simply blew minds. I mean, this stuff is gold, check out this excerpt from Songs of Solomon Chapter 7, "How beautiful your sandaled feet, O prince’s daughter! Your graceful legs are like jewels, the work of an artist’s hands. Your navel is a rounded goblet that never lacks blended wine. Your waist is a mound of wheat encircled by lilies...Your neck is like an ivory tower. Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon by the gate of Bath Rabbim. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon looking toward Damascus. Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel. Your hair is like royal tapestry; the king is held captive by its tresses. How beautiful you are and how pleasing, my love, with your delights!" Beautiful. Absolutely Beautiful.
Of course, some parts of Solomon's life were less awesome. There was the whole idol worshiping thing, and that may have led to the division of Israel. And then there is Ecclesiastes, but other than that. It's all good!
That is all for now folks. Stay funky fresh. R.I.P. Leonard Nimoy and Jagger the 2015 Dog Show Champion.
SweetnLowe signing off! Goodnight and Godspeed.
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