a long long time ago King David ruled over Israel and its people he was a great man of god
during his rule, Israel had grown ten times larger than what it was under the previous king
king saul however David was now growing old and feeble
he could not rule any longer I am growing tired and sick my time is over and my life on earth is nearing to an end
I need one of my sons to take over my duties and responsibilities
Israel needs to be in the hand of a great wise king
King David had another son with his wife Bathsheba and his name was Solomon
Bathsheba knew very well that her son should take over the throne of Israel after her husband
she knew Solomon would be a great king just like his father
David brought together all of his leaders and people
and in front of everyone made Solomon the king of his nation
the people of Israel had complete faith in David
and believe that whatever he did would be good for Israel and its people
Solomon is the one who God has chosen to be your king
he will take good care of all of you once I am not here
shortly after Solomon became the king David's health worsened
my dear son, you are now the king of my nation
always remember to walk in god's path so that you rule wisely and be prosperous in all that you do
after his father's death, Solomon sat on his throne and established his father's kingdom firmly once again
he built a huge and powerful army comprising of thousands of horsemen
chariots and even a mighty fleet of hundreds of ships
as a king he never let himself forget his father's good advice
one night Solomon had a dream
in his dream, God appeared to him and said
Solomon, I grant you a wish ask what shall I give you
wish for anything and you shall receive
dear lord, i ask for wisdom to be a good king to my people
grant me a listening and caring heart
you are a good man Solomon despite being the king you wished for wisdom instead of power
I am very pleased your wish shall be granted
you will be the wisest king of Israel and people will remember you for all eternity for your wisdom
but if you fail to obey my commandments your throne shall be lost forever
not only did Solomon get what he asked for God also promised him great riches and honor
days passed and Solomon grew to be beloved amongst his people
he was compassionate and took great care of them and his wisdom came to be known across all nations
the people of Israel realized that he was as good a king as his father
it did not take them long to discover Solomon's wisdom and soon people came to him from far-off places seeking his help
one day two women came to Solomon's court with a baby to seek justice
this woman's son died in the middle of the night and she has replaced her dead baby with mine
now she claims my baby to be hers
no, this child is mine the one which died last night was yours
the argument went on for a while
it was difficult for Solomon to decide whose baby the child really was
it was not at all easy for him to tell who the real mother was
suddenly the wise king Solomon had an idea
bring me my sword
the sword was brought
everyone in the court was appalled
they wondered how the sword could help the king arrive at the correct decision in a grave and confusing matter like this
however, Solomon had other plans
he ordered his men
divide the child in two halves
give one half to one and the other half to the other mother then they will both be happy
the moment he uttered these words the mother of the baby cried out loud terrified
oh lord please don't do this give her the child but in no means kill him
i pray to you i cannot see my child getting killed
let the child be neither hers nor mine it's better to divide them go ahead with your judgment lord
hearing the two women saying two different things king Solomon took back his orders and said
give the first woman the child that child is hers and she is the real mother
a mother would never let her baby die
that is exactly how I knew who the real mother is
the whole court praised the king for being so wise and just
all of them respected his judgment and realized that he truly possessed the wisdom of God in him
when Solomon became the king
he began to build a wonderful temple of God in Jerusalem for his people to worship him
the temple took seven long years to be built completely
when it was ready each and every Israelite gathered there to hear the king dedicate the temple to the lord
the king offered a wonderful prayer and the people gladly offered thousands of sacrifices
the feast was grand and went on for two long weeks
a few days later god once again appeared in Solomon's dream
he promised to bless him and all the people of Israel as long as they continued to obey him
unfortunately neither Solomon nor the people obeyed God at all times
Solomon married many women who God did not want him to marry
most of his wives had evil plans who tried to turn his spiritual heart towards worshiping idols
Solomon too eventually gave in to this and his heart was not as loyal to the lord as his fathers
while Solomon wasted his opportunity to obey God and be blessed by him
one of his officers named jeroboam encountered a strange experience
God has special plans for you he will divide Solomon's kingdom into two halves
and you will rule over ten of the twelve tribes
on hearing this from the prophet jeroboam immediately escaped from Egypt
he knew king Solomon would not let him live if he stayed there any longer