Solomon Settles in as King. (1Kings 3

    Last time we saw that King Solomon, (who had just recently become king) was faced with a dilemma. Two women both claimed to be the mother of the same baby! They each cried to the king. "No! He is my son!" And they traded accusations back and forth. 
 "Enough!" King Solomon said. Then he repeated the story back to them to make sure he got it right. So what is a king to do?

  "Bring me a sword!" he shouted. Everyone was puzzled..... "what would the king want with a sword?" Some of them chucked to themselves. 
 So a sword was brought to the king and then he said, "Cut the child in half and give each woman half."
 Then the woman who was really the mother of the child and who loved him very much cried out. "Oh no my lord! Give her the child. Please do not cut the child in half! 
 But the other woman said, "All right, he will be neither yours nor mine. Divide him between us!"
  Then the king said, "Do not kill him, but give the baby to the woman who wants the child to live, for she is his mother!"

  Word of Solomon's wisdom spread quickly throughout the land. Everyone was in awe as they realized what amazing wisdom God had given to the king to administer justice.  
Solomon also grew in wealth just as God had promised and soon he was the wealthiest king in the world! God also promised that there would be peace in Israel during Solomon's reign, and there was peace for all forty years that Solomon was king. During this peaceful time Solomon was able to write 3000 psalms and 1000 songs.
  What do you do in your "peaceful' times? Do you focus on yourself? or ponder the things of God? 
  
  Before David died, he told his son, Solomon, that he always wanted to build a temple, but God said that Solomon would be the one to build it. So King Solomon began work on the temple. He wanted it to be amazing, and with all the riches he had, the finished temple was spectacular! The interior walls were overlaid in gold. It took 7 years to complete the temple. Then he built a magnificent palace. It took 13 years to complete it. 

  Now it was time to bring the Ark of the Covenant into the new temple. There was a great ceremony. There were so many sacrifices that no one could keep count. The priests picked up the Ark using the poles and carried it into the temple. 

 Then King Solomon said a prayer, blessing all the people of Israel and dedicating the temple to the Lord. He had the priests offer up more sacrifices. (about 142,000 animals in all).  The king and all the Israelites continued the temple celebration for seven days. Then it was time for the Festival of the Shelters... or Sukkot. (Sukkot commemorates the forty-year period during which the children of Israel were wandering in the desert, living in temporary shelters. ) and the people celebrated another 7 days. After the two weeks of celebrating, God appeared to Solomon a second time. (Remember last time God appereared to Solomon was when Solomon asked for wisdom) 
 God told Solomon that He would dwell in the temple that he had built. (I'm sure Solomon was relieved to hear that) And He also reminded the king that if he continued to follow Him and obey Him, that things would go well for him and that he would always have an ancestor on the throne of Israel. 

 It seems like God was always reminding the kings to trust, follow and obey Him. .... and those reminders are not only for kings. God wants to remind us to trust, follow and obey Him. Why? Because He knows what is best for us, He loves us and He is good. Just like God made promises to David and Solomon. He has made thousands of promises to us..... and they are all found in his word...... the Bible.