We do not have "the book of the annals of Solomon" but the material contained in it appears to have been compiled by Nathan, Ahijah, and Iddo. We have an account of the major of events of Solomon's life in the books of 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles and these books are sufficient to give us an overview of all that he accomplished and of the mistakes he made regarding dabbling in idolatry with his pagan wives. Having access to the types of writings kept by the scribes of kings would be interesting from a historical viewpoint because these materials would have included information regarding the day-to-day running of the government, lists of goods and services purchased for the royal household, bills of lading regarding the seafaring trading that Solomon engaged in, lists of his household staff and government officials and army rosters, a description of all the building projects Solomon completed and the materials and workers involved in the projects, and so forth. But I'm not sure that possessing these writings would give us any more information than we already have concerning Solomon's spiritual life from the time he became king until the time he died. We know that at the beginning of his reign he appeared to be steadfast in his loyalty to the Lord. We know that as he grew older he began giving in to the desires of his foreign wives to have pagan altars built for them in Israel. We know that he was enticed by his lust for these women into participating in some of their heathen religious rituals.
Solomon's reign was as long as David's but Solomon didn't live to be as old as David. David died at the age of seventy, which was a long life for a man who'd been through as many wars and as many personal hardships as he'd been through. Solomon, who likely came to the throne at around age eighteen or twenty, only lived to about age fifty-eight or sixty although his life had been relatively easy. I suspect that the ease of his life contributed to his early death, for he had access to the finest and richest foods available. There were no wars during his reign and he did not have to concern himself with training for battle and keeping himself in good physical condition. I think that, just as he gave in to excess where his sexual desires were concerned, he gave in to excess where the other comforts and pleasures of life were concerned, such as regularly indulging in lavish banquets and the best of wines. He did not have to do any manual labor. Any exercise he engaged in, as he approached middle age and slightly beyond, was probably nothing more strenuous than strolling around his building sites or riding one of his thoroughbred horses. We can't even be sure he was a horseman since the Bible told us he amassed 1,400 chariots. Unless he simply enjoyed riding horses, it's more likely he was pulled in a chariot by horses than that he rode them himself.
We can see how the prosperity of Solomon's reign may have contributed to his early demise, just as in our own prosperous nation we are experiencing higher rates of obesity and heart disease than ever before. Prosperity can be a blessing or a curse; it depends on how we react to it. It can be a blessing to us physically, in that we have access to high quality foods, high quality pharmaceuticals, high quality medical care, and in that we have the leisure time to focus on our fitness and to join gyms or purchase gym equipment for our homes. Prosperity can be a curse though. It can make us physically lazy because we have so many modern conveniences. It can tempt us to indulge too much in rich fatty foods and in desserts high in sugar and in alcoholic beverages, which are things that are meant to be enjoyed only in small quantities in relation to the healthy things we consume. Prosperity can be a blessing or a curse on us spiritually as well as physically, which brings me to my next point.
If Solomon had not enjoyed so much wealth, he could not have married so many wives, and if he had not married so many wives, he might not have become spiritually lazy. The accumulating of so many wives wouldn't have been good for any man, not even if all the wives had been of his own faith and culture, because he'd have had little time outside of his family duties and his kingly duties to focus on the Lord. But Solomon was attracted to women of pagan nations. We don't know specifically what it was about these women that turned him on, but many scholars have speculated that it was because they didn't dress or behave in chaste and modest ways like the women of Israel. When we arrive at the book of Ecclesiastes we'll find that Solomon's access to everything his heart desires actually created intense feelings of boredom, restlessness, and dissatisfaction. So I think he was always looking for something new and different to relieve the boredom. I think he was looking for ways to distract himself from a gnawing sense of emptiness inside. But instead of looking around him for relief from his dissatisfaction, he should have looked up! Prosperity won't be empty and boring if a person's life revolves around the Lord; in that case the material prosperity is like the icing on the cake. But when a person has prosperity without also having a close relationship with the Lord, prosperity tempts them into continually trying new things in an effort to relieve the emptiness. That's why we hear of famous celebrities falling deeply into substance abuse or getting divorced and remarried every few years or regularly selling their huge mansion for an even bigger mansion. They're looking for something to relieve the emptiness.
In conclusion, did Solomon ever return to a steadfast faith in the Lord? Did he repent of his associations with idolatry and fully give his heart back to the Lord? The authors of 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles don't say anything about that when they tell us of his death and burial. Some scholars believe the book of Ecclesiastes, believed to have been written near the end of Solomon's life, is proof that he repented of a life of empty excess. I would like to think that's the case. In the book of Ecclesiastes he uses the word "meaningless" (translated as "vanity" in some versions of the Bible) over and over and over. He states that he has found the things of this world meaningless, such as wealth and pleasure and worldly wisdom and ambitious projects. He's tried it all and he's been left unsatisfied by it all. He will conclude by saying that nothing other than honoring and serving the Lord has any meaning. Some scholars disagree that he repented, saying that the book contains no heartfelt prayers of grief such as David prayed when he made big mistakes. But perhaps Solomon prayed such prayers without putting them on paper. Or perhaps these prayers are contained in the missing book of the annals of Solomon.
We cannot know for certain whether Solomon got everything in his heart right with the Lord before the end of his life but we can hope so. We can also use what we know about Solomon's later years as an example of what not to do. Let's not make a good start on our walk with God, get off track and wander in the wilderness for decades, and then get back on track near the end of our lives when there's not much time left to do anything for the Lord. We want to start strong, stay strong, and finish strong. If Solomon could visit us today and give us some advice on how to live our lives, I think he'd tell us not to do what he did. I think he'd say, "Stay on track always! Start out with the Lord. Walk with the Lord all the days of your life. Finish with the Lord. Don't waste any of the years of your life chasing after worldly pleasures. The satisfaction of such things is temporary at best. But the satisfaction of placing the Lord at the center of your lives, and in communing with Him every day of your lives, will satisfy your souls."
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