Incredibly, we see both the pinnacle of Solomon’s character as well as a foreshadowing of his downfall here in chapter 3.
Solomon desired to serve the Lord. He could have asked God for anything, but he chose to seek what would fulfill his calling and purpose. This is impressive, especially because he was only about 20 years old at the time!
However, Solomon loved foreign women and he married lots of them.
Solomon made an alliance with the king of Egypt by marrying his daughter. He brought her to live in David’s City until he had finished building his palace, the Temple, and the wall around Jerusalem.
1 Kings 3:1 GNB
If you remember, Nehemiah was furious when the men of Israel acted in the same way as Solomon. He ripped out some beard hair over it!
I reprimanded the men, called down curses on them, beat them, and pulled out their hair. Then I made them take an oath in God’s name that never again would they or their children intermarry with foreigners. 26 I told them, “It was foreign women that made King Solomon sin. Here was a man who was greater than any of the kings of other nations. God loved him and made him king over all of Israel, and yet he fell into this sin.
Nehemiah 13:25-26 GNB
All of us have a calling and a purpose, yet, all of us battle a sin struggle. Unfortunately, Solomon’s great wisdom could not overcome his desire for women. Even the wisest human being in the world couldn’t outsmart sin. This is another reminder of the crippling nature of sin and how desperate we must be for Jesus!