Last time, we talked about a teenager named David, who God chose to be king, even though he didn’t look as impressive as his older brothers. Well, after King David died, his son Solomon became the next king. Even though David had been anointed as king, he had to fight hard to earn his throne. But Solomon was born a prince, and he inherited everything his father had worked for—a whole kingdom.

Solomon was probably a little spoiled, but when he was a young king, he made a really good decision. God told Solomon to ask for anything he wanted, and God would give it to him. Solomon didn’t ask for more money or land or anything like that—instead, he asked God for wisdom. He wanted to be a good ruler who made good decisions.

God was so pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom that He promised to give Solomon great wealth and fame along with wisdom. And that’s what happened. Solomon became known for his wisdom and how he handled difficult situations. He also used his wisdom to make deals with other nations, bringing lots of riches and connections to the land. He built beautiful buildings and wrote wonderful poetry. Other rulers traveled from far away to meet him and see his wisdom for themselves.

Solomon had everything—fame, fortune, and success. But as he grew older, he started to forget what really mattered. He forgot who had given him everything he had. He let other people lead him away from God. He even started worshiping false gods and idols.

God was not happy. He told Solomon that because he had not been faithful to God, after he died, the kingdom thathe and his father had built would be split in two. All he had worked for wouldn’t last. Unlike David, Solomon forgot to keep his heart focused on God.

The book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament is traditionally believed to have been written by Solomon. In this book, the author talks about how he gained lots of things in life, but eventually found out that all these things were meaningless. But in the final chapter, the author encourages his readers not to forget their Creator. He goes on to say, “Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13) It seems that the author realized that all the other things in life he’d been searching for were empty compared to knowing and following God.