King Solomon then swore an oath by the Lord, “May God judge me severely, if Adonijah does not pay for this request with his life!

One night in Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream. God said, “Tell me what I should give you.”

God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment; the breadth of his understanding was as infinite as the sand on the seashore.

“God does not really live on the earth! Look, if the sky and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this temple I have built!

Everyone in the world wanted to visit Solomon to see him display his God-given wisdom.

and had warned him about this very thing, so that he would not follow other gods. But he did not obey the Lord’s command.

God also brought against Solomon another enemy, Rezon son of Eliada who had run away from his master, King Hadadezer of Zobah.

Just then a prophet from Judah, sent by the Lord, arrived in Bethel, as Jeroboam was standing near the altar ready to offer a sacrifice.

You have sinned more than all who came before you. You went and angered me by making other gods, formed out of metal; you have completely disregarded me.

The woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a prophet and that the Lord really does speak through you.”

Also seat two villains opposite him and have them testify, ‘You cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”

The king’s servants have even come to congratulate our master King David, saying, ‘May your God make Solomon more famous than you and make him an even greater king than you!’ Then the king leaned on the bed

God said to him, “Because you asked for the ability to make wise judicial decisions, and not for long life, or riches, or vengeance on your enemies,

When all Israel heard about the judicial decision which the king had rendered, they respected the king, for they realized that he possessed supernatural wisdom to make judicial decisions.

He prayed: “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no god like you in heaven above or on earth below! You maintain covenantal loyalty to your servants who obey you with sincerity.

“But if you or your sons ever turn away from me, fail to obey the regulations and rules I instructed you to keep, and decide to serve and worship other gods,

When Solomon became old, his wives shifted his allegiance to other gods; he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his father David had been.

At noon Elijah mocked them, “Yell louder! After all, he is a god; he may be deep in thought, or perhaps he stepped out for a moment or has taken a trip. Perhaps he is sleeping and needs to be awakened.”

When it was time for the evening offering, Elijah the prophet approached the altar and prayed: “O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.

Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah with this warning, “May the gods judge me severely if by this time tomorrow I do not take your life as you did theirs!”