His heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God as was the heart of David, his father (1 Kings 11:5). He bought many horses to have a strong power (1 Kings 4:26–28 and 1 Kings 10:26–29). He had many wives who turned his heart away from the God of his father to the idols—the abominations of the nations around Israel (1 Kings 11:1–8). In Solomon’s kingdom there was so much gold that silver was no longer valued. Solomon used a lot of gold to beautify God’s house. But when God’s house was finished, the influx of gold continued (1 Kings 10:14–22). It became excessive and enchanted his heart.
14 “When you come to the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, ‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,’