Since Solomon sinned near the end of his life, God said the kingdom would be split.  Yet it would happen after Solomon had died.  After Rehoboam became king, he resorted to cruelty instead of kindness, and the people rebelled against him.  So the two kingdoms, Israel and Judah, began.

Jesus referenced the Queen of Sheba in Luke 11 as a condemnation of the crowds around him who wanted another sign.  The Queen of Sheba came from a great distance to hear Solomon's wisdom, but now that Jesus had arrived, those in his day didn't have any interest in hearing him.

As David was a man after God's own heart, God offered David's son, Solomon, anything he would like.  Rather than choosing riches and fame, Solomon asked God for wisdom.  God richly blessed Solomon and he became the wisest man who ever lived.  Kings and Queens from across the world sought an audience with Solomon.

While God does not live in a house made by human hands, Solomon built the grandest, most beautiful temple ever built as a way for the Israelites to worship God.  Not only was the temple incredibly beautiful and a marvel of design and engineering, it was a shadow of heaven itself.

After Absalom's failed coup, Adonijah, David's oldest son, tried to make himself king by force. But David had promised the throne to Solomon, his son by Bathsheba. Even in his old age, David was going to make things right and make Solomon king instead.

When David and his family fled Jerusalem from Absalom and his followers, David sent one of his advisors, Hushai, to try and confound the advice of Absalom.

Absalom, David's son, was cunning, devious, and sinful. He won over the people's hearts and made himself king in place of David. And David, instead of trusting God fully, fled the city out of fear of Absalom.

David and his men hid in a cave for fear of Saul and his army. As they were hiding, Saul came into the cave all alone! One swift strike of the sword would free David and his men from Saul's oppression. But David could not harm Saul, as he was the Lord's anointed one.

As David continued to have greater exploits and began to be honored more than Saul, the king was angry at David and tried multiple times to kill him. Yet God always rescued David and cared for him.

The Philistines again fought against the Israelites, and again God provided a deliverer. This being one of my son's favorite Bible stories, I had him join me as one of the voices today!