God places Solomon on the throne to follow David after his death. God told Solomon he could ask for anything and Solomon asked for wisdom to lead his country. God gives Solomon riches and honor, on top of the wisdom he asked for, because of his choice. Solomon demonstrates this wisdom in the act of the two mothers who came to him for judgment on who a child belongs to. After this incident, the people knew of his wisdom that came from God.

The language in the New Testament about the temple and comparisons of the body of Christ is based on this Old Testament temple that was built by Solomon. Solomons' temple is not just a dwelling, but it was a statement of our position with God that before we could not enter His presence because of our very nature. Then Christ died for our sins and the veil in the temple that separated the people from God was torn down. This shows that anyone can now approach God and receive forgiveness from Him based on what Christ did on the cross.\r\n

God did His part for Solomon in what He promised him. He gave him wisdom and wealth, but Solomon got distracted by the gift and forgot about who gave it to him. In his heart, he moved away from a life of serving God to a life of self-gratification. Solomon led his life chasing after things that had no end, there was always more to have, and he was never happy or grateful for what he had. But for us today no matter how far we drift away from God's will for our lives, we are able to come back to His presence under His grace through Jesus.

The fracture of Israel comes from the sin of Jeroboam which is referenced again throughout Kings. Jeroboams' anxiety and doubt in God lead him to place idols in Israel to foreign gods because he didn't have faith that God could meet his needs and protect his position as King. We are not immune to this heart attitude. We too have our idols that we turn to when we think God is not sufficient enough to meet our needs. This leads to a weak church and leads to leaders who compromise their morals in order to retain their followers.

God's followers are being persecuted and killed in the northern tribes of Israel. Elijah is called upon to go down to a secluded area where he meets a woman and her child. He stays with them and all three are provided for by God. Elijah is called upon to take a step in his faith greater than any other he had been through before. God demonstrates to the woman that He is the one true "living God". Elijah sees that through perseverance and faith God can do extensive work through us as well.

Elijah faces hostilities from Jezebel after the victory over the followers of Baal. He retreats into the wilderness where God sustains him and leads him to a mountain where He reveals His plan for Elijah and the remaining followers of Baal. Even in the end, God extends His grace for those who never worshiped Baal and promises to save them from what is coming.

Elijah challenges the Baal prophets to demonstrate the power of their deity versus the living God. While the Baal prophets struggle and wail to provoke their deity to action, Elijah prays relationally with God. Elijah acknowledged His will and calls on Him to demonstrate His power to the people of Isreal. We can learn from this that we can not provoke God to act like the Baal prophets tried to with their deity.