The End of the Golden Age: Solomon's Final Report Card Text: 2 Chronicles 9:29-31
Introduction: The Unraveling of Wisdom
We come now to the end of an era. The curtain falls on the reign of Solomon, a figure who looms large in the biblical narrative, a man whose name is synonymous with both unparalleled wisdom and catastrophic folly. His reign was the apex of Israel's glory. The Temple was built, the treasury was overflowing, and the queen of Sheba came away breathless. From the outside, it was a magnificent success story. But the Bible is not interested in mere external success. It is a book about covenant, and the final accounting of any man's life is measured by his covenant faithfulness, not by his gross domestic product.
Solomon began with a humble request for wisdom, and God gave it to him in spades. But wisdom is not a static possession; it is a path that must be walked. Solomon, the man who wrote proverbs about the dangers of foolishness and the snare of the foreign woman, became the very embodiment of his own warnings. He accumulated horses from Egypt, multiplied gold and silver, and, most disastrously, multiplied wives, many of whom were foreign princesses who brought their false gods with them. He did not just tolerate idolatry; he subsidized it. He built high places for Chemosh and Molech right under the nose of the Temple he had constructed for Yahweh. This was not a minor slip; it was high-handed, architectural apostasy.
And so, as we arrive at the final verses of this chapter, we are not just reading a historical footnote. We are reading the divine summary of a life that started brilliantly and ended in a compromised, shadowed twilight. This is the transition point, the moment the golden age begins to rust. The consequences of Solomon's sin are already baked into the future. The kingdom is about to be torn in two, and the seeds of that division were sown in the king's own heart and in the idolatrous shrines he built. This passage serves as a sober reminder that no amount of wisdom, wealth, or power can serve as a substitute for simple, dogged obedience to the living God.
The Text
Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, from first to last, are they not written in the chronicles of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? Thus Solomon reigned forty years in Jerusalem over all Israel. And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David; and his son Rehoboam became king in his place.
(2 Chronicles 9:29-31 LSB)
The Inspired Footnote (v. 29)
We begin with the Chronicler's summary of his sources.
"Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, from first to last, are they not written in the chronicles of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat?" (2 Chronicles 9:29)
At first glance, this might seem like a simple citation, the kind of thing a modern historian would put in a footnote. But it is far more than that. This verse is a profound statement about the nature of Scripture itself. The Holy Spirit, through the Chronicler, is telling us that the inspired account we have just read is not the whole story, but it is the whole story that God intended for us to have. There were other books, other records, kept by prophets of God. The acts of Solomon were recorded by Nathan, the same prophet who confronted David. His life was documented by Ahijah, the prophet who would tear his robe and give ten pieces to Jeroboam, symbolizing the coming split. And his reign was observed in the visions of Iddo the seer.
These books are now lost to us. And this should not trouble us in the slightest. What it tells us is that the Bible is not just a collection of all the religious books the Israelites happened to write. It is a curated, edited, and inspired collection, assembled by the Holy Spirit Himself. God, in His sovereignty, determined which parts of the historical record were necessary for the edification of His people for all time. He gave us exactly what we need. The doctrine of inspiration applies not only to the words that were written, but also to the selection of the books themselves. This verse is a quiet testimony to the providence of God over His Word. We don't have the "chronicles of Nathan" because we don't need them. We have 1 and 2 Chronicles, and that is sufficient.
Notice also who is doing the writing. The history of Israel was written by prophets. This means that history, for the people of God, is never merely a recitation of facts. It is always an interpretation of facts. It is prophetic history. It is history with a point. The point is to show God's covenant dealings with His people. Nathan, Ahijah, and Iddo were not just recording events; they were explaining what those events meant in light of God's law and His promises. This is how we are to view all of history, our own included. It is not a random series of events; it is a story being told by God, and the central character is Jesus Christ.
The Forty-Year Summary (v. 30)
Next, we get the simple, stark summary of the reign.
"Thus Solomon reigned forty years in Jerusalem over all Israel." (2 Chronicles 9:30 LSB)
Forty years. This is a significant number in Scripture. It is the length of a generation. Moses was on the mountain for forty days. Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty years. David reigned for forty years. And now Solomon reigns for forty years. It represents a full period of testing and trial. Solomon was given a full generation of peace and prosperity, a full opportunity to establish the kingdom in righteousness.
He reigned "in Jerusalem over all Israel." This phrase is pregnant with a coming sorrow. He was the last king to reign over "all Israel." The unity of the twelve tribes, forged in the wilderness, established under Joshua, and consolidated under David, reached its material peak under Solomon. But because of his sin, that unity was about to be shattered. This verse is the calm before the storm. It is the final, peaceful snapshot of a united kingdom that would never be united again. God had warned Solomon directly: "Since you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant" (1 Kings 11:11). The forty years were up. The time of testing was over. And judgment was at the door.
The Inevitable Succession (v. 31)
The chapter, and the era, concludes with a death and a succession.
"And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David; and his son Rehoboam became king in his place." (2 Chronicles 9:31 LSB)
The phrase "slept with his fathers" is the standard biblical euphemism for the death of a king in the Davidic line. It is a covenantal expression. It speaks of continuity, of being gathered to one's people. Solomon, for all his late-life failings, was still a son of the covenant. He was buried in the city of David, the city he himself had beautified and fortified. There is a certain grace in this. Despite his idolatry, God did not cut him off entirely. For David's sake, the judgment would fall not on Solomon's watch, but on his son's.
But this is where the trouble begins in earnest. "And his son Rehoboam became king in his place." If Solomon was the wise man who played the fool, Rehoboam was the fool who never pretended to be wise. He was the product of Solomon's opulent, compromised court. He had grown up surrounded by flattery and luxury, and he had the backbone of a chocolate eclair. We will see in the very next chapter how his arrogance and stupidity provided the immediate spark for the division of the kingdom.
The succession from David to Solomon was fraught with intrigue, but it was secured by the decisive action of Nathan the prophet and Bathsheba. The succession from Solomon to Rehoboam is presented here as a simple fact, but it is a fact pregnant with disaster. Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines, and this is the heir he produced. This is what happens when a man's wisdom is detached from the fear of the Lord. His own house falls into disarray. He can build a magnificent temple for God, but he cannot seem to raise a wise son to sit on his throne. This is a perennial warning. A man can build a great business, a great institution, or a great ministry, but if he neglects his own household, the legacy will crumble. The kingdom splits under Rehoboam, but the cracks began in Solomon's bedroom.
Conclusion: A Greater Than Solomon
So what are we to make of this tragic end to a glorious reign? We are to see in Solomon a picture of ourselves, and we are to see in his failure the absolute necessity of a better King.
Solomon was given wisdom, wealth, and peace. He had everything a man could want. And yet, his heart was turned away. His story is the story of the wisest of men proving that human wisdom is ultimately insufficient. It is the story of Adam played out once more in a glorious garden of a kingdom. Like Adam, Solomon was given a mandate, blessed by God, and placed in a position of authority. And like Adam, he failed to obey the clear command of God, and the result was division, strife, and a curse upon the land.
This is why the New Testament presents Jesus as the greater Solomon. When the Pharisees demanded a sign, Jesus told them, "The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here" (Matthew 12:42).
Jesus is the truly wise king. He is the one who did not just build a temple of stone, but is building a living temple of His people. He is the Son of David whose heart never turned aside, who was tempted in all points as we are, yet was without sin. Solomon's reign ended with a fractured kingdom and a foolish heir. Christ's reign will end with all His enemies under His feet and a kingdom that will never be shaken. Solomon slept with his fathers and his body saw decay. Christ slept for three days and rose again, conquering death forever.
The story of Solomon is a glorious failure that points us to the ultimate success of Christ. It warns us of the deceitfulness of our own hearts and the seductive power of worldly compromise. But it ultimately directs our gaze to the only King whose wisdom is perfect, whose reign is eternal, and whose kingdom cannot be divided. We look at the end of Solomon, and we thank God for sending us a greater one.