The Kingdom of God was at its greatest during the reigns of David and Solomon, and the forty year reign of Solomon in peace from the surrounding nations pointed forward to the reign of the Greater than Solomon who will soon return to sit upon the throne of the restored and expanded Kingdom of his Father.
Solomon's Plague
But the reign of Solomon was also the beginning of the problems for Israel, for Solomon had many strange (foreign) wives that took him away from the worship of the one true God, but it was also a punishment for David's adultery with Bathsheba. The start of Solomon's reign saw the building of the temple in Jerusalem, that David had gathered many of the materials in preparation for, and its dedication by Solomon. In the inaugural prayer that was offered by Solomon he said (1 Kings 8:38-39) "What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house; Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men)". "And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually"So Solomon prayed for forgiveness for those of the people that recognised and repented of the "plague of their own heart", but in later years was not able to recognise the plague that was in his heart.
What could be described as the "plague of the heart"? With a moments thought for those who know their Bibles it is fairly obvious, "And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5). Note the language that is used, "every imagination of the thoughts of his heart" is the key phrase. "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders" was the way that Jesus put it in Mark 7:21Mark 7:21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,, but check the full passage from verse 18 to verse 23 (Mark 7:18-23Mark 7:18-23 18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; 19 Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats? 20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.).
After Solomon's prayer of dedication Yahweh appeared unto him by night as recorded in 2 Chronicles 7:122 Chronicles 7:12 And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice. and promised that Solomon's prayer had been heard. Just as Solomon's prayer had been heard then so was the promise; that when Yahweh's people turned from worshipping Him to worshipping other gods and subsequently repented of the evil they had done when they were punished, and turning back to the one true God then their prayer would also be heard and answered (vv. 14-162 Chronicles 7:14-16 14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 15 Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. 16 For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.). But if they repented not then the consequences described in vv. 19-222 Chronicles 7:19-22 19 But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them; 20 Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations. 21 And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this house? 22 And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them. would result in their removal from Yahweh's land. From the history of the nation it is obvious that Israel were disobedient and did not turn back to their God when they were punished and warned of impending destruction, though Yahweh in love for His people warned them frequently "rising up early and sending" the prophets unto them. Yahweh kept His promise for He is faithful, unlike Israel who suffered for their wickedness and hard heartedness. So the plague that was started during the reign of Solomon continued throughout the history of both Israel and Judah, until the nation was removed from God's land by Nebuchadnezzar and never had another king to reign over them. In fact they strayed so far from their King that they eventually said "we have no king but Caesar" (John 19:15John 19:15 15 But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Cæsar.).