You are supposed to be awed by King Solomon in chapter ten.
But be careful. The awe is deceptive.
The book of Kings was written centuries after Solomon, and yet, the description of Solomon’s splendor sounds like that of an eyewitness. Look at the detail he gives you about Solomon’s throne and the ubiquity of gold. How does he know these things? There must have been extensive records – or perhaps remnants carried off to Babylon.
All of it was so impressive the Queen of Sheba admitted words could not adequately describe the impressiveness of Solomon’s court.
But the queen looked at Solomon the way other humans looked at him. His wisdom was seen in his material success.
But how wise was it, really, for Solomon to surround himself with so much splendor? In the first place, to do so was precisely contrary to God’s will. The queen could praise the God of Israel for all He had given Solomon, but she did not praise God for God’s own greatness – nor does she attempt to find the will of the Lord, nor does it seem Solomon tried to explain it to her. Like Hezekiah a few hundred years later, Solomon was glorying too much in his blessings to teach about God.
Notice what kind of person Solomon was becoming. After all that Hiram did for Solomon, every kindness he showed him, Solomon responded with third rate gifts.
Worldly wealth captivates us and blinds us to the light of God and the plight of others. It too often makes us self-centered and corrupts our character. People may look at our prosperity and assume we are wise, when in fact, what we really lack is wisdom.