And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed: for the Lord God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou hast finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord. (1 Chronicles 28:20)
Compare the final admonition from Moses to Joshua and the people (Deut. 31:6-8), and the Lord’s admonition to Joshua when he took up the task of leadership (Joshua 1:5-7). If Solomon was to measure up to all that God and the nation expected of him, he would need to be courageous, courageous to be loyal personally to the precepts of Jehovah and to apply sound principles in his conduct of the affairs of state. Unfortunately, inducements to personal pleasure and prestige eventually prevailed.
On Solomon’s apostasy and repentance, see the Introduction to Ecclesiastes.