“And all Israel ... feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.” 1 Kings 3:28. The hearts of the people were turned toward Solomon, as they had been toward David, and they obeyed him in all things. “Solomon ... was strengthened in his kingdom, and the Lord his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly.” 2 Chronicles 1:1. (PK 32.1) MC VC

For many years Solomon’s life was marked with devotion to God, with uprightness and firm principle, and with strict obedience to God’s commands. He directed in every important enterprise and managed wisely the business matters connected with the kingdom. His wealth and wisdom, the magnificent buildings and public works that he constructed during the early years of his reign, the energy, piety, justice, and magnanimity that he revealed in word and deed, won the loyalty of his subjects and the admiration and homage of the rulers of many lands. (PK 32.2) MC VC

The name of Jehovah was greatly honored during the first part of Solomon’s reign. The wisdom and righteousness revealed by the king bore witness to all nations of the excellency of the attributes of the God whom he served. For a time Israel was as the light of the world, showing forth the greatness of Jehovah. Not in the surpassing wisdom, the fabulous riches, the far-reaching power and fame that were his, lay the real glory of Solomon’s early reign; but in the honor that he brought to the name of the God of Israel through a wise use of the gifts of Heaven. (PK 32.3) MC VC