And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.
And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.

And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice,
And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the Lord commanded.
Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.

COMMENTARY

And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour
If thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments
Many of us think of trials as being forms of adversity in our lives. But as seen with the story of Solomon, they can also come in the blessings that are given to us. God gave Solomon great blessings: wisdom, riches, and honor. These were given to him with a charge, that he remain ever faithful.
At first Solomon performed the Lord’s will, and prospered greatly because of it. The initial blessings increased, and he became a most powerful sovereign.

And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God
But of course, in time Solomon’s heart turned. His great wealth and influence introduced him to strange wives, and they seduced him into idolatry. His very blessings proved to be his own undoing, and thus we see how those blessings were the trial of his soul.
Perhaps we wish that we could be tempted with riches and power like Solomon, instead of with pain and loss. But in the end, the outcome is the same. Either we are saved by our trials or we are broken by them. Either our soul is exalted, or it is lost. Whether we achieved that culmination by worldly pain or pleasure makes little difference in the eternal perspective.