King Solomon

King Solomon by Philip Graham Ryken
Crossway, 2011
200 pages
Non-fiction; Inspirational
4/5 stars

Source: Received a free e-galley via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a close reading of the story of Solomon, an incredibly blessed king of Israel who squandered his blessing through his pursuit of money, sex, and power.  Ryken compares this to modern pursuits as well as how Jesus followed part of Solomon's example without falling into the same traps.  This surprised me as I thought it was just about Solomon but every chapter connected his story to the story of Jesus, encouraging the reader to examine her faith in the light of how Solomon was tempted and failed.

I sort of knew Solomon's story but there were many details that were pointed out to me again as Ryken carefully goes over instances of Solomon's life. Yes, he was very wise and in many ways a good king.  But just like all of us humans, he was able to be swayed by money, sex, and power, which ultimately corrupted his kingdom.  Instead he ought to have devoted all of his time and energies to God.

I really liked Ryken's insistence on how becoming Christian is not one step of saying that you are a Christian but is instead a day by day, moment by moment decision to accept Jesus and do His will.  I think that's something that we all struggle with (I know I do!) and is thus a very universal statement.

Although I liked this book, I did not love it and that is why it receives a 4 rather than a 5.