I Kings 11:6-10 records God's appraisal of Solomon's performance as King of Israel. God tells Solomon that his descendants would not inherit a throne over all Israel. God says He would maintain Solomon's dynasty out of respect for His promise to David that his throne would be established forever. Around 975 BC, Solomon died, having ruled Israel in unparalleled splendor for forty years. God, having responded to Solomon's apostasy by committing Himself to ripping a part of his kingdom from his descendants, looked for a suitable ruler of the remaining tribes. As Solomon undertook more grandiose building projects, the taxation and forced-labor system grew more burdensome to the people. Samuel's prophecy concerning the cost of supporting a monarchy was fulfilled. Upon Solomon's death, Jeroboam seized upon the people's unrest to his own advantage. Just before the coronation of Solomon's son, Rehoboam, Jeroboam challenged him to lighten the burdensome service and heavy yoke that Solomon had imposed. Israel's stature under Solomon represents a typical fulfillment of God's promises to the patriarchs, though not the final fulfillment. Solomon did not have political or military hegemony over a company of nations, and his empire was based more on economic strength than military adventurism.

Ecclesiastes 2 recounts Solomon's experiences as a young man at the height of his wealth and power. The king of Israel writes in Ecclesiastes 2:1, "I said in my heart, 'Come now, I will test you with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure'; but surely, this also was vanity." He immediately concludes that seeking pleasure is futile, likening it to grasping for the wind. In Ecclesiastes 2:2, he declares, "I said of laughter 'Madness!' and of mirth, 'What does it accomplish?'" Solomon labels the pursuit of pleasure for its own sake as insanity and a waste of precious time. He conducted an experiment with his life, using his vast resources to pursue a wide range of activities in verses 3-10. He indulged in wine, partied excessively, spent money recklessly, built extensively, gardened, raised livestock, traded, collected rare items, enjoyed the finest music, and amassed hundreds of wives and concubines. Unrestrained, he chased every desire of his heart. Yet, in Ecclesiastes 2:11, he reflects, "Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done and on the labor in which I had toiled; and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun." Despite having the best of everything and being widely admired, he found his accomplishments meaningless and without lasting value. Solomon notes that his wisdom remained with him during this materialistic experiment, allowing him to convey his conclusions. In Ecclesiastes 2:17, he states grimly, "Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind." He found that everything he did produced only sorrow and achieved nothing, returning him to where he started. He realized that without God, all his efforts were useless. In Ecclesiastes 2:24-26, Solomon advises that true satisfaction comes from living under God's guidance, enjoying labor and life as gifts from Him, while a sinner's efforts remain futile and benefit the righteous instead.

Solomon, identified as the son of David and king in Jerusalem, is presented as the author of Ecclesiastes, a book that draws conclusions from his varied experiences as king, underpinned by God-given wisdom and understanding. Most believe he wrote it late in his life, after a forty-year reign filled with regal glory and every amenity, yet his outlook appears pessimistic to many. This pessimism, however, is justified by the historical record when one understands its purpose. Solomon confronts life's ultimate mysteries in Ecclesiastes, examining knotty problems and providing a necessary perspective for achieving God's purpose, though he does not reveal the ultimate mystery itself as that is not the book's intent. His blunt assessments address mankind's unthinking foolishness, urging a deliberate choice of God's way in every matter to avoid a life of futile vanity. Solomon shows that living entirely under the sun, without God, renders life meaningless, emphasizing that only two ways of life exist: God's and man's. His personal example counsels meeting life's difficulties head-on, not escaping them, and he searches for meaning by exploring both wisdom and its opposites, though his efforts under the sun leave him frustrated without complete answers.