shortly after its completion. In 1 Kings 9:6-9 God told the king, “If you or your sons shall indeed turn away from following Me, and shall not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you and shall go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them, and the house which I have consecrated for My name, I will cast out of My sight … and this house will become a heap of ruins.” Solomon’s political marriages contributed to Israel’s defection