8:1 After a significant portion of his life, Solomon finished the house of God as well as his own house: seven years dedicated to building the house of God and thirteen years for his home. Solomon had become accustomed to a rather materialistically indulgent lifestyle.
8:2-6 Solomon continued to build the kingdom: he had cities built for the children of Israel to settle within. He took new cities and built within them. He fortified the kingdom with walls and gates and bars. He designated storage cities and military sites.
8:7-10 Whoever remained in the land the children of Israel claimed became forced laborers (we are able to glean from this more of Solomon's imperfect character, a participant in the then-not uncommon practice of using prisoners as free labor). The children of Israel were not forced to work; their contributions were self-decided.
8:11 Solomon married an Egyptian woman who did not believe in God. Instead, she believed in false gods and idols. Solomon knew that she could not dwell in holy places without love for God or a relationship with Him.
Solomon was therefore quite aware of God's instruction in Deuteronomy 7:3-5,
Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the Lord will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly. But thus you shall deal with them: you shall destroy their altars, and break down their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images, and burn their carved images with fire.
The woman was unwilling and uninterested in a relationship with God. Because of his marriage to her, he created a vacuum through which he faith was sucked out. His devotion to an ungodly woman, put him in the presence and temptation of a different lifestyle.
From Solomon we can learn that our faith must be comprehensive! We cannot have elements of our lives in which we live in opposition to the philosophy and word of God. God gives us instruction for our benefit; He knew that this woman's influence would ruin Solomon (and it did). There were elements to Solomon's character which were susceptible to greed and desire, and by marrying an unfaithful women, he gave into those temptations... and worsened from there.
An element of wisdom is to know to stay away from things and people we know tempt us to do or live in ways we should not. Ironically, Solomon abandoned what he was most known for: wisdom given to him by God.
8:12-16 Solomon was faithful, and even meticulous, in his behavior elsewhere but his commitment became fractured. Solomon thought that it would be okay if he kept the less/unfaithful elements of his life separate. There is no such thing! All in or all out.
In Mark 7:7-13, Jesus explained that our heart must be toward God. Solomon did as he was supposed to in many areas of his life but he gave his heart to idolatry and in effect, made the word of God void in his life.
8:17-18 Solomon had not yet entirely fallen away and the kingdom of Israel still prospered. Solomon visited cities on the seacoast and working with Hiram, commissioned seaports and ships for the kingdom of Israel.
