Though he had a strong beginning, Solomon followed the ways of surrounding nations later in life. He took many wives, something prohibited for kings (Deuteronomy 17:17), and they led him astray—toward their foreign gods rather than being solely devoted to the Lord God. One result of Solomon’s straying was that after his death, Israel divided into two kingdoms—Israel to the north and Judah to the south. Each kingdom had many kings who rose and fell. Some kings followed after the Lord, but most of them did not. During these dark days, a prophet arose in the northern kingdom of Israel named Elijah. He attempted to turn the people’s hearts back to the Lord as they descended deeper and deeper into pagan idol worship and away from the worship of the one true God.