Solomon’s Achievements

I Kings 9:1–28
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Chapter nine begins the second half of Solomon’s forty year reign. The nation of Israel had reached a high point. A magnificent center of worship had been completed and national prestige had never been higher. However, now that everything was completed, the drive that had motivated Solomon and his subjects for 20 years was in danger of waning.

Just as the Lord appeared to Solomon in Gibeon (3:4,5) He now appears unto him in Jerusalem with both encouragement and warning. He promised Solomon a perpetual throne as He had previously promised David (vv. 4-5). However, fulfillment of this promise was conditioned upon the faithfulness of Solomon and his dependents. Failure to follow Him results in two things (vv. 6-9):

1.He would remove Israel from her land.

2.He would destroy the Temple.

Again, Hiram, king of Tyre is brought into account. Solomon worked out a deal where he sold 20 cities to Hiram for 120 talents of gold. In today’s prices that would have amounted to over 19 million dollars. It appears that Hiram was disappointed when he visited these cities as they were located near unproductive land. In verses 15-22 we see the extent of Solomon’s building program. In addition to the temple and his palace, he built supporting terraces and the wall of Jerusalem was extended, more than doubling the size of the city.

Application

For many years Egypt retained control of Gazer, even though it was in Israel’s territory. Then Solomon married Pharaoh’s daughter which put Gazer under Israelite control. Intermarriage among royal families was common, but not endorsed by God (Deut. 17:17). I need to be faithful in my council to students that we marry in God’s will, nor in just what we see and how we feel.