Class Notes, 1 Kings 9:10-11:43

The Reign of Solomon, Chapters 1-11: [[source: Constable, 1 Kings, 2010]]

• 3:1-8:66 is Favorable
  • Dream
  • Domestic Policy (Women and Wisdom; Administration and Wisdom)
  • Labor Relations (Hiram; Covee)
  • Attitude
• 9:1-11:13 is Critical of Solomon
  • Dream
  • Labor Relations (Hiram; Covee)
  • Foreign Policy (Women and Wisdom; Wealth and Wisdom)
  • Attitude

1 Kings 9:1-10 (NIV) When Solomon had finished building the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had achieved all he had desired to do, 2 the Lord appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 The Lord said to him:

"I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.

4 "As for you, if you walk before me in integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, 5 I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, 'You shall never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.'

6 "But if you or your sons turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 8 And though this temple is now imposing, all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, 'Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?' 9 People will answer, 'Because they have forsaken the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them — that is why the Lord brought all this disaster on them.'"

10 At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built these two buildings — the temple of the Lord and the royal palace

• Why does God appear a second time?
  • It could be a critical juncture in Solomon's reign (halfway point)
  • He has completed all of his main goals ("all he had desired to do")
  • Without major goals and work, one is susceptible to sin
    • Work precedes the fall. Work is good. The fall just added frustration (weeds) to work
  • God is warning Solomon ahead of time
• APPLICATION: What are my goals? Am I just going along with the flow?

  1 Kings 9:10-14 (NIV) At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built these two buildings — the temple of the Lord and the royal palace— 11 King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, because Hiram had supplied him with all the cedar and pine and gold he wanted. 12 But when Hiram went from Tyre to see the towns that Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them. 13 "What kind of towns are these you have given me, my brother?" he asked. And he called them the Land of Cabul, a name they have to this day. 14 Now Hiram had sent to the king 120 talents of gold.

• What is different from the early interaction with King Hiram?
  • Solomon was tactful and in agreement with Hiram
  • Solomon almost appears conniving at this point
  • Before, Solomon used the resources for good, now he seems more interested in the acquiring of resources. Maybe this explain his words in Ecclesiastes
    • Eccl 5:10-11 (NIV) 10 Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. 11 As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?
• Major expenditures of resources
  • Solomon rebuilds/fortifies Hazor (North), Tamar (South), Gezer (West), Lower Beth-horon, Baalath, and Megiddo
  • Solomon builds a Navy
• APPLICATION: What is the negative or positive side to Solomon building a Navy and building fortresses around the country?
  • Positive: prudent way to protect the country
  • Negative: not trusting God to protect

  1 Kings 10:1-5, 10 (NIV) When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relation to the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. 2 Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan — with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones — she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. 3 Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. 4 When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, 5 the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.

  ...

  10 And she gave the king 120 talents of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

• Site of Sheba is 1200 miles southeast (present Yemen and/or Oman)
  • Known for their spice trade in that day
• How does Jesus use this story?
  • Emphasizes God's blessing on Solomon, and even more importantly, his incredible wisdom -- yet Jesus was even greater
• APPLICATION: Solomon's wisdom was incredible, but we have an even greater source of wisdom. The word of God, and the indwelling HS. If Sheba would travel that far to hear Solomon, why can't we put a minimal effort into opening our bible and having a daily bible reading program

  1 Kings 10:14-15 (NIV) The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents, 15 not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the land.

• Approximately 21 tons of gold a year. Why is that important in the story, especially following the Sheba story?
  • God had promised to make Solomon wealthy
  • God also answered Solomon's prayer for wisdom
• The problem is not wealth but how it is used. One would think that the wisest man in the world would use the wealth wisely, but the passages following draw that into question:
  • 1 Kings 10:16-21 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred bekas of gold went into each shield. 17 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three minas of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. // 18 Then the king made a great throne inlaid with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. 20 Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. 21 All King Solomon's goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon's days.
  • Nothing wrong with gold shields except -- worthless, God is too soft to use an armor
  • 1 Kings 10:26-29 (NIV) Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore — fig trees in the foothills. 28 Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue—the royal merchants purchased them from Kue. 29 They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and of the Arameans.
  • Nothing wrong with building a mobile army in Israel except -- God had said not to accumulate chariots and horses
    • Deut 17:16-17 (NIV) The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, "You are not to go back that way again." 17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.

  1 Kings 11:1-8 (NIV) King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter — Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. 2 They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, "You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods." Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. 3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. 4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. 5 He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.

  7 On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. 8 He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.

• Interesting, two conclusions about great wisdom …
  • It does not mean one will always choose truth
  • It does not mean one cannot be deceived
  • 1 Cor 1:20-25 (NIV) Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.
• Now Solomon actually had spiritual wisdom, but somewhere sin entered and clouded his spiritual wisdom and he was left with man's wisdom
  • 1 John 1:8-9 (NIV) If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
    • We deceive ourselves when we do not call sin, sin, and when we do not confess it
  • James 1:22 (NIV) Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
    • We deceive ourselves when we do not apply God's word
  • Col 2:2-4 (NIV) My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.
    • We deceive ourselves when we accept the worldview of life versus the biblical view
  • Eph 5:5-7 (NIV) For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person — such a man is an idolater — has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7 Therefore do not be partners with them.
    • We deceive ourselves when we choose the wrong friends

  1 Kings 11:9-11 (NIV) The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10 Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord's command. 11 So the Lord said to Solomon, "Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates.

• Only one of David's wives was a foreigner. Taking sin to a new level
  • 1 Kings 11:14, 23 (NIV) Then the Lord raised up against Solomon an adversary, Hadad the Edomite, from the royal line of Edom. … 23 And God raised up against Solomon another adversary, Rezon son of Eliada, who had fled from his master, Hadadezer king of Zobah.
    • Hadad affected the southern trade routes
    • Rezon affected the northern trade routes
    • The impact of the adversaries was to diminish his wealth
• Why? God was trying to get Solomon's attention

  1 Kings 11:26-28 (NIV) Also, Jeroboam son of Nebat rebelled against the king. He was one of Solomon's officials, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, and his mother was a widow named Zeruah.

  27 Here is the account of how he rebelled against the king: Solomon had built the supporting terraces and had filled in the gap in the wall of the city of David his father. 28 Now Jeroboam was a man of standing, and when Solomon saw how well the young man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the house of Joseph.

• Jeroboam does a wonderful job for Solomon. He is change of the labor force in Mannaseh and Ephraim
  • Ephraim has grown to be one of the largest tribes in Israel

  1 Kings 11:29-40 (NIV) About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country, 30 and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. 31 Then he said to Jeroboam, "Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon's hand and give you ten tribes. 32 But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe. 33 I will do this because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molech the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in my ways, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my statutes and laws as David, Solomon's father, did.

  34 " 'But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon's hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who observed my commands and statutes. 35 I will take the kingdom from his son's hands and give you ten tribes. 36 I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name. 37 However, as for you, I will take you, and you will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over Israel. 38 If you do whatever I command you and walk in my ways and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you. 39 I will humble David's descendants because of this, but not forever.'"

  40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled to Egypt, to Shishak the king, and stayed there until Solomon's death.

• Jeroboam is given the same opportunity as Solomon. He and many others who would follow him all make the same mistake, and not one of those King's lines survive
• APPLICATION: Where was Solomon's downfall? I think it began when he lost a vision for what he could be and do, and became obsessed with obtaining