The Lord stirred up

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1 Kings 11:14–25, “And the LORD stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: he was of the king’s seed in Edom. For it came to pass, when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the host was gone up to bury the slain, after he had smitten every male in Edom; (For six months did Joab remain there with all Israel, until he had cut off every male in Edom:) That Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father’s servants with him, to go into Egypt; Hadad being yet a little child. And they arose out of Midian, and came to Paran: and they took men with them out of Paran, and they came to Egypt, unto Pharaoh king of Egypt; which gave him an house, and appointed him victuals, and gave him land. And Hadad found great favour in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him to wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen. And the sister of Tahpenes bare him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh’s house: and Genubath was in Pharaoh’s household among the sons of Pharaoh. And when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab the captain of the host was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, Let me depart, that I may go to mine own country. Then Pharaoh said unto him, But what hast thou lacked with me, that, behold, thou seekest to go to thine own country? And he answered, Nothing: howbeit let me go in any wise. And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah: And he gathered men unto him, and became captain over a band, when David slew them of Zobah: and they went to Damascus, and dwelt therein, and reigned in Damascus. And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, beside the mischief that Hadad did: and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria.”

At its most basic level the contract between the Lord and Israel exchanged obedience for peace and prosperity. If Israel obeyed the Lord and kept the Law then they would have rain, good crops and their livestock would be fruitful. If they didn’t obey the Lord then they would have droughts, plagues and be attacked by their enemies. Solomon, as Israel’s king, had led them astray so that they began to worship other gods. The Lord enforced the penalty clauses of the contract by upsetting Israel’s peace. There was a man from Edom who had escaped to Egypt many years before who went back to Edom and began to build up his resources with the aim of a military uprising that would give the freedom from Israeli rule. There was also another man in Syria who began planning to fight against Israel as well.

The Lord was angry

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1 Kings 11:9–13, “And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded. Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant. Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father’s sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen.”

Solomon had no excuse, twice the Lord had come to him in visions and promised him great things. When he was young, his heart was true to the Lord and he asked the Lord for wisdom. However, he didn’t use that wisdom to a godly advantage in his life. He married many women and his heart was drawn away from the Lord. The first commandment is simple, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Solomon failed at the first commandment even though he was wise and the Lord had spoken to him, in no uncertain terms, about keeping the Lord’s commandments. The Lord told Solomon that he would lose the kingdom because he didn’t keep his part of the contract. This was the most significant of the penalty clauses. On the other hand, Solomon’s father, David, was a man who followed the Lord wholeheartedly until his death. Even though David committed some grievous sins, he confessed his sin and was forgiven by the Lord, in grace. David’s desire was to build a Temple to the glory of God and the Temple was built by Solomon. The Lord honoured David’s desire and allowed Solomon’s descendants to remain in Jerusalem and keep custody of the Temple. Never the less, Solomon’s son was to lose the majority of his kingdom.

Too many wives

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1 Kings 11:1–8, “But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.”

Kings would make alliances with their neighbouring kingdoms through marriage. One king would give his daughter to another king. The daughter’s first loyalty was to her father and she was obliged to look after his interests and, hopefully, be the mother of the next king. On the other hand, she would be a hostage in the king’s palace and might be killed if her father did anything against the alliance. Solomon was rich and powerful and many kings from the region wanted to ensure their own safety so they arranged marriages with Solomon. These women were traded like goods, in many cases and their emotions were never considered. Of course, Solomon was expected to spend time with these women to show his virility and respect for the other kingdoms as well. Not only did Solomon make marriages, he took many slave women into his be as well. Slowly but surely these women led Solomon astray. He gave them temples for their own gods and even started worshipping these gods as well. Solomon had promised the Lord that he would remain faithful throughout his life but he wasn’t able to keep these promises because he had so many wives and sexual slaves.

Solomon's gold

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1 Kings 10:14–29, “Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold, Beside that he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffick of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country. And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target. And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pound of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold. The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays. And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom. And all king Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none were of silver: it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon. For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks. So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom. And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year. And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem. And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore trees that are in the vale, for abundance. And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king’s merchants received the linen yarn at a price. And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, did they bring them out by their means.”

Solomon was an exceedingly rich and prosperous king. He was, probably, the richest man who ever lived because he was the only man who was personally enriched by the Lord God Himself. He traded with nations that were far away as well as those that were close by. He brought about 25 tonnes of gold into his kingdom each year as well as spices and other precious goods. He built himself a throne that was made out of ivory, covered with beaten gold. The throne was on a platform with six steps leading up to it. There was gold lion at the end of each step. All the utensils that were used in his homes were made out of gold. In fact, there was so much wealth in Israel that silver was considered cheap and worthless. Solomon also traded horses and chariots with the neighbouring nations.

The Queen of Sheba

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1 Kings 10:1–13, “And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions. And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon’s wisdom, and the house that he had built, And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard. Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom. Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice. And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon. And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones. And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the LORD, and for the king’s house, harps also and psalteries for singers: there came no such almug trees, nor were seen unto this day. And king Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.”

Solomon’s fame grew and he reputation spread far and wide. The Queen of Sheba heard about him and came to see if everything she heard was true. Traditionally, Sheba is believed to be in modern Ethiopia. The last king of Ethiopia called himself “the Lion of the Tribe of Judah” showing that there has been a long standing connection between the tribe of Judah and the nation of Ethiopia. The Queen of Sheba though that the stories about king Solomon had been widely exaggerated but she just wanted to check and make sure for herself. When she came to Jerusalem, she realised that the stories about Solomon were nothing like the truth. His lifestyle was much grander than the reports and his wisdom more perceptive. Not only that, Solomon traded with other nations and had great riches coming into his kingdom regularly. Solomon was impressed with the Queen of Sheba and gave her everything that she wanted.

The levy

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1 Kings 9:15–28, “And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer. For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon’s wife. And Solomon built Gezer, and Bethhoron the nether, And Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land, And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel, Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day. But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen. These were the chief of the officers that were over Solomon’s work, five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work. But Pharaoh’s daughter came up out of the city of David unto her house which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Millo. And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the LORD, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the LORD. So he finished the house. And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom. And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.”

Once Solomon was established as the dominant king in his region, he made sure that the entire land was properly administered. He had already conscripted people to serve him in his major building projects and he continued with that. Pharaoh, his father in law, also captured a Philistine city that was down the range from Jerusalem towards the Mediterranean sea. Pharaoh gave this city as a present to Solomon on behalf of Solomon’s wife, his daughter. Solomon continued to build cities throughout the Land to establish garrison towns where his soldiers would be housed and they could keep the peace through the Land. Solomon was careful to treat the Israeli people with respect and he gave them to more important jobs to serve his kingdom. On the other hand, all the descendants of the people who had been in the Land before the conquest were conscripted to serve in the roles that weren’t really sought after. Solomon also began trading with other nations. Part of his trade involved travelling over the oceans to different lands and bringing back their wealth as well.

They pleased him not

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1 Kings 9:10–14, “And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, (Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not. And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul unto this day. And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold.”

At the end of all the building, Hiram king of Tyre, wanted Solomon to finalise the contract that they had made concerning building materials for the Temple and Solomon’s palace. Solomon had promised Hiram some territory in addition to the other supplies. Hiram didn’t like the land and the cities that Solomon gave him to fulfil the contract. Hiram complained but there wasn’t much else that he could do for Solomon already had all the building materials. Hiram also sent Solomon a large amount of gold as well.

If thou will walk before me

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1 Kings 9:1–9, “And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do, That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon. And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments: Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel. But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them: Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people: And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house? And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil.”

The Lord was gracious to Solomon and appeared to him a second time, after Solomon had built the Temple and his own palace as well. Solomon had been given a choice when he was a young king and he asked the Lord for wisdom. After twenty years, (seven years for building theTemple and thirteen years for building his palace) the Lord came back to Solomon to give him a gentle reminder of all the things that he had promised the Lord. David was loyal to the Lord until the time of his death. Even when David sinned he confessed his sin and showed his loyalty to the Lord. The Lord wouldn’t let Solomon rely on his father’s goodness, Solomon had to obey the Lord himself. If Solomon did this then his dynasty would last forever in Jerusalem. On the other hand, if Solomon didn’t remain faithful to the Lord the the Lord would bring the penalty clauses of the contract on Solomon and his descendants and when the rest of the world saw what the Lord had done they would be amazed at the results.

All Israel with him

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1 Kings 8:62–66, “And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the LORD. And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto the LORD, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD. The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD: for there he offered burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings: because the brasen altar that was before the LORD was too little to receive the burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings.  And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen days. On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.”

Solomon didn’t just offer the Lord words and songs, he actually gave the Lord gifts as well. It is quite easy to say wonderful things about the Lord but it is a different thing to offer Him part of our income and capital as well. Solomon was a rich man and the Lord had enriched him, in spite of that, Solomon gave an enormous number of sacrifices for peace offerings, burnt offerings and meat offerings. They celebrated the Lord’s goodness to them by holding a feast for fourteen days and everyone in Israel was glad that the Lord was their God.

He arose

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1 Kings 8:54–61, “And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the LORD, he arose from before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven. And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying, Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant. The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us: That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers. And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the LORD, be nigh unto the LORD our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require: That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else. Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.”

Solomon prayed to the Lord, in the context of the contract that Israel had with the Lord, and dedicated the Temple to the Lord. He stood in front of all the people and praised the Lord for all that He had done. The Lord gave Israel rest from all their enemies and they were at peace with all the nations in their region. The Lord had been promising things to Israel since before the time that they were known as Israel, He made promises to Abraham their forefather. He called on all Israel to serve God from their hearts and not just with dead routines and ceremonies. The Lord had always intended that all the people in the world would know that the Lord is the ultimate and true God and this would best be accomplished through Israel’s obedience to the Lord.

Pray towards

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1 Kings 8:22–53, “And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven: And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart: Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day. Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me. And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father. But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day: That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place. And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive. If any man trespass against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house: Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness. When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house: Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers. When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them: Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance. If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if there be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be; What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;) That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers. Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name’s sake; (For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house; Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name. If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the LORD toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for thy name: Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near; Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness; And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name: Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause, And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them: For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron: That thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto thee. For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD.”

In his prayer of dedication, Solomon instated the Temple into the very core of the Israeli faith. Their faith would be based about the Temple and the Lord of the Temple. Their entire ceremonial religion would, henceforth, be based around the Temple and ti would become the focus of everything they did. The Temple was dedicated within the context of the contract that Israel made with the Lord before the entered the Promised Land and ratified after they took possession. The Temple would be the focus of the Davidic dynasty. As long as this Temple existed a member of the Davidic dynasty would rule in Jerusalem. When the Lord invoked the penalty clauses of the contract as a consequence of Israel’s sin they would be able to pray towards the Temple and seek forgiveness from the Lord so that they might return to prosperity. The ultimate penalty clause for Israel was that they would be forced out of the Land and sent to the farthest corners of the earth. They would be able to pray towards the Temple from anywhere on the earth and seek the Lord’s forgiveness and then He would bring them back to the Promised Land. It is interesting to note that Daniel, when He as an exile in Babylon was able to use astronomical calculations and determine where Jerusalem and the Temple site were so that he could pray towards Jerusalem and look for a return from that Exile. (See Daniel 6:10, “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.”)

Then spake Solomon

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1 Kings 8:12–21, “Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever. And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: (and all the congregation of Israel stood;) And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying, Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house, that my name might be therein; but I chose David to be over my people Israel. And it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. And the LORD said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart. Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name. And the LORD hath performed his word that he spake, and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.”

Once the Temple was finished, sanctified and ready for use, Solomon began the dedication service. He reminded Israel of the greatness of the Lord and how the Lord had dwelt, with Israel, inside the Holiest Place where no one could see Him. Earlier, when Moses asked the Lord if he could see the Lord’s face, the Lord told Moses that no one could see the Lord’s face and live. It was for this reason that the Lord dwelt in thick darkness, so that the entire nation of Israel could be kept from seeing the Lord’s face and dying before His purity and holiness. Solomon blessed the all the people because the Lord had blessed them by bringing them out of Egypt and, eventually, establishing them in their own kingdom within he Promised Land. Even though David wanted to build the Temple, Solomon was chosen to be the builder. This was the final step in the Lord’s plan. He chose to bring Israel, the apple of His eye, from slavery into Egypt and make them a mighty kingdom in the Promised Land so that all the world would know that He is the Lord.

Bring up the Ark

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1 Kings 8:1–11, “Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. And they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up. And king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude. And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims. For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above. And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day. There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.”

The Ark and the Tabernacle had been the centre of Israeli worship since the time that it was built when the Lord gave Moses the Law. However, it became redundant when the Temple was complete. Some of the most precious items from the Tabernacle were transferred to the Temple. Notably, the Ark was brought from the Tabernacle, where it had been kept since David brought it to his city. They also brought other items that were essential to the proper conduct of their ceremonial religion as well. Sacrifices were offered for sin, for praise and for thanksgiving. When everything was put in place the glory of the Lord appeared in the form of a cloud. This was then same cloud that had directed Israel by day when they travelled in the Wilderness. The Lord showed His approval of the Temple and indicated that He was with Israel as they moved forward into the kingdom phase of their history when they were established in one place and no longer nomadic.

All the work was complete

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1 Kings 7:48–51, “And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained unto the house of the LORD: the altar of gold, and the table of gold, whereupon the shewbread was, And the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the oracle, with the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold, And the bowls, and the snuffers, and the basons, and the spoons, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, to wit, of the temple. So was ended all the work that king Solomon made for the house of the LORD. And Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated; even the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, did he put among the treasures of the house of the LORD.”

Solomon was in charge of the nation and its wealth. He used his wealth to pay for everything that was required to complete the Temple. Before David died, he collected many things together for the Temple and Solomon used all those things to furnish the Temple so that it was complete and ready for service.

Hiram

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1 Kings 7:13–47, “And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. He was a widow’s son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work. For he cast two pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits high apiece: and a line of twelve cubits did compass either of them about. And he made two chapiters of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of the one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits: And nets of checker work, and wreaths of chain work, for the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars; seven for the one chapiter, and seven for the other chapiter. And he made the pillars, and two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the chapiters that were upon the top, with pomegranates: and so did he for the other chapiter. And the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars were of lily work in the porch, four cubits. And the chapiters upon the two pillars had pomegranates also above, over against the belly which was by the network: and the pomegranates were two hundred in rows round about upon the other chapiter. And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and called the name thereof Boaz. And upon the top of the pillars was lily work: so was the work of the pillars finished. And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. And under the brim of it round about there were knops compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about: the knops were cast in two rows, when it was cast. It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. And it was an hand breadth thick, and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies: it contained two thousand baths. And he made ten bases of brass; four cubits was the length of one base, and four cubits the breadth thereof, and three cubits the height of it. And the work of the bases was on this manner: they had borders, and the borders were between the ledges: And on the borders that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubims: and upon the ledges there was a base above: and beneath the lions and oxen were certain additions made of thin work. And every base had four brasen wheels, and plates of brass: and the four corners thereof had undersetters: under the laver were undersetters molten, at the side of every addition. And the mouth of it within the chapiter and above was a cubit: but the mouth thereof was round after the work of the base, a cubit and an half: and also upon the mouth of it were gravings with their borders, foursquare, not round. And under the borders were four wheels; and the axletrees of the wheels were joined to the base: and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit. And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their axletrees, and their naves, and their felloes, and their spokes, were all molten. And there were four undersetters to the four corners of one base: and the undersetters were of the very base itself. And in the top of the base was there a round compass of half a cubit high: and on the top of the base the ledges thereof and the borders thereof were of the same. For on the plates of the ledges thereof, and on the borders thereof, he graved cherubims, lions, and palm trees, according to the proportion of every one, and additions round about. After this manner he made the ten bases: all of them had one casting, one measure, and one size. Then made he ten lavers of brass: one laver contained forty baths: and every laver was four cubits: and upon every one of the ten bases one laver. And he put five bases on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house: and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward over against the south. And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basons. So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he made king Solomon for the house of the LORD: The two pillars, and the two bowls of the chapiters that were on the top of the two pillars; and the two networks, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars; And four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, even two rows of pomegranates for one network, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters that were upon the pillars; And the ten bases, and ten lavers on the bases; And one sea, and twelve oxen under the sea; And the pots, and the shovels, and the basons: and all these vessels, which Hiram made to king Solomon for the house of the LORD, were of bright brass. In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan. And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because they were exceeding many: neither was the weight of the brass found out.”

As with the Tabernacle, the Lord had prepared a man with considerable artistic skill to do all the fine work of decoration and make the utensils for the Temple. This man exercised all his skills and produced everything will great skill and produced master pieces. None of the artefacts were cast on the site of Temple. Everything was prepared on the plains of Jericho so that there were no blast furnaces operating on the Temple site.

Thirteen years

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1 Kings 7:1–12,”But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house. He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon; the length thereof was an hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars. And it was covered with cedar above upon the beams, that lay on forty five pillars, fifteen in a row. And there were windows in three rows, and light was against light in three ranks. And all the doors and posts were square, with the windows: and light was against light in three ranks. And he made a porch of pillars; the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth thereof thirty cubits: and the porch was before them: and the other pillars and the thick beam were before them. Then he made a porch for the throne where he might judge, even the porch of judgment: and it was covered with cedar from one side of the floor to the other. And his house where he dwelt had another court within the porch, which was of the like work. Solomon made also an house for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had taken to wife, like unto this porch. All these were of costly stones, according to the measures of hewed stones, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation unto the coping, and so on the outside toward the great court. And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits. And above were costly stones, after the measures of hewed stones, and cedars. And the great court round about was with three rows of hewed stones, and a row of cedar beams, both for the inner court of the house of the LORD, and for the porch of the house.”

When a person gains power and wealth he has a tendency to feel as though he deserves all the good things that have happened to him. (compare Deuteronomy 8:10–20, “When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint; Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end; And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. As the nations which the LORD destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the LORD your God.”) The Lord knew that this would happen and warned Israel about it before they went into the Land. We have no record that Solomon was given his own copy of the Book of the Law to write out by hand so, perhaps, he was unaware of this warning. However, Solomon did spend thirteen years building his own house after he spent seven year building the Temple of the Lord. This was another area where Solomon failed to live up to all the wisdom and understanding that the Lord had given him.

Covered with wood

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1 Kings 6:15–38, “And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar, both the floor of the house, and the walls of the cieling: and he covered them on the inside with wood, and covered the floor of the house with planks of fir. And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place. And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits long. And the cedar of the house within was carved with knops and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen. And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD. And the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and he overlaid it with pure gold; and so covered the altar which was of cedar. So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold. And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house: also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold. And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high. And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits. And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubims were of one measure and one size. The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub. And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house. And he overlaid the cherubims with gold. And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within and without. And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without. And for the entering of the oracle he made doors of olive tree: the lintel and side posts were a fifth part of the wall. The two doors also were of olive tree; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the cherubims, and upon the palm trees. So also made he for the door of the temple posts of olive tree, a fourth part of the wall. And the two doors were of fir tree: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. And he carved thereon cherubims and palm trees and open flowers: and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work. And he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams. In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the month Zif: And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.”

Solomon spent seven years and six months building the Temple. It was a spectacular building made mostly of stone carved away from the site. They didn’t cut any stones on the Temple site so every stone was cut to shape before it came and didn’t have to be adjusted when it was onsite. However, the stones were all covered with gold and timber so that the finish was outstanding and beautiful. The walls and other surfaces were decorated with pictures of plants and trees.

Concerning this house

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1 Kings 6:11–14, “And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying, Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father: And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel. So Solomon built the house, and finished it.”

Until that stage, Solomon was living on the strength of the promise that the Lord had made with David his father. However, the Lord always makes his covenants, or contracts, with individuals. Solomon had built the Temple but that wasn't enough to ensure that he had a permanent tenure of the throne. Solomon had to agree to keeping the contract himself. If Solomon kept the contract then then Lord would establish His promises concerning the permanency of his kingdom and dynasty. The Lord made sure that Solomon understood that it wasn’t enough for him to build the Temple, he had to make sure that he maintained the contract with the Lord on his own behalf by keeping the contract himself.

Built for the Lord

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1 Kings 6:1–10, “And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD. And the house which king Solomon built for the LORD, the length thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits. And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house. And for the house he made windows of narrow lights. And against the wall of the house he built chambers round about, against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle: and he made chambers round about: The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for without in the wall of the house he made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house. And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building. The door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house: and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and out of the middle into the third. So he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar. And then he built chambers against all the house, five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.”

Israel had a carefully calculated calendar and they kept good records of their history so that they could know when to plant and harvest their crops. Their calendar was based both on the sun and the moon for both play an important part in deciding when to plant and when to harvest. They had a civil calendar with the new year occurring in the autumn (in the northern hemisphere) however the religious new year occurred in the spring (see Ex 12:1–2, “And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.”) When it came time for Solomon to begin building the Temple, they knew exactly how long it had been since the first Passover and, in accordance with the Lord’s command to Moses, they calculated the time since they were first established as a nation before the Lord. The measurements were precisely calculated according to the instructions given by the Lord. The ratios used in the Temple were later used in Europe to build the majestic cathedrals. The Temple also had store rooms around about so that all the essential equipment needed to conduct the full ceremonial procedures of their religion could be carried out effectively and efficiently. The building was finished with the finest materials and was an extremely beautiful building.

Hiram and Solomon

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1 Kings 5:10–18, “So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire. And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year. And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together. And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the levy. And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains; Beside the chief of Solomon’s officers which were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, which ruled over the people that wrought in the work. And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house. And Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders did hew them, and the stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.”

Hiram of Tyre decided that it was best for both kingdoms if Israel and Tyre worked together. Solomon requested Hiram to provide cedar for the Temple and Hiram agreed to this. Solomon paid for the trees by supplying large amounts of food and other comestibles to Hiram. Solomon conscripted thirty thousand men from Israel so that they could go in groups of ten thousand to Lebanon, one month on and two months off. They went to work in Lebanon, fell cedar, prepare them and send them to Israel. Solomon also conscripted men to quarry stones and bring them to Jerusalem to be used in the construction of the Temple. All the stones and timber for the Temple were prepared off site and brought to the Temple site to be used in its construction.

Hiram

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

1 Kings 5:1–9, “And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David. And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet. But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent. And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name. Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians. And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the LORD this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people. And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for: and I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir. My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea: and I will convey them by sea in floats unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household.”

When David came to the throne of Israel he had many enemies in the surrounding nations for, after all, each these nations wanted to be the greatest nation in the region. David was a nighty king, in the Lord’s Name and by His power, and was able to rise to be the top kingdom in his region. Some of the nations fought against David to try and knock him off the top but other nations understood that David fought in the Lord’s Name and they admired him for that. Hiram, king of Tyre, just to the north of Israel on the coast, was one of the men who admired and loved king David. When Hiram heard that Solomon had replaced his father David as king, he sent to Solomon to make peace and establish a good working relationship. Hiram of Tyre had an extremely valuable asset in his kingdom, the cedars of Lebanon. These trees produced beautiful hardwood that was know to last for a long time and would look good in any building. Solomon asked Hiram for timber to build the Temple for that was the best timber of all and the Lord deserved the best available. Solomon explained to Hiram that David hadn’t been able to build the Temple so he was going to do it. He asked Hiram to provided the timber that was required. Hiram’s experts were the best in the world at that time so Solomon asked if they would be involved in preparing the timber for the building and allow Solomon’s men to work alongside them. Hiram said that he would prepare the timber and float the logs down the Mediterranean Coast to Israel so that they could be taken up to Jerusalem. In exchange for the timber Solomon would provide Hiram with food and other provisions for his civil service and army leaders.

Solomon's wisdom

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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

1 Kings 4:29–34, “And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about. And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.”

Solomon asked the Lord, with a pure heart, to give him the basic requirements for ruling the Lord’s kingdom. The Lord understood that Solomon asked with a pure heart and gave him the wisdom that he required. Wisdom that comes from the Lord is superior to any other kind of wisdom so Solomon was wiser than all the other wise men of his time. So much so that many people came to hear what Solomon had to say and learn from  him.