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Solomon-Solomon Dies
November 28, 2020

Most recently we saw how Solomon built the house for God, the temple, in Jerusalem and how it was consecrated with a huge animal sacrifice and offering during the Feast of Tabernacles. After this, God appeared to Solomon a second time and acknowledged to Solomon that He had heard Solomon’s prayers which were offered during the dedication and consecration ceremony. He told Solomon that the temple was made Holy by God and He would live there forever if, and if is the largest two-letter word that requires conditions to be met. That if that Solomon would need to meet is to walk before God as David his father had walked in integrity of heart, in uprightness, to keep the commandments, statutes, and judgments. As long as Solomon continued to do this, if Solomon continued to do this, his throne would be established upon Israel forever as was promised David.

God also provided a warning to Solomon that if he or his children turned from following God, that if they would fail to keep His commandments and statutes, serve and worship other gods, that Israel as a nation would suffer and be forgotten by God and become just a passing memory in history and people would know that God had punished the land and allowed evil to overtake them, if Solomon and his children turned from keeping the commandments and statutes, served and worshipped other gods.

Cabul means a place of limitation, sterile. In Hiram’s mind, these were worthless cities. These cities were most likely located between Galilee and the Mediterranean Sea. The cities given to Hiram, King of Tyre, that he thought were worthless, today the area would be part of the northern district of Israel and back in this time would have been the border region between the two countries. Solomon gave the land to Hiram as payment for the construction of the temple. The cities would have been smaller villages and the smaller settlement size is what likely led to Hiram’s displeasure at receiving these as a gift. Archaeological excavations in the area have shown older settlements of Israel built underneath newer Phoenician settlements suggesting evidence that what is recorded for us in first Kings chapter nine aligns with the archaeological record.

Because the repayment was rejected by Hiram, Solomon had to find a way to pay Hiram, and he collected a special tax, a levy, to pay for the construction of the temple, his own house, Millo, an area of terraces within Jerusalem, the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. Southwest of Hazor was the city of Megiddo. Identified in Book of Revelation as Armageddon, it was an important city for the Canaanites before Israel claimed the land as it was an important city for Israel. Today the area is a world heritage site and overlooks the Jezreel Valley. Back in the day it was the western most end of the trade route along the fertile crescent and linked Egypt with Turkey and the rest of the Middle East. Gezer was a major fortified city in the middle of the country between Jerusalem and the Mediterranean Sea and was also of strategic importance because it was at the crossroads of major trade routes linking Egypt with Syria, Anatolia, and Mesopotamia. Solomon not only wanted a temple fit for God, but a palace worthy of the king, a beautiful and safe capital city, and strategic defensive cities protecting the capital city.

Gezer came into the realm of Israel when Pharaoh seized the city, burning it with fire and giving it as a gift to his daughter who was married to Solomon. Solomon and his wife had what is commonly called today a fixer-upper, and spent a good deal of money to rebuild it. He had to rebuild many other cities as well. As the realm of Israel expanded, many foreigners were left behind, who became slaves of Israel who served the people of Israel, especially the military. Back in Jerusalem, Pharaoh’s daughter finally moved into the palace, and after this Solomon turned his attention to building Millo, a terraced area of Jerusalem. We know three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar to God.

God continued to bless Solomon and soon Israel had a navy that sailed to the far- away land of Ophir. The Ophir of the Bible is not the town of Ophir, Colorado south of Telluride. From Ophir gold was brought back to Israel. We know from the next chapter of first Kings that every three years cargo was brought back to Israel, and the type of cargo, including ivory and apes, suggests a multi-year sailing voyage along the coast of Africa. It’s possible that the navy sailed around the tip of Africa and also had ports of call on the west coast of Africa. The ships sailed from a port in the Red Sea and probably made it to locations on the Arabian peninsula. Some even think the navy sailed as far as India. Israel, under Solomon, became a rich nation.

1 Kings 9:1-28
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. 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. 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.

Solomon and came to visit. Sheba is a kingdom mentioned not only in the Bible, it is also mentioned in the Quran. We do not know definitively where the kingdom of Sheba was located. Some scholars place it in Africa and others place it on the southern Arabian peninsula. The historian Josephus placed a city named Saba as a walled city of Ethiopia and also wrote that it was Moses, as a prince of Egypt, who conquered Saba. Many think Saba is the city of Sheba. The Biblical account shows that the queen of Sheba visited Solomon voluntarily, and the Quran shows that the queen was summoned as a subject of Solomon. Even just looking at the Biblical account we can easily see the influence of Israel during the reign of king Solomon.

From the Bible we know that the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon and the intervention of God in his life. She came to Solomon to prove him with hard questions and arrived in a procession that included camels carrying spices, gold, and precious stones. We can’t tell from the gifts that the queen of Sheba brought or the use of camels as proof of where Sheba was located. Spices and gold can be found in both geographic areas, and camels were the delivery truck of the day. The queen of Sheba did come with her hard questions to prove Solomon and Solomon held nothing back from her in his answers. From the story it seems what the queen heard was so fantastic, it was unbelievable. She may have arrived purposefully to show what wealth looked like.

It did not take long for her spirit to be deflated. Whatever wealth or status she had in her mind before meeting Solomon was greatly diminished. Israel had it so fantastically good that what they had seemed like a fantasy to others who had not seen with their own eyes. The queen of Sheba was soon impressed with Solomon’s wisdom, the palace, and temple of God. She was beside herself with Solomon’s servants and how well they were cared for. She came to realize that what she heard regarding Solomon’s wisdom and wealth did not even come close to what she saw in person. In addition to the wisdom and wealth, the queen of Sheba saw that the people were happy, and that they enjoyed listening to the wisdom of Solomon. Israel was a prosperous nation, more prosperous than could even be imagined. The prosperity of Israel was beyond what people could imagine and like the queen of Sheba, could be best understood in person. Imagine the richest person you know or know of. Solomon’s wealth was greater. Imagine the most wealthy cities and nations. Israel and its capital, Jerusalem, were far more wealthy. Frequently prosperity brings unhappiness because the prosperity most people know is uncoupled from religious faith and Biblical teachings. Before departing, the queen of Sheba gave Solomon an incredible cache of spices and gold. In today’s value in U.S. currency, the gold would be valued more than fifteen million dollars.

Also brought to Jerusalem was gold from Ophir and tall almug trees. There is uncertainty regarding the exact type of tree the almug tree was. We know that the temple was built using cedar and fir trees, so the almug tree was among this family type of tree. Used as the pillars in the temple, we know the tree would have to have a thick and single trunk, like a pine, sequoia, or redwood. Precious stones were also brought to Jerusalem. Considering there was a trade path along the coast of Africa through the Arabian peninsula and possibly into India, the types of precious stones that would have likely been brought back included rubies, garnets, sapphires, diamonds, quartz, emeralds, aquamarine, and others. After receiving gifts from the queen of Sheba, Solomon was able to give her whatever she wanted and she returned to her country along with her servants. Each year, the treasury received six hundred sixty-six talents of gold, slightly more than forty-four thousand pounds of gold, which today in U.S. currency would be worth nearly eighty-four million dollars. In addition to this came spices from all over the world, kingdoms nearby, and from within Israel. Solomon’s throne was made of ivory that was overlaid with gold. Behind the throne was a circular design large enough so people could stand in front of the gold circular design while standing next to the throne. Next to the throne were lions. It’s not clear from these verses if these were living animals next to the throne or carved of gold or ivory. Lions were on either side of the throne at the edge of each of the six steps that ascended to the throne. The vessels of the throne were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver.

The navy of Israel sailed with the navy of Hiram, King of Tyre, and the sailing expedition took three years to complete, and upon return the ships were loaded with gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks, symbols of wealth and status. Solomon became the richest king on the earth and was wiser than any other king. When people came to Solomon to hear his wisdom, they would bring gifts of silver, gold, clothes, weapons, spices, and livestock. Soon, Solomon has amassed an army of fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen. As the wealth increased people became accustomed to it. Silver was disregarded and was as common as a stone, expensive lumber was readily available. Horses were imported from Egypt as was linen yarn. All had a price, and nothing was too expensive for Solomon.

1 Kings 10:1-29
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. 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’s fame and fortune soon attracted women, many women from foreign countries. These were the countries that Israel was told to avoid. They weren’t to move to these countries nor were people of these countries to move to Israel, because these people would not assimilate into Israel, rather they would hold on to their customs and traditions and expect others to become like them. Yet Solomon did not listen. He had seven hundred wives, princesses, three hundred concubines and his wives got to Solomon and turned his heart. It was when Solomon was old that his wives turned his heart after other Gods and Solomon was not found to be perfect with the God of Israel. Solomon adopted the faith of Ashtoreth, a goddess symbolized in the planet Venus. He also worshipped Milcom, also known as Moloch involving human and child sacrifice, doing evil before God. He built temples to these gods with a small ‘g’ outside of Jerusalem and also built temples to the gods of his other wives.

We do not know why Solomon departed from God. How does the wisest and richest man who was told by God that wisdom and riches would be given to him as a gift from God, forget how these gifts came into his life? He was constantly distracted from God by his many wives and their foreign gods. He loved his wives ultimately more than God. Solomon had great wisdom, and his wisdom became skewed where he overlooked a concept that would be taught by Jesus.

God became angry with Solomon because Solomon’s heart turned from God, and this happened after God appeared to Solomon not once, but twice. As a punishment, God told Solomon the kingdom would be divided with the descendants of Solomon hanging on to the very smallest part of the kingdom. God caused strife and warfare to return to Solomon through Hadad the Edomite, a survivor of previous warfare between Israel and Edom. Hadad fled as a boy and was now seeking revenge as a man. God could have quieted the rage of Hadad and instead allowed the rage to confront Solomon. Soon it was Hadad and not Solomon who had the favor of Pharoah, king of Egypt. With an enemy to the west, and enemies to the east, Israel would be facing enemies on multiple fronts.

God allowed the anger of others to boil over. The peace that Solomon and Israel enjoyed early in the reign was not because of the wisdom or wealth of Solomon, it was a blessing from God, who can give blessings for obedience and take away blessings for disobedience. Even people close to Solomon sought to unseat him. Jeroboam, the son of one of Solomon’s servants, sought to overthrow the king. Solomon tried to bring this Jeroboam into an alliance, but Jeroboam was advised by the prophet Ahijah that God would give him ten tribes of the kingdom, and that two tribes would remain with Solomon’s lineage. The similar offer that was made to David and Solomon by God was given to Jeroboam. Jeroboam and his descendants were offered perpetual importance within the nation and advised that at some point the kingdom would be restored to the throne of David.

Instead of giving Solomon cause to repent, this gave Solomon anger and he sought to kill Jeroboam who was able to flee to Egypt until Solomon died. After forty years of reign, like his father, Solomon died. In eighty years, Israel went from having David as king after Saul, to having internal troubles with king David, to living in a time of incomprehensible wealth with Solomon, to a divided kingdom because the sins of Solomon, and Solomon died and his son Rehoboam reigned in his stead.

1 Kings 11:1-43
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. 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. 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. And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon's servant, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow woman, even he lifted up his hand against the king. And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father. And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour: and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph. And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field: And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces: And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father. Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes: But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes. And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there. And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel. And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee. And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever. Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon. And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon? And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.

What Solomon did is recorded in a book not part of the Bible, The Book of The Acts of Solomon. As our study on Solomon ends seeing how turning from God even when old can be disastrous, next week we will begin a study on the early history of the church looking at the Book of Acts.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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