After Solomon had finished building the temple, the LORD appeared to him in the same way He did back at Gibeon. The LORD told Solomon that He had heard his prayer and had consecrated his temple. If he walked faithfully with integrity of heart, then he shall always have a successor on the throne of Israel. However, if he or his descendants turned away from the LORD’s ways, then they would be cut off from the land. The temple that Solomon had built for the name of the LORD would be ridiculed by onlookers as it would be reduced to a heap of rubble.
God had consecrated Solomon’s temple that he had built for His name as an answer to the intercessory prayer that Solomon had made on behalf of all the Israelites. It was also the fulfilment of the promise that the LORD had made to his father, David. At the same time, God was also warning Solomon, just like He had cautioned Cain that sin is crouching at his door but he must overpower it. God was not consecrating the temple with the hope that the king would obey Him throughout his lifetime because He already knew that Solomon was going to betray Him. Rather, God was foretelling what would happen when Solomon abandoned His ways and worshipped every other deity.
This is a lesson for us also, of what will befall us, if we decide to go outside the boundaries of God’s grace. Even though we are not in the Garden of Eden, we are still residing in a virtual garden filled with God’s grace. However, if we decide to step outside, then the deceiver is waiting at the gates of that garden, ready to pounce on us and lead us further away from God.
Foreign Relations
Solomon had strategic relations with his neighbouring rulers owing to his wedlock to their princesses. He also had cordial relations with Hiram, the king of Tyre, who had provided him with the raw materials that were required to build the temple and the king’s palace. In return, Solomon gave Hiram twenty towns from the northern part of his kingdom. These towns that were in Galilee were perhaps not of the same standards as the cities in the southern part of Solomon’s kingdom, and this irked Hiram. He aired his grievances to Solomon about the state of the towns that he had received in return for all the cedar, juniper, and gold he had provided his friend, the king of Israel.
From the king of Egypt, Solomon received the town of Gezer as a wedding gift for his marriage to his daughter. The town was in a dilapidated state following the invasion by the Egyptians but Solomon rebuilt the city repairing its walls and other structures. In terms of labour to undertake such massive projects, Solomon made slaves of the natives of Canaan, who were still living among the Israelites. However, Solomon did not make slaves of his people. Rather he recruited them as government officials and captains in his armed forces. Some were also assigned as chief officials who supervised the construction work through the forced labourers.
Solomon also had ships built at Ezion Geber on the shore of the Red Sea. King Hiram sent the sailors from his navy to serve in the fleet of Solomon’s men. They would then establish a trade route to Ophir and bring back four hundred and twenty talents of gold for Solomon. The fleet of ships would return every three years with gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons. The weight of gold that Solomon received each year was 666 talents, which represents the beast from John’s revelations. The number could be simply coincidental, however, the beast sought to separate the people of the earth from their creator and Solomon’s wealth was doing the same to him.
King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart.
1 Kings 10:23-24 (NIV)
One such influential person who sought to test Solomon’s wisdom was the ruler of the kingdom to the south of Israel, the queen of Sheba. When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s fame and his relationship with the LORD, she wanted to test him with difficult questions. She brought with her a great caravan containing camels carrying spices, large amounts of gold, and precious stones. The queen spoke with Solomon about everything on her mind, and Solomon answered all her questions. The queen of Sheba was amazed when she saw Solomon’s wisdom and was overwhelmed by his magnificent palace, the food on his table, the seating arrangements for his officials, the servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at the temple of the LORD. She praised Solomon and the God of Israel for everything that she had experienced during her trip to Jerusalem.
Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness.
1 Kings 10:9 (NIV)
Hoarding the Glory
Solomon displayed his wealth for the world to see and used his wisdom to garner the affection of even the most sceptic visiting dignitaries. However, when another king (Hezekiah) would do the same, he was punished by God. Nevertheless, Solomon was allowed to gain fame for something God had given to him. Solomon was at peace with the entire world around him, probably because he had so willingly adopted their practices and married half the princesses of the pagan world. Solomon indeed attracted people because of his wisdom but they merely wanted to see the grandeur of his kingdom.
While Hezekiah foolishly allowed spies from Babylon to canvas his palace and his wealth to plan their invasion, Solomon is careful in selecting who he lets into his kingdom. All his relations were strategic from which he sought to benefit. Sadly, his relationship with God also turned out to be a strategic one, as he forsook Yahweh and adopted the practices of the pagan world, that he had let into his kingdom and more importantly into his heart. Though he was not punished like Hezekiah and his kingdom was not invaded, the walls of his heart were successfully penetrated by satan who led him astray.
Like Solomon, we too are tempted by the opportunity of taking credit for something that God has done in our lives. We want the world to know our story and end up covering up the work of God in our lives. Let us use every opportunity to give our Creator all the glory and not be enticed to walk in the ways of the world. Solomon’s love for the ways of the world was his downfall and we must ask God to help us stand for Him alone and fight the urge to be one with the fallen world around us.
Discussion Questions
- Was God consecrating Solomon’s temple based on his obedience? Is God’s grace conditional?
- Why was Solomon so diligently following the temple obligations?
- Why did God allow Solomon to display his wisdom and wealth to the world but Hezekiah was punished for a similar offence?
The Jordan Valley 
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