2 Chronicles 8:1 – 18 Solomon’s Further Achievements (1 Kings 9:10-28)
“Now at the end of the twenty years during which Solomon had built the house of the LORD and his own palace, Solomon rebuilt the cities Hiram had given him and settled Israelites there. Then Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and captured it. He built Tadmor in the wilderness, along with all the store cities that he had built in Hamath. He rebuilt Upper and Lower Beth-horon as fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars, as well as Baalath, all the store cities that belonged to Solomon, all the cities for his chariots and horses —whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout the land of his dominion.
As for all the people who remained of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (the people who were not Israelites)— their descendants who remained in the land, those whom the Israelites were unable to destroy—Solomon conscripted these people to be forced laborers, as they are to this day. But Solomon did not consign any of the Israelites to slave labor, because they were his men of war, his officers and captains, and the commanders of his chariots and cavalry. They were also the chief officers for King Solomon: 250 supervisors.
Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh up from the City of David to the palace he had built for her. For he said, “My wife must not live in the house of David king of Israel, because the places the ark of the LORD has entered are holy.”
At that time Solomon offered burnt offerings to the LORD on the altar of the LORD he had built in front of the portico. He observed the daily requirement for offerings according to the commandment of Moses for Sabbaths, New Moons, and the three annual appointed feasts—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. (Passover, Pentecost, and Sukkoth, the Feast of Booths.)
In keeping with the ordinances of his father David, he appointed the divisions of the priests over their service, and the Levites for their duties to offer praise and to minister before the priests according to the daily requirement. He also appointed gatekeepers by their divisions at each gate, for this had been the command of David, the man of God. They did not turn aside from the king’s command regarding the priests or the Levites or any matter concerning the treasuries.
Thus all the work of Solomon was carried out, from the day the foundation was laid for the house of the LORD until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was completed.
Then Solomon went to Ezion-geber and to Eloth on the coast of Edom. So Hiram sent him ships captained by his servants, along with crews of experienced sailors. They went with Solomon’s servants to Ophir and acquired from there 450 talents of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon. (Eloth or Elath is along the shore of the Red Sea in the land of Edom. 450 talents is approximately 17 tons or 15.4 metric tons of gold.)
This account of Solomon’s achievements is a mixed one. First, the writer describes all of Solomon’s conquests and the cities that he either built or rebuilt. Included in this account is the mention of store cities and chariots and horses. Again, we are reminded that God has already warned Israelite kings not to multiply chariots and horses; however, Solomon obviously feels entitled and is ignoring this command.
This account ends with glowing descriptions of lucrative voyages to Ophir bringing back enormous amounts of the special gold for which Ophir was famed. Nobody actually knows where Ophir was located. There are good cases for locations in Saudi Arabia and various parts of the Indian subcontinent. Some Spanish writers in the sixteenth century even suggested Zimbabwe; however, there is more compelling evidence for the other locations, particularly one in Saudi Arabia that obviously was worked at the time of Solomon.
In the midst of these glowing accounts of Solomon’s conquests, his building, and his other works is a jarring note. Evidently, Solomon’s first wife was Pharaoh’s daughter. While this marriage is undoubtedly a savvy political alliance, Solomon builds a house for this lady outside the City of David “because the places the ark of the LORD has entered are holy.” WHAT?
The kings of Israel are supposed to marry Israelite women who presumably worship the God of Israel. We have no idea of the beliefs of Pharaoh’s daughter. While there are some scholars who want to contend that this woman might have converted to Judaism, there is no proof of that; besides, if this woman were a convert, Solomon would probably not move her out of the City of David. This alliance raises yet another question: How could Solomon view himself as holy when he was entering into sexual liaisons with non – believers?
Solomon has begun marriages driven by lust or political convenience, a practice he will continue for the rest of his reign as king. This practice will eventually lure Solomon away from God to the point that he will erect shrines to demonic deities throughout Jerusalem just to satisfy his wives and concubines. Even though Solomon has organized the priests and the temple gatekeepers and is making regular sacrifices, he has already begun sliding away from God.
APPLICATION: An old Paul Simon hit says, “Slip sliding away. Slip sliding away.
You know the nearer your destination, the more you’re slip sliding away. “
Solomon was phenomenally successful, and he succeeded in every project he started. Sea voyages to Ophir brought Solomon incredible wealth, and he also received tribute from all sorts of people. Solomon should have been deliriously happy….. but he wasn’t! All you have to do is to read the first few chapters of the Book of Ecclesiastes and you realize that wealth, fame, wisdom, music, poetry, beauty, and sex did nothing for Solomon. Every time Solomon sought for satisfaction in something, he failed to find it! Each time Solomon tried to grasp soul satisfaction, it went slip sliding away from him.
Ecclesiastes 1:1 – 2 tells us, “The words of the Teacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem: “Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!” Solomon continues, “All things are wearisome, more than one can describe; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear content with hearing. What has been will be again, and what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:8 – 9)
Solomon continues for most of the rest of Ecclesiastes, describing all the various avenues he has explored and found useless as far as satisfying him. What is wrong with Solomon? Unlike Solomon’s father David, who had an active relationship with the Living God, Solomon has only a second – hand faith. Solomon knows all the right words to say and has even had two face – to – face interviews with God, and yet, he is living a relatively godless life. David found his highest satisfaction in praying to God and in praising God. Solomon, on the other hand, may have prayed eloquent prayers in public, but he has employed others to handle the praise. There is no record of Solomon having a private prayer life. Solomon is the man who has everything, except God!
Many of us who work with poor people have noted that those who are firm believers are happy even in the midst of their poverty. Though possessing relatively little, these people live lives of satisfaction because they are trusting in God as their Source and they worship Him regularly. Contrast these people with many in developed countries who are wealthy beyond the imaginations of the poor and yet who struggle to find satisfaction in drugs, alcohol, or other false avenues.
Each of us has a choice: we can choose to serve the Living God, to pray to Him, to worship Him, and to trust Him as our Source of light and life. Or we can try to be our own gods, struggling to find anything positive by ourselves. St. Augustine wrote of his life before Christ, “When I turned away from You, I lost myself in a multiplicity of things.” But Augustine also later said, “To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek him the greatest adventure; to find him, the greatest human achievement. ”Solomon never learned this lesson, and all Israel suffered as a result! May we not copy Solomon’s mistakes.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. Help us to look to You for our significance and to trust You to give meaning to our lives. Thank You for making provision for us, even before we ask You for anything. Help us to praise You for all of our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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