1 Kings 9: God makes a deal with Solomon

Synopsis:

God comes and speaks to Solomon and says, as long as you do good by me, I will do good by you and your kingdom will be established forever. Hiram, the king of Tyre, who Solomon had bought the trees from, was not happy with the cities Solomon gave him. But he did send the king six score talents of gold which was the tax levied by Solomon to build the temple, his own house, Millo, the wall of Jerusalem and Hazor and Megiddo, and Gezer.  (Gezer being the city Pharaoh had destroyed and given to Solomon for a present to his daughter, Solomon’s wife).  Solomon also bought cities for his chariots and cities for his horsemen. Anyone not from Israel was allowed to live if they paid tribute as a bondservant. The children of Israel were not bonded, they were men of war and servants of Solomon. Three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings at the altar at the house of the Lord and burnt incense upon the altar.  He made a navy of ships in Ezion-geber on the shore of the Red sea and he sent his navy  to Ophir to fetch 420 talents of gold for King Solomon.

In other words:

Solomon creates a rich empire complete with navy.

Favorite bit:

1 Kings 9: 26 – And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom.   He wasn’t just a land power, he had a navy!

Least favorite bit:

1 Kings 9:11-13 – King Hiram of Tyre wasn’t happy with the cities he was given from Solomon, but nothing appears to have come of it.

Coolest bit:

1 Kings 9:15 – All the stuff and cities that were built by Solomon. Makes me want to go and take a look at them, as some are still standing.

Most important bit:

1 Kings 9:22,23 – The children of Israel were not made bondsmen. They were the chief of the officers that were over Solomon’s work. You cannot rule such a big kingdom without help.

Moral Lesson Learned:

You cannot lead well if you don’t delegate well (1 Kings 9)