King Solomon (Message 4)

Two Lessons for This Series:

Solomon reminds us that there is good and bad in ALL of us.

It is not usually the “BIG” sins that destroy a life and a PURPOSE, but the little things that will DERAIL us from God’s perfect PLAN.

The Work is Completed

1Kings 9:1 When Solomon had finished building the temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and had achieved all he had desired to do, 2 the LORD appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 The LORD said to him: “I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there. 4 “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, 5 I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’

The LAST time that the Lord had appeared to Solomon like this, He told him to “MAKE a WISH.”

This time, God tells Solomon THREE things:

a. He had HEARD Solomon’s prayer and CONSECRATED the temple. (“My eyes and heart will always be there.”)

b. His desire was for Solomon to WALK faithfully with integrity of HEART, uprightness, and OBEDIENCE.

c. That if Solomon does these things, his THRONE would be established FOREVER.

APP: Solomon’s dream is COMPLETE and he is now to be a man of God. It is much easier for many of us to DO than to BE.

The Organization and Wealth Begins

1Kings 9:20 There were still people left from the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites (these peoples were not Israelites). 21 Solomon conscripted the descendants of all these peoples remaining in the land—whom the Israelites could not exterminate —to serve as slave labor, as it is to this day. 22 But Solomon did not make slaves of any of the Israelites; they were his fighting men, his government officials, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and charioteers. 23 They were also the chief officials in charge of Solomon’s projects—550 officials supervising those who did the work. 24 After Pharaoh’s daughter had come up from the City of David to the palace Solomon had built for her, he constructed the terraces. 25 Three times a year Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar he had built for the LORD, burning incense before the LORD along with them, and so fulfilled the temple obligations. 26 King Solomon also built ships at Ezion Geber, which is near Elath in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea. 27 And Hiram sent his men—sailors who knew the sea—to serve in the fleet with Solomon’s men. 28 They sailed to Ophir and brought back 420 talents of gold, which they delivered to King Solomon.

Solomon used his organizational SKILLS to put the non-Jews to work. Jews became the CORE of his government. (Note the word “his”.) He had 550 men SUPERVISING his projects!

At the same time, Solomon made ALLIANCES with the nations surrounding Israel for PEACE and TRADE.

To keep peace, Solomon married his FIRST foreign-born wife who was the daughter of the Pharaoh. This was a COMMON practice but one PROHIBITED by God. Solomon built a PALACE for this wife.

1Kings 3:1 Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt and married his daughter. He brought her to the City of David until he finished building his palace and the temple of the LORD, and the wall around Jerusalem.

Solomon continued to WORSHIP God and, for a time, avoided IDOL worship. However, it seems that he worshiped only on HOLIDAYS and that it was an OBLIGATION to him.

Solomon began a SHIPPING empire and worked with King Hiram to PERFECT it.

Because of all of this, WEALTH began to accumulate rapidly for the KING and his NATION.

APP: God designed us to BUILD relationships and be PRODUCTIVE, but when wealth and business (busyness) squeeze God OUT of the PICTURE, we have gone too far.

The Wealth and the Stuff Accumulates

1Kings 10:14 The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents, 15 not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the territories. 16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. 17 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three minas of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. 18 Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. 20 Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. 21 All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s days. 22 The king had a fleet of trading ships at sea along with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons. 23 King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. 24 The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. 25 Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift—articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules. 26 Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills.

Solomon’s wealth was reaching INESTIMABLE proportions.

Needing to find a place to SPEND his money, Solomon made GOLD shields and put them in an indoor “FOREST.”

Next, the king built a magnificent THRONE for himself of ivory and gold. It was raised SIX steps and a dozen LIONS stood on the stairs. What was God’s throne like?

Even Solomon’s CUPS and PLATES were solid gold, as silver was too COMMON.

Always needing MORE, his ships kept bringing Solomon riches and UNIQUE items (apes and baboons). He was the richest man ALIVE and everyone wanted to talk with him.

Trusting now in his OWN wealth and POWER, Solomon accumulated a great NUMBER of horses and chariots.

Psa. 20:7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

APP: How much was TOO much for Solomon? How much is TOO much for you? What STRATEGY can you put into place to avoid crossing the line?

Walk the Talk

Although none of us can relate to Solomon’s great wealth, how do you relate to his success and struggles

Why did God warn Solomon after the temple was completed? How could Solomon have been faithful to God (practical steps)?

What do you see about Solomon’s kingship that you like? In what ways does he show his great wisdom?

What would be the advantages of living under Solomon’s rule? The disadvantages?

Solomon could have used his vast wealth in other ways. What are some suggestions that you would have given him?

Which of the applications from this study were most helpful and why?