The Lord Gives Solomon a Promise and a Warning
9:1 After Solomon finished building the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all the other construction projects he had planned, 9:2 the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time, in the same way he had appeared to him at Gibeon.
Jehovah appeared to Solomon twelve years earlier. During the first visit, Jehovah offered Solomon one wish. Solomon wished for political wisdom to rule Israel.
9:3 The Lord said to him, “I have answered your prayer and your request for help that you made to me. I have consecrated this temple you built by making it my permanent home; I will be constantly present there.
Jehovah consecrated the temple by indwelling in it with His Shechinah Glory. The Shechinah Glory was the physical manifestation of God. The Shechinah Glory was present at creation, the burning bush, the wilderness, and the tabernacle. The Shechinah Glory would later depart from the temple during the days of Ezekiel. Jerusalem and the temple mount are to be God’s earthly throne and His footstool as long as the earth remains, even throughout the Millennial Kingdom.
9:4 You must serve me with integrity and sincerity, just as your father David did. Do everything I commanded and obey my rules and regulations.
Solomon was commanded to adhere to the Mosaic Covenant so that he could receive all of the benefits of the Davidic Covenant.
9:5 Then I will allow your dynasty to rule over Israel permanently, just as I promised your father David, ‘You will not fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’
Solomon did not keep the Mosaic Covenant. He was given the throne of the most powerful kingdom on earth. He was given one wish by God. He was give supernatural wisdom by God. He was a given more spiritual light than any king on earth. He was given more wealth, more power, and more peace than any king on earth. Yet, he led Israel into idolatry. Therefore, the messianic line came not through Solomon, but through his half-brother Nathan instead. The Virgin Mary was the descendant of Nathan, not Solomon.
9:6 “But if you or your sons ever turn away from me, fail to obey the regulations and rules I instructed you to keep, and decide to serve and worship other gods, 9:7 then I will remove Israel from the land I have given them, I will abandon this temple I have consecrated with my presence, and Israel will be mocked and ridiculed among all the nations.
It was predicted that the Temple would be destroyed and the people would be taken into captivity, but the Davidic dynasty will never be set aside. It was an unconditional covenant.
David kept idolatry out of Egypt. Solomon did not. Solomon planted the seeds of idolatry which would later cause Israel and Judah to be taken captive into Assyria and Babylon.
9:8 This temple will become a heap of ruins; everyone who passes by it will be shocked and will hiss out their scorn, saying, ‘Why did the Lord do this to this land and this temple?’
There is a hint here that the temple would be destroyed. The temple is in ruins today. The Jews cannot rebuild it, because of the international pressure from the Arabs and the United Nations. Instead, the Mosque of Omar stands in its place. Why? Because Israel fell into idolatry and failed to recognize their Messiah.
9:9 Others will then answer, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who led their ancestors out of Egypt. They embraced other gods whom they worshiped and served. That is why the Lord has brought all this disaster down on them.’”
In Deuteronomy 29:24-28, Moses predicted the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of Israel into foreign lands.
Foreign Affairs and Building Projects
9:10 After twenty years, during which Solomon built the Lord’s temple and the royal palace, 9:11 King Solomon gave King Hiram of Tyre twenty cities in the region of Galilee, because Hiram had supplied Solomon with cedars, evergreens, and all the gold he wanted.
The Jewish temple and royal palace were built within twenty years. King Solomon gave King Hiram of Tyre twenty cities for cedars, evergreens, and gold. These cities were most likely on the border of Israel and Tyre.
9:12 When Hiram went out from Tyre to inspect the cities Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them.
King Hiram was not happy about the conditions of these cities.
9:13 Hiram asked, “Why did you give me these cities, my friend?” He called that area the region of Cabul, a name which it has retained to this day.
Hiram questioned Solomon as to why he received such poor cities. According to Josephus, Cabul means “good for nothing.”
9:14 Hiram had sent to the king one hundred twenty talents of gold.
Later on, Hiram would give these cities back to Solomon. The Bible does not mention if or how Solomon repaid him.
9:15 Here are the details concerning the work crews King Solomon conscripted to build the Lord’s temple, his palace, the terrace, the wall of Jerusalem, and the cities of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.
Hazor was an important city which protected Israel’s northeastern entrance from Syria and Mesopotamia. Megiddo was another important city which guarded the international coastal highway in the Carmel Mountains. Megiddo will become the future location of the Battle of Armageddon. Gezer was another important city which guarded the coastal highway and the main road to Jerusalem. The importance of these three cities have been confirmed by archaeological excavations at their sites.
9:16 (Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had attacked and captured Gezer. He burned it and killed the Canaanites who lived in the city. He gave it as a wedding present to his daughter, who had married Solomon.)
Pharaoh attacked the city of Gezer and gave it as a wedding present to his daughter who married Solomon. This city had been part of Israel since the wedding.
9:17 Solomon built up Gezer, lower Beth Horon, 9:18 Baalath, Tadmor in the wilderness, 9:19 all the storage cities that belonged to him, and the cities where chariots and horses were kept. He built whatever he wanted in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout his entire kingdom.
Storage cities were used primarily to store food. Some of the cities kept Solomon’s chariot and horses. Kings were not allowed to multiply horses, but Solomon broke this Mosaic Law. Solomon had such control over Israel, that he could build anywhere that he wished. One of Solomon’s chariot cities was Megiddo. Excavations there have revealed numerous stalls and other facilities for horses.
9:20 Now several non-Israelite peoples were left in the land after the conquest of Joshua, including the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 9:21 Their descendants remained in the land (the Israelites were unable to wipe them out completely). Solomon conscripted them for his work crews, and they continue in that role to this very day.
The Canaanites were called to be exterminated by Jehovah. Like the other tribal leaders before him, Solomon disobeyed Jehovah and did not exterminate them. Instead, he forced them into hard labor to finish his building projects. This was a violation of the Mosaic Law.
9:22 Solomon did not assign Israelites to these work crews; the Israelites served as his soldiers, attendants, officers, charioteers, and commanders of his chariot forces.
It was against the Mosaic Law for Solomon to enslave his own people and force them into hard labor. Therefore, he drafted Israelites into the army and made them the soldiers, officers, charioteers, commanders, and government attendants of Israel. The taxation and the draft caused great dissension in Israel. It would later lead to civil war in Israel.
9:23 These men were also in charge of Solomon’s work projects; there were a total of 550 men who supervised the workers.
These drafted men were placed in charge of Solomon’s many building projects.
9:24 Solomon built the terrace as soon as Pharaoh’s daughter moved up from the city of David to the palace Solomon built for her.
Solomon built an expensive terrace for an Egyptian wife who led him into idolatry. The Israelites could not have appreciated this luxurious building project.
9:25 Three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar he had built for the Lord, burning incense along with them before the Lord. He made the temple his official worship place.
Instead of worshiping in the high places, Solomon changed his worship location to the temple. He still celebrated Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, and Tabernacle.
9:26 King Solomon also built ships in Ezion Geber, which is located near Elat in the land of Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea.
Solomon entered the shipping business. Archaeologists have discovered the remains of Ezion Geber at the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba. The ruins of this port, with its nearby smelters and ore deposits, have been excavated by archaeologists. This seaport gave Israel access to the east and south by water.
9:27 Hiram sent his fleet and some of his sailors, who were well acquainted with the sea, to serve with Solomon’s men.
King Hiram and the seafaring Phoenicians joined enterprises on the Mediterranean Sea. The Phoenicians were the most skilled sailors in ancient history. They controlled the trade of the Mediterranean Sea for over one thousand years.
9:28 They sailed to Ophir, took from there four hundred twenty talents of gold, and then brought them to King Solomon.
The gold in Ophir was legendary. One talent was about as much as one man could comfortably carry. The location of Ophir is still uncertain. Most historians place its location in southwestern Arabia. If this is true, then Solomon’s navy traveled as far as Arabia. They may have traveled all over the world, including America. Solomon cornered the gold market. All of this gold helped finance much of Solomon’s building projects. The wealth of Israel would later attract plundering nations, such as Assyria and Babylon.