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The Story of Solomon – The Wisest King Who Fell Into Idolatrya · truthunedited

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  Speaker 1: Solomon's story begins amidst divine promises and royal family drama
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  Speaker 1: in the palace of Jerusalem. The son of King David
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  Speaker 1: and Bathsheba. Solomon was neither the first born nor the
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  Speaker 1: obvious heir to the throne of Israel. But God had
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  Speaker 1: special plans for this boy. While David's older sons were
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  Speaker 1: caught up in conspiracies and power struggles, young Solomon grew
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  Speaker 1: up in the shadow of the great king. In verse
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  Speaker 1: Chronicles twenty two nine, we read that his name, meaning peaceful,
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  Speaker 1: was chosen because God had promised David, Behold, a son
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  Speaker 1: will be born to you who will be a man
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  Speaker 1: of peace. I will give him rest from all his
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  Speaker 1: enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, and
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  Speaker 1: I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign.
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  Speaker 1: This is the story of how an unlikely young man
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  Speaker 1: became the wisest and richest king Israel had ever known,
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  Speaker 1: leading the nation into its golden age. It all began
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  Speaker 1: with a grave mistake. Instead of leading his armies into battle,
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  Speaker 1: as was customary, King David stayed behind in Jerusalem. One afternoon.
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  Speaker 1: As he walked on the rooftop of his palace, he
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  Speaker 1: saw a beautiful woman bathing in sex. Samuel eleven three
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  Speaker 1: to four. We read David sent someone to find out
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  Speaker 1: about her. The man said she is Bathsheba, the daughter
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  Speaker 1: of Elium and the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Then
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  Speaker 1: David sent messengers to get her. She came to him
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  Speaker 1: and he slept with her. From this forbidden relationship, a
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  Speaker 1: child was born, but died shortly after birth as a
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  Speaker 1: consequence of David's sin. Deeply remorseful, David expressed his sorrow
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  Speaker 1: in Psalm fifty one. After this painful episode, Secor Samuel
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  Speaker 1: twelve twenty four twenty five tells us, then David comforted
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  Speaker 1: his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay
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  Speaker 1: with her. She gave birth to a son, and they
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  Speaker 1: named him Solomon. The Lord loved him. And because the
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  Speaker 1: Lord loved him, he sent word through the prophet Nathan
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  Speaker 1: to name him Jedidiah, which means loved by the Lord.
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  Speaker 1: Though born from a union initially marked by sin, Solomon
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  Speaker 1: entered the world under divine favor. God had great plans
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  Speaker 1: for him, plans he had already revealed to David before
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  Speaker 1: the boy was even born. In First Chronicles twenty two
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  Speaker 1: eight to ten, David tells Solomon, but the word of
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  Speaker 1: the Lord came to me. You have shed much blood
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  Speaker 1: and have fought many wars. You are not to build
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  Speaker 1: a house for my name, because you have shed much
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  Speaker 1: blood on the earth in my sight. But you will
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  Speaker 1: have a son who will be a man of peace
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  Speaker 1: and rest. I will give him rest from all his
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  Speaker 1: enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, and
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  Speaker 1: I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign.
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  Speaker 1: He is the one who will build a house for
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  Speaker 1: my name. He will be my son, and I will
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  Speaker 1: be his father, and I will establish the throne of
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  Speaker 1: his kingdom over Israel forever. This was a great promise.
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  Speaker 1: Solomon would be the one to build the temple, something
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  Speaker 1: David had longed to do but couldn't because he had
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  Speaker 1: been a man of war. Even more than that, God
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  Speaker 1: would have a special relationship with Solomon, calling him his son.
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  Speaker 1: As Solomon grew up, his older half brothers caused turmoil
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  Speaker 1: in the kingdom. Amnon, the first born, was killed by
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  Speaker 1: his brother Absalom after assaulting absalom sister Tamar. Later, Absalom
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  Speaker 1: himself tried to usurp the throne, rising against his father
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  Speaker 1: in a coup that ended with his own death. With
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  Speaker 1: them out of the way, Adonija, another of David's older sons,
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  Speaker 1: believed he was next in line. First Kings one to
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  Speaker 1: five to six reveals now a doneger whose mother was Hageth,
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  Speaker 1: put himself forward and said, I will be king. So
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  Speaker 1: he got chariots and horses ready, with fifty men to
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  Speaker 1: run ahead of him. His father had never rebund him
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  Speaker 1: by asking why do you behave as you do? He
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  Speaker 1: was also very handsome. A donager began acting as though
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  Speaker 1: he were already king, without waiting for David's decision or
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  Speaker 1: divine confirmation. He knew David had promised the throne to Solomon,
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  Speaker 1: but he relied on the support of key figures like Joab,
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  Speaker 1: the army commander, and Abiathar, one of the priests. A
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  Speaker 1: Donijia's plan seemed to be working with David old and frail.
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  Speaker 1: He threw a lavish banquet for his supporters, inviting all
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  Speaker 1: his brothers except Solomon, and all the important men of
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  Speaker 1: Judah except those loyal to Solomon. In his mind, it
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  Speaker 1: was all settled he would be the next king of Israel.
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  Speaker 1: But while Adonesia was celebrating his self coronation. God was
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  Speaker 1: working to ensure his plan would prevail. The prophet Nathan,
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  Speaker 1: who had often been God's voice to Dea David, learned
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  Speaker 1: of the plot. He quickly approached Bathsheba and advised her
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  Speaker 1: on what to do. In First Kings one eleven fourteen,
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  Speaker 1: we read then Nathan said to Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, have
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  Speaker 1: you not heard that Adonija, the son of Hageth, has
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  Speaker 1: become king and our Lord David knows nothing about it. Now,
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  Speaker 1: then let me advise you how you can save your
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  Speaker 1: own life and the life of your son Solomon. Go
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  Speaker 1: into King David and say to him, my Lord the King,
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  Speaker 1: did you not swear to me, your servant? Surely Solomon,
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  Speaker 1: your son shall be king after me, and he will
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  Speaker 1: sit on my throne. Why then, has Adonija become king?
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  Speaker 1: While you are still talking to the king, I will
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  Speaker 1: come in and add my word to what you have said.
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  Speaker 1: The plan was perfect. Bathsheba would go in first to
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  Speaker 1: remind David of his promise, and then Nathan would enter,
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  Speaker 1: unaware of the previous conversation, to confirm the news about Adonija.
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  Speaker 1: The strategy worked when Bathsheba bowed before the aged king.
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  Speaker 1: He asked what she wanted. She reminded him of his
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  Speaker 1: oath that Solomon would be king and informed him of
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  Speaker 1: Adonija's banquet and his claim to the throne. While she
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  Speaker 1: was still speaking, Nathan arrived as planned and confirmed everything.
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  Speaker 1: David didn't hesitate. He immediately reaffirmed his decision to make
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  Speaker 1: Solomon king. In Firred Kings one twenty nine to thirty,
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  Speaker 1: David declared, as surely as the Lord lives, who has
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  Speaker 1: delivered me out of every trouble, I will surely carry
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  Speaker 1: out this very day what I swore to you by
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  Speaker 1: the Lord, the God of Israel. Solomon, your son, shall
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  Speaker 1: be king after me, and he will sit on my
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  Speaker 1: throne in my place. Time was of the essence. David
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  Speaker 1: summoned Zadok the Priest, Nathan the Prophet, and Beniah, one
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  Speaker 1: of his most loyal officers, and gave them precise instructions.
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  Speaker 1: First Kings one thirty three thirty five records, Take your
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  Speaker 1: lord's servants with you, and have Solomon, my son, mount
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  Speaker 1: my own mule and take him down to Gihon. There,
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  Speaker 1: have Zadok the Priest and Nathan the Prophet anoint him
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  Speaker 1: king over Israel. Blow the trumpet and shout, long Live
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  Speaker 1: King Solomon. Then you are to go up with him,
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  Speaker 1: and he is to come and sit on my throne
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  Speaker 1: and reign in my place. I have appointed him ruler
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  Speaker 1: over Israel and Judah. Everything happened just as David had commanded.
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  Speaker 1: Solomon was taken to the Gihon Spring, where Zadok took
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  Speaker 1: the horn of oil from the tabernacle and anointed him
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  Speaker 1: as king. The trumpets sounded and all the people shouted
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  Speaker 1: long Live King Solomon. It was a breath taking scene.
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  Speaker 1: First Kings one forty says the people were playing flutes
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  Speaker 1: and rejoicing so loudly that the ground shook with the sound. Meanwhile,
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  Speaker 1: Adonija and his guests were finishing their banquet when they
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  Speaker 1: heard the noise from the city. Joab, the seasoned commander,
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  Speaker 1: recognized the sound of the trumpets and asked, why is
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  Speaker 1: the city in such an uproar? First Kings one forty one.
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  Speaker 1: Before they could make sense of what was happening, Jonathan,
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  Speaker 1: the son of the priest Abiathar, arrived with news Solomon
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  Speaker 1: had been anointed king with David's blessing, and the people
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  Speaker 1: were celebrating. Fear gripped Adonaija and his guests. The coup
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  Speaker 1: had failed. Everyone got up and left, each to their
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  Speaker 1: own home. Fearing for his life. A donager ran to
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  Speaker 1: the tabernacle and grabbed the horns of the altar, a
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  Speaker 1: traditional plea for mercy and sanctuary. In verse Kings one
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  Speaker 1: fifty to fifty one, we read a donager was afraid
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  Speaker 1: of Solomon, so he went and took hold of the
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  Speaker 1: horns of the altar. Then Solomon was told a dunager
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  Speaker 1: is afraid of King Solomon and is clinging to the
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  Speaker 1: horns of the altar. He says, let King Solomon swear
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  Speaker 1: to me to day that he will not put his
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  Speaker 1: servant to death with the sword. Solomon's first act as
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  Speaker 1: king was deciding what to do with his rebellious brother.
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  Speaker 1: His response revealed both wisdom and mercy. Burst King's one
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  Speaker 1: fifty two records, if he shows himself to be worthy,
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  Speaker 1: not a hair of his head will fall to the ground,
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  Speaker 1: but if evil is found in him, he will die.
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  Speaker 1: Solomon gave Adonija a second chance, but with a clear warning.
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  Speaker 1: Adonija was brought before the king, bowed low and Solomon
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  Speaker 1: simply said go home. First Kings one fifty three. The
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  Speaker 1: early days of Solomon's reign were focused on consolidating power.
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  Speaker 1: He had to deal not only with Adonija, but also
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  Speaker 1: with others who had supported the rebellion or posed a
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  Speaker 1: threat to his rule. After David's death, Adonija made a
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  Speaker 1: dangerous request through bathshe Weber. He wanted to marry Abhishak,
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  Speaker 1: the young woman who had cared for David in his
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  Speaker 1: old age. This was seen as a veiled attempt to
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  Speaker 1: claim the throne, and Solomon responded decisively. In First Kings
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  Speaker 1: two twenty three twenty five, he says, Adonija has made
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  Speaker 1: this request at the cost of his life, as surely
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  Speaker 1: as the Lord lives. He who has established me securely
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  Speaker 1: on the throne of my father David, and has founded
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  Speaker 1: a dynasty for me. As he promised, a doneger shall
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  Speaker 1: be put to death to day, and so it was.
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  Speaker 1: Solomon also removed Abiathar from the priesthood, sending him to
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  Speaker 1: his own lands in Anathoth, and ordered the execution of Joab,
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  Speaker 1: who had supported Adonija and was guilty of numerous past crimes. Shimah,
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  Speaker 1: the man who had cursed David. During Absalom's rebellion, was
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  Speaker 1: confined to Jerusalem under strict orders not to leave the city,
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  Speaker 1: a command he eventually disobey, costing him his life. With
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  Speaker 1: his reign now secure, Solomon could turn his attention to
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  Speaker 1: governing the nation. He loved the Lord and followed the
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  Speaker 1: statutes of his father David with one exception. He continued
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  Speaker 1: to offer sacrifices and burn incense at the high places,
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  Speaker 1: since no temple had yet been built for the name
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  Speaker 1: of the Lord. One such high place was Gibeon, where
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  Speaker 1: the main bronze altar stood. Solomon went there to offer
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  Speaker 1: sacrifices to God. First Kings three four notes the king
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  Speaker 1: went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the
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  Speaker 1: most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt
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  Speaker 1: offerings on that altar. That night, after offering the thousand sacrifices,
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  Speaker 1: something extraordinary happened. God appeared to Solomon in a dream.
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  Speaker 1: It was rare for God to reveal himself to kings
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  Speaker 1: in such a way, but Solomon held a special place
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  Speaker 1: in the Lord's heart. In the dream, God made him
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  Speaker 1: an astonishing offer. In First Kings three five, he says,
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  Speaker 1: ask for whatever you want me to give you. It
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  Speaker 1: was like a divine blank check. Solomon could have asked
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  Speaker 1: for anything, wealth, long life, victory over enemies, but his
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  Speaker 1: answer revealed a humble heart and a deep awareness of
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  Speaker 1: his responsibilities. First, he acknowledged God's kindness to his father.
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  Speaker 1: First Kings three six says, you have shown great kindness
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  Speaker 1: to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful
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  Speaker 1: to you and righteous and upright in heart. Then he
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  Speaker 1: expressed gratitude for how God had fulfilled his promise. Still,
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  Speaker 1: in verse six, you have continued this great kindness to
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  Speaker 1: him and have given him a son to sit on
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  Speaker 1: his throne this very day. Next, Solomon admitted his sense
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  Speaker 1: of inadequacy. In First Kings three seven, he says, now, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: my God, you have made your servant king in place
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  Speaker 1: of my father dead David. But I am only a
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  Speaker 1: little child and do not know how to carry out
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  Speaker 1: my duties. This wasn't false modesty. Solomon was likely around
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  Speaker 1: twenty years old and fully aware of the weight of
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  Speaker 1: leading a prosperous and rapidly growing nation. Finally, he made
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  Speaker 1: his request not for himself, but for the good of
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  Speaker 1: the people. Entrusted to him. First Kings three nine says,
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  Speaker 1: so give your servant a discerning heart to govern your
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  Speaker 1: people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who
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  Speaker 1: is able to govern this great people of yours? Solomon's
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  Speaker 1: choice please the Lord deeply. First Kings three ten emphasizes
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  Speaker 1: the Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this.
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  Speaker 1: God was impressed not only by what Solomon asked for,
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  Speaker 1: but by what he didn't ask for. In verse eleven,
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  Speaker 1: he says, since you have asked for this, and not
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  Speaker 1: for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked
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  Speaker 1: for the death of your enemies, but for discernment in
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  Speaker 1: administering justice. God's response went far beyond what Solomon could
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  Speaker 1: have imagined. In First Kings three twelve, I will do
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  Speaker 1: what you have asked. I will give you a wise
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  Speaker 1: and discerning heart, so that there will never have been
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  Speaker 1: any one like you, nor will there ever be. It
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  Speaker 1: was a promise of unprecedented wisdom. Solomon would be the
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  Speaker 1: wisest man to ever live. But God didn't stop there.
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  Speaker 1: In verse Kings three thirteen, he added, moreover, I will
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  Speaker 1: give you what you have not asked for, both wealth
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  Speaker 1: and honor, so that in your lifetime you will have
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  Speaker 1: no equal among kings. And he concluded with a conditional
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  Speaker 1: promise in First Kings three fourteen, and if you walk
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  Speaker 1: in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands,
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  Speaker 1: as David your father did, I will give you a
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  Speaker 1: long life. When Solomon awoke, he realized it had been
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  Speaker 1: a dream, but not an ordinary one. He returned to Jerusalem,
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  Speaker 1: stood before the ark of the Covenant of the Lord,
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  Speaker 1: offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and held a feast
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  Speaker 1: for all his servants. It marked the beginning of a
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  Speaker 1: blessed reign. The first signs of Solomon's extraordinary wisdom soon
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  Speaker 1: became evident. He displayed an incredible ability to understand human nature,
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  Speaker 1: to discern hidden motives, and to come up with creative
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  Speaker 1: solutions to complex problems. His insight went beyond academic knowledge.
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  Speaker 1: It was a practical wisdom for ruling, judging, and leading.
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  Speaker 1: It didn't take long for Solomon's wisdom to be tested
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  Speaker 1: in a dramatic and public way. A particularly difficult case
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  Speaker 1: reached the royal court involving two women and a baby.
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  Speaker 1: The situation was complicated, as we see in First Kings
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  Speaker 1: three sixteen twenty two. Now, two prostitutes came to the
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  Speaker 1: king and stood before him. One of them said, pardon me,
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  Speaker 1: my lord. This woman and I live in the same house,
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  Speaker 1: and I had a baby while she was there with me.
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  Speaker 1: The third day after my child was born, this woman
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  Speaker 1: also had a baby. We were alone. There was no
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  Speaker 1: one in the house but the two of us. During
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  Speaker 1: the night, this woman's son died because she lay on him.
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  Speaker 1: So she got up in the middle of the night
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  Speaker 1: and took my son from my side. While I, your servant,
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  Speaker 1: was asleep. She put him by her breast and put
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  Speaker 1: her dead son by mine. The next morning, I got
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  Speaker 1: up to nurse my son, and he was dead. But
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  Speaker 1: when I looked at him closely in the morning light,
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  Speaker 1: I saw that it wasn't the sun I had borne.
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  Speaker 1: The other woman said, no, the living one is my son,
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  Speaker 1: the dead one is yours. But the first one insisted, no,
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  Speaker 1: the dead one is yours, the living one is mine.
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  Speaker 1: And so they argued before the king. It was an
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  Speaker 1: extremely difficult case. There were no witnesses, no physical evidence,
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  Speaker 1: just one woman's word against the others. Any ordinary judge
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  Speaker 1: would have struggled to resolve such a dispute, but Solomon
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  Speaker 1: was no ordinary judge. After hearing both women, he summarized
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  Speaker 1: the case. First Kings three twenty three says the King said,
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  Speaker 1: this one says, my son is alive and your son
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  Speaker 1: is dead, while that one says, no, your son is
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  Speaker 1: dead and mine is alive. Then he made a decision
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  Speaker 1: that shocked every one present. In First Kings three twenty
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  Speaker 1: four to twenty five, he gave the order, bring me
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  Speaker 1: a sword, so they brought a sword for the king.
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  Speaker 1: He then gave an order cut the living child in
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  Speaker 1: two and give half to one and half to the other.
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  Speaker 1: The reaction of the two women to Solomon's seemingly harsh
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  Speaker 1: order revealed exactly what he needed to know. First Kings
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  Speaker 1: three twenty six tells us the woman whose son was
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  Speaker 1: alive was deeply moved out of love for her son
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  Speaker 1: and said to the King, please, my Lord, give her
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  Speaker 1: the living baby. Don't kill him. But the other said,
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  Speaker 1: neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two.
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  Speaker 1: In that moment, Solomon knew who the real mother was.
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  Speaker 1: His unusual strategy had worked perfectly. He then gave the
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  Speaker 1: command in First Kings three twenty seven, give the living
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  Speaker 1: baby to the first woman, do not kill him. She
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  Speaker 1: is his mother. News of this judgment quickly spread throughout Israel.
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  Speaker 1: First King's three twenty eight states. When all Israel heard
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  Speaker 1: the verdict the king had given, they held the king
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  Speaker 1: in awe because they saw that he had wisdom from
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  Speaker 1: God to administer justice. It was a turning point for
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  Speaker 1: the young king. His reputation as a wise and just
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  Speaker 1: ruler was firmly established. With his authority now solid and
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  Speaker 1: his wisdom recognized, Solomon turned to the task of reorganizing
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  Speaker 1: them kingdom. Under David's reign, Israel had grown in both
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  Speaker 1: territory and population, and the administrative system needed to match
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  Speaker 1: this expansion. Solomon implemented innovative reforms that transformed Israel from
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  Speaker 1: a collection of tribes into a unified and efficient kingdom.
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  Speaker 1: Kings four one six lists Solomon's top officials. So King
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  Speaker 1: Solomon ruled over all Israel, and these were his chief officials.
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  Speaker 1: Azariah son of Zadok, the priest Elihorif and Ahija, sons
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  Speaker 1: of Shishah, Secretaries Jehoshafat son of Ahilud, Recorder Benaiah son
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  Speaker 1: of Jehoyada, Commander in chief Zadok and Abiathar priests, Azariah
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  Speaker 1: son of Nathan in charge of the district governors, Zabud
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  Speaker 1: son of Nathan, a priest and adviser to the king,
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  Speaker 1: Ihisha palace administrator, Adunium son of Abdah in charge of
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  Speaker 1: forced labor. This structure reflect did a clear division of duties,
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  Speaker 1: with officials assigned to specific domains such as religion, record keeping,
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  Speaker 1: the military, finance, and palace administration. It was a professional
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  Speaker 1: and diverse cabinet chosen for competence rather than just family ties. However,
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  Speaker 1: the most significant reorganization came with the division of the
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  Speaker 1: kingdom into twelve administrative districts, which didn't necessarily follow traditional
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  Speaker 1: tribal boundaries. First Kings for seven explains Solomon also had
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  Speaker 1: twelve district governors over all Israel, who supplied provisions for
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  Speaker 1: the king and the royal household. Each one had to
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  Speaker 1: provide supplies for one month of the year. In the
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: following verses First Kings four eight nineteen we find the
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: list of these twelve districts and their respective governors. This
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: system had multiple purposes. First, it ensured a steady flow
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: of supplies to the royal court, with each district responsible
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: for provisions one month per year. Second, it facilitated tax
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: collection and resource distribution. Third, it helped to weaken old
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: tribal loyalties in favor of a unified national identity. Verse
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: Kings four twenty two to twenty three gives us an
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: idea of the scale of these provisions. Solomon's daily provisions
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: were thirty cores of the finest flower and sixty cores
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: of meal, ten head of stall fed cattle, twenty of
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: pasture fed cattle, and one hundred sheep and goats, as
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: well as deer, gazelles, roebucks, and choice fowl. These numbers
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: reflect a massive supply, enough to feed thousands of people
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: each day, not just the royal family, but also officials, servants, guards,
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: and guests. Solomon also expanded the national service system. In
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: verse Kings five thirteen fourteen, we read that he institute
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: did a rotating labor system. For large construction projects, King
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: Solomon conscripted laborers from all Israel thirty thousand men. He
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: sent them off to Lebanon in shifts of ten thousand
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: a month, so that they spent one month in Lebanon
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: and two months at home. A Donierum was in charge
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: of the labor force. This allowed for the mobilization of
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: a large work force without overly burdening the population. Solomon's
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: court became a hub of knowledge and culture, attracting sages
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: and experts from various fields. Kings for thirty thirty one
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: tells us Solomon's wisdom was greater than the wisdom of
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: all the people of the East, and greater than all
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: the wisdom of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone else,
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: and his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. His
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: court welcomed poets, musicians, naturalists, and philosophers, turning Israel into
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: not just a political center, but a cultural one as well.
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: Political and marital alliances were also central to Solomon's strategy.
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: His first major alliance was with Egypt, sealed through marriage
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: to Pharaoh's daughter. First Kings three Shuan records Solomon made
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: an alliance with Pharaoh, King of Egypt, and married his daughter.
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: He brought her to the city of David. This was
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: a prestigious alliance, as Egypt was one of the great
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: powers of the time, and it signified Israel's rising status
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: on the international stage. Beyond Egypt, Solomon maintained good relations
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: with many other kingdoms. His most fruitful alliance was with Hiram,
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: King of Tire, who had been a friend of David.
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: This partnership was crucial for Solomon's construction projects, as we'll
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: see ahead. Under Solomon's effective administration, Israel flourished like never before.
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: Kings four twenty to twenty one describes this prosperity in
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: vivid terms. The people of Judah and Israel were as
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: numerous as the sand on the seashore. They ate, they drank,
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: and they were happy. Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines,
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: as far as the border of Egypt. Solomon transformed a
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: tribal kingdom into a well organized empire, establishing an administrative
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: system that promoted efficiency, prosperity, and peace. Kings four twenty
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: five summarizes during Solomon's lifetime, Judah and Israel lived in safety,
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: everyone under their own vine and under their own fig tree,
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: from Dan to Beersheba. At last, Solomon turned to the
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: task God had specifically reserved for him, building the Temple.
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: This was a project that David, his father, had long
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: desired to accomplish, but was not permitted to. Still, David
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: didn't re main Idol. He made extensive preparations. Chronicles twenty
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: two fourteen records David's words to Solomon, with great pains,
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: I have provided for the House of the Lord, one
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: hundred thousand talents of gold, a million talents of silver,
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: and quantities of bronze and iron too great to be weighed,
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: and wood and stone, and you may add to them.
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: David not only gathered materials but also gave detailed instructions.
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: Chronicles twenty eight eleven to twelve tells us, then David
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: the temple, its buildings, its store rooms, its upper parts,
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: its inner rooms, and the place of atonement. He gave
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: him the plans of all that the Spirit had put
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: in his mind for the courts of the Temple of
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: the Lord. With these preparations in hand, Solomon began the
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: project in the fourth year of his reign. King's six
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: one states the four hundred and eightieth year after the
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: Israelites came out of Egypt. In the fourth year of
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv. The
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: second month, he began to build the temple of the Lord.
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: One of his first actions was to strengthen the alliance
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: with Hiram, King of Tire. Kings five twotor to six
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: recounts Solomon's message, You know that because of the wars
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: waged against my father David from all sides, he could
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: not build a temple for the name of the Lord
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: his God until the Lord put his enemies under his feet.
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: But now the Lord my God has given me rest
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: on every side, and there is no adversary or disaster.
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: I intend therefore to build a temple for the name
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: of the Lord my God. As the Lord told my
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: father David, your son, whom I will put on the
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: throne in your place, will build the temple for my name.
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: So give orders that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me.
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: My men will work with yours, and I will pay
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: you for your men whatever wages you set. You know
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: that we have no one so skilled in felling timber
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: as the Sidonians. Hiram gladly received the message and responded positively.
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: Kings five seven nine says when Hiram heard Solomon's message,
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: he was greatly pleased, and said, praise be to the
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: Lord to day, for he has given David a wise
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: son to rule over this great nation. So Hiram send
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: word to Solomon. I have received the message you sent
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: me and will do all you want in providing the
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: cedar and juniper logs. My men will haul them down
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: from Lebanon to the Mediterranean Sea, and I will float
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: them as rafts by sea to the place you specify. There,
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: I will separate them and you can take them away.
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: You are to grant my wish by providing food for
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: my royal household. This marked the beginning of a remarkable partnership.
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: Hiram supplied the prized Lebanese wood and skilled workers, while
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: Solomon provided food for the people of Tire and sent
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: men to help with the logging Kings five ten eleven specifies.
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: In this way, Hiram kept Solomon supplied with all the
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: cedar and juniper logs he wanted, and Solomon gave Hiram
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: twenty thousand are in cause of wheat as food for
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: his household, and twenty cores of pressed olive oil. Solomon
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: continued to do this for Hiram year after year, with
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: materials arriving and labor organized, construction of the temple could
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: finally begin. It was a grand and detailed project. Kings
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: six two three gives the basic dimensions. The temple that
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits long,
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: twenty wide, and thirty high. The portico at the front
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: of the main hall of the temple extended the width
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: of the temple. The It is twenty cubits and projected
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: ten cubits from the front. These measurements are roughly twenty
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: seven meters long, nine meters wide, and thirteen point five
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: meters high. The temple's interior was divided into three main sections,
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: the portico, the Holy Place, and the Most Holy Place
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: or Holy of Holies. The walls were paneled with cedar
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: and the floors made of cypress planks. King's six fifteen
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: notes he lined its interior walls with cedar boards, paneling
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: them from the floor of the temple to the ceiling,
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: and covered the floor of the temple with planks of juniper.
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: The Most Holy Place, which would house the Ark of
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: the Covenant, received special attention. King's six p. Twenty describes it.
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty wide and
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: twenty high. He overlaid the inside with pure gold, and
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: he also overlaid the altar of cedar. This space was
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: coated in gold, as were many of the temple's utensils
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: and decorations. A remarkable feature of the construction was the
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: complete absence of noise at the building site. First King
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: six seven explains in building the temple, only blocks dressed
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel, or
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: any iron tool was heard at the temple site while
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: it was being built. This means the stones were cut
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: and prepared off sight, then brought in ready to be
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: fitted into place inside the temple. The decoration was both
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: rich and symbolic. First Kings six twenty nine describes on
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: the walls all around the temple, in both the inner
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: and outer rooms, he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers.
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: Two massive cherub statues, made of olive of wood and
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: overlaid with gold were placed in the most holy place,
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: their wings stretched out to symbolically cover and protect the
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: ark of the Covenant. The construction of the temple took
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: seven years one King six thirty seven to thirty eight records.
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: The foundation of the Temple of the Lord was laid
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: in the fourth year in the month of Ziv. In
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: the eleventh year, in the month of Bull the eighth month,
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: the temple was finished in all its details, according to
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: its specifications. He had spent seven years building it. When
• 31:34
  Speaker 1: the temple was completed, it was time to move the
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: Ark of the Covenant to its new home. This was
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: a national event, and Solomon summoned all the leaders of
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: Israel to Jerusalem. First Kings eight one says. Then King
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem the elders of Israel,
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: all the heads of the tribes, and the chiefs of
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: the Israelite family to bring up the Ark of the
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: Lord's Covenant from Zion, the city of David. The ceremony
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: was carried out with great solemnity. The priests carried the
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: ark into the temple and placed it in the most
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: holy place, beneath the wings of the cherubim Ushun Kings
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: eight to six records. The priests then brought the Ark
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: of the Lord's Covenant to its place in the inner
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: sanctuary of the Temple, the most holy place, and put
• 32:28
  Speaker 1: it beneath the wings of the Cherubim. When the priests
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: came out of the Holy Place, something extraordinary happened first.
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: Kings eight ten to eleven describes when the priests withdrew
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: the Lord, and the priests could not perform their service
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: because of the cloud. For the glory of the Lord
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: filled his temple. This was the visible manifestation of the
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: divine presence the Shekina, the same glorious cloud that had
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: led Israel through the wilderness. Solomon then addressed the people,
• 33:05
  Speaker 1: reminding them of how God had fulfilled his promises to David.
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: He followed with a prayer of dedication, kneeling before the
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: altar of the Lord with his hands stretched toward heaven.
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: It was a comprehensive prayer, asking God to hear the
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: please of the people when they turned toward the temple
• 33:22
  Speaker 1: in times of war, drought, famine, sickness, and other hardships.
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: Kings eight twenty seven contains one of Solomon's most profound declarations,
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: the highest heaven cannot contain you how much less this
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: temple I have built? Solomon acknowledged that although he had
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: built a house for God, the Lord himself was far
• 33:48
  Speaker 1: greater than any physical structure. The dedication ceremony lasted seven days,
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: followed by the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles for
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: another seven days. Two full weeks of worship and rejoicing.
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: Solomon offered sacrifices in extraordinary numbers and Kings eight sixty
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: three records Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: the Lord twenty two thousand cattle and one hundred and
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: the Israelites dedicated the temple of the Lord. After the dedication,
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: God appeared to Solomon a second time, just as he
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: had in Gibeon. In verse Kings nine three five, God says,
• 34:33
  Speaker 1: I have heard the prayer and plea you have made
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: before me. I have consecrated this temple which you have
• 34:38
  Speaker 1: built by putting my name. There forever, my eyes and
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: my heart will always be there as for you. If
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: you walk before me faithfully, with integrity of heart and uprightness,
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: as David your father did, and do all I command
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: and observe my decrees and laws. I will establish your
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: royal throne over i Israel forever, as I promised David,
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: your father when I said, you shall never fail to
• 35:05
  Speaker 1: have a successor on the throne of Israel. While the
• 35:09
  Speaker 1: temple took seven years to build, Solomon spent thirteen years
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: constructing his own palace and other royal buildings. First King
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: seven to one records it took Solomon thirteen years. However,
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: to complete the construction of his palace. This does not
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: imply that his palace was more important to him than
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: the temple, but rather that it was a far larger
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: complex with multiple buildings and purposes. The palace complex included
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: several structures, the House of the Forest of Lebanon, likely
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: an arsenal and reception hall, the Hall of Pillars, an
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: audience chamber, the Hall of Justice where Solomon heard legal cases,
• 35:53
  Speaker 1: and the royal residence itself, which also had a separate
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: palace for Pharaoh's daughter, Solomon's wife. King's seven two five
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: describes the House of the Forest of Lebanon. He built
• 36:08
  Speaker 1: the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon a hundred cubits long,
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: fifty wide and thirty high, with four rows of cedar
• 36:16
  Speaker 1: columns supporting trimmed cedar beams. It was roofed with cedar
• 36:21
  Speaker 1: above the beams that rested on the columns forty five
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: beams fifteen to a row. Its windows were placed high
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: in sets of three facing each other. All the doorways
• 36:34
  Speaker 1: had rectangular frames. They were in the front part in
• 36:38
  Speaker 1: sets of three facing each other. This impressive structure measured
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: roughly forty five meters long, twenty two meters wide, and
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: thirteen point five meters high. For these and other projects,
• 36:52
  Speaker 1: Solomon relied on the skill of a craftsman named Highrum,
• 36:56
  Speaker 1: not to be confused with the King of Tire, who
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: was an expert in working with bronze versus kings seven
• 37:03
  Speaker 1: thirteen fourteen says King Solomon sent to Tire and brought Huram,
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: whose mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali,
• 37:11
  Speaker 1: and whose father was a skilled craftsman in bronze, from Tire.
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: Huram was filled with wisdom, with understanding, and with knowledge
• 37:19
  Speaker 1: to do all kinds of bronze work. He came to
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: King Solomon and did all the work assigned to him.
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: Beyond the palace complex, Solomon also undertook massive infrastructure projects
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: across the Kingdom. He developed an elaborate water supply system
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: for Jerusalem, building reservoirs and aqueducts. The largest of these,
• 37:39
  Speaker 1: known as Solomon's Pools, was located near Bethlehem and provided
• 37:45
  Speaker 1: water to both the temple and the city. Solomon also
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: strengthened Israel's defenses by rebuilding walls and fortifications in strategic cities.
• 37:56
  Speaker 1: King's nine fifteen records. This is the account of the
• 38:00
  Speaker 1: forced labor king Solomon conscripted to build the Lord's Temple,
• 38:04
  Speaker 1: his own palace, the Terraces, the Wall of Jerusalem, and Hazer,
• 38:09
  Speaker 1: Megiddo and Gezer. These last three were key cities in
• 38:13
  Speaker 1: the defense of the kingdom. In addition to reinforcing existing cities,
• 38:18
  Speaker 1: Solomon built new ones with specific purposes. King's nine nineteen
• 38:23
  Speaker 1: mentions as well as all Solomon's store cities and the
• 38:27
  Speaker 1: towns for his chariots and for his horses, whatever he
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and throughout all
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: the territory he ruled. These store cities functioned as storage
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: hubs for food and supplies, which were essential during times
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: of famine or war. One revolutionary aspect of Solomon's reign
• 38:48
  Speaker 1: was his investment in maritime trade. Israel was not traditionally
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: a seafaring in nation, but Solomon changed that. King's nine
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: twenty six twenty seven states King Solomon also built ships
• 39:03
  Speaker 1: at ession Gaba, which is near Elath in Edom on
• 39:07
  Speaker 1: the shore of the Red Sea, and Hiram sent his
• 39:10
  Speaker 1: men sailors who knew the sea to serve in the
• 39:13
  Speaker 1: fleet with Solomon's men. These ships embarked on long distance
• 39:17
  Speaker 1: trade missions, bringing back rare and valuable goods. King's ten
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: twenty two explains the king had a fleet of trading
• 39:25
  Speaker 1: ships at sea along with the ships of Hiram. Once
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: every three years it returned bringing gold, silver and ivory,
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: and apes and baboons. Tarsish likely refers to a region
• 39:37
  Speaker 1: in modern day Spain, or possibly Tartessos, an ancient kingdom
• 39:42
  Speaker 1: in the southwest Iberian Peninsula. The most famous of these
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: expeditions was to Ophir, a place whose exact location remains uncertain,
• 39:52
  Speaker 1: though it was likely on the eastern coast of Africa,
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: in Arabia or even in India. King's nine twenty eight
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: s as they sailed to Offia and brought back four
• 40:03
  Speaker 1: hundred and twenty talents of gold which they delivered to
• 40:06
  Speaker 1: King Solomon. That's an enormous amount, about fifteen metric tons
• 40:11
  Speaker 1: of gold by today's standards. All these construction projects and
• 40:15
  Speaker 1: commercial ventures transformed Israel into not only a political and
• 40:20
  Speaker 1: military power, but also an economic one. Wealth poured into
• 40:25
  Speaker 1: the kingdom as never before. Kings ten fourteen to fifteen
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: offers a glimpse of the scale of this prosperity. The
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was six
• 40:38
  Speaker 1: hundred to sixty six talents, not including the revenues from
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings in
• 40:45
  Speaker 1: the governors of the territories. Solomon's wisdom, wealth and achievements
• 40:50
  Speaker 1: became renowned far beyond Israel's borders. His fame spread throughout
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: the known world, drawing not just merchants and artisans, but
• 40:58
  Speaker 1: also dignitaries and rulers who came to see this extraordinary
• 41:03
  Speaker 1: kingdom and its wise king for themselves. The most famous
• 41:07
  Speaker 1: of these visits was by the Queen of Sheba. Sheba
• 41:11
  Speaker 1: was likely a kingdom in southern Arabia modern day Yemen,
• 41:15
  Speaker 1: or possibly in the region of Ethiopia. It was a
• 41:18
  Speaker 1: wealthy land known for trading spices, precious stones, and gold.
• 41:23
  Speaker 1: The queen, whose name isn't mentioned in the Bible, had
• 41:26
  Speaker 1: heard of Solomon's fame and decided to see for herself
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: whether the reports were true. Kings ten one to two
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: tells us when the Queen of Sheba heard about the
• 41:38
  Speaker 1: fame of Solomon and his relationship to the Lord, she
• 41:41
  Speaker 1: came to test Solomon with hard questions. Arriving at Jerusalem
• 41:46
  Speaker 1: with a very great caravan with camels carrying spices, large
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: quantities of gold and precious stones, she came to Solomon
• 41:55
  Speaker 1: and talked with him about all that she had on
• 41:57
  Speaker 1: her mind. Her visit had multiple purposes. First, it was
• 42:03
  Speaker 1: a diplomatic and commercial mission. She likely wanted to establish
• 42:07
  Speaker 1: trade relations with the rising Israelite Empire. Second, it was
• 42:12
  Speaker 1: a chance to test Solomon's wisdom by posing riddles or
• 42:16
  Speaker 1: difficult questions. Royal courts in antiquity often engaged in such
• 42:21
  Speaker 1: intellectual duels for both entertainment and the display of power.
• 42:26
  Speaker 1: The queen was not disappointed. King's ten three records. Solomon
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: answered all her questions. Nothing was too hard for the
• 42:34
  Speaker 1: king to explain to her. He responded to every inquiry,
• 42:38
  Speaker 1: no matter how complex or obscure. But it wasn't just
• 42:42
  Speaker 1: Solomon's wisdom that amazed her. She was also awe struck
• 42:46
  Speaker 1: by everything she saw. In Israel King's ten forty five
• 42:50
  Speaker 1: describes her reaction when the Queen of Sheba saw all
• 42:53
  Speaker 1: the wisdom of Solomon, and the palace he had built,
• 42:56
  Speaker 1: the food on his table, the seating of his officials,
• 43:00
  Speaker 1: the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the
• 43:04
  Speaker 1: burnt offerings he made at the temple of the Lord,
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: she was overwhelmed. The phrase she was overwhelmed means she
• 43:13
  Speaker 1: was left breathless, completely astonished. She then made a remarkable statement.
• 43:19
  Speaker 1: In Burst Kings ten six nine, she says, the report
• 43:23
  Speaker 1: I heard in my own country about your achievements and
• 43:26
  Speaker 1: your wisdom is true. But I did not believe these
• 43:29
  Speaker 1: things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed,
• 43:34
  Speaker 1: not even half was told me. In wisdom and wealth,
• 43:37
  Speaker 1: you have far exceeded the report I heard. How happy
• 43:41
  Speaker 1: your people must be, how happy your officials who continually
• 43:45
  Speaker 1: stand before you and hear your wisdom. Praise be to
• 43:48
  Speaker 1: the Lord, your God, who has delighted in you and
• 43:50
  Speaker 1: placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the
• 43:53
  Speaker 1: Lord's eternal love for Israel, he has made you king
• 43:57
  Speaker 1: to maintain justice and righteousness. This last part of her
• 44:02
  Speaker 1: declaration is especially significant. She acknowledged that the source of
• 44:07
  Speaker 1: Solomon's wisdom and success was the Lord, the God of Israel.
• 44:12
  Speaker 1: While the Bible doesn't explicitly say she converted to the
• 44:15
  Speaker 1: worship of the True God, her words suggest a recognition
• 44:20
  Speaker 1: of the God of Israel's superiority over the gods of
• 44:23
  Speaker 1: her own people. The visit concluded with a remarkable exchange
• 44:28
  Speaker 1: of gifts. King's ten ten records, and she gave the
• 44:32
  Speaker 1: king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, large quantities
• 44:36
  Speaker 1: of spices and precious stones. Never again were so many
• 44:41
  Speaker 1: spices brought in as those the Queen of Sheba gave
• 44:45
  Speaker 1: to King Solomon in return. First Kings ten thirteen says
• 44:50
  Speaker 1: King Solomon gave the Queen of Sheba all she desired
• 44:53
  Speaker 1: and asked for, besides what he had given her out
• 44:57
  Speaker 1: of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned with
• 45:00
  Speaker 1: her retinue to her own country. This exchange laid the
• 45:04
  Speaker 1: foundation for important trade relations between Israel and Sheba. The
• 45:09
  Speaker 1: spices and exotic products the queen brought enriched life in Israel,
• 45:14
  Speaker 1: while Israel's goods and knowledge likely benefited the Kingdom of Sheba.
• 45:18
  Speaker 1: The visit of the Queen of Sheba was merely the
• 45:21
  Speaker 1: most famous of many diplomatic visits received by Solomon. First
• 45:26
  Speaker 1: Kings four thirty four notes people from every nation came
• 45:31
  Speaker 1: to listen to Solomon's wisdom, sent by all the kings
• 45:34
  Speaker 1: of the world who had heard of his wisdom. These
• 45:38
  Speaker 1: visits put Israel on the map as a cultural and
• 45:40
  Speaker 1: political power, and helped establish relationships that brought many benefits
• 45:45
  Speaker 1: to the kingdom. Solomon's fame spread so widely that his
• 45:50
  Speaker 1: name became synonymous with wisdom and prosperity throughout the ancient world.
• 45:56
  Speaker 1: His reign brought Israel to the peak of its influence
• 45:59
  Speaker 1: and power, a period remembered as the nation's Golden Age.
• 46:03
  Speaker 1: Even Jesus centuries later would reference this moment. In Matthew
• 46:09
  Speaker 1: twelve forty two, he says, the Queen of the South
• 46:12
  Speaker 1: will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it,
• 46:17
  Speaker 1: for she came from the ends of the earth to
• 46:19
  Speaker 1: listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon
• 46:24
  Speaker 1: is here. Thus the Queen of Sheba's visit became not
• 46:27
  Speaker 1: only a milestone in Israel's history, but also a lasting
• 46:32
  Speaker 1: symbol of the search for wisdom and truth. Yet, even
• 46:35
  Speaker 1: at the height of Israel's glory, small cracks were beginning
• 46:39
  Speaker 1: to form in the foundation of Solomon's reign. Like a
• 46:43
  Speaker 1: beautiful house hiding structural flaws, the magnificent kingdom concealed issues that,
• 46:49
  Speaker 1: over time would grow and lead to its fall. God
• 46:54
  Speaker 1: had been very clear about the limits an Israelite king
• 46:58
  Speaker 1: was to observe. In Deuteronomy seventeen to sixteen to seventeen,
• 47:03
  Speaker 1: Moses wrote God's instructions for future kings. The king moreover,
• 47:09
  Speaker 1: must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself, or
• 47:12
  Speaker 1: make the people return to Egypt to get more of them,
• 47:16
  Speaker 1: for the Lord has told you you are not to
• 47:19
  Speaker 1: go back that way again. He must not take many wives,
• 47:22
  Speaker 1: or his heart will be led astray. He must not
• 47:24
  Speaker 1: accumulate large amounts of silver and gold. These weren't arbitrary rules.
• 47:30
  Speaker 1: They were safeguards against three major pitfalls that could lead
• 47:34
  Speaker 1: a king's heart astray. Trusting in military strength instead of
• 47:38
  Speaker 1: in God, being led away by foreign wives from true worship,
• 47:42
  Speaker 1: and relying on wealth instead of divine provision. Solomon began
• 47:50
  Speaker 1: to disregard these limits. In Third Kings ten twenty six
• 47:55
  Speaker 1: we see the first departure Solomon accumulated chariots and horses.
• 47:59
  Speaker 1: He had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, which
• 48:04
  Speaker 1: he kept in the chariot cities and also with him
• 48:07
  Speaker 1: in Jerusalem. This was an impressive military force for the time,
• 48:11
  Speaker 1: suggesting that Solomon had begun to place more faith in
• 48:15
  Speaker 1: military might than in divine protection. These chariots and horses
• 48:21
  Speaker 1: weren't just from anywhere. They came precisely from Egypt, the
• 48:26
  Speaker 1: nation from which God had delivered Israel. First Kings ten
• 48:30
  Speaker 1: twenty eight to twenty nine says Solomon's horses were imported
• 48:34
  Speaker 1: from Egypt and from Kiue. The royal merchants purchased them
• 48:37
  Speaker 1: from Kue at the current price. They imported a chariot
• 48:41
  Speaker 1: from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver and a
• 48:45
  Speaker 1: horse for one hundred and fifty. They also exported them
• 48:48
  Speaker 1: to all the kings of the Hittites and of the Aramians.
• 48:53
  Speaker 1: In addition to importing horses and chariots from Egypt. Solomon
• 48:57
  Speaker 1: a massed unprecedented wealth. Regular tribute and international trade profits
• 49:02
  Speaker 1: were no longer enough. Barned Kings ten fourteen two fifteen
• 49:06
  Speaker 1: highlights the scale of his riches. The weight of the
• 49:10
  Speaker 1: gold that Solomon received yearly was six hundred and sixty
• 49:13
  Speaker 1: six talents, not including the revenues from merchants and traders
• 49:18
  Speaker 1: and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of
• 49:21
  Speaker 1: the land. To put this into perspective, one talent of
• 49:25
  Speaker 1: gold weighed about thirty four kilograms. Multiplying that by six
• 49:29
  Speaker 1: sixty six, we get over twenty two metric tons of
• 49:33
  Speaker 1: gold per year. And that was just a portion of
• 49:36
  Speaker 1: the royal income. Excluding commercial profits and other tributes. The
• 49:41
  Speaker 1: wealth was almost incalculable. This wealth led to increasing opulence.
• 49:45
  Speaker 1: Solomon was no longer content with what was adequate. Everything
• 49:49
  Speaker 1: had to be extravagant. In verse Kings ten twenty one,
• 49:53
  Speaker 1: we read all kings Solomon's goblets were gold, and all
• 49:57
  Speaker 1: the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of
• 49:59
  Speaker 1: Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because
• 50:04
  Speaker 1: silver was considered of little value in Solomon's days. Imagine
• 50:09
  Speaker 1: a kingdom where silver was seen as practically worthless. His
• 50:13
  Speaker 1: royal throne was unimaginably lavish. In Birse Kings ten eighteen
• 50:18
  Speaker 1: to twenty we find the description Then the king made
• 50:21
  Speaker 1: a great throne, covered with ivory and overlaid with fine gold.
• 50:26
  Speaker 1: The throne had six steps, and its back had a
• 50:29
  Speaker 1: rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests,
• 50:32
  Speaker 1: with a lion standing beside each of them. Twelve lions
• 50:36
  Speaker 1: stood on the six steps, one at either end of
• 50:39
  Speaker 1: each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for
• 50:42
  Speaker 1: any other kingdom. All this wealth and splendor came at
• 50:47
  Speaker 1: a cost. To sustain his luxurious lifestyle and numerous building projects,
• 50:53
  Speaker 1: Solomon needed more and more money. The solution heavily increased
• 50:58
  Speaker 1: taxes and forced labor imposed on the people. At first,
• 51:03
  Speaker 1: the tax system seemed fair. Each district provided supplies for
• 51:07
  Speaker 1: one month per year, but over time the fiscal demands escalated.
• 51:12
  Speaker 1: Firs Kings four to seven says Solomon had twelve district
• 51:16
  Speaker 1: governors over all Israel, who supplied provisions for the king
• 51:20
  Speaker 1: and the royal household. Each one had to provide supplies
• 51:24
  Speaker 1: for one month in the year. Beyond taxation Solomon implemented
• 51:30
  Speaker 1: a system of forced labor that affected even the Israelites themselves.
• 51:35
  Speaker 1: In Verse Kings five thirteen ten of fourteen, we read
• 51:39
  Speaker 1: King Solomon conscripted laborers from all Israel, thirty thousand men.
• 51:44
  Speaker 1: He sent them off to Lebanon in shifts of ten
• 51:46
  Speaker 1: thousand a month, so that they spent one month in
• 51:49
  Speaker 1: Lebanon and two months at home. Adnorum was in charge
• 51:53
  Speaker 1: of the forced labor. What began as a temporary workforce
• 51:56
  Speaker 1: to build the temple became a permanent system of forced
• 52:00
  Speaker 1: labour for the king's personal projects. This corvet system mandatory
• 52:06
  Speaker 1: public labour was precisely the kind of oppression Samuel had
• 52:10
  Speaker 1: warned about in First Samuel eight eleven to eighteen when
• 52:13
  Speaker 1: the people first asked for a king. With all this
• 52:16
  Speaker 1: focus on wealth, military strength, and grand projects, Solomon gradually
• 52:21
  Speaker 1: drifted from the Law of Moses. Though he maintained religious
• 52:26
  Speaker 1: rituals and ceremonies, his heart began to stray from the
• 52:30
  Speaker 1: deeper principles of the covenant with God. If Solomon's early
• 52:34
  Speaker 1: compromises were relatively subtle, the same can't be said of
• 52:38
  Speaker 1: his royal harem. In this matter. The king blatantly and
• 52:42
  Speaker 1: directly violated divine commandments with disastrous consequences. Forming political alliances
• 52:49
  Speaker 1: through royal marriages was a common practice in the ancient world.
• 52:54
  Speaker 1: A powerful king would seal peace and trade agreements by
• 52:57
  Speaker 1: marrying princesses from neighboring nations. While politically pragmatic, this practice
• 53:03
  Speaker 1: was dangerous for Israel, a nation called to be holy
• 53:07
  Speaker 1: and set apart for God. Solomon adopted this policy early on.
• 53:13
  Speaker 1: His first political marriage was to the daughter of Pharaoh.
• 53:17
  Speaker 1: As we read in First Kings three to one, Solomon
• 53:21
  Speaker 1: made an alliance with Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and married
• 53:24
  Speaker 1: his daughter. He brought her to the city of David
• 53:28
  Speaker 1: until he finished building his palace and the Temple of
• 53:31
  Speaker 1: the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem. This marriage, although
• 53:37
  Speaker 1: questionable from a religious standpoint, could at least be justified
• 53:41
  Speaker 1: as a key strategic alliance with the region's dominant power.
• 53:46
  Speaker 1: But Solomon didn't stop there. Over time, his harem grew dramatically,
• 53:51
  Speaker 1: including women from every neighboring nation. In First Kings eleven
• 53:56
  Speaker 1: one three, the Bible describes this shocking situation. King Solomon
• 54:01
  Speaker 1: loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter, Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians,
• 54:07
  Speaker 1: and Hittites. They were from nations about which the Lord
• 54:11
  Speaker 1: had told the Israelites, you must not in to marry
• 54:14
  Speaker 1: with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after
• 54:17
  Speaker 1: their gods. Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love.
• 54:23
  Speaker 1: He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three
• 54:27
  Speaker 1: hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. The numbers
• 54:31
  Speaker 1: are staggering seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines, one
• 54:36
  Speaker 1: thousand women in total. It was an overwhelmingly large harem,
• 54:41
  Speaker 1: even by the standards of ancient monarchs. And they weren't
• 54:44
  Speaker 1: just ordinary women. The Bible specifies they were princesses, daughters
• 54:49
  Speaker 1: of kings and nobles from other nations, each bringing not
• 54:53
  Speaker 1: only her beauty and rank, but also her culture and religion.
• 54:57
  Speaker 1: These marital alliances had clear politics and economic benefits. In
• 55:01
  Speaker 1: the short term, each new marriage meant a new allied kingdom,
• 55:06
  Speaker 1: new trade routes, and new markets for Israelite goods, But
• 55:10
  Speaker 1: the spiritual cost was immense. The foreign princesses didn't arrive
• 55:14
  Speaker 1: in Jerusalem alone. They came with servants, advisers, priests, and
• 55:20
  Speaker 1: most dangerously their gods. Each expected to continue worshiping her
• 55:25
  Speaker 1: deity even in a foreign land, and Solomon, instead of
• 55:30
  Speaker 1: insisting that they worship only the God of Israel, began
• 55:33
  Speaker 1: making concessions. The cultural influence of these women at the
• 55:38
  Speaker 1: Jerusalem Court must have been enormous. Imagine the Royal Palace
• 55:42
  Speaker 1: as a cultural melting pot, languages, customs, clothing, music, cuisine,
• 55:49
  Speaker 1: and sadly, religious practices from dozens of different nations all
• 55:53
  Speaker 1: mingling together. What started as cultural tolerance soon devolved into
• 55:59
  Speaker 1: religious syncretism. The Palace, which should have been a beacon
• 56:03
  Speaker 1: of worship to the true God, became a center of
• 56:06
  Speaker 1: religious diversity. Discussions in the Halls of Power no longer
• 56:10
  Speaker 1: centered solely around the Law of Moses, but included debates
• 56:14
  Speaker 1: over the myths and rituals of bale Ashtereth, Keemosh, and
• 56:19
  Speaker 1: many other pagan gods. This erosion of Solomon's spiritual integrity
• 56:25
  Speaker 1: is laid and bear in First King's eleven four. As
• 56:29
  Speaker 1: Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods,
• 56:33
  Speaker 1: and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord
• 56:36
  Speaker 1: his God, as the heart of David, his father had been.
• 56:40
  Speaker 1: Note how the Bible specifically mentions as Solomon grew old.
• 56:45
  Speaker 1: This suggests that for many years the king resisted the
• 56:48
  Speaker 1: religious influence of his wives. Initially, he likely tolerated their
• 56:53
  Speaker 1: practices out of political expedients while keeping his own heart
• 56:57
  Speaker 1: faithful to God, but over time constant exposure to these
• 57:01
  Speaker 1: influences wore down his faith. The conflict between God's law
• 57:06
  Speaker 1: and Solomon's marriage policy became increasingly undeniable. The Law of
• 57:11
  Speaker 1: Moses explicitly forbade into marriage with the nations of Canaan
• 57:15
  Speaker 1: and their neighbors, precisely to prevent religious seduction. In Deuteronomy
• 57:20
  Speaker 1: seven to three to four, God warned, do not intermarry
• 57:25
  Speaker 1: with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons,
• 57:29
  Speaker 1: or take their daughters for your sons, for they will
• 57:32
  Speaker 1: turn your children away from following me to serve other gods.
• 57:36
  Speaker 1: And the Lord's anger will burn against you and will
• 57:39
  Speaker 1: quickly destroy you. This is exactly what happened to Solomon.
• 57:44
  Speaker 1: What seemed like brilliant diplomacy proved to be a spiritual disaster.
• 57:49
  Speaker 1: The wisest man in the world fell into the very
• 57:52
  Speaker 1: trap God had so clearly warned against the influence of
• 57:56
  Speaker 1: Solomon's foreign wives didn't stop at private conversations or personal practices.
• 58:02
  Speaker 1: Over time, what began as cultural tolerance evolved into active
• 58:06
  Speaker 1: support for pagan religions, leading the king into outright apostasy.
• 58:12
  Speaker 1: The Bible describes this tragic transformation in per First Kings
• 58:16
  Speaker 1: eleven five to eight. Solomon followed Ashtereth, the goddess of
• 58:21
  Speaker 1: the Sedonians, and Molek, the detestable god of the Ammonites.
• 58:26
  Speaker 1: So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord.
• 58:30
  Speaker 1: He did not follow the Lord completely, as David, his
• 58:33
  Speaker 1: father had done. On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon
• 58:37
  Speaker 1: built a high place for Kemosh, the detestable god of Moab,
• 58:41
  Speaker 1: and for Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. He
• 58:45
  Speaker 1: did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned
• 58:48
  Speaker 1: incense and offered sacrifices to their gods. This wasn't just
• 58:52
  Speaker 1: a moment of weakness or a passing error. It was
• 58:56
  Speaker 1: a systematic shift in the kingdom's religious policy. Solomon didn't
• 59:01
  Speaker 1: just permit his wives to worship their gods privately. He
• 59:04
  Speaker 1: built altars and shrines for them on Israelite soil. The
• 59:09
  Speaker 1: gods mentioned here represented some of the most morally corrupt
• 59:13
  Speaker 1: religious practices of the ancient world. Ashtereth, the fertility goddess
• 59:18
  Speaker 1: of the Sidonians Phoenicians, was often worshiped through rituals involving
• 59:24
  Speaker 1: sacred prostitution. Molek or Milcom, the Ammonite god, was worshiped
• 59:30
  Speaker 1: through human sacrifice, particularly the burning of children. Kemosh, the
• 59:36
  Speaker 1: national god of Moab, was also linked to human sacrifice
• 59:40
  Speaker 1: and augiastic rituals. These were not harmless religions or alternative philosophies.
• 59:46
  Speaker 1: They were cults that practiced some of the most cruel
• 59:49
  Speaker 1: and immoral rituals, imaginable abominations in the eyes of God,
• 59:54
  Speaker 1: and completely contrary to everything the Law of Moses taught.
• 1:00:00
  Speaker 1: Caation where Solomon built these pagan shrines is significant. The
• 1:00:04
  Speaker 1: text says he erected an altar to Kemosh on the
• 1:00:07
  Speaker 1: hill east of Jerusalem. This was likely the Mount of Olives,
• 1:00:11
  Speaker 1: which lay to the east of the city and was
• 1:00:14
  Speaker 1: visible from the temple. Picture the scene on one side
• 1:00:17
  Speaker 1: of the city, the magnificent temple dedicated to the One
• 1:00:21
  Speaker 1: True God, on the other altars to pagan gods, both
• 1:00:25
  Speaker 1: built by the same king. This blatant contradiction could not
• 1:00:30
  Speaker 1: be more symbolic of the division within Solomon's own heart.
• 1:00:33
  Speaker 1: The same man who had built the House of the
• 1:00:35
  Speaker 1: Lord was now erecting sanctuaries for abominations. The same king
• 1:00:40
  Speaker 1: who had offered a beautiful prayer at the temple's dedication
• 1:00:44
  Speaker 1: was now permitting pagan priests to conduct idolatrous rituals in Jerusalem,
• 1:00:50
  Speaker 1: the Holy City. The presence of pagan priests in Jerusalem
• 1:00:54
  Speaker 1: was a natural consequence of Solomon's religious policies. Each foreign
• 1:00:58
  Speaker 1: cult required its own lies, specialists, priests trained in their
• 1:01:02
  Speaker 1: specific rites and traditions. As a result, the city that
• 1:01:06
  Speaker 1: was meant to be the center of worship for the
• 1:01:08
  Speaker 1: True God became a religious melting pot, where levitical priests
• 1:01:13
  Speaker 1: coexisted with priests of bile prophets of the Lord with
• 1:01:18
  Speaker 1: pagan diviners. This situation stood in stark contrast to the
• 1:01:23
  Speaker 1: monotheistic zeal of David, Solomon's father. Though David committed serious
• 1:01:28
  Speaker 1: sins like adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah,
• 1:01:32
  Speaker 1: he never strayed from exclusive worship of the Lord. In
• 1:01:37
  Speaker 1: his psalms, David often expressed contempt for idols and unwavering
• 1:01:42
  Speaker 1: devotion to the One God of Israel. In Psalm sixteen four,
• 1:01:47
  Speaker 1: for example, David wrote, the sorrows of those who run
• 1:01:50
  Speaker 1: after other gods shall multiply. I will not pour out
• 1:01:54
  Speaker 1: their drink offerings of blood, or take their names on
• 1:01:57
  Speaker 1: my lips. And in Psalm thirty one six, I hate
• 1:02:01
  Speaker 1: those who pay regard to worthless idols, but I trust
• 1:02:04
  Speaker 1: in the Lord. This was the spiritual tradition in which
• 1:02:08
  Speaker 1: Solomon had been raised. His departure from it represented not
• 1:02:12
  Speaker 1: just a break from the Law of Moses, but also
• 1:02:15
  Speaker 1: from his own father's example. Solomon's support for pagan cults
• 1:02:19
  Speaker 1: had a corrosive effect on the entire nation. When the king,
• 1:02:24
  Speaker 1: who was supposed to model faithfulness to God, began to
• 1:02:28
  Speaker 1: promote idolatry, it sent a clear message that the people
• 1:02:32
  Speaker 1: were free to do the same. The seeds of national apostasy,
• 1:02:36
  Speaker 1: which would fully bloom in the reins that followed, were
• 1:02:39
  Speaker 1: planted during Solomon's rule. God did not remain silent in
• 1:02:43
  Speaker 1: the face of Solomon's apostasy, as he always did when
• 1:02:47
  Speaker 1: his people strayed. He sent messengers to warn, rebuke, and
• 1:02:52
  Speaker 1: call them to repentance. The Bible doesn't specify which prophet
• 1:02:56
  Speaker 1: confronted Solomon, but it makes clear that the king received
• 1:03:00
  Speaker 1: direct message from God. In First Kings eleven nine to ten,
• 1:03:04
  Speaker 1: it says the Lord became angry with Solomon because his
• 1:03:09
  Speaker 1: heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel,
• 1:03:13
  Speaker 1: who had appeared to him twice. Although he had forbidden
• 1:03:16
  Speaker 1: Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the
• 1:03:19
  Speaker 1: Lord's command. Take note, God was especially indignant because he
• 1:03:24
  Speaker 1: had appeared to Solomon personally twice. The first time was
• 1:03:28
  Speaker 1: in Gibeon, early in Solomon's reign, when God granted him
• 1:03:32
  Speaker 1: unparalleled wisdom. The second was after the dedication of the Temple,
• 1:03:37
  Speaker 1: when God promised to establish Solomon's throne forever on the
• 1:03:41
  Speaker 1: condition that he walked with integrity as David had. These
• 1:03:45
  Speaker 1: weren't vague or indirect instructions. God had spoken to Solomon directly,
• 1:03:52
  Speaker 1: commanding him not to follow other gods. The king could
• 1:03:55
  Speaker 1: not plead ignorance or confusion. He knew exactly what God
• 1:03:59
  Speaker 1: expected and chose to disobey. God's response to Solomon's rebellion
• 1:04:04
  Speaker 1: was severe, but tempered with mercy for David's sake. In
• 1:04:08
  Speaker 1: Verse King's eleven eleven thirteen, God says, So the Lord
• 1:04:12
  Speaker 1: said to Solomon, since this is your attitude, and you
• 1:04:16
  Speaker 1: have not kept my covenant and my decrees which I
• 1:04:19
  Speaker 1: commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away
• 1:04:23
  Speaker 1: from you and give it to one of your subordinates. Nevertheless,
• 1:04:27
  Speaker 1: for the sake of David, your father, I will not
• 1:04:30
  Speaker 1: do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out
• 1:04:33
  Speaker 1: of the hand of your son. Yet I will not
• 1:04:35
  Speaker 1: tear the whole kingdom from him, but will give him
• 1:04:37
  Speaker 1: one tribe for the sake of David, my servant, and
• 1:04:41
  Speaker 1: for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen. The
• 1:04:45
  Speaker 1: sentence was clear. The kingdom would be divided. The national
• 1:04:50
  Speaker 1: unity that had been one of the great accomplishments of
• 1:04:53
  Speaker 1: David's and Solomon's reigns would be undone. The empire that
• 1:04:58
  Speaker 1: once stretched from the River of Eden Egypt to the
• 1:05:00
  Speaker 1: great River the Euphrates would be fractured. Yet, even in
• 1:05:06
  Speaker 1: his anger, God showed mercy in three ways. First, the
• 1:05:10
  Speaker 1: division would not happen during Solomon's lifetime, sparing him the
• 1:05:14
  Speaker 1: humiliation of seeing his kingdom fall apart. Second, his son
• 1:05:19
  Speaker 1: would still retain part of the kingdom, specifically the tribe
• 1:05:23
  Speaker 1: of Judah. Third, this mercy was not given on Solomon's merit,
• 1:05:28
  Speaker 1: but for the sake of David and for the sake
• 1:05:31
  Speaker 1: of Jerusalem. The mention of David is significant. God remembered
• 1:05:36
  Speaker 1: David's faithfulness despite his sins. While David failed gravely at times,
• 1:05:41
  Speaker 1: his heart was always directed toward God. He never worshiped
• 1:05:45
  Speaker 1: other gods, and when confronted with his sin, he showed
• 1:05:49
  Speaker 1: genuine repentance. The contrast with Solomon could not be more striking.
• 1:05:54
  Speaker 1: The mention of Jerusalem is also important. The city that
• 1:05:58
  Speaker 1: David had conquered and Solomon had beautified held a central
• 1:06:02
  Speaker 1: place in God's plan. It was the site of the Temple,
• 1:06:07
  Speaker 1: the symbol of God's presence among his people. For the
• 1:06:10
  Speaker 1: sake of this holy city, God would not allow the
• 1:06:15
  Speaker 1: kingdom to be completely destroyed. The Bible doesn't record Solomon's
• 1:06:20
  Speaker 1: reaction to this prophetic message. There's no indication that he
• 1:06:24
  Speaker 1: repented or changed his ways after receiving God's warning, unlike David,
• 1:06:30
  Speaker 1: who humbled himself deeply when the prophet Nathan confronted him
• 1:06:33
  Speaker 1: over his sin with Bathsheba, Solomon appears to have ignored
• 1:06:37
  Speaker 1: the voice of God. God's sentence against Solomon soon began
• 1:06:43
  Speaker 1: to manifest in real challenges to his reign. Although the
• 1:06:46
  Speaker 1: final division of the kingdom would occur after his death,
• 1:06:50
  Speaker 1: God began raising up adversaries during his lifetime. The Bible
• 1:06:56
  Speaker 1: mentions three primary opponents, Hadad the Edomite, Rezon's son of Eliada,
• 1:07:03
  Speaker 1: and Jeroboam, son of Nebat. The first two were external threats,
• 1:07:08
  Speaker 1: but the third represented internal rebellion far more dangerous to
• 1:07:12
  Speaker 1: the future of the kingdom. Hadad was a prince of
• 1:07:16
  Speaker 1: Edom who had escaped to Egypt when David conquered his land.
• 1:07:20
  Speaker 1: In First Kings eleven fourteen twenty two, we read his
• 1:07:23
  Speaker 1: story The Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad
• 1:07:28
  Speaker 1: the Edomite from the royal line of Edom. The passage
• 1:07:32
  Speaker 1: recounts how Hadad, still a child at the time, fled
• 1:07:36
  Speaker 1: to Egypt with some of his father's servants when Joab
• 1:07:40
  Speaker 1: David's general killed all the men in Edom. In Egypt,
• 1:07:45
  Speaker 1: Hadad grew up under the protection of Pharaoh, married the
• 1:07:48
  Speaker 1: king's sister in law, and had a son who was
• 1:07:52
  Speaker 1: raised in the royal palace. When Hadad learned of the
• 1:07:55
  Speaker 1: deaths of David and Joab. He asked Pharaoh for permission
• 1:07:58
  Speaker 1: to return to his homeland, and though the text doesn't
• 1:08:01
  Speaker 1: go into detail about his actions upon returning, the final
• 1:08:05
  Speaker 1: line is telling. This is the trouble Haddad caused. He
• 1:08:10
  Speaker 1: loathed Israel and reigned over Aram. He became a persistent enemy,
• 1:08:16
  Speaker 1: lightly leading border raids and disrupting trade routes in the south.
• 1:08:20
  Speaker 1: The second adversary was Rezon, a former servant of Hadadezer,
• 1:08:25
  Speaker 1: King of Zoba, whom David had defeated. In Versed Kings eleven,
• 1:08:30
  Speaker 1: twenty three twenty five, we read God also raised up
• 1:08:34
  Speaker 1: another adversary against Solomon, Rezon, son of Eliada, who had
• 1:08:40
  Speaker 1: fled from his master, Hadadeza, King of Zoba. He gathered
• 1:08:44
  Speaker 1: men around him and became the leader of a band
• 1:08:46
  Speaker 1: of rebels. When David destroyed the forces of Hadadazir, Reson
• 1:08:52
  Speaker 1: and his men fled to Damascus, where they settled and
• 1:08:55
  Speaker 1: took control. Reson was Israel's adversary as long as Solomon lived.
• 1:09:00
  Speaker 1: Adding to the trouble caused by Hadad, Rezon established a
• 1:09:04
  Speaker 1: hostile kingdom in Damascus, controlling Israel's northern border and likely
• 1:09:10
  Speaker 1: interfering with trade routes in that region. With enemies pressing
• 1:09:14
  Speaker 1: in from both the north and south, the freedom of
• 1:09:17
  Speaker 1: movement that Israel had enjoyed during the height of Solomon's
• 1:09:21
  Speaker 1: reign was steadily shrinking. But the greatest threat came from
• 1:09:25
  Speaker 1: within the kingdom itself, through Jeroboam, son of Niebat. In
• 1:09:32
  Speaker 1: First Kings eleven twenty six twenty eight. The Bible introduces
• 1:09:36
  Speaker 1: him this way. Also Jeroboam, son of Nibat, rebelled against
• 1:09:42
  Speaker 1: the king. He was one of Solomon's officials, an Ephraemite
• 1:09:45
  Speaker 1: from Zeredar, and his mother was a widow named Zerua.
• 1:09:50
  Speaker 1: Here is the account of how he rebelled against the king.
• 1:09:54
  Speaker 1: Solomon had built the terraces and had filled in the
• 1:09:57
  Speaker 1: gap in the wall of the city of David. His father,
• 1:10:00
  Speaker 1: now Jeroboam, was a man of standing, and when Solomon
• 1:10:04
  Speaker 1: saw how well the young man did his work, he
• 1:10:06
  Speaker 1: put him in charge of the whole labor force of
• 1:10:09
  Speaker 1: the tribes of Joseph. Jeroboam was a skilled official whom
• 1:10:13
  Speaker 1: Solomon promoted to oversee forced labor from the tribes of
• 1:10:17
  Speaker 1: Ephraim and Manasse. The House of Joseph. He was described
• 1:10:21
  Speaker 1: as a man of standing and industrious qualities that had
• 1:10:25
  Speaker 1: drawn the king's favor, but eventually Jeroboam lifted his hand
• 1:10:30
  Speaker 1: against the king, a phrase implying rebellion. The turning point
• 1:10:35
  Speaker 1: in Jeroboam's life came when he encountered the prophet Ahijah
• 1:10:39
  Speaker 1: the Shilahnite. In First Kings eleven twenty nine thirty one,
• 1:10:43
  Speaker 1: we read about that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem,
• 1:10:48
  Speaker 1: and Ahijah, the prophet of Shiloh, met him on the way,
• 1:10:52
  Speaker 1: wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone
• 1:10:55
  Speaker 1: in the open country. Ahijah took hold of the new
• 1:10:58
  Speaker 1: cloak he was wearing and bore it into twelve pieces.
• 1:11:01
  Speaker 1: Then he said to Jeroboam, take ten pieces for yourself,
• 1:11:05
  Speaker 1: for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says.
• 1:11:09
  Speaker 1: See I am going to tear the kingdom out of
• 1:11:11
  Speaker 1: Solomon's hand and give you ten tribes. The symbolism was clear.
• 1:11:17
  Speaker 1: The new cloak represented the united Kingdom of Israel, and
• 1:11:21
  Speaker 1: the twelve pieces stood for the twelve tribes. Ten pieces
• 1:11:26
  Speaker 1: representing ten tribes would be given to Jeroboam. The remaining
• 1:11:30
  Speaker 1: two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, would stay with Solomon's son.
• 1:11:36
  Speaker 1: Ahija explained that this division would happen because of Solomon's idolatry.
• 1:11:41
  Speaker 1: In verse Kings eleven thirty three, God says, I will
• 1:11:44
  Speaker 1: do this because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth,
• 1:11:48
  Speaker 1: the goddess of the Sidonians, Kemosh, the God of the Moabites,
• 1:11:52
  Speaker 1: and Moleek, the God of the Ammonites, and have not
• 1:11:56
  Speaker 1: walked in my ways, nor done what is right in
• 1:11:59
  Speaker 1: my eyes, nor kept my statutes and laws, as David,
• 1:12:03
  Speaker 1: Solomon's father did. Yet, just as he had done with Solomon,
• 1:12:07
  Speaker 1: God offered Jeroboam a conditional promise. In First Kings eleven
• 1:12:13
  Speaker 1: thirty seven thirty eight, we read, however, as for you,
• 1:12:17
  Speaker 1: I will take you, and you will rule over all
• 1:12:20
  Speaker 1: that your heart desires. You will be king over Israel
• 1:12:23
  Speaker 1: if you do whatever I command you, and walk in
• 1:12:26
  Speaker 1: obedience to me, and do what is right in my
• 1:12:29
  Speaker 1: eyes by obeying my decrees and commands, as David, my
• 1:12:33
  Speaker 1: servant did, I will be with you. I will build
• 1:12:37
  Speaker 1: you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built
• 1:12:39
  Speaker 1: for David, and will give Israel to you. It was
• 1:12:43
  Speaker 1: an extraordinary opportunity. If Jeroboam remained faithful to God, he
• 1:12:48
  Speaker 1: would receive the same kind of enduring blessing promise to
• 1:12:51
  Speaker 1: David's lineage. Sadly, as we'll see later, Jeroboam would fail
• 1:12:56
  Speaker 1: this test as well. Somehow Solomon learned of the prophecy
• 1:13:00
  Speaker 1: and tried to have Jeroboam killed. In First Kings eleven forty,
• 1:13:05
  Speaker 1: we read Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled
• 1:13:10
  Speaker 1: to Egypt to Shishak the King, and stayed there until
• 1:13:14
  Speaker 1: Solomon's death. Solomon's attempt to kill Jeroboam shows how far
• 1:13:18
  Speaker 1: he had drifted from the ideals of his early reign.
• 1:13:22
  Speaker 1: The young king, who had once asked for wisdom to
• 1:13:25
  Speaker 1: rule justly, was now prepared to murder a subject over
• 1:13:28
  Speaker 1: a prophecy. And it's worth noting that Jeroboam fled to
• 1:13:33
  Speaker 1: Egypt to the court of Shishak, a new pharaoh who
• 1:13:37
  Speaker 1: no longer shared the friendly relations with Israel that his
• 1:13:40
  Speaker 1: predecessor had maintained. The irony is striking. The same nations
• 1:13:45
  Speaker 1: Solomon had allied with through marriage were now becoming sanctuaries
• 1:13:49
  Speaker 1: for his enemies. Egypt, whose pharaoh had given his daughter
• 1:13:53
  Speaker 1: in marriage to Solomon, was now harboring Jeroboam, his future rival. Edom,
• 1:13:59
  Speaker 1: once conquered by David, was now ruled by Haddad, who
• 1:14:03
  Speaker 1: loathed Israel. The northern border, once secure at the peak
• 1:14:08
  Speaker 1: of Solomon's power, was now threatened by Rezon in Damascus.
• 1:14:13
  Speaker 1: Despite all his wisdom, Solomon seemed blind to the dangers
• 1:14:17
  Speaker 1: that his own actions posed to the future of his kingdom.
• 1:14:21
  Speaker 1: His attempt to eliminate Jeroboam only reinforced the prophecy, pushing
• 1:14:26
  Speaker 1: his rival into a safe haven where he could wait
• 1:14:29
  Speaker 1: for the right moment to return. As his reign progressed,
• 1:14:33
  Speaker 1: Solomon became increasingly obsessed with massive construction projects. The Temple
• 1:14:38
  Speaker 1: and royal Palace were already complete, but he continued to
• 1:14:42
  Speaker 1: undertake grand works across the kingdom, largely for his own glorification.
• 1:14:49
  Speaker 1: In First Kings nine fifteen, we read about some of
• 1:14:52
  Speaker 1: these projects. Here is the account of the forced labour
• 1:14:56
  Speaker 1: King Solomon conscripted to build the Lord's Temple, his his
• 1:15:00
  Speaker 1: own palace, The terraces, the Wall of Jerusalem and Hazer
• 1:15:04
  Speaker 1: Megiddo and Gezer Milloh was part of the fortification of Jerusalem,
• 1:15:09
  Speaker 1: possibly an embankment that filled the valley between the city
• 1:15:12
  Speaker 1: of David and the Temple mount. In addition to strengthening
• 1:15:17
  Speaker 1: the capital, Solomon also rebuilt and fortified several strategic cities
• 1:15:22
  Speaker 1: throughout the kingdom, including Hazer, Megido, and Gizer, which controlled
• 1:15:27
  Speaker 1: key trade and military routes. The list of projects continues
• 1:15:32
  Speaker 1: in Firsfur's Kings nine seventeen to nineteen. So Solomon rebuilt Gizer,
• 1:15:39
  Speaker 1: Lower beth Horn, Baralath, and Tadmor in the wilderness in
• 1:15:43
  Speaker 1: the land of Judah, as well as all the store
• 1:15:46
  Speaker 1: cities that Solomon had, and the cities for his chariots
• 1:15:49
  Speaker 1: and for his horsemen, and whatever Solomon desired to build
• 1:15:53
  Speaker 1: in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and throughout all the land of
• 1:15:56
  Speaker 1: his dominion. These projects served military, economic, and administrative purposes.
• 1:16:03
  Speaker 1: The store cities were used to stockpile supplies and resources,
• 1:16:07
  Speaker 1: the chariot cities housed war chariot garrisons, and the horsemen
• 1:16:11
  Speaker 1: cities served as bases for the cavalry. But there was
• 1:16:15
  Speaker 1: also a clear element of ostentation and personal glorification, especially
• 1:16:21
  Speaker 1: with the buildings in Jerusalem and Lebanon, where Solomon maintained
• 1:16:25
  Speaker 1: summer residences to carry out these vast projects, Solomon needed
• 1:16:30
  Speaker 1: a massive labour force. Initially, he relied primarily on foreign
• 1:16:35
  Speaker 1: laborers for major undertakings, such as the Temple and the Palace.
• 1:16:40
  Speaker 1: Invernt Kings nine twenty to twenty two, we read all
• 1:16:43
  Speaker 1: the people who were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizites,
• 1:16:47
  Speaker 1: Hivites and Jebusites who were not Israelites, their descendants who
• 1:16:51
  Speaker 1: remained in the land, those whom the Israelites could not
• 1:16:54
  Speaker 1: completely destroy. Solomon conscripted for forced labour to this day,
• 1:17:00
  Speaker 1: but Solomon did not make slaves of the Israelites. They
• 1:17:04
  Speaker 1: were his soldiers, officials, commanders, captains, and chariot and cavalry officers. However,
• 1:17:11
  Speaker 1: as the number of projects increased, this policy began to shift.
• 1:17:16
  Speaker 1: Solomon eventually imposed forced labor on the Israelites as well.
• 1:17:21
  Speaker 1: In verse Kings five thirteen fourteen previously mentioned, we see
• 1:17:25
  Speaker 1: that he conscripted thirty thousand men from Israel to work
• 1:17:29
  Speaker 1: in Lebanon on a rotating basis. This system of corve
• 1:17:33
  Speaker 1: labor became increasingly heavy and oppressive. In First Kings twelve four,
• 1:17:39
  Speaker 1: when the people approach Rehubum after Solomon's death, they plead
• 1:17:43
  Speaker 1: your father put a heavy yoke on us. But now
• 1:17:45
  Speaker 1: lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put
• 1:17:48
  Speaker 1: on us, and we will serve you. This reference to
• 1:17:51
  Speaker 1: a heavy yoke indicates that forced labor had become extremely
• 1:17:56
  Speaker 1: burdensome in the final years of Solomon's reign. The corvet
• 1:18:00
  Speaker 1: was not just physically exhausting, it was socially disruptive. Recruited
• 1:18:05
  Speaker 1: men had to leave their families and land for a
• 1:18:08
  Speaker 1: month at a time, which negatively impacted agriculture and community life.
• 1:18:13
  Speaker 1: Although the rotation system allowed them to spend two months
• 1:18:17
  Speaker 1: at home, it still represented a major interruption to daily living.
• 1:18:23
  Speaker 1: In addition, the increased taxation required to fund these projects
• 1:18:28
  Speaker 1: placed an extra economic burden on the people. The wealth
• 1:18:31
  Speaker 1: that had once flowed into Israel through trade was now
• 1:18:34
  Speaker 1: being funneled into royal coffers and spent on increasingly extravagant
• 1:18:39
  Speaker 1: works that primarily served to glorify the king. This situation
• 1:18:46
  Speaker 1: began to deepen the socio economic divide in the kingdom.
• 1:18:51
  Speaker 1: On one side was the Jerusalem elite government officials, military officers,
• 1:18:56
  Speaker 1: wealthy merchants, and temple priests who benefited from Solomon policies.
• 1:19:01
  Speaker 1: On the other side were commoners and peasants, especially from
• 1:19:05
  Speaker 1: the northern tribes, who bore the brunt of taxation and
• 1:19:09
  Speaker 1: forced labor. Resentment towards Solomon's grandiose projects was silently growing.
• 1:19:15
  Speaker 1: The Israelites, having once been slaves in Egypt, found the
• 1:19:19
  Speaker 1: imposition of forced labor by their own king a painful
• 1:19:23
  Speaker 1: reminder of that traumatic past. This was exactly the kind
• 1:19:27
  Speaker 1: of oppression that Samuel had warned about in First Samuel
• 1:19:31
  Speaker 1: eight eleven seventeen, when the people first demanded a monarch.
• 1:19:36
  Speaker 1: The tribe of Ephraim, in particular, had a long standing
• 1:19:40
  Speaker 1: history of resisting centralized power. It was the tribe of Joshua,
• 1:19:45
  Speaker 1: and one of the most powerful in the north. It's
• 1:19:48
  Speaker 1: no coincidence that Jeroboam, the future leader of the rebellion,
• 1:19:53
  Speaker 1: was an Ephraemite, and that Solomon had appointed him over
• 1:19:57
  Speaker 1: the entire labor force of the House of Joseph, Ephraim
• 1:20:01
  Speaker 1: and Manasseh. By putting Jeroboam in charge of the forced
• 1:20:05
  Speaker 1: labor among the northern tribes, Solomon unwittingly positioned his future
• 1:20:10
  Speaker 1: rival right where he could witness first hand the people
• 1:20:14
  Speaker 1: suffering and resentment toward the crown. Jeroboam likely came to
• 1:20:18
  Speaker 1: be seen as a champion of northern interests, standing in
• 1:20:22
  Speaker 1: opposition to the Davidic dynasty centered in Judah and Jerusalem.
• 1:20:27
  Speaker 1: Thus the seeds of future rebellion were sown. In the
• 1:20:31
  Speaker 1: final years of Solomon's reign, The magnificent kingdom he had
• 1:20:36
  Speaker 1: inherited from his father David and expanded through wisdom in
• 1:20:40
  Speaker 1: his early years was now showing cracks that would soon
• 1:20:44
  Speaker 1: lead to permanent division. The fact that Solomon tried to
• 1:20:48
  Speaker 1: kill Jeroboam shows just how far he had strayed from
• 1:20:52
  Speaker 1: his original ideals. The young king, who had once asked
• 1:20:56
  Speaker 1: for wisdom to govern justly, was now willing to murder
• 1:20:59
  Speaker 1: a subject over a prophecy and its telling that Jeroboam
• 1:21:03
  Speaker 1: fled to Egypt to the court of Shishak, a new
• 1:21:06
  Speaker 1: pharaoh who did not maintain the friendly ties with Israel
• 1:21:10
  Speaker 1: that his predecessor had. The irony here is striking. The
• 1:21:14
  Speaker 1: very nations Solomon had allied with through marriage were now
• 1:21:18
  Speaker 1: becoming refugees for his enemies. Egypt, whose pharaoh had once
• 1:21:23
  Speaker 1: given his daughter to Solomon in marriage, now harbored Jeroboam.
• 1:21:27
  Speaker 1: His future adversary. Edom, once conquered by David, was now
• 1:21:32
  Speaker 1: ruled by Hadad, who hated Israel. The northern border, once
• 1:21:38
  Speaker 1: secured during Solomon's golden years, was now under threat from
• 1:21:42
  Speaker 1: Rezon in Damascus. Despite all his wisdom, Solomon seemed blind
• 1:21:47
  Speaker 1: to the consequences of his own actions. His attempt to
• 1:21:50
  Speaker 1: eliminate Jeroboam only served to fulfill the prophecy, sending his
• 1:21:55
  Speaker 1: rival into safe exile where he could bide his time.
• 1:21:59
  Speaker 1: It's a powerful lesson. Even the wisest and most powerful
• 1:22:03
  Speaker 1: king cannot stand against God's purposes. As the proverb attributed
• 1:22:08
  Speaker 1: to Solomon himself says in Proverbs twenty one thirty, there
• 1:22:12
  Speaker 1: is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed
• 1:22:17
  Speaker 1: against the Lord. As his reign progressed, Solomon appeared increasingly
• 1:22:21
  Speaker 1: obsessed with grand construction projects. The Temple and the Royal
• 1:22:25
  Speaker 1: Palace had already been completed, but he continued to undertake
• 1:22:29
  Speaker 1: monumental works throughout the kingdom, largely for his own glorification.
• 1:22:36
  Speaker 1: In First Kings nine fifteen we read about some of
• 1:22:39
  Speaker 1: these constructions. Here is the account of the forced labor
• 1:22:44
  Speaker 1: king Solomon conscripted to build the Lord's Temple, his own palace,
• 1:22:48
  Speaker 1: the terraces, the Wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, Megido and Gezer.
• 1:22:54
  Speaker 1: The mill oh was part of Jerusalem's fortifications, possibly an
• 1:22:58
  Speaker 1: embankment that filled the valley between the city of David
• 1:23:02
  Speaker 1: and the Temple mount. In addition to strengthening the capital,
• 1:23:07
  Speaker 1: Solomon rebuilt and fortified several strategic cities across the kingdom,
• 1:23:12
  Speaker 1: including Hazer, Megido, and Gezer, which controlled vital trade and
• 1:23:17
  Speaker 1: military routes. The list of projects continues in First Kings
• 1:23:21
  Speaker 1: nine seventeen to nineteen. So Solomon rebuilt Gezer, Lower beth Hoorn, Beilath,
• 1:23:28
  Speaker 1: and Tadmore in the desert within his land, as well
• 1:23:32
  Speaker 1: as all his store cities and the towns for his
• 1:23:35
  Speaker 1: chariots and for his horses. Whatever he desired to build
• 1:23:39
  Speaker 1: in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and throughout all the territory he ruled.
• 1:23:44
  Speaker 1: These projects served military, economic, and administrative purposes. The store
• 1:23:50
  Speaker 1: cities were used to stockpile supplies and resources, the chariot
• 1:23:54
  Speaker 1: towns housed war chariots and their garrisons, and the horse
• 1:23:59
  Speaker 1: towns served as bases for cavalry units. However, there was
• 1:24:03
  Speaker 1: also an element of display and personal glorification in these works,
• 1:24:08
  Speaker 1: especially in Jerusalem and Lebanon, where Solomon had summer residences.
• 1:24:14
  Speaker 1: To accomplish all these projects, Solomon required a massive work force. Initially,
• 1:24:21
  Speaker 1: he primarily employed foreign laborers for major works like the
• 1:24:25
  Speaker 1: Temple and the Palace. In verse Kings nine twenty to
• 1:24:28
  Speaker 1: twenty two, we read all the people who were left
• 1:24:31
  Speaker 1: of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizites, Highvites, and Jebusites. These peoples
• 1:24:36
  Speaker 1: were not Israelites. Solomon conscripted the descendants of all these
• 1:24:40
  Speaker 1: remaining people still in the land, whom the Israelites could
• 1:24:43
  Speaker 1: not exterminate, to serve as slave labor as it is
• 1:24:47
  Speaker 1: to this day. But Solomon did not make slaves of
• 1:24:51
  Speaker 1: any of the Israelites. They were his fighting men, his
• 1:24:55
  Speaker 1: government officials, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of
• 1:25:00
  Speaker 1: his chariots and charioteers. However, as the number of projects increased,
• 1:25:06
  Speaker 1: this policy changed. Solomon began conscripting Israelites as well. In
• 1:25:11
  Speaker 1: verse Kings five thirteen fourteen previously mentioned, we see that
• 1:25:15
  Speaker 1: he recruited thirty thousand men from Israel to work in
• 1:25:19
  Speaker 1: Lebanon on a rotating basis. This system of corvai or
• 1:25:24
  Speaker 1: forced labor, became increasingly burdensome and oppressive. In Firs Kings
• 1:25:29
  Speaker 1: twelve four, when the people approach Reherboam after Solomon's death,
• 1:25:33
  Speaker 1: they say, your father put a heavy yoke on us,
• 1:25:36
  Speaker 1: But now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke
• 1:25:39
  Speaker 1: he put on us, and we will serve you. This
• 1:25:42
  Speaker 1: reference to the heavy yoke suggests that forced labor had
• 1:25:46
  Speaker 1: become extremely severe in Solomon's later years. Corvais labor was
• 1:25:52
  Speaker 1: not only physically exhausting, but also socially disruptive. The men
• 1:25:57
  Speaker 1: conscripted had to leave their familiesands for one month, which
• 1:26:01
  Speaker 1: negatively impacted agriculture and community life. Even though the rotation
• 1:26:06
  Speaker 1: system allowed them to be home for two months, it
• 1:26:09
  Speaker 1: still meant a significant interruption to daily life. Moreover, rising
• 1:26:16
  Speaker 1: taxes to fund these projects imposed an additional economic burden
• 1:26:21
  Speaker 1: on the people. Wealth that once flowed into Israel through
• 1:26:26
  Speaker 1: trade was now funneled into the royal treasury and spent
• 1:26:30
  Speaker 1: on increasingly grandiose projects that mainly served to glorify the king.
• 1:26:36
  Speaker 1: This situation led to a growing socio economic divide in
• 1:26:40
  Speaker 1: the kingdom. On one side was the Jerusalem elite government officials,
• 1:26:45
  Speaker 1: military officers, wealthy merchants, and temple priests who benefited from
• 1:26:51
  Speaker 1: Solomon's policies. On the other side were the peasants and
• 1:26:55
  Speaker 1: common laborers, especially in the northern tribes, who bore the
• 1:27:00
  Speaker 1: of the taxes and forced labour. Resentment towards Solomon's pharionic
• 1:27:05
  Speaker 1: projects was quietly building. As the Israelites had once been
• 1:27:09
  Speaker 1: slaves in Egypt, the imposition of forced labour by their
• 1:27:13
  Speaker 1: own king painfully echoed that traumatic experience. It was precisely
• 1:27:18
  Speaker 1: the kind of oppression Samuel had warned about in First
• 1:27:22
  Speaker 1: Samuel eight eleven seventeen when the people first asked for
• 1:27:25
  Speaker 1: a king. The tribe of Ephraim in particular had a
• 1:27:29
  Speaker 1: long history of resisting centralized power. It was Joshua's tribe
• 1:27:33
  Speaker 1: and one of the most powerful in the north. It's
• 1:27:36
  Speaker 1: no coincidence that Jeroboam, the future leader of the rebellion,
• 1:27:41
  Speaker 1: was an Ephraemite and had been appointed by Solomon to
• 1:27:45
  Speaker 1: oversee the whole labour force of the House of Joseph,
• 1:27:49
  Speaker 1: Ephraim and Manasse. By appointing Jeroboam to supervise the forced
• 1:27:54
  Speaker 1: labor in the northern tribes. Solomon inadvertently placed his future
• 1:27:58
  Speaker 1: rival in a position to witness first hand the people's
• 1:28:02
  Speaker 1: suffering and their growing resentment toward the crown. Jeroboam likely
• 1:28:07
  Speaker 1: came to be seen as a defender of the northern
• 1:28:10
  Speaker 1: tribe's interests against the Davidic dynasty centered in Judah and Jerusalem.
• 1:28:17
  Speaker 1: Thus the seeds of the future rebellion were sown. In
• 1:28:21
  Speaker 1: the final years of Solomon's reign, the magnificent kingdom he
• 1:28:26
  Speaker 1: had inherited from his father David and expanded through wisdom
• 1:28:30
  Speaker 1: in his early years, was now beginning to show cracks
• 1:28:33
  Speaker 1: that would soon result in a permanent division. As Solomon
• 1:28:38
  Speaker 1: grew older, his outlook on life in the world seemed
• 1:28:42
  Speaker 1: to darken and become increasingly disillusioned. The man who had
• 1:28:46
  Speaker 1: begun his reign full of ideals and enthusiasm now viewed
• 1:28:50
  Speaker 1: existence through a lens of disenchantment. This transformation is powerfully
• 1:28:56
  Speaker 1: captured in the Book of Ecclesiastes, traditionally attributed to Solomon.
• 1:29:02
  Speaker 1: The author identifies himself as the preacher, son of David,
• 1:29:06
  Speaker 1: King in Jerusalem Ecclesiastes one one, a description that aligns
• 1:29:11
  Speaker 1: perfectly with Solomon. The central theme of Ecclesiastes is the
• 1:29:16
  Speaker 1: vanity or futility of all human life. The Hebrew word
• 1:29:21
  Speaker 1: used is hebel, which literally means vapor or breath, something
• 1:29:26
  Speaker 1: fleeting and insubstantial. Right at the beginning of the book,
• 1:29:30
  Speaker 1: in Ecclesiastes one two, the preacher declares vanity of vanities.
• 1:29:35
  Speaker 1: Says the preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity. The
• 1:29:39
  Speaker 1: book goes on to offer a series of reflections on
• 1:29:43
  Speaker 1: various aspects of human experience, wisdom, pleasure, work, wealth, power,
• 1:29:50
  Speaker 1: repeatedly concluding that none of these provide lasting satisfaction or
• 1:29:54
  Speaker 1: true meaning. In Ecclesiastes two point four eleven, the all
• 1:30:00
  Speaker 1: author describes his great undertakings in a passage that seems
• 1:30:03
  Speaker 1: to directly reflect Solomon's experience. I made great works. I
• 1:30:09
  Speaker 1: built myself houses and planted vineyards. I made myself gardens
• 1:30:13
  Speaker 1: and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees.
• 1:30:18
  Speaker 1: I made myself pools from which to water the forest
• 1:30:20
  Speaker 1: of growing trees. I bought male and female slaves, and
• 1:30:25
  Speaker 1: had slaves who were born in my house. I had
• 1:30:28
  Speaker 1: also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any
• 1:30:31
  Speaker 1: who had been before me in Jerusalem. I also gathered
• 1:30:34
  Speaker 1: for myself silver and gold, and the treasure of kings
• 1:30:38
  Speaker 1: and provinces. I got singers, both men and women, and
• 1:30:42
  Speaker 1: many concubines the delights of the sons of Man. So
• 1:30:46
  Speaker 1: I became great and surpassed all who were before me
• 1:30:48
  Speaker 1: in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. Whatever my
• 1:30:54
  Speaker 1: eyes desired, I did not keep from them. I kept
• 1:30:57
  Speaker 1: my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found place
• 1:31:00
  Speaker 1: measure in all my toil, and this was my reward
• 1:31:03
  Speaker 1: for all my labor. Then I considered all that my
• 1:31:06
  Speaker 1: hands had done and the toil I had expended in
• 1:31:09
  Speaker 1: doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving
• 1:31:13
  Speaker 1: after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under
• 1:31:16
  Speaker 1: the sun. This passage perfectly captures Solomon's trajectory, a king
• 1:31:21
  Speaker 1: who had constructed magnificent buildings, cultivated luxurious gardens, a massed
• 1:31:26
  Speaker 1: immense wealth, and enjoyed every pleasure the world had to offer,
• 1:31:32
  Speaker 1: only to discover in the end that none of it
• 1:31:35
  Speaker 1: brought lasting fulfillment. The contrast between the youthful zeal of
• 1:31:39
  Speaker 1: Solomon and the disillusionment of his old age is striking.
• 1:31:44
  Speaker 1: The young king, who once asked God for wisdom to
• 1:31:47
  Speaker 1: better serve his people, now questioned the value of wisdom itself.
• 1:31:51
  Speaker 1: In Ecclesiastes one seventeen to eighteen, he writes, and I
• 1:31:55
  Speaker 1: applied my heart to no wisdom, and to no madness
• 1:32:00
  Speaker 1: and folly. I perceive that this also is but a
• 1:32:04
  Speaker 1: striving after wind. For in much wisdom is much vexation,
• 1:32:09
  Speaker 1: and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. Perhaps the saddest
• 1:32:14
  Speaker 1: aspect of Solomon's transformation is his apparent inability to find
• 1:32:19
  Speaker 1: comfort or guidance in his relationship with God. Unlike David psalms,
• 1:32:24
  Speaker 1: which often express anguish but always return to trust in
• 1:32:27
  Speaker 1: the Lord, Ecclesiastes rarely mentions a personal connection with God
• 1:32:32
  Speaker 1: as a source of meaning or hope. When the author
• 1:32:35
  Speaker 1: finally reaches some form of conclusion in Ecclesiastes twelve thirteen fourteen,
• 1:32:41
  Speaker 1: it sounds more like resignation than a vibrant expression of faith.
• 1:32:46
  Speaker 1: The end of the matter, all has been heard. Fear
• 1:32:50
  Speaker 1: God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole
• 1:32:53
  Speaker 1: duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment,
• 1:32:57
  Speaker 1: with every secret thing, whether good, good or evil. This
• 1:33:02
  Speaker 1: pessimistic outlook stands in stark contrast to the early Solomon,
• 1:33:07
  Speaker 1: who had once spoken with great enthusiasm about God's goodness
• 1:33:11
  Speaker 1: and his faithfulness to David's promises. In his later years,
• 1:33:16
  Speaker 1: he seems to have become a bitter man, looking back
• 1:33:19
  Speaker 1: on his accomplishments, the magnificent temple, the splendid palace, the
• 1:33:24
  Speaker 1: fortified cities, the vast wealth, and seeing nothing but vanity
• 1:33:31
  Speaker 1: and a striving after wind. It's hard not to see
• 1:33:35
  Speaker 1: in this transformation the impact of Solomon's spiritual choices. By
• 1:33:40
  Speaker 1: dividing his devotion between the true God and pagan idols,
• 1:33:45
  Speaker 1: he had lost the firm foundation that gave life meaning
• 1:33:49
  Speaker 1: and purpose. His wisdom, once directed towards serving God and
• 1:33:53
  Speaker 1: his people, now spun in sterile circles of analysis and despair.
• 1:34:00
  Speaker 1: Yet there is a brutal honesty in Ecclesiastes that continues
• 1:34:04
  Speaker 1: to resonate with readers across all generations. Solomon doesn't try
• 1:34:09
  Speaker 1: to hide his disillusionment or sugarcoat his experience. He openly
• 1:34:14
  Speaker 1: admits that, despite having tasted everything life could offer, he
• 1:34:18
  Speaker 1: found no lasting satisfaction. Paradoxically, this honesty about the emptiness
• 1:34:24
  Speaker 1: of life without God can be seen as Solomon's final
• 1:34:28
  Speaker 1: and deepest exercise of wisdom. After seeking meaning in every
• 1:34:32
  Speaker 1: possible direction, knowledge, pleasure, achievements, wealth, power, he confesses that
• 1:34:39
  Speaker 1: none of it is enough. This realization, though bitter, might
• 1:34:44
  Speaker 1: be the first step back toward true wisdom, which begins
• 1:34:48
  Speaker 1: with the fear of the Lord. So even in his disillusionment,
• 1:34:52
  Speaker 1: Solomon offers a profound lesson. Not even the wisest, richest,
• 1:34:57
  Speaker 1: and most powerful king to ever live could find true
• 1:35:00
  Speaker 1: meaning apart from God. It's a lesson he learned the
• 1:35:03
  Speaker 1: hard way, and one he left as a legacy for
• 1:35:07
  Speaker 1: future generations. After a long reign of forty years, Solomon's
• 1:35:11
  Speaker 1: life came to an end. The Bible records this moment
• 1:35:15
  Speaker 1: with simplicity in First Kings eleven forty one forty three.
• 1:35:20
  Speaker 1: Now the rest of the acts of Solomon and all
• 1:35:22
  Speaker 1: that he did and his wisdom are they not written
• 1:35:26
  Speaker 1: in the Book of the Acts of Solomon. And the
• 1:35:28
  Speaker 1: time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was
• 1:35:32
  Speaker 1: forty years, and Solomon slept with his fathers and was
• 1:35:36
  Speaker 1: buried in the city of David, his father and Rehobum,
• 1:35:40
  Speaker 1: his son reigned in his place. There's no mention of
• 1:35:44
  Speaker 1: repentance or reconciliation with God in Solomon's final days. Unlike David,
• 1:35:49
  Speaker 1: who gave specific instructions to his successor and spoke of
• 1:35:53
  Speaker 1: his trust in God's faithfulness, Solomon seems to have departed
• 1:35:57
  Speaker 1: in silence. The Bible does record his final words or
• 1:36:02
  Speaker 1: any spiritual preparations for his death. With Solomon's death, the
• 1:36:07
  Speaker 1: crown passed to his son Rahoboam. It was a moment
• 1:36:11
  Speaker 1: of truth for the kingdom. The long predicted division was
• 1:36:15
  Speaker 1: about to unfold, and the tensions that had built up
• 1:36:18
  Speaker 1: over decades were about to rrupt. Ri Hooboam faced his
• 1:36:24
  Speaker 1: first major test when the people, led by Jeroboam, who
• 1:36:28
  Speaker 1: had returned from Egypt after Solomon's death, came to request
• 1:36:32
  Speaker 1: relief from the heavy burdens imposed by the former king.
• 1:36:37
  Speaker 1: Invernt Kings twelve three four we read, so they sent
• 1:36:40
  Speaker 1: for him, and Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israel
• 1:36:44
  Speaker 1: went to Ri Hooboam and said to him, your father
• 1:36:47
  Speaker 1: put a heavy yoke on us, But now lighten the
• 1:36:49
  Speaker 1: harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us,
• 1:36:52
  Speaker 1: and we will serve you. It was a pivotal moment,
• 1:36:56
  Speaker 1: Rehobaum had the chance to listen to the cry of
• 1:36:59
  Speaker 1: the people and ease the taxes and forced labor, potentially
• 1:37:04
  Speaker 1: restoring the loyalty of the northern tribes. Instead, he made
• 1:37:08
  Speaker 1: a fatal mistake by rejecting the advice of the elders
• 1:37:12
  Speaker 1: who had served his father and following the council of
• 1:37:15
  Speaker 1: the young men he had grown up with. In First
• 1:37:18
  Speaker 1: Kings twelve thirteen fourteen, we see his disastrous response. The
• 1:37:23
  Speaker 1: king answered the people harshly, rejecting the advice given him
• 1:37:27
  Speaker 1: by the elders. He followed the advice of the young
• 1:37:30
  Speaker 1: men and said, my father made your yoke heavy, I
• 1:37:34
  Speaker 1: will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips,
• 1:37:38
  Speaker 1: I will scourge you with scorpions. Reherboems threat was the
• 1:37:42
  Speaker 1: last straw. The northern tribes, long resentful of the Davidic
• 1:37:47
  Speaker 1: dynasty's dominance centred in Judah, immediately rebelled. In First Kings
• 1:37:53
  Speaker 1: twelve sixteen, they declared, what share do we have in David?
• 1:37:57
  Speaker 1: What part in Jesse's son? To your ten Israel, look
• 1:38:01
  Speaker 1: after your own house, David. So the Israelites went home
• 1:38:05
  Speaker 1: when Rehoboam sent a donnerum, the overseer of forced labor,
• 1:38:09
  Speaker 1: to negotiate, the people stoned him to death. The king
• 1:38:13
  Speaker 1: barely escaped to Jerusalem, and just like that, in a
• 1:38:16
  Speaker 1: single day, the magnificent united kingdom that David and Solomon
• 1:38:21
  Speaker 1: had built was split in two, Israel in the north
• 1:38:25
  Speaker 1: ten tribes and Judah in the south, the tribes of
• 1:38:29
  Speaker 1: Judah and Benjamin, along with some Levites. Jeroboam was proclaimed
• 1:38:34
  Speaker 1: king of Israel, and his first move was to establish
• 1:38:38
  Speaker 1: golden calf worship in Dan and Bethel, so the people
• 1:38:41
  Speaker 1: wouldn't travel to Jerusalem to worship, fearing they might return
• 1:38:45
  Speaker 1: their allegiance to the house of David. Thus, the idolatry
• 1:38:50
  Speaker 1: that began with Solomon became institutionalized in the Northern Kingdom,
• 1:38:55
  Speaker 1: sowing the seeds of its eventual downfall. Solomon's legacs he
• 1:39:00
  Speaker 1: is profoundly ambiguous. On one hand, he was one of
• 1:39:03
  Speaker 1: Israel's greatest kings, responsible for bringing the nation to the
• 1:39:07
  Speaker 1: height of its power, wealth, and international prestige. He built
• 1:39:12
  Speaker 1: the Temple, expanded the borders, established lucrative trade routes, and
• 1:39:17
  Speaker 1: was renowned for his extraordinary wisdom on the other hand,
• 1:39:21
  Speaker 1: his policies, and especially his spiritual compromise through idolatry, directly
• 1:39:27
  Speaker 1: led to the division of the kingdom and the gradual
• 1:39:30
  Speaker 1: weakening of Israel. The nation that had once been a
• 1:39:33
  Speaker 1: regional powerhouse under his rule would never again regain the
• 1:39:37
  Speaker 1: same unity, strength, or influence. Perhaps the most tragic aspect
• 1:39:43
  Speaker 1: of Solomon's legacy is that he did exactly what he
• 1:39:46
  Speaker 1: warned others not to do. In Proverbs four twenty three,
• 1:39:51
  Speaker 1: he wrote, above all else, guard your heart, for everything
• 1:39:55
  Speaker 1: you do flows from it. Yet he himself failed to
• 1:39:58
  Speaker 1: guard his heart against the care rrosive influence of idolatry
• 1:40:01
  Speaker 1: and materialism. In Proverbs fourteen twelve, he warned, there is
• 1:40:06
  Speaker 1: a way that appears to be right, but in the
• 1:40:09
  Speaker 1: end it leads to death. That became his own story.
• 1:40:12
  Speaker 1: The path that seemed to bring political advantage and personal
• 1:40:16
  Speaker 1: pleasure ultimately led to the kingdom's division and his own
• 1:40:20
  Speaker 1: spiritual downfall. That's why Solomon's story continues to serve as
• 1:40:24
  Speaker 1: a powerful warning for every generation. Even the wisest man
• 1:40:29
  Speaker 1: in the world can be led astray if he fails
• 1:40:32
  Speaker 1: to remain vigilant and faithful to God as he himself
• 1:40:36
  Speaker 1: wrote in Proverbs sixteen eighteen, Pride goes before destruction, a
• 1:40:42
  Speaker 1: haughty spirit before a fall. Solomon's fall wasn't sudden or
• 1:40:47
  Speaker 1: dramatic like that of other Biblical figures. It was a slow,
• 1:40:51
  Speaker 1: almost imperceptible decline made up of small compromises that gradually
• 1:40:57
  Speaker 1: drew him away from the God who had appeared to
• 1:40:59
  Speaker 1: him twice and granted him unmatched wisdom. His story reminds
• 1:41:04
  Speaker 1: us that no amount of knowledge, wealth, or power can
• 1:41:08
  Speaker 1: replace faithfulness to God. The man who once asked for
• 1:41:12
  Speaker 1: a discerning heart ended up with a divided heart, and
• 1:41:15
  Speaker 1: the consequences affected not only him, but the entire nation
• 1:41:19
  Speaker 1: he was called to lead. If you enjoyed this Bible story,
• 1:41:24
  Speaker 1: don't forget to hit the subscribe button so you don't
• 1:41:27
  Speaker 1: miss our next videos. Share it with friends and family
• 1:41:31
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• 1:41:35
  Speaker 1: Leave a comment below sharing which part of this story
• 1:41:39
  Speaker 1: touched your heart the most. Your participation means a lot
• 1:41:43
  Speaker 1: to us. See you in the next video, where we'll
• 1:41:46
  Speaker 1: continue exploring the incredible stories of the Bible and the
• 1:41:51
  Speaker 1: lessons they hold for our lives to day.