It took Solomon 20 years to finish his construction projects. He gave Hiram the king of Tyre 20 towns around Galilee for the wood and precious metals. After Hiram checked them out he told Solomon he didn't like them, that they were good for nothing. Hiram sent only 5 tons of gold in return to Solomon for the land. Solomon built a wall around Jerusalem and rebuilt towns. The Israelites did not do this work, rather Solomon forced the original inhabitants of the land to do it. Solomon's Egyptian wife moved into the new palace. Three times a year Solomon offered sacrifices to God. He also had ships which sailed to other lands and brought back gold for Solomon.
The Queen of Sheba (the Bible doesn't say what her name was) didn't believe the folklore about Solomon and decided to see for herself this king of Israel who was so wise. She had prepared difficult questions to try and test him. She brought along camels loaded with spices, jewels and gold as gifts for Solomon. When they met, they talked about everything she could think of and Solomon answered every single question she asked. Also, when she saw how opulently he lived, she was overwhelmed. She said as much to him. She even praised the God of Israel. They gave each other loads of gifts and then she went home.
Solomon received so much gold, wood and jewels, he didn't know what to do with it all. He made shields of solid gold and put them in his palace. He covered his fancy throne with gold, which he set on top of 6 steps with carved lions on either side of the throne and on the ends of every step. No other throne in the world was like Solomon's. Every 3 years Solomon sent out his ships and they brought back exotic animals and riches. Year after year visitors would bring gifts of every sort. Solomon bought horses from what is today southeast Turkey.
What's that phrase? Absolute power corrupts absolutely? Well, Solomon wasn't immune. His big trouble was women. The Lord had said not to intermarry, and Solomon ignored that one. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines! Even though Solomon had been visited by God twice, his wives led him astray from the Lord's teachings and commandments and he forgot God and started worshiping Ashtoreth and Molech. The Lord became angry and told Solomon that since he wasn't honoring God, God wouldn't honor His promise.
While David was king, he had conquered the nation of Edom. Joab, was the commander of the army, and they stayed in Edom 6 months and killed every boy and man. A boy named Hadad escaped with some of his father's officials. He fared well in Egypt, married and his son played with the queen's children in the palace. Hadad went to the king and asked to go back home. He became Solomon's enemy when he found out that David and Joab were dead. Another enemy of Solomon was Rezon, who had run away from his master and formed his own army. He became the ruler of Syria and an enemy of Israel. Both of these men caused Solomon a lot of trouble.
Tomorrow read 1Kings 11:26-ch13
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