PM April 25th 1 Kings 4

April 25th 1 Kings, 4

4v1-19 Solomon’s Officials

1: So king Solomon was king over all Israel. 2: And these were the princes which he had; Azariah the son of Zadok the priest, 3: Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder. 4: And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the host: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests: 5: And Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers: and Zabud the son of Nathan was principal officer, and the king's friend: 6: And Ahishar was over the household: and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the tribute. 7: And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his household: each man his month in a year made provision. 8: And these are their names: The son of Hur, in mount Ephraim: 9: The son of Dekar, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan: 10: The son of Hesed, in Aruboth; to him pertained Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher: 11: The son of Abinadab, in all the region of Dor; which had Taphath the daughter of Solomon to wife: 12: Baana the son of Ahilud; to him pertained Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean, which is by Zartanah beneath Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, even unto the place that is beyond Jokneam: 13: The son of Geber, in Ramoth-gilead; to him pertained the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and brasen bars: 14: Ahinadab the son of Iddo had Mahanaim: 15: Ahimaaz was in Naphtali; he also took Basmath the daughter of Solomon to wife: 16: Baanah the son of Hushai was in Asher and in Aloth: 17: Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar: 18: Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin: 19: Geber the son of Uri was in the country of Gilead, in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only officer which was in the land.

4v20-34 Solomon prospers

20: Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry. 21: And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life. 22: And Solomon's provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal, 23: Ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep, beside harts, and roebucks, and fallowdeer, and fatted fowl. 24: For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side the river: and he had peace on all sides round about him. 25: And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all the days of Solomon. 26: And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. 27: And those officers provided victual for king Solomon, and for all that came unto king Solomon's table, every man in his month: they lacked nothing. 28: Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge. 29: And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. 30: And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31: For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about. 32: And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. 33: And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. 34: And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.

1 Kings, 5

5v1-18 Solomon prepares the build

1: And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David. 2: And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, 3: Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet. 4: But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent. 5: And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name. 6: Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians. 7: And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the LORD this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people. 8: And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for: and I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir. 9: My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea: and I will convey them by sea in floats unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household. 10: So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire. 11: And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year. 12: And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together. 13: And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. 14: And he sent them to Lebanon ten thousand a month by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the levy. 15: And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains; 16: Beside the chief of Solomon's officers which were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, which ruled over the people that wrought in the work. 17: And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house. 18: And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them, and the stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.

In today’s Bible reading we have the list of those officials that held office in Solomon’s kingdom. We also read that Solomon is prospered by the Lord is immense wealth and influence. And lastly we see that Solomon s not a warrior like his father but he is a builder. Let’s look at the princes and officials that enabled Solomon to rule is kingdom.

Azariah Prime minister
Elihoreph and Ahiah Scribes;
Jehoshaphat Recorder.
Benaiah Head of the army
Zadok and Abiathar The priests:
Zabud The principal officer under Azariah
Ahishar The royal household:
Adoniram The minister of Income from the nations

Solomon appointed twelve officers over all Israel who provided food for the king and his household: each man had a month of provision to organise each year.

1. The son of Hur, in mount Ephraim:
2. The son of Dekar, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan:
3. The son of Hesed, in Aruboth; to him pertained Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher:
4. The son of Abinadab, in all the region of Dor; which had Taphath the daughter of Solomon to wife:
5. The son of Ahilud; to him pertained Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean, which is by Zartanah beneath Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, even unto the place that is beyond Jokneam:
6. The son of Geber, in Ramoth-gilead; to him pertained the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and brasen bars:
7. Ahinadab the son of Iddo had Mahanaim:
8. Ahimaaz was in Naphtali; he also took Basmath the daughter of Solomon to wife:
9. Baanah the son of Hushai was in Asher and in Aloth:
10. Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar:
11. Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin:
12. Geber the son of Uri was in the country of Gilead, in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only officer which was in the land.

It’s interesting that for a long time the ten northern tribes and the two southern tribes had taken a different stand on many issues. In David’s day it was Judah that always stood by David and the ten tribes of Israel went to war with the southern tribes. After Solomon, these divisions would become more focused again but during the years of Solomon’s reign they were held together I peace. Solomon’s kingdom was known for its peace. And the nations which had been defeated by David never raised themselves up against Israel. We have here a list of the huge amount of food that Solomon provided for his own table.

30 measures of fine flour,
60 measures of meal,
10 fat oxen,
20 oxen out of the pastures,
100 sheep,
Along with harts, roebucks, fallow deer, fatted fowl.

Solomon had dominion over a huge area from Babylon to Egypt and the LORD gave him peace all around. Solomon had 40,000 horses for chariots and 12,000 Calvary men. Go gave to Solomon wisdom and understanding in a very large breath of knowledge and a huge intellect. Solomon exceeded the wisest of men of the east and all the cleverness of Egypt. He was wiser than the wisest of men including Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, Chalcol and Darda. The fame of Solomon went around the whole earth. He spoke 3,000 proverbs: and he wrote 1,005 songs. He spoke of every living thing from botany to zoology. People came from every nation to hear of his wisdom. Hiram the king of Tyre sent a message of good will to Solomon because he was in good relations with David. Solomon sent a message to Hiram telling him that he wished to build a house for the LORD. Hiram was delighted and blessed the LORD because he had given such a wise son to succeed him. Hiram provided all the cedars that Solomon required. Solomon paid in him goods. 20,000 measures of wheat and 20 measures of oil, every year. Solomon sent 30,000 men to Lebanon as workers. He sent them to work for one month 10,000 at a time. They were 1 month in Lebanon and two months at home. Solomon had 70,000 that bore burdens and 60,000 lumberjacks in the mountains. 3,300 men were required to do the work of building. And they brought stones from the quarries to build the foundations of the temple.

Steve