April 25th
1 Kings, 4
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.
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
Solomon
prepares to 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. So God gave to Solomon
wisdom and understanding in a very wide 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
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