“At the end of twenty years, during which time Shlomo had built the two buildings, the house of Adonai and the royal palace, King Shlomo gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of the Galil (recall that Hiram the king of Tzor had supplied Shlomo with cedar and cypress logs and with all the gold Shlomo wanted).” – 1 Kings 9:10-11
From verse 10 in 1st Kings Chapter 9, Solomon appears to be heading down a negative trajectory.
He is letting his immense wealth, status, and intellect get the better of him.
We’re told that Solomon began willy-nilly handing over cities to King Hiram as a way of showing his gratitude for all his help.
Was this a good thing to do?
Hiram didn’t seem too excited about receiving these cities.
Take a look at this decree from the Torah.
“The land is not to be sold permanently,
because the land belongs to me;
you are only foreigners and temporary residents with me.”
-Leviticus 25:23
Solomon had become so wealthy and powerful that he was willing to use God’s land as currency to settle obligations created by his massive building program!!!
Am I saying Solomon’s collaboration with Hiram was a bad thing?
No.
In fact, 1 Kings gives us a pretty positive picture of the relationship.
So the cooperation itself wasn’t sinful.
The point is…
Solomon’s dependence on foreign wealth and expertise became part of a larger pattern that began pulling him away from the covenant.
That’s the point.
Ya feeling me here?
We’re gonna encounter the Queen of Sheba episode in the next chapter.
During that exchange between Solomon and a gentile ruler, you’ll get a glimpse of just how freakin’ rich Solomon had become.
When we read that story, there’s a key point I don’t want you to overlook.
None of Israel’s wealth…
None of the gold, silver, timber, exotic creatures…
Came from the land of Israel itself.
Everything had to be imported from foreign lands.
It was all provided by Gentiles.
Solomon depended on those who did not believe in the God of Israel to build the Temple for the God of Israel.
Ain’t that interesting?
So, what takeaway can we extract from this?
Honestly, that’s kind of a tough one.
I was gonna say something like…
Be careful about becoming overly dependent on the world.
See, Solomon wasn’t merely accepting a little outside assistance.
His kingdom had become increasingly dependent on foreign wealth, foreign trade, foreign expertise, foreign political relationships, and foreign labor.
And recall that after the Exodus, God had warned Israel to not go back to Egypt.
This meant not to return to their former gentile rulers for sustenance.
So I think the lesson here boils down to this:
There’s nothing wrong with receiving help from unbelievers.
The danger comes when God’s people become so dependent on the world’s wealth, power, expertise, and relationships …
That those things begin to control the direction of their lives.
Ya feel me?
Yeah, I like that.
Done.
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