In our study of 1 Kings chapter four, we will look at the kingdom that was passed on to Solomon from his father. In chapter 3, we saw that David had taught his son about the things of God and that is the first part of the legacy that was left to Solomon.
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King Shlomo was king over all Isra'el, and these were his high officials: 'Azaryah the son of Tzadok, the cohen; Elichoref and Achiyah the sons of Shisha, secretaries; Y'hoshafat the son of Achilud, secretary of state; B'nayah the son of Y'hoyada, commander of the army; Tzadok and Evyatar, cohanim; 'Azaryah the son of Natan, chief administrator; Zavud the son of Natan, the king's trusted counselor; Achishar, in charge of the palace; Adoniram the son of 'Avda, in charge of forced labor.
We see the second part of the legacy that was left to Solomon in the fact that he ruled over "all Israel". His father had fought many battles to unify the nation and defeat its enemies but he passed on to his son a kingdom at peace. In this list of royal officials, we also see that other men left a legacy of loyalty and obedience to their sons. For instance, two of Nathan's sons were royal officials including one who was a personal adviser to the king. We are reminded that it was Nathan that had been obedient to God and went to David to inform him of the plot to replace him by his son Adonijah.
Shlomo had twelve officers over all Isra'el who were in charge of providing food and supplies for the king and his household; each one was in charge of provisions for one month out of the year. They were: the son of Hur, in the hills of Efrayim; the son of Deker, in Makatz, Sha'albim, Beit-Shemesh and Eilon-Beit-Hanan; the son of Hesed, in Arubot; he also had charge of Sokhoh and all the territory of Hefer; the son of Avinadav, in all the area of Dor; he had Tafat the daughter of Shlomo as his wife; Ba'ana the son of Achilud, in Ta'anakh, Megiddo, and all Beit-Sh'an by Tzartan below Yizre'el, from Beit-Sh'an to Avel-M'cholah, as far as beyond Yokme'am; the son of Gever, in Ramot-Gil'ad; he was in charge of the villages of Ya'ir the son of M'nasheh in Gil'ad and in charge of the region of Argov in Bashan, sixty large cities with walls and bronze bars; Achinadav the son of 'Iddo, in Machanayim; Achima'atz, in Naftali; he also took Basmat the daughter of Shlomo as his wife; Ba'ana the son of Hushai, in Asher and in Alot; Y'hoshafat the son of Paruach, in Yissakhar; Shim'i the son of Ela, in Binyamin; and Gever the son of Uri, in the land of Gil'ad, the country of Sichon king of the Emori and 'Og king of Bashan. Over all these, there was one administrator in the land.
Here, we have a list of the governors that Solomon put in charge of the twelve districts of the kingdom. We are reminded that, throughout the Bible, the number twelve is associated with divine authority and this kingdom was established by God and was to be ran according to His authority. We also see that each of these men were left a legacy by their fathers and so had ended up in these positions of authority. This is a reminder to all who have children that the life we live can have lasting rewards or consequences for our children.
Y'hudah and Isra'el were as numerous as sand grains on the seashore; they ate, drank and enjoyed themselves. Shlomo ruled over all the kingdoms from the [Euphrates] River through the land of the P'lishtim to the border of Egypt; they paid tribute and served Shlomo as long as he lived.
This was a time of prosperity as the kingdom was at the height of its glory. There was plenty in the land and other nations paid tribute to Israel. The reference to the people being numerous as the sand refers to the fact that, as far as the writer was concerned, the promise that God had made to Abraham about the number of his descendants had been fulfilled (see Genesis 22).
Shlomo's provisions for one day consisted of 150 bushels of fine flour, 310 bushels of meal, ten fattened oxen, twenty pasture-fed oxen and one hundred sheep, in addition to deer, gazelles, roebucks and fattened poultry. For he ruled all the area this side of the [Euphrates] River, from Tifsach to 'Azah. He was over all the kings on this side of the River; and he had peace all around him, on every side. From Dan to Be'er-Sheva, Y'hudah and Isra'el lived securely, every man under his vine and fig tree, throughout the lifetime of Shlomo. Shlomo also had 40,000 stalls for the horses used with his chariots and 12,000 horsemen. Those officers [named above] supplied food and other materials for King Shlomo and for everyone for whom Shlomo provided. Each was responsible for his month's supplies; they saw to it that nothing was lacking. They also made sure there was barley and straw where it was needed for the horses and draft animals; each filled his quota.
We see the depth of this prosperity in that it went down to all of the people as "each man under his own vine and fig tree". That is a long way from where we are today as more and more people are depending on charities or government handouts. We might ask ourselves why this is so and the answer is simple. We have been handed down a legacy that is quite different than that given to Solomon and many, today, are passing on a legacy of dependence to their children.
God gave Shlomo exceptional wisdom and understanding, as well as a heart as vast as the sandy beach by the sea. Shlomo's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of the people from the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than everyone - wiser than Eitan the Ezrachi and wiser than Heiman, Kalkol and Darda the sons of Machol; so that his fame spread to all the surrounding nations.
Here we see a picture of "being the light of Christ" as everyone knew that Solomon's wisdom was from God. His fame spread to the nations around Israel and brought glory to God. It should be the same for us as Christians in that our lives should be so bright that people can clearly see that we are His disciples. Then, the things that He does through us will give God the glory.
He composed 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. He could discuss trees, from the cedar in the L'vanon to the hyssop growing out of the wall; he could discuss wild animals, poultry, reptiles and fish. People from all nations came to hear the wisdom of Shlomo, including kings from all over the earth who had heard of his wisdom.
As his fame spread, Solomon continued to share his wisdom with the rest of the world. That is a reminder to us that, no matter what our gifts are, they are to be used for the kingdom.
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