Monday, June 24, 2013

Solomon’s Public Works And Trading Ventures

I Kings 9:10-28

“And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD, and the king's house, (Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.” (I Kings 9:10-11)

Hiram had furnished the lumber, the gold, and the workmen for twenty years for Solomon to build the temple, his palace and all his other public buildings.  In return, Solomon gave Hiram twenty villages and their surrounding area along the border of present day Lebanon.

“And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not.  And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul unto this day.  And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold. ” (I Kings 9:12-14)

After going to see the villages, Hiram wasn‘t very impressed by them.  The surrounding area was so barren he called it Cabul or “sterile”.  They had little of value to offer, but it was what they had agreed on and Hiram would keep his end of the bargain.  supplying an additional hundred twenty talents of gold, around 132,000  troy ounces.

“And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.

For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon's wife. 

And Solomon built Gezer, and Bethhoron the nether, And Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land, And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.” (I Kings 9:15-19)

Special taxes were raised to build all Solomon’s public works.  These included the temple and palace, fortifications around the city of Jerusalem and various military outposts, as well as rebuilding the City of Gezer, which Pharaoh had captured and given as a wedding present.  Outposts were built in all the areas Solomon ruled.  In addition, various supply depots were built.  Special military bases were built for the various branches of service.

 “And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel, Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day. 

But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen.  These were the chief of the officers that were over Solomon's work, five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work. ” (I Kings 9:20-23)

There were numerous groups of the original residents that Israel had not been able to destroy still living among them six hundred years later.  Solomon drafted these groups to do the labor on the public works, while the Jews served as soldiers and administrators, including fife hundred fifty who oversaw construction of the public works.

“But Pharaoh's daughter came up out of the city of David unto her house which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Millo.” (I Kings 9:24) 

When Solomon finished building her new palace, Pharaoh’s daughter moved out of the old city into her new home.  Solomon then built a special fortified area for his family and advisors, called Millo.

“And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the LORD, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the LORD. So he finished the house.” (I Kings 9:25)

When Solomon first became king, he frequently went out and offered sacrifices to God in the high places even though it was contrary to God’s word.  Twenty years later, when the temple has been completed right next door, he only makes it to offer sacrifices three times a year as the minimum the law required.  Once again we see his gradual moving away from God.

“And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom.  And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.  And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.” (I Kings 9:26-28)

There were several ports along the Mediterranean coast that ships could sail from for trading in north Africa, southern Europe, and western Asia.  They could also go out through the straits of Gibralter to trade along the west coast of Africa and Europe, and the Phoenicians, including the people of Tyre frequently did.

Solomon had a second navy of ships built at Eziongeber on the tip of the Gulf of Aqaba, a branch of the Red Sea so they could work along the eastern side of Africa and western India without having to go all the way around the horn of Africa.  This gave him ready access to the goldfields of Ophir on the east coast of Africa.  They brought back almost a half million troy ounces of gold, worth nearly three quarters of a billion dollars at today’s prices.  Phoenicians from Tyre were hired to command the ships.

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