Eliminating a Final Threat

Joab had been general over all the army throughout David’s reign, whil Benaiah had been over David’s personal guards.  After Joab’s treason, Solomon had hin executed and placed Benaiah over the entire army, in I Kings 2:35.  “And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host: and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar.”

David had warned him that Shimei was not to be trusted, as well, so Solomon set certain guidelines for Shimei, in I Kings 2:36-38.  “And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither.   For it shall be, that on the day thou goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shall be upon thine own head.

And Shimei said unto the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days.”

Shimei agreed to to Solomons terms, promising he would not leave Jerusalem or do anything to cause suspicion.  Three years later, two of his slaves ran away, and Shimei went after them, forgetting the terms of his freedom and his agreement with Solomon, in I Kings 2:39-46.  “And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish son of Maachah king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants be in Gath.  And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seek his servants: and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath.

And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again.  And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the LORD, and protested unto thee, saying, Know for a certain, on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, that thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst unto me, The word that I have heard is good.  Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the LORD, and the commandment that I have charged thee with?  The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father: therefore the LORD shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head; And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever.  So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.”

Shimei could have hired someone to go after his slaves, or he could have simply allowed them to escape, but in his greed, he did neither, violting his parole and forfeiting his life.  With Adonijah, Joab, and Shimei all dead and Abiathar removed from power, and the army under Beniaiah’s ledership, all the immediate threats to Solomon’s reign were eliminated, freeing him to focus on consolidating his position, as we see in I Kings 3:1-2.  “And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.  Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the LORD, until those days.”

One of the first things Solomon did was make a treaty with Egypt, marrying one of Pharaoh’s daughters in political ploy to ensure neither side would attack the other.  During the first half of his reign things went pretty well, and he was able make a lot of improvements in Jerusalem.  During the hundred years after the Ark of the Covenant had been captured and then returned by the Philistines, Israel had never fully followed God’s laws of worship since the Ark and the Tabernacle were in separate locations.  When David moved both to theJerusalem, the people continued to offer their sacrifices elsewhere, and would continue until the Temple was built.  One of the first major improvements would be the complete return to worshipping as God commanded, and that wouldn’t happen until the Temple was built.