1 Kings 3:16-28
A Wise Ruling
Two prostitutes came to the king. They stood in front of him. One of them said, “Pardon me, my master, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was there with me. Three days after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone. There wasn’t anyone in the house but the two of us.
“During the night this woman’s baby died. It happened because she was lying on top of him. So she got up in the middle of the night. She took my son from my side while I was asleep. She put him by her breast. Then she put her dead son by my breast. The next morning, I got up to nurse my son. But he was dead! I looked at him closely in the morning light. And I saw that it wasn’t my baby.”
The other woman said, “No! The living baby is my son. The dead one belongs to you.”
But the first woman said, “No! The dead baby is yours. The living one belongs to me.” So they argued in front of the king.
The king said, “One of you says, ‘My son is alive. Your son is dead.’ The other one says, ‘No! Your son is dead. Mine is alive.’ ”
He continued, “Bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought to him. Then he gave an order. He said, “Cut the living child in two. Give half to one woman and half to the other.”
The woman whose son was alive was filled with deep love for her son. She said to the king, “My master, please give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!”
But the other woman said, “Neither one of us will have him. Cut him in two!”
Then the king made his decision. He said, “Give the living baby to the first woman. Don’t kill him. She’s his mother.”
All the Israelites heard about the decision the king had given. That gave them great respect for him. They saw that God had given him wisdom. They knew that Solomon would do what was right and fair when he judged people.
1 Kings 4:1-34
Solomon’s Officials and Governors
So King Solomon ruled over the whole nation of Israel.
Here are the names of his chief officials.
Azariah was the priest. He was the son of Zadok.
Elihoreph and Ahijah were secretaries. They were the sons of Shisha.
Jehoshaphat kept the records. He was the son of Ahilud.
Benaiah was the commander in chief. He was the son of Jehoiada.
Zadok and Abiathar were priests.
Azariah was in charge of the local governors. He was the son of Nathan.
Zabud was a priest. He was also the king’s adviser. He was the son of Nathan.
Ahishar was in charge of the palace.
Adoniram was in charge of those who were forced to work for the king. He was the son of Abda.
Solomon had 12 local governors over the whole land of Israel. They provided supplies for the king and the royal family. Each governor had to provide supplies for one month out of each year.
Here are their names and areas.
Ben-Hur’s area was the hill country of Ephraim.
Ben-Deker’s area was Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh and Elon Bethhanan.
Ben-Hesed’s area was Arubboth. Sokoh and the whole land of Hepher were included in his area.
Ben-Abinadab’s area was Naphoth Dor. He married Solomon’s daughter Taphath.
Baana’s area was Taanach, Megiddo and the whole territory of Beth Shan. Beth Shan was next to Zarethan below Jezreel. Baana’s area reached from Beth Shan all the way to Abel Meholah. It also went across to Jokmeam. Baana was the son of Ahilud.
Ben-Geber’s area was Ramoth Gilead. The settlements of Jair, the son of Manasseh, were included in his area in Gilead. The area of Argob in Bashan was also included. That area had 60 large cities that had high walls around them. The city gates were made secure with heavy bronze bars.
Ahinadab’s area was Mahanaim. He was the son of Iddo.
Ahimaaz’s area was Naphtali. He had married Basemath. She was Solomon’s daughter.
Baana’s area was Asher and Aloth. He was the son of Hushai.
Jehoshaphat’s area was Issachar. He was the son of Paruah.
Shimei’s area was Benjamin. He was the son of Ela.
Geber’s area was Gilead. He was the only governor over the area. He was the son of Uri. Gilead had been the country of Sihon and Og. Sihon had been king of the Amorites. Og had been king of Bashan.
Solomon’s Daily Supplies
There were many people in Judah and Israel. In fact, they were as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. They ate, drank and were happy. Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines. He ruled as far as the border of Egypt. All those countries brought the gifts he required them to bring him. And Solomon ruled over those countries for his whole life.
Here are the supplies Solomon required every day.
five and a half tons of the finest flour
11 tons of meal
ten oxen that had been fed by hand
20 oxen that had been fed on grasslands
100 sheep and goats
deer, antelopes and roebucks
the finest birds
Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms that were west of the Euphrates River. He ruled from Tiphsah all the way to Gaza. And he had peace and rest on every side. While Solomon was king, Judah and Israel lived in safety. They were secure from Dan all the way to Beersheba. Everyone had their own vine and their own fig tree.
Solomon had 4,000 spaces where he kept his chariot horses. He had a total of 12,000 horses.
The local governors provided supplies for King Solomon. They provided them for all who ate at the king’s table. Each governor provided supplies for one month every year. The governors made sure the king had everything he needed. They also brought barley and straw for the chariot horses and the other horses. Each of the governors brought the amounts required of them. They brought them to the proper places.
God Makes Solomon Very Wise
God made Solomon very wise. His understanding couldn’t even be measured. It was like the sand on the seashore. People can’t measure that either. Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the east. It was greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. Solomon was wiser than anyone else. He was wiser than Ethan, the Ezrahite. He was wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda. They were the sons of Mahol. Solomon became famous in all the nations around him. He spoke 3,000 proverbs. He wrote 1,005 songs. He spoke about plants. He knew everything about them, from the cedar trees in Lebanon to the hyssop plants that grow out of walls. He spoke about animals and birds. He also spoke about reptiles and fish. The kings of all the world’s nations heard about how wise Solomon was. So they sent their people to listen to him.
1 Kings 5:1-18
Solomon Prepares to Build the Temple
Hiram was the king of Tyre. He heard that Solomon had been anointed as king. He heard that Solomon had become the next king after his father David. Hiram had always been David’s friend. So Hiram sent his messengers to Solomon. Then Solomon sent a message back to Hiram. Solomon said,
“As you know, my father David had to fight many battles. His enemies attacked him from every side. So he couldn’t build a temple where the Lord his God would put his Name. That wouldn’t be possible until the Lord had put his enemies under his control. But now the Lord my God has given me peace and rest on every side. We don’t have any enemies. And we don’t have any other major problems either. So I’m planning to build a temple. I want to build it for the Name of the Lord my God. That’s what he told my father David he wanted me to do. He said, ‘I will put your son on the throne in your place. He will build a temple. I will put my Name there.’
“So give your men orders to cut down cedar trees in Lebanon for me. My men will work with yours. I’ll pay you for your men’s work. I’ll pay any amount you decide on. As you know, we don’t have anyone as skilled in cutting down trees as the men of Sidon are.”
When Hiram heard Solomon’s message, he was very pleased. He said, “May the Lord be praised today. He has given David a wise son to rule over that great nation.”
So Hiram sent a message to Solomon. Hiram said,
“I have received the message you sent me. I’ll do everything you want me to. I’ll provide the cedar and juniper logs. My men will bring them from Lebanon down to the Mediterranean Sea. I’ll make them into rafts. I’ll float them to the place you want me to. When the rafts arrive, I’ll separate the logs from each other. Then you can take them away. And here’s what I want in return. Provide food for all the people in my palace.”
So Hiram supplied Solomon with all the cedar and juniper logs he wanted. Solomon gave Hiram 3,600 tons of wheat as food for the people in his palace. He also gave him 120,000 gallons of oil made from pressed olives. He did that for Hiram year after year. The Lord made Solomon wise, just as he had promised him. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon. The two of them made a peace treaty.
King Solomon forced men from all over Israel to work hard for him. There were 30,000 of them. He sent them off to Lebanon in groups of 10,000 each month. They spent one month in Lebanon. Then they spent two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the people who were forced to work. Solomon had 70,000 people who carried things. He had 80,000 who cut stones in the hills. He had 3,300 men in charge of the project. They also directed the workers. The people did what the king commanded. They removed large blocks of the best quality stone from a rock pit. They used them to provide a foundation for the temple. The skilled workers of Solomon and Hiram cut and prepared the logs and stones. They would later be used in building the temple. Workers from Byblos also helped.
