Today’s reading is a good example of why I like to read chronologically. I noticed a couple of details that I would have missed had they not been read side by side. After reading this, you have some questions, don’t you?
Well…which one was it? Did Solomon give towns to Hiram, or did Hiram give towns to Solomon? Did Solomon have 550 or 250 people in charge of the Israelites? Ho Ho!! You think….I have found an error in the Bible!
Not so fast, young jedi. Given the number of people in leadership positions, did you notice that government officials were left out of the smaller number, as were “army captains”? The two authors are probably counting slightly different groups of leaders…not much to see here.
Let’s turn our attention to the 20 towns for a moment:
Hiram was clearly not pleased with the 20 towns he received from Solomon, and Hiram has contributed the equivalent of 1/6th of the gross annual revenue with his shipment of gold…and has provided countless numbers of logs, etc. and skilled laborers. All of that to say “this is not a person that you want to insult”. So, when Hiram was not pleased with the gift, what did Solomon do? Listen carefully…… we don’t know.
But what we DO know is that a short time later, Solomon is spending big money rebuilding 20 towns that he recently received from Hiram. Almost certainly these are the same 20 towns that Hiram identified as “worthless”, which would be why Solomon had to invest in rebuilding them. They probably were worthless…which may be why Solomon offered them as a gift in the first place, but Hiram was too smart for that.
Now, onto more important matters. Quit trying to find reasons to doubt the inspiration of God’s Word… shame on you..
Most importantly, God speaks to Solomon and tells him emphatically two things: 1. that He is pleased with Solomon, and the Temple. 2. That He will continue to reside in the Temple, and bless Solomon’s reign and the nation for many generations…if Solomon serves him obediently.
There can be no doubt about what God is telling Solomon, and we know that Solomon understood it.
Further, Solomon understands holiness, because he moves his wife (an Egyptian) from David’s city to the new home he built because “she should not reside where the Ark of the Covenant has been, since it is holy”. Could others reside there? Could a Hebrew wife have lived there? I’m not sure, but either way, Solomon knows the difference between sacred and common. You might think that’s obvious…but just wait until later in the narrative…(spoiler alert)
By the way…did you notice the mention of a war that Solomon fought? It is the only battle we know of fought during Solomon’s reign, and you now know everything about it that I do. It’s found only in 2 Chronicles 8, and the location of this town (or these two towns) is unknown. Something about the name of them leads us to believe they were in the northern part of the kingdom, near Syria. I wish I knew more about the battle, since it was so rare in Solomon’s reign. I read somewhere that David fought against and defeated Zobah, which was allied with the Ammonites, and constantly provoked David. Perhaps this rebellious kingdom had overtaken Hamath, and Solomon was rescuing it.
Solomon was a man of peace, and the temple was to be built by a man of peace. I wonder if this battle was an example of disobedience, or was it simply a necessary show of force to keep the kingdom in order?
Are there lessons to be learned from today’s reading? Certainly.
I learn that God makes his plan and his “contract” with us clear, so that we enter into our agreement with Him with eyes wide open.
I learn that God will reside within what we have built, but is not required to, and will leave if we violate the contract. That applies to the church building, and to the human heart…and the home, community and nation.
I learn that God will allow our condition upon rejection of Him to be worse than we were before we knew Him
I learn that great wisdom and obedience are related, but wisdom doesn’t guarantee obedience. Passion is likely a better indicator.
If I were to be asked of God what I wanted from Him, I think I would respond with “grant me wisdom to lead, and passion to remain close to you. But if I must have only one, then give me passion to remain close…and grant to another the wisdom to lead. I would rather remain close and have not led, than to lead and lose my salvation”.
Faithfully,
PR