1 Kings 9: 1 – 28
Second Date
9 And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished building the house of the LORD and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he wanted to do, 2 that the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 And the LORD said to him: “I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built to put My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. 4 Now if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, 5 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’ 6 But if you or your sons at all turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight. Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 8 And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and will hiss, and say, ‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land and to this house?’ 9 Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore the LORD has brought all this calamity on them.’ ” 10 Now it happened at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD and the king’s house 11 (Hiram the king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress and gold, as much as he desired), that King Solomon then gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. 12 Then Hiram went from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, but they did not please him. 13 So he said, “What kind of cities are these which you have given me, my brother?” And he called them the land of [c]Cabul, as they are to this day. 14 Then Hiram sent the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold. 15 And this is the reason for the labor force which King Solomon raised: to build the house of the LORD, his own house, the Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. 16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer and burned it with fire, had killed the Canaanites who dwelt in the city, and had given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.) 17 And Solomon built Gezer, Lower Beth Horon, 18 Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land of Judah, 19 all the storage cities that Solomon had, cities for his chariots and cities for his cavalry, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. 20 All the people who were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel— 21 that is, their descendants who were left in the land after them, whom the children of Israel had not been able to destroy completely—from these Solomon raised forced labor, as it is to this day. 22 But of the children of Israel Solomon made no forced laborers, because they were men of war and his servants: his officers, his captains, commanders of his chariots, and his cavalry. 23 Others were chiefs of the officials who were over Solomon’s work: five hundred and fifty, who ruled over the people who did the work. 24 But Pharaoh’s daughter came up from the City of David to her house which Solomon had built for her. Then he built the Millo. 25 Now three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he had built for the LORD, and he burned incense with them on the altar that was before the LORD. So he finished the temple. 26 King Solomon also built a fleet of ships at Ezion Geber, which is near Elath on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. 27 Then Hiram sent his servants with the fleet, seamen who knew the sea, to work with the servants of Solomon. 28 And they went to Ophir, and acquired four hundred and twenty talents of gold from there, and brought it to King Solomon.
Strange as this might seem reading through today’s chapter my thoughts regarding a topic is ‘Second Dates’.
I’ve heard far too many times from friends that they had, what they thought, was a great first date. I’ve also heard from these same friends that, despite what they thought, they rarely get to a second date. Is there some sort of magic trick that leads to a second date that no one is telling us about or something?
But because we all want to find on ourselves on a second date —here's some things to consider if you seek the ‘Second Date’.
1. Chat with each other for more than a week before your first date.
Those who chatted for at least a week (or more!), were twice as likely to get themselves to a second date which statistics reveal. Basically, even if you’re feeling a connection through messages and your soon-to-be date is laughing at all your awesome jokes, it’s still important to wait a bit.
2. Do not go to dinner on the first date.
A nice way to see the other person is to go out and grab a coffee or tea in a nice setting. I do not mean a franchise donut shop. I am talking about a nice coffee house. You should then have an inexpensive add on activity to do if after you consume your coffee or tea and want to hang out together some more.
3. Go out on your first date during the week.
Perhaps, after a long day, the last thing you want to do is go out on a first date, but those who are open to going on a mid-week first date have a higher chance to making it to a second date. Maybe it’s because you can’t stay out late, so your time is limited, and you’ll just have to see them again to hear the end of that funny story they were telling when the clock struck midnight.
4. Keep the first date inexpensive
You send the wrong vibes to the person you like if you shell out too much money.
5. Don’t push for a first date kiss!
According to a lot of findings, the majority of those who made it to a second date actually skipped the first date kiss. To a large degree by refraining it makes the other person look forward to the experience of what it is like being kissed by you. But it was those who held off who were more likely to see the person again. Of course, if you're both feeling it, go for it.
6. Don’t play games
If you’re into someone and want to see them again, then don’t play games. If you had an awesome time, why wouldn’t you want to let them know ASAP and thank them for a great night?
7. Plan date #2 during date #1
One of the biggest factors in getting a second date? - planning the second date during the first date. If things are going that well, why not? Finding someone with whom you connect and enjoy spending time with is no easy feat. So, when you do find someone who fits your thoughts and dreams, take a risk and see what’s in store. I would recommend that you have an idea on what to do with a second date ready to implement.
Now you might have been thinking all along, why the subject of a ‘second date’? Well what we will see described is far greater than an earthly get together. We will find out that Solomon was blessed with another personal visit from our Holy Father God Himself. Now that is a date I would want. How about you?
The importance of this passage, which provides us with YHWH’s response to Solomon’s dedication, is brought out by the successful completion of YHWH’s House and the King’s Palace Complex, which it is once again emphasized took up twenty years to build, taking us some way into the second half of his reign.
In its YHWH declares that He has hallowed (separated off totally to Himself) the House to put His Name there forever, so that His eyes and heart would be there perpetually. In other words He has accepted it as taking the place of the Tabernacle and the Sacred Tent, where His Name had previously been (2 Samuel 6.2). From then on there would be a sense in which His personal presence would ever be there as expressed through His eye and heart. But it was conditional. For if the house of David, and the people, failed to walk in the ways of David, the House would simply be cast out of His sight and become a place to be hissed at. The House meant nothing apart from the loving and obedient response of the people.
9 And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished building the house of the LORD and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he wanted to do, 2 that the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon.
This point at which Solomon had completed his desire to build the Temple and the Palace Complex is to be the second major moment of his life, the first having been when YHWH spoke with him at Gibeon. This is in itself a reminder that in spite of his great wisdom he received few direct revelations from God, for this was only his second visitation in twenty years. In it God accepted the genuineness of his attempt to please Him and accepted his gesture, but on conditions. God was already aware, as Solomon was not, of the wayward tendencies in his life. If he was to enjoy the blessing promised to David, he must walk as David walked.
3 And the LORD said to him: “I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built to put My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.
YHWH began by declaring that He had heard Solomon’s prayer and supplication that he had made ‘before Him’ (in the Temple area). And as a result He had hallowed ‘this House’ just as He had previously hallowed the Tabernacle (Exodus 29.42-44). ‘This House’ is then defined as that in which Solomon had intended to ‘put His Name’, that is, in which he would house the Ark of the Covenant of YHWH (2 Samuel 6.2). And YHWH’s response is that as a result His eyes and His heart would be there perpetually.
‘My eyes --- will be there ---.’ Solomon’s prayer had been that the eyes of YHWH would be upon this House (8.29, 52), in order that He might hear His people’s intercession, especially as regards forgiveness. Thus, YHWH was promising that His eye would be there so that He would ever be ready to regard their genuine cry, and if necessary forgive. But the eye was regularly seen as the instrument of judgment (Deuteronomy 19.13, 21). Thus, it includes the thought that the eyes of YHWH would watch over His people, both to ensure that they were fulfilling His requirements (Deuteronomy 13.18), and in order to demonstrate His continual compassion towards them (Genesis 6.8).
There may be a hint here in the phrasing of dissatisfaction with an unsought for situation. This was where Solomon had set His Name, not where YHWH had sought to set His Name (Deuteronomy 12.5), even though, as in the case of the kingship, He would align Himself with man’s genuine efforts and seal them as His own.
4 Now if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, 5 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’
As so often in the Torah contrasting choices are offered to Solomon. Here the call is to walk before YHWH as David walked, in both integrity of heart and in uprightness which would involve doing all that YHWH commanded and keeping His statutes, and His ordinances. The consequence would then be that YHWH would establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever, just as He had promised David (2 Samuel 7.13, 16). This would fulfil His promise to David that, ‘there shall not fail you a man on the throne of Israel’.
6 But if you or your sons at all turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them,
The contrasting alternative is then put, the possibility that they will turn away from following YHWH. (For ‘turning away from following YHWH’.
The consequence of their serving other gods and worshipping them will be that they will be cut off from the land which God has given them, the point being that the land was given to them because He was their Lord and they were His people, and on rebelling against Him they would thus no longer have any right to it.
7 then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight. Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples.
The Israelites are not to see the fact that YHWH has ‘hallowed’ the House as an indication that He will give it special treatment. The ‘holiness’ of the House is not to be intrinsic. Rather it is hallowed (set apart uniquely as His earthly Dwelling place) because, and while, He is among them (8.10-11) and they are His obedient people. But if they rebel against Him then He will cast the house out of His sight. He will have no interest in it at all.
Furthermore, Israel themselves are warned that as a result they will become a kind of private joke, a jest, a ‘proverb’ which acts as a warning to others, and a ‘byword’. Because they have rejected Him YHWH will have no concern at all for their good name.
8 And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and will hiss, and say, ‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land and to this house?’ 9 Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore the LORD has brought all this calamity on them.’ ”
What is more, whatever reputation the Temple might achieve, it will collapse so that all who pass by will be astonished, and will hiss, and will say, “Why has YHWH done thus to this land, and to this house?”
The strict translation of the Hebrew is ‘this house shall be very high’, with a recognition of the reputation that it would gain. But the contrast is clearly intended. The height of its renown will not prevent it becoming an astonishment, and something to be hissed at. Rather it will ensure it.
10 Now it happened at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD and the king’s house. 11 (Hiram the king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress and gold, as much as he desired), that King Solomon then gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. 12 Then Hiram went from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, but they did not please him. 13 So he said, “What kind of cities are these which you have given me, my brother?” And he called them the land of Cabul, as they are to this day. 14 Then Hiram sent the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold.
This verse is an indication of the wealth that Solomon had laid out on his enterprises, and the great cost involved, that even he had subsequently to resort to a private loan, in spite of the wealth continually flowing into his kingdom. But, of course, no hint is given of a commercial transaction here (unless possibly in the naming of the lands as Cabul which means ‘worthless’). It simply consisted of ‘gifts’ between extremely wealthy kings. The ‘settlements’ (cities/towns/villages) are ‘given’, both as a gesture of gratitude and as security for a further loan, without any such commonplace suggestions being made. Hiram then views them and is not very pleased with their ‘quality’ but nevertheless decides to send Solomon a huge amount of gold. He knew, of course, that his investment was safe and that he would eventually get it back in return for the ‘settlements’, no doubt at a somewhat enhanced premium.
Hiram’s response to ‘the king’s’ gift was to send him one hundred and twenty talents of gold, possibly around four tons, a substantial sum. This is not to be his valuation of the worth of the land. He would expect at some stage to receive back the equivalent in value, possibly in valuable produce.
The significance of this extract from the official annals was that it indicated Solomon’s temporary embarrassment caused by his overspending.
We have already seen that the author of Kings was not totally satisfied with the sources used in building the Temple, seeing them as tainted as foreign resources were at play in all the building
We next come to see the linking of the building of the Temple and the palace complex with several other large-scale building works in which Solomon engaged, all of which required extensive slave-labor. The emphasis is on the fact that it caused the raising of the levies, suggesting the disapproval of the situation. Solomon obtained this slave-labor by conscripting the Canaanites who were left in the land, for while it has previously been mentioned that he pressed Israelites into part-time service while building the Temple (5.13-14), causing great dissatisfaction (12.4), he had been careful not to make them into slave-laborers. That would have gone against all the recognized customs in Israel. Instead they were made responsible for the defense of the realm as well as the oversight of the slaves. The Canaanites were, however, seen as suitable material for being turned into slaves.
15 And this is the reason for the labor force which King Solomon raised: to build the house of the LORD, his own house, the Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.
Here we have an explanation of the full-scale slave levy on the previous inhabitants of the land. It is in fact almost as though the the words appear as an apology.
‘The Millo (filling).’ This is unquestionably referring to fortification work in Jerusalem.
‘Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer.’ These were important defensive cities from north to south. Hazor was in northern Naphtali. It was a substantial city which guarded the road from the north. Megiddo, an even larger city, guarded the route from Phoenicia and the important trade route through the Valley of Esdraelon. Gezer was the southernmost large city and guarded the way to Jerusalem from the coast. It dominated the south western plain.
16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer and burned it with fire, had killed the Canaanites who dwelt in the city, and had given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.)
Gezer had been an independent ‘Canaanite’ city, but Pharaoh Siamun, a Pharaoh of the weak twenty first dynasty, who ruled around 978-959 BC, had engaged in a police action against it and had subdued it. The Egyptians conducted local actions against the Canaanites and Philistines in protecting their borders from supposed incursions
17 And Solomon built Gezer, Lower Beth Horon, 18 Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land of Judah,
Lower Beth-horon (something also evidenced archaeologically) which guarded the road through the Ayalon Valley, protecting the route to Jerusalem from the Coastal Plain, together with Baalath which may have been in the southern wilderness (Joshua 15.24). ‘Tamar in the wilderness’ was south of the Dead Sea, protecting trade with Southern Arabia and with the port of Elath. ‘
19 all the storage cities that Solomon had, cities for his chariots and cities for his cavalry, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
As well as the great fortified cities Solomon built store cities, and cities for his chariots and horsemen, all necessary for the defense of the land. And on top of these he built many other things, both in Jerusalem, Lebanon and throughout the land.
20 All the people who were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel— 21 that is, their descendants who were left in the land after them, whom the children of Israel had not been able to destroy completely—from these Solomon raised forced labor, as it is to this day.
The ‘Canaanites’ would be used to the idea of the slave-levy. Thus, they would not have been surprised as a subject people to find themselves drafted for this work. As with the Israelites in Egypt they and their families would be provided with food of a kind and would still have their own homes. That is not to say that they found it palatable. No doubt they too groaned under their taskmasters. It represented the side of Solomon that He was unhappy with (12.4).
Strictly these Canaanites should have been slaughtered or driven from the land. They had been ‘devoted’ to YHWH as being unfit to live amongst because of their evil and perverted ways (Genesis 15.16).
22 But of the children of Israel Solomon made no forced laborers, because they were men of war and his servants: his officers, his captains, commanders of his chariots, and his cavalry.
The children of Israel were ‘free-men’ and could not be turned into bond-slaves except by personal choice for debt or in order to ensure a livelihood, even by such a tyrant as Solomon had become. They were thus called into service as soldiers, officers, commanders, captains, chariot shield-bearers and drivers. This was in fact what Samuel had warned the people would be the result of having a king (1 Samuel 8.12). Again, the prophet is letting us know that Solomon was the typical harsh non-YHWH-like monarch.
23 Others were chiefs of the officials who were over Solomon’s work: five hundred and fifty, who ruled over the people who did the work.
And over the levy were five hundred and fifty taskmasters. Seemingly there were three hundred semi- senior Canaanite taskmasters of ordinary taskmasters and two hundred and fifty senior Israelite taskmasters.
24 But Pharaoh’s daughter came up from the City of David to her house which Solomon had built for her. Then he built the Millo.
Adding to his disapproval the prophet points out that much of this work had been carried out to make provision for Pharaoh’s daughter. Now that the palace complex had been completed, and the Ark had been removed from the Sacred tent in David’s house, the Egyptian princess, with her false deities, could be allowed to live there. And this was the time when he built The Millo. ‘The Millo (filling)’ unquestionably referring to fortification work in Jerusalem.
25 Now three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he had built for the LORD, and he burned incense with them on the altar that was before the LORD. So he finished the temple.
The Temple having been built it was used as the Central Sanctuary to which the men of Israel gathered for the three great feasts, Passover, Sevens (Weeks) and Tabernacles. And during those feasts Solomon arranged for the offering of the burnt-offerings and peace-offerings as required by Law.
Interestingly the House could not be ‘finished’ until it had been put to its proper use in the offering of the required offerings and sacrifices, and that had awaited the transfer of Pharaoh’s daughter to the palace complex, and the establishment of the Ark in its unique position in the Most Holy Place. Now at last it was fully operational.
In the following passage we learn of Solomon’s international influence and widespread trading activities, while central to it is Solomon’s reputation for wisdom as evidenced by the visit of the Queen of Sheba. Even though very much aware of Solomon’s weaknesses and failures the author hides nothing of his splendour. He is fair and open minded while making clear his disapproval simply by the way in which he words things. The sad thing about Solomon is that such a wise man, to whom God had given so much, should have been so foolish as to destroy his kingdom because of his vanity, pride and lust. He was fulfilling all the prophetic warnings of what happened when men were given supreme kingship (1 Samuel 8.11-18).
The coming of the Queen of Sheba was almost certainly because she wanted to ensure the maintenance of trading routes between her kingdom in Arabia, the Red Sea trade through Ezion-Geber, the northern trade routes, and the maritime trade through Tyre and Sidon. Solomon’s kingdom controlled all the trade routes.
26 King Solomon also built a fleet of ships at Ezion Geber, which is near Elath on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.
Because of David’s conquest of Edom Solomon had control of the port of Ezion-Geber on the Red Sea. These facilities would provide Solomon with huge revenues, as well as enabling his own trading ventures.
27 Then Hiram sent his servants with the fleet, seamen who knew the sea, to work with the servants of Solomon. 28 And they went to Ophir and acquired four hundred and twenty talents of gold from there and brought it to King Solomon.
Taking advantage of his treaty friendship with Hiram Solomon set up his own fleet, with his own people receiving expert guidance and help from the experienced Tyrian sailors and shipbuilders. And they regularly set sail for Ophir and returned bringing back large consignments of gold.
