Solomon, king over all Israel, set about to appoint his officials (v1-6). Azariah, son of Zadok, the priest; Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, Scribes; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud, the recorder; Benaiah son of Jehoida, over the army; Zadok and Abiathar, the priests; Azariah son of Nathan, over the officers; Zabud son of Nathan, a priest and the king’s friends; Abishai, over the household; and Adonijah son of Abada, over the labour force.
He was wise to delegate responsibility. He might have been king over all, but he couldn’t do everything. He needed reliable people to shoulder responsibility.
He appointed twelve governors over Israel who provided food for the king and his household, each one for a month of the year. They are listed (v7-19). Ben Hur, Ben Deker, Ben-Hesed, Ben Abinadab (who was married to Taphath, the daughter of Solomon), Baana, son of Alihud, Ben-Geber, Ahinadab the son of Iddo, Ahimaaz, he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon as wife; Baanah the son of Hushai, Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, Shimei the son of Elah, Geber the son of Uri.
These men were responsible for taxation in their individual districts. The districts were not strictly separated by tribal borders but often according to mountains, land, and region. The land of Judah is absent from the list of regions. It is considered that there was only one official in Judah, the homeland, and it was probably untaxed. Taxes were paid in grain and livestock, which were used to support the royal court and central government.
It is clear that Israel and Judah had a huge population and were prosperous (v20,21) and Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. He was a powerful man, largely due to his father David’s conquests because Solomon was not a fighting man. All his people paid tribute to Solomon, so he was a rich man, and his people served him with apparent pleasure. Everything seemed to be going swimmingly.
In v22,23 we are told about the daily provisions for Solomon from his people. They were huge and far more than he and his household would need. One commentator suggests that this list is not meant to stress the idea of opulence and luxury, rather it indicated the great prosperity of the kingdom.
Solomon was a great king, despite his faults. He reigned over a huge region and Israel and Judah experienced peace on every side and dwelt in safety (v24-28).
The phrase ‘each man under his vine and fig tree’ usually indicates peace and prosperity. I suppose it’s a bit like sitting in your own garden growing your own vegetables, being self-sufficient.
He also amassed a large number of horses, chariots and horsemen, stabling them in a large number of stalls. However, he had not obeyed the Word of God which stated that kings should not ‘multiply horses for himself’ (Deuteronomy 17:16). Reliance on horses and chariots seemed to be connected with Israel’s enemies particularly Egypt. God wanted the kings to rely on and trust in Him, and not their own power. We are reminded that the governors provided food for the king and all who came to eat at his table. They even brought barley and straw for the horses, each governor in his allotted month.
Notice also that each man was to fulfil his duty, just as we have who belong to the Lord. We all have a duty to God, but let us not simply do it out of duty, but out of love for the Lord who saved us and keeps us. He has given us everything, so, isn’t it right that we should give to Him.
God gave Solomon great wisdom and understanding (v29-31) and his wisdom exceeded that of all men, four of such men are even named here, Ethan, Heman, Chalcol and Darda. Ethan and Heman wrote two of the Psalms (89,88) but he other two are not mentioned elsewhere. We don’t know much, if anything, about these men nor their exploits. One assumes that the last three were brothers, sons of Mahol, Ethan was an Ezrahite.
Solomon’s wisdom spread through all the surrounding nations, but, sadly, he didn’t always use his wisdom rightly, and particularly, he was led astray, presumably by his foreign wives, into worshiping other gods, as we shall see in later chapters of this book.
God had promised (Deuteronomy 28) that obedience to Him and following His commandments would lead to a person being set up high and established, as well as being feared by other nations.
God blessed him despite his failures, which shows the faithfulness of God. One suggests that Solomon was blessed because of the faithfulness of David, his father. And, yes, his father sinned too, but we see that David came in repentance before God, when he did sin.
I want to be careful here, but might I suggest that God may bless our children as a result of our faithfulness! We must set an example to them, if nothing else.
We are next introduced to Solomon’s broad knowledge (v32-34). He spoke three thousand proverbs and composed one thousand and five songs. He spoke of trees, animals, fish and creeping things. He was, clearly, a very clever man. He dealt with human problems but also knew all about the animal world. He was so gifted that all nations, including their kings, came to hear his wisdom.
No doubt many of his proverbs are included in the book of Proverbs which we have handed down to us in God’s Word, the Bible. We are not made aware of his songs. Only two Psalms are attributed to Solomon (72 and 127).
