2 Chronicles 8:1-18

It took Solomon twenty years to complete the construction of the temple and the construction of his palace.  He seems to be faithful to the Lord during this phase of construction and dedication of the temple.  Unfortunately, we know from other passages that Solomon had many wives that drew his heart away from the Lord and got him involved in worshiping many false idols.  The only hint of that we see in this passages is his marriage to the daughter of the king of Egypt.  This was obviously a marriage that was motivated by a political alliance and not an act of obedience to the Lord.  We see that Solomon recognized that it was an inappropriate marriage by the fact that he would not allow her to live in the house that David had built because the Ark had resided there and it was considered to be holy.  Obviously Solomon recognized that this wife was not in line with God’s standards but he chose to marry her anyway because it made sense politically.  This is a very dangerous mentality that continues to get many of into trouble today.  We have a tendency to think very pragmatically; if it works or makes sense we rationalize that it must be okay.  God calls us to trust and obey Him; especially when things do not make sense and when things are not working the way we would like them to.  This seems to be the start of a very slippery slope for Solomon that gained great momentum after the temple construction was complete.

SOLOMON BUILT MANY CITIES: Besides the massive construction project of the temple and his own palace, Solomon had many other construction projects that were spread throughout the entire country.  He fortified many of the established cities and built many new cities that were used to house the expanding army and the officials of this extremely prosperous nation.  The people who were not from Israel but lived in the land were made to be slaves for the purpose of building all of these communities.  The children of Israel were free and were not forced to do slave labor but served in the army, were administrators or had their own private positions or businesses.  It was a time of great prosperity and peace in Israel.  God’s hand was very evident in the land during these first twenty years.  However, Solomon’s sins over the next twenty years as seen in his relationship with his new wife from Egypt; led Israel down a path of destruction.

SOLOMON BURNT MANY OFFERINGS:  Solomon’s dedication to the Lord and his determination to fulfill all that the Lord had commanded through David is clearly seen in this passage.  Not only was the construction of the temple done according to David’s plan, but the Levites were organized and the sacrifices and offerings were made on a regular basis just as God had commanded and David had instructed.  Solomon’s heart was tender to the Lord and he sought to obey the Lord during this period of his reign.  However, it appears that as this construction phase comes to an end that Solomon’s lust for women, pride over his wisdom and power along with his greed for possessions and wealth got him into big trouble at the end of his reign.  Solomon is a great example of a man who started very well, but did not end well.  We must all be careful not to allow the success and blessings that God grants during times of obedience to not set us up for a great fall due to pride that leads to disobedience.