1 Kings 10.16-17 says that Solomon made 200 large shields (“tzinah”) of beaten gold, paying 600 shekels for each one. A tzinah is a full body shield used to keep arrows and rocks way from you. He also made 300 shields (“magen”) of beaten gold, paying 300 shekels for each one (2 Chr 9.16). The magen is a smaller shield used in close combat. Eph 6.16 says we should take up the “shield of faith” but there are several types of shields as we have just seen in 10.16-17. The battle you are in will dictate which shield you should use. We recommend that if you don’t know, you should go to the teaching “The Spiritual Warrior” on this site to learn more about spiritual warfare. Solomon put these shields into the armory called the House of the Forest of Lebanon (Beit Yair Ha Levanon). This building served as the treasury (1 Kings 10.21; Isa 22.8; 2 Chr 9.16; 1 Kings 14.25-28).
1 Kings 10.18-20 talks about Solomon’s throne. It was made of ivory (white for purity-Rev 20.11) and he overlaid it with gold. There were six steps to the throne, alluding to the 6000 years to the Messianic Kingdom. There was a round top (alcove) to the throne and “hands” on each side (arms of a chair). Two lions stood beside the arms, alluding to the kingly tribe of Judah and the Messiah. Twelve lions were standing on the steps, six on each side. This also alludes to the kingly tribe of Judah and the Messiah.
1 Kings 10.21 says that all of King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold and all the vessels of the Beit Yair Ha Levanon were gold. In 1 Kings 10.23 it says that Solomon had ships at sea that brought gold, silver, ivory, apes and peacocks. Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches. Deut 28.1-44 is being fulfilled here.
1 Kings 10.23-25 says that Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth and they were seeking the presence of Solomon to hear the wisdom which God gave him. In this he is a type of Yeshua (Eph 3.8). They brought many gifts to Solomon when they came before him (Deut 28.13).
1 Kings 10.26-29 gives us some insight into why Solomon’s reign was more peaceful than David’s. Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen. He had 1400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen and stationed them in “chariot cities.” He had a strong military, and very organized, something David didn’t have. However, some believe this is contrary to Deut 17.16.
Solomon made silver as common as stones. His great wealth was not something he sought after, it was given to him by the Lord (1 Kings 3.13). Solomon also testified about the vanity of riches in the Book of Ecclesiastes. So, this does not really contradict Deut 17.16 because it was a blessing from the Lord and not something Solomon went after for himself. He did have an interest in horses and he bought and sold them to others in trade. Perhaps he was the “middle man” in these transactions.
Now we come to 1 Kings 11.1-43 and some of the false steps Solomon took despite his great wisdom. 1 Kings 11.1-8 tells us that he loved many foreign women, something the Lord said not to do (Deut 7.1). These were lustful, not lawful, unions and they turned his heart away from the Lord. Why does the Bible reveal the shortcomings of the major characters? We see from Adam all the way to the talmidim of Yeshua in the Gospels and Epistles a tendency to be very “human.” The answer is because they are only pictures of the Messiah in certain contexts and events. Yehovah did not want the people of later generations to think any of these people could have been the Messiah. Then they would think he already came or have other false beliefs. When Yeshua comes it would have been harder to present his case as Messiah.
For example, there have been those who have made a case for Hezekiah being the Messiah. In a commentary on Isa 9.7 on the word “increase” (marbeh), it says that the Lord sought to designate King Hezekiah as the Messiah and Sennacherib and Assyria as Gog and Magog, all from the prophecy of Ezekiel with regard to the end of days (The William Davidson Talmud, Sanhedrin 94a). Another source to show King Hezekiah as Messiah is Mesorah Publications book called “Tehillim” on Page 948.
Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines for total of 1000. Now, this may not be for “personal” use because this was the practice of eastern kings. Some were for appearances or alliances, but this number seems to be referred to when Solomon wrote Ecc 7.28. These wives turned his heart away from God as the Torah said it would (Deut 17.17). When he was old his wives “turned his heart away from Yehovah to other gods. His heart was not fully devoted to Yehovah his God, as the heart of David his father.”
Though David had many sins, he never turned to idolatry. His heart was always sincere in his worship (Psa 18.20). Solomon went after Ashtoret the goddess of the Sidonians (hunter), enticed by a Sidonian women (1 Kings 11.1). He also went after Milcom (great lord), the detestable idol of the Ammonites. This is the same as Molech (1 Kings 11.7), and he was drawn to it by his Ammonite wife (1 Kings 11.1). He built “bamot” (high places) for Chemosh, the idol of the Moabites (Jer 48.7). This was due to his Moabite wife (1 Kings 11.1) and built these “bamot” for their idols on the Mount of Olives, and he did this for all his wives. This teaches us that even the brightest and best of men, left to themselves, may do terrible things, but the worst is the worship of false gods.
1 Kings 11.9-13 tells us the Lord was very angry with Solomon. Yehovah appeared to him twice, at Gibeon in 1 Kings 3.5 and 1 Kings 9.2 after the Temple was dedicated. So he announces his judgment. He will tear the kingdom away from Solomon and give it to “your servant.” But he would not do it in Solomon’s lifetime for the sake of his father David (2 Sam 7.12-17). He would not tear away the whole kingdom, but will leave one tribe to his son. This “one tribe” is Benjamin and Judah. They were considered “one” because their inheritance was together and mixed. They shared Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. After the division this area went by the name “Judah.”
In 1 Kings 11.14-22 it says the Lord raised up an adversary (Hebrew “a satan”) to Solomon by the name of Hadad the Edomite, a descendant of the King of Edom. Solomon had no “satan” in 1 Kings 5.4, but now he will have three “satans” against him (Hadad, Rezin and Jereboam). Rezin was from the north and he was the son of Eliada who had fled from his lord Hadadezer, the King of Zobah. He became a leader of a band of raiders and caused trouble all the days of Solomon.
In 1 Kings 11.26-28 it says the third “satan” (adversary) was a man who went by the name of Jereboam, the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite, a servant of Solomon. He will be different than the other two because he is Jewish. He will be a picture of the False Messiah in many ways, so pay close attention to him as we move on. Why did he rebel against Solomon? It says in 1 Kings 11.27 that it was because he built the Millo (mound) which filled in a hollow space between the fort and the lower city where the Jebusites were. Solomon filled in the area between two summits. Jewish tradition says that he opposed the use of forced labor for these projects because Jereboam thought this was oppressive. He was a valiant warrior and Solomon appointed him over the labor from the House of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh). He will be a thorn in the side to Solomon, and later his son Rehoboam, introducing Replacement Theology into the northern tribes.
We will pick up in 1 Kings 11.29-40 in Part 12.
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