1 Kings 9

1 And when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD and the king’s house and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do,

2 the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon.

3 And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication that thou hast made in my presence. I have sanctified this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever, and my eyes and my heart shall be there all the days.

4 And if thou wilt walk before me as David, thy father walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, keeping my statutes and my rights,

5 then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever as I spoke unto David, thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.

6 But if ye shall obstinately turn from following me, ye or your sons, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them,

7 I will cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them, and this house, which I have sanctified unto my name, I will cast out of my sight, and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all peoples;

8 and at this house, which was high, any one that passes by it shall be astonished and shall hiss, and they shall say, Why has the LORD done thus unto this land and to this house?

9 And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt and have taken hold upon other gods and have worshipped them and served them; for this the LORD has brought upon them all this evil.

10 And it came to pass at the end of twenty years in which Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD and the king’s house

11 (for which Hiram, the king of Tyre, had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees and with gold, according to all his desire), that then King Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.

12 And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, and they did not please him.

13 And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And they called them the land of Cabul unto this day.

14 And Hiram had sent the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold.

15 And this is the account of the levy which King Solomon raised to build the house of the LORD and his own house and Millo and the wall of Jerusalem and Hazor and Megiddo and Gezer.

16 For Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had gone up and taken Gezer and burnt it with fire and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city and given it for a gift unto his daughter, Solomon’s wife.

17 And Solomon built Gezer and Bethhoron, the lower,

18 and Baalath and Tadmor in the land of the wilderness,

19 likewise all the cities of store that Solomon had and cities for his chariots and cities for his horsemen and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem and in Lebanon and in all the land of his dominion.

20 And all the peoples that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the sons of Israel,

21 their children that were left after them in the land, whom the sons of Israel were not able utterly to destroy, upon those Solomon levied a tribute of bondservice unto this day.

22 But of the sons of Israel, Solomon did not impose service, but they were men of war, or his slaves or his princes or his captains or rulers of his chariots or his horsemen.

23 And those that Solomon had made princes and officers over Solomon’s work were five hundred and fifty, who bore rule over the people that wrought in the work.

24 But Pharaoh’s daughter came up out of the city of David unto her house which Solomon had built for her; then he built Millo.

25 And three times in a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the LORD, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the LORD, after the house was finished.

26 And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom.

27 And Hiram sent in the navy his slaves, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the slaves of Solomon.

28 And they went to Ophir and brought gold from there, four hundred and twenty talents and brought it to king Solomon.

1 Kings 9 Commentary

Chapter 9

God's answer to Solomon. (1-9) The presents of Solomon and Hiram. (10-14) Solomon's buildings, His trade. (15-28)

Verses 1-9 God warned Solomon, now he had newly built and dedicated the temple, that he and his people might not be high-minded, but fear. After all the services we can perform, we stand upon the same terms with the Lord as before. Nothing can purchase for us liberty to sin, nor would the true believer desire such a licence. He would rather be chastened of the Lord, than be allowed to go on with ease and prosperity in sin.

Verses 10-14 Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities. Hiram did not like them. If Solomon would gratify him, let it be in his own element, by becoming his partner in trade, as he did. See how the providence of God suits this earth to the various tempers of men, and the dispositions of men to the earth, and all for the good of mankind in general.

Verses 15-28 Here is a further account of Solomon's greatness. He began at the right end, for he built God's house first, and finished that before he began his own; then God blessed him, and he prospered in all his other buildings. Let piety begin, and profit follow; leave pleasure to the last. Whatever pains we take for the glory of God, and to profit others, we are likely to have the advantage. Canaan, the holy land, the glory of all lands, had no gold in it; which shows that the best produce is that which is for the present support of life, our own and others; such things did Canaan produce. Solomon got much by his merchandise, and yet has directed us to a better trade, within reach of the poorest. Wisdom is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold, ( Proverbs 3:14 ) .

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 9

This chapter relates a second vision Solomon had at Gibeon, in which he received an answer to his prayer in the preceding chapter, 1Ki 9:1-9 that passed between him and Hiram king of Tyre, 1Ki 9:10-14, the places that Solomon built or repaired, 1Ki 9:15-19, the Canaanitish people that became bondmen to him, and the officers he had among the children of Israel, 1Ki 9:20-23 the removal of Pharaoh's daughter to the house built for her, 1Ki 9:24. Solomon's attention to religious services, 1Ki 9:25 and the navy of ships he employed, which brought him in great riches, 1Ki 9:26-28.