The
Book of first kings
Chapter 4
[1] So king Solomon was king
over all
[2] And these were the princes which he had; Azariah
the son of Zadok the priest,
[3] Elihoreph and Ahiah,
the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat
the son of Ahilud, the recorder.
[4] And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada
was over the host: and Zadok and Abiathar
were the priests:
[5] And Azariah the son of Nathan was over the
officers: and Zabud the son of Nathan was principal
officer, and the king's friend:
[6] And Ahishar was over the household: and Adoniram the son of Abda was over
the tribute.
1) Solomon’s Power & Government
A.
Cabinet (Vs 1-6)
Solomon has been established as king over all
Solomon knew how to select, train, empower
& supervise leaders. A leader of leaders
Solomon wisely appoints 11 officials and
ministers of the state w/ specific areas of responsibility
The
“department of this” and “department of that” AND Azariah
(vs 5) was over these
officers.
[7] And Solomon had twelve officers over all
[8] And these are their names: The son of Hur, in
mount Ephraim:
[9] The son of Dekar, in Makaz,
and in Shaalbim, and Beth-shemesh,
and Elon-beth-hanan:
[10] The son of Hesed, in Aruboth;
to him pertained Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher:
[11] The son of Abinadab, in all the region of Dor; which had Taphath the
daughter of Solomon to wife:
[12] Baana the son of Ahilud;
to him pertained Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean, which is by Zartanah
beneath Jezreel, from Beth-shean
to Abel-meholah, even unto the place that is beyond Jokneam:
[13] The son of Geber, in Ramoth-gilead;
to him pertained the towns of Jair the son of
Manasseh, which are in Gilead; to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan,
threescore great cities with walls and brasen bars:
[14] Ahinadab the son of Iddo
had Mahanaim:
[15] Ahimaaz was in Naphtali;
he also took Basmath the daughter of Solomon to wife:
[16] Baanah the son of Hushai
was in Asher and in Aloth:
[17] Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah,
in Issachar:
[18] Shimei the son of Elah,
in Benjamin:
[19] Geber the son of Uri was in the country of Gilead,
in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the
only officer which was in the land.
B. Commissioners (Vs 7-19)
Solomon places 12 officers over provinces
& regions
This
guaranteed that Solomon’s House was always well furnished & supplied
This also secured industry in each region & promoted each local economy
[20]
[21] And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the
Philistines, and unto the border of
C. Crown (Vs
20,21)
Solomon’s subjects were
many, as numerous as the sand by the sea AND they are happy
Solomon’s kingdom was
vast and he not only ruled his people but neighboring kingdoms
The people willingly
served Solomon all the days of his life
I believe he taught
people and gave them instruction & knowledge
Never did the crown
of
[22] And Solomon's provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and
threescore measures of meal,
[23] Ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep,
beside harts, and roebucks, and fallowdeer, and
fatted fowl.
2) Solomon’s Provision (Vs 22,23)
A.
Meal
Solomon’s provision for
one day was 30 measures of flour & 60 measures of meal
B.
Meat
Solomon had 30 oxen, 100
sheep, many deer & birds were provided each day
It is estimated that
this would feed 4000 of his attendants for his household per day
[24] For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all
the kings on this side the river: and he had peace on all sides round about
him.
[25] And
3) Solomon’s Peace (Vs
24,25)
Solomon had peace in his
kingdom. “Peace on all sides round about him”
None of the nations that
were subject to him offered to shake off his yoke
Rather they depended on
him
B.
Subjects
Solomon’s own people
dwelt safely. No war to engage in, no threat of war was imminent
They were not jealous of
their king nor his officers
They “dwelt safely,
every man under his vine and under his fig tree”
They were prosperous
& had their own possessions & ate of them
Solomon invaded no mans
property and protected the people
[26] And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and
twelve thousand horsemen.
[27] And those officers provided victual for king
Solomon, and for all that came unto king Solomon's table, every man in his
month: they lacked nothing.
[28] Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries brought they unto the
place where the officers were, every man according to his charge.
4) Solomon’s Prosperity (Vs
26-28)
A.
Stables
Solomon had 40,000
stalls of horses, numerous chariots and 12,000 horsemen
B.
Strength
Each region prospered
and provided for the king, his household & his stables
“Every
man according to his charge” All the officers had a service to carry out
[29] And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and
largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore.
[30] And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east
country, and all the wisdom of
[31] For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite,
and Heman, and Chalcol, and
Darda, the sons of Mahol:
and his fame was in all nations round about.
[32] And he spake three
thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five.
[33] And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that
is in
[34] And there came of all people to hear the wisdom
of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.
5) Solomon’s Prominence (Vs 29-34)
A.
Fountain
of Wisdom
God gave Solomon all
that he had even his wisdom
B.
Fullness
of Wisdom
Wisdom and
understanding exceeding much,
and largeness of heart
Solomon wisdom excelled
the Chaldeans, the Egyptians, the Greeks & all of
the educated
C.
Fruits of
Wisdom
Solomon was known for
his divinely inspired wisdom. He recorded 3000
proverbs & 1005 songs He composed great things about
plants & animals. Kings of the earth came to hear him.
6) Solomon’s Picture
A.
Savior
In all of his glory and
prominence, Solomon pales to the wisdom & glory of our Savior
Lk
11:31
In fact our Savior
humbled himself, took the form of a servant, was crucified for my sins
Yet He transcends
royalty and glory beyond it’s highest elevations
In Christ are hidden all
the treasures of wisdom and knowledge
Our Saviors’ kingdom is
greater in power, provision, peace, prosperity & prominence
B.
Salvation
Lk
12:27-32
God blessed Solomon with
so much glory
Jesus said that Solomon
in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these lilies
And if God took such
great care of the lilies how much more will He take care of us?
He sent His only Son to
die for us, because He loved us.....much greater than a lily
He has saved us and will
provide for us and share his Kingdom with us
Oh how I want to serve
Him!