1. =His claim to the throne.= He was one of the youngest of David's
sons, the second child of Bath-sheba, born during the culmination of
David's reign (1 Chron. 22. 7-9). He obtained the throne by the decree
of David, by the choice of God, as the one among David's children best
fitted to reign (1 Chron. 28. 5, 6). The principle of primogeniture, or
the special right of the eldest son, was not fixed in those times.
2. =His accession= was marked by the execution of three men, Adonijah (1
Kings 2. 24, 25), Joab (1 Kings 2. 28-34), and Shimei (1 Kings 2.
36-46). Two of these had conspired against him, and the third was the
last survivor of the house of Saul, and a possible rival for the throne.
Their death was dictated by policy, and probably by justice. His throne
would not be secure while these men lived.
3. =His empire= embraced all the lands from the Red Sea to the
Euphrates, and from the Mediterranean to the Syrian desert, except
Phenicia, which was isolated by the Lebanon Mountains. 1.) Besides
Palestine he ruled over Edom, Moab, Ammon, Syria (here referring to the
district having Damascus as its capital), Zobah, and Hamath. 2.) On the
Gulf of Akaba, Ezion-geber was his southern port (1 Kings 9. 26); on the
Mediterranean, Gaza (Azzah) was his limit; in the extreme north,
Tiphsah, by the Euphrates (1 Kings 4. 24); in the desert, Tadmor,
afterward Palmyra (1 Kings 9. 18).
4. =His foreign relations= were extensive, for the first and only time
in the history of Israel. 1.) His earliest treaty was _with Tyre_
(Phenicia), whose king had been his father's friend (1 Kings 5. 1). What
this alliance brought to Solomon (1 Kings 5. 6-10; 2 Chron. 2. 3-14).
2.) His relations _with Egypt_; in commerce (1 Kings 10. 28, 29); in
marriage, a bold departure from Israelite customs (1 Kings 3. 1).
Probably Psalm 45 was written upon this event. 3.) _With Arabia_, the
land bordering on the southern end of the Red Sea (1 Kings 10. 1-10, 14,
15). 4.) _With India_, which is probably referred to in 1 Kings 9.
26-28. 5.) _With Spain_, probably meant in 1 Kings 10. 22.
5. =His buildings.= 1.) Of these the greatest, the most costly, and the
most famous was _the temple_ (1 Kings 6. 1). With this building notice:
(_a_) The courts and open square, with an inner court inside for the
priests only (2 Chron 4. 9). (_b_) The porch (2 Chron 3. 4). (_c_) The
holy place (2 Chron. 3. 8; 1 Kings 6. 17). (_d_) The holy of holies (1
Kings 6. 19, 20). (_e_) The chambers for the priests (1 Kings 6. 5, 6).
2.) _His own palace_, situated south of the temple precincts, in the
district called Ophel. Its name derived from its columned entrance (1
Kings 7. 1, 2). 3.) _His fortified cities_ (1 Kings 9. 17-19). 4.) _His
aqueducts_, some of which may still be seen (Eccl. 2. 4-6). No King of
Israel ever built so many public works as did Solomon.
6. But all was not bright in the reign of Solomon. We must notice also
=his sins=, for they wrought great results of evil in the after years.
1.) That which led to all his other sins was _foreign marriages_ (1
Kings 11. 1-4). These were the natural and inevitable result of his
foreign relations, and were probably effected for political reasons as
well as to add to the splendor of his court. 2.) His _toleration of
idolatry_, perhaps actual participation in it (1 Kings 11. 5-8). We
cannot over-estimate the harm of Solomon's influence in this direction.
At once it allied him with the lower and evil elements in the nation,
and lost to him the sympathy of all the earnest souls.[H] 3.) Another of
Solomon's sins, not named in Scripture, but referred to in many legends
of the East, was his _devotion to magical arts_. He appears in Oriental
traditions as the great master of forces in the invisible world,
engaging in practices forbidden by the law of Moses (Lev. 19. 31; Deut.
18. 10, 11).