Day 133: King Solomon

Solomon comes into his own today, and prove himself to be a strong king. He is ruthless in despatching his rivals, makes wise political decisions and looks the epitome of power and glory. How proud the Israelites must have felt!
Solomons’s reign begins
1 Kings 2:12, 1 Chronicles 29:23-25, 2 Chronicles 1:1
Adonijah put to death
1 Kings 2:26:27
Abiathar banished
1 Kings 2:26-7
Reign of Solomon 985-945 BC
Joab put to death
1 Kings 2:28-34
Solomon’s instructions to Shimei
1 Kings 1:35-38
Solomon & Pharaoh’s daughter
1 Kings 3:1
A royal wedding song
Psalm 45
Solomon’s love of God
1 Kings 3:2-3
His sacrifice
1 Kings 3:4, 2 Chronicles 1:2-3, 5-6
His prayer for wisdom
1 Kings 3:5-15, 2 Chronicles 1:7-12
His return to Jerusalem
2 Chronicles 1:13

We hear from Solomon himself for the first time. He begins by proving himself to be a strong leader. We know there have been plenty of political intrigues in David’s family, and Solomon has to establish himself securely as king by clearing away potential rivals. That’s putting it nicely. What it actually means is having your brother and his friends killed or exiled. Solomon is thorough, he shows no mercy to Joab, he kills Shimei when he breaks the terms of his peace. He does what he needs to do to establish himself securely.
Then he goes and marries the daughter of Pharaoh. What is this about? On one hand, what a glorious day! The kingdom of Israel is now powerful enough to be worth a royal alliance with the ultimate superpower - Egypt - and with all the history that goes with it, they were the oppressors, the enemy that drove Israel out into the desert and finally to the promised land. What triumph to think that Israel is now counted, if not equal, then worthy of a seat at the top table in the empires of the world!
But on the other hand, didn’t God say something about not marrying foreigners? I seem to remember Moses having a word or two to say about this. I don’t suppose anybody in Israel let themselves worry about this. But it represents a move to put your trust in politics, not in God, and as the song goes “There may be trouble ahead.”