Sun.’s Devo - The Prosperity of Solomon

Read: 1 Kings 9:1-10:29; Acts 8:14-40; Psalm 130:1-8; Proverbs 17:2-3 After Solomon had finished building the Temple and his palace, God appeared to him again. He told him that he had heard Solomon’s prayer and had set apart this Temple to be holy. God would watch over it for he loved it. If Solomon followed the Lord continually then his throne would be established forever with his descendants as its rulers. If they didn’t obey his commands and started worshipping other gods, then God would uproot Israel from the land, reject the Temple and Israel would be ridiculed among the nations. Solomon paid King Hiram with 20 towns in the land of Galilee to thank him for the cedar and gold he had sent him. When Hiram saw the towns he called them “Cabul” which means “nothing” and yet he paid him 9,000 pounds of gold for them. I you know anything about Middle Eastern people you would understand that this is classic salesmanship. The buyer would always say that about something he was about to buy hoping that the price would go down. It is the way they do things there. Solomon used foreigners for his forced labor to build his buildings but he gave the prestigious jobs to fellow Israelites. They served in the army, were the commanders and supervisors of his slaves. Solomon moved his Egyptian wife from the City of David to her new palace in Jerusalem. Solomon built ships which brought him 16 tons of gold. The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame and wisdom and came with gifts from her country and many questions to ask him. She spent time quizzing him and touring his great buildings. She learned his lifestyle as a king and was overwhelmed with wonder. She gave hims 9,000 pounds of gold. Solomon loaded her down with gifts to take back to her country. Every year, Solomon received 25 tons of gold in addition to the money he received from the merchants and traders that came. He made 300 shields out of hammered gold to place in the Place of the Forest of Lebanon. He had built a huge throne that was decorated with ivory and overlaid with gold. It had six steps leading up to throne and a lion sitting on either side of his seat. Twelve other lions sat on the six steps, two a step. Solomon’s utensils were made of gold. Apes and peacocks were imported and roamed his palaces. People came from miles around to listen to Solomon talk on things of the earth and tour his kingdom. He had 1,000 chariots and 12,000 horses. In Acts, Peter and John visited the new believers in Samaria and told them about he baptism in the Holy Spirit. They laid their hands on the people and they received it. When Simon, the once sorcerer observed this, he wanted that power so he offered Peter money to buy it. Peter rebuked him for thinking the things of God could be bought. Peter told Simon that his heart needed to repent of its bitter jealousy and envy. Simon did repent and asked for prayer. Peter and John preached in many Samaritan towns then returned to Jerusalem. An angel told Philip to go south to a road that led from Jerusalem to Gaza. As he was going, he encountered a caravan from Ethiopia. It was carrying the treasurer of Ethiopia’s queen. He was returning from worshipping in Jerusalem. He was reading aloud from the book of Isaiah. The Holy Spirit told Philip to go and listen to what he was saying. He was reading from Isaiah 53 about Jesus as our suffering savior. Philip asked him if he understood what he was reading. The man said, No, and invited Philip to come sit with him and tell him. Philip explained that it was referring to Jesus who fulfilled every word he was reading. The man believed and when he saw some water, he asked Philip to baptize him. When they were walking out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away to a town north of there. It was the town of Azotus where he preached the gospel. When the godly prosper, everyone rejoices. Lord, thank you for the blessing of prosperity. Solomon’s prosperity brought so many people to hear and see of your goodness. May our lives be an example for others to follow.