This is a map that was copied from Tyndale Handbook of Bible Charts and Maps. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
The map itself the grayed in area is Israel and Judah, along with the dark lettering. The gray lettering is modern day names and places.
Chapter 1 begins with Solomon, son of King David, has established his kingdom. God was with him and made him great.
Verses 2-5 Solomon spoke to all of Israel where the Ark of the Covenant was located, in Gibeon. Gibeon is about 6 miles from Jerusalem. David had moved the Ark itself to Jerusalem but the remainder was still at Gibeon, and was the central religious center.
Verse 6 Solomon prepared 1000 burnt offerings at the bronze altar.
Verse 7 The night that Solomon prepared the offering, God asked Solomon for anything he wanted and God would give it to him.
Verses 8-9 Solomon eloquently answers God by stating what great kindness God showed to his father David, and then to him.
Verse 10 Solomon asks for wisdom and knowledge so that he will know how to lead his people. God responds in verses 11-12 since the desire of Solomon's heart is for wisdom, he will give him much more than that. He will be given riches and honor and wealth. We can all approach God and ask for wisdom. God will give us more than we could ever imagine.
Verse 13 Then Solomon reigned over Israel
Verse 14-17 talks about all the chariots and horses Solomon owned. One commentary I read by David Guzik says that Solomon broke God's law. Deuteronomy 17:14-19 gives instructions for the King who rules over Israel. These verses say not to acquire many horses for themselves, nor go back to Egypt to acquire more. Do not go back to where you came from. Solomon did this. The king should not take many wives, nor accumulate lots of money. Solomon did both of these (although we don't read about all of his wives yet). Taking many wives will lead your heart astray from God. The king is to write these laws down and read them as long as he is king. The king is not to think of himself as better than anyone else, but to always revere God. So we begin to see the crack in Solomon's character for not following God's commands. We are all guilty of this. We may be on fire for Christ as a new believer but we slowly fall away if we aren't careful. We mindlessly watch too much tv, have the wrong kind of friends, place money or other obsession first, in place of God. We don't read our bibles very often so we forget Gods commands and promises. We need to guard our hearts, attend church with fellow believers, and have a friend we can be accountable too. And of course pray daily :-).
Chapter 2 Solomon builds the temple. Solomon prepares to build the temple, and writes to Hiram Kind of Tyre for supplies.
Verses 1 and 2. Solomon begins building the temple and a royal palace for himself. David paved the way for the temple by designing it and having the funds to build it, as we read in 1 Chronicles. Its amazing how many men were used to build these buildings! 70,000 as carriers, 80,000 as stone cutters, and 3,600 foremen to oversee them. That's a lot of workers!
Verses 3-10. Solomon writes a letter to Hiram, King of Tyre requesting cedar logs be sent to him. Solomon explains that he is building a temple for God, and God is greater than any other god. Solomon wants the best of everything in the temple, he obtains the best materials and hires skilled tradesmen to do the work that Israelites can't do themselves. He will also feed Hiram's servants who cut down the trees.
Verses 11-16 Hiram responds to Solomons letter. Hiram praises God for Solomon becoming king, and for building a temple for God and a palace of Solomon. He sends Huram-Abi, whose mother was Jewish from the family of Dan, and had a gentile father, who is skilled in working with metal and linens. Hiram agrees with Solomon's provisions for feeding the workers.
Verses 17 and 18 Solomon takes a census of the aliens in Israel and these are the men who will build the temple and palace.
Father God, we read today about Solomon building a magnificent building to worship you in. Solomon does this to fulfill his father's dream. We also read that Solomon who could have anything asks for wisdom. We observe that although you gave Solomon wisdom which is the ability to make good decisions, maybe he becomes a little too confident and ignores the laws God has written for Kings. No matter how high up the ladder we go, we are still accountable before God. We thank you for all that you have given us and we ask that we always remember you gave us everything. We ask that we can work peacefully with our neighbors and business owners to complete tasks at hand. Even pagans know how great you are God. We ask these things in Jesus name, Amen.
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