1 Kings 9:10-28 “It was all meaningless”

• has heard from the Lord for the 2nd time. :14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. o The Lord God reminding Solomon that he needs to be obedient – and what to do when he hasn’t been obedient. 1. Humble himself 2. Pray and Seek God’s Face 3. Turn from his wicked ways (repent)

o The return: 1. I will hear from Heaven 2. I will forgive their sin 3. I will heal their land

10 Now it happened at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD and the king’s house 11 (Hiram the king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress and gold, as much as he desired), that King Solomon then gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of . • Solomon apparently purchased these resources from Hiram on credit: o Cedar Trees o Cypress Trees o Gold • Did Solomon not want to use his own resources? o Or, were they already spent? o The rich always want more – they are never satisfied

• Solomon’s collateral to Hiram – 20 Israeli cities o Not Solomon’s to give, not his to have a financial lean against o God holds the First Mortgage on all of – it is solely HIS.

12 Then Hiram went from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, but they did not please him. 13 So he said, “What kind of cities are these which you have given me, my brother?” And he called them the land of , as they are to this day. • Cabul = meaningless, worthless, useless.

1 Kings 10.10-28 1

Kabuwl /kaw·bool/] n pr loc. From the same as 3525 in the sense of] כָּבוּל o 3521 limitation; GK 3886; Two occurrences; AV translates as “Cabul” twice. 1 a city on the border of Asher and located approx 10 miles (16 km) east of Akko; modern ‘Kabul’. 2 a district in Galilee given by Solomon to Hiram and contemptuously called ‘Cabul’ by Hiram 1

14 Then Hiram sent the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold. • Why was it necessary for Hiram to lend Solomon the 120 talents of gold? o 4 ½ tons of gold! o Opulence apparently – pure Vanity. Ecclesiastes 1:1–3 (NLT) 1 These are the words of the Teacher, King David’s son, who ruled in . 2 “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!” 3 What do people really get for all their hard work under the sun? 2

• King Solomon had at least 3,750 tons of gold available before he began to build the temple (1 Chron. 22:14–16), and the fact that he had to get gold from Hiram surprises us! 3

15 And this is the reason for the labor force which King Solomon raised: to build the house of the LORD, his own house, the , the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, and . 16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer and burned it with fire, had killed the Canaanites who dwelt in the city, and had given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.) • Did Solomon need the Pharaoh’s help? • Do we need help from pagan people when a Holy Almighty God longs to come to your aid? 17 And Solomon built Gezer, Lower Beth Horon, 18 Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land of Judah, 19 all the storage cities that Solomon had, cities for his chariots and cities for his cavalry, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

Forced Labor: 20 All the people who were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and , who were not of the children of Israel— 21 that is, their descendants who were left in the land after them, whom the children of Israel had not been able to destroy completely—from these Solomon raised forced labor, as it is to this day. • So, Israel finally dominates the pagan nations that still fill the land of Israel. o Certainly not true today. o Paganism dominates Israel

1 James Strong, Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon (Bellingham, WA: Logos Software, 2001). 2 Tyndale House Publishers, Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2013), Ec 1:1-3. 3 Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Responsible, “Be” Commentary Series (Colorado Springs, CO: Victor, 2002), 69. 22 But of the children of Israel Solomon made no forced laborers, because they were men of war and his servants: his officers, his captains, commanders of his chariots, and his cavalry. 23 Others were chiefs of the officials who were over Solomon’s work: five hundred and fifty, who ruled over the people who did the work. 24 But Pharaoh’s daughter came up from the to her house which Solomon had built for her. Then he built the Millo. • He knew she was a pagan woman • He knew it was wrong to marry her • He knew it would be wrong to present her before the Lord God. :11 Now Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh up from the City of David to the house he had built for her, for he said, “My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places to which the ark of the LORD has come are holy.”

25 Now three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he had built for the LORD, and he burned incense with them on the altar that was before the LORD. So he finished the temple. • These times were most likely the Feasts of Unleavened Bread, Weeks, and Booths (cf. Exod 23:14–19). 4

26 King Solomon also built a fleet of ships at Ezion Geber, which is near on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. 27 Then Hiram sent his servants with the fleet, seamen who knew the sea, to work with the servants of Solomon. 28 And they went to Ophir, and acquired four hundred and twenty talents of gold from there, and brought it to King Solomon. • 16 tons or 32,000 pounds of Gold

• To what effect? o Can we be “affected” by what we “effect”? Ecclesiastes 2:4–11 (NLT) Solomon speaking: 4 I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves. 7 I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned large herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who had lived in Jerusalem before me. 8 I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire!

4 Paul R. House, 1, 2 Kings, vol. 8, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995), 159. .10-28 3

9 So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. 10 Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. 11 But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere. 5

What are the most meaningful things in life? 1. That God hears you 2. That God forgives you 3. That God heals you

5 Tyndale House Publishers, Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2013), Ec 2:10–11.