Verse 16 Now all the work of Solomon was well-ordered from the day of the foundation of the house of the LORD until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was completed.
King Solomon and his kingdom flourished and prospered. He flourished economically by revamping and rebuilding surrounding cities. He even used the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites to do the hard work. (As we later will see, these Canaanites became the stumbling block to Israel by introducing idolatry).
Another bonus was that King Solomon obtained gold from India with the help of King Hiram's sailors. The amount was 450 talents of gold. Compared to what his father David acquired from war, this was puny. David's gold was 120,000 talents.
Politically, King Solomon was making many alliances. I believe that Solomon made a mistake when he married the Pharaoh's daughter. When he brought her to Israel, he had her stayed at a different place--away from the Ark of the Lord. I assume that he did this because she was an unbeliever. Whatever the case, his steps might look good to the world that he married "Pharaoh's daughter," but it certainly looks ugly in terms of not being able to treat her like his one and only wife and partner in life.
King Solomon certainly had a lot going for him and for Israel, but internally in his heart and soul, he has started walking in the wrong direction. A lot of 'compromises' have been done, and untangling them is like untangling dirty hair on a hair-brush.
Prayer: God, thank you for all that you are providing for us today. Help us to stay on the right track and never compromise our faith in you. We give you all the glory and honor! Amen.
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