2 Chronicles , Sarah Barry
SOLOMON'S RULE
Passage: 2Chronicles 8:1~18  
Key verse: 16
Solomon’s Other Activities(A)
8 At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built the temple of the Lord and his own palace,(B) 2 Solomon rebuilt the villages that Hiram[a] had given him, and settled Israelites in them. 3 Solomon then went to Hamath Zobah and captured it. 4 He also built up Tadmor in the desert and all the store cities he had built in Hamath.(C) 5 He rebuilt Upper Beth Horon(D) and Lower Beth Horon as fortified cities, with walls and with gates and bars, 6 as well as Baalath(E) and all his store cities, and all the cities for his chariots and for his horses[b]—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and throughout all the territory he ruled.
7 There were still people left from the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites(F) (these people were not Israelites). 8 Solomon conscripted(G) the descendants of all these people remaining in the land—whom the Israelites had not destroyed—to serve as slave labor, as it is to this day. 9 But Solomon did not make slaves of the Israelites for his work; they were his fighting men, commanders of his captains, and commanders of his chariots and charioteers. 10 They were also King Solomon’s chief officials—two hundred and fifty officials supervising the men.
11 Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter(H) up from the City of David to the palace he had built for her, for he said, “My wife must not live in the palace of David king of Israel, because the places the ark of the Lord has entered are holy.”
12 On the altar(I) of the Lord that he had built in front of the portico, Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings to the Lord, 13 according to the daily requirement(J) for offerings commanded by Moses for the Sabbaths,(K) the New Moons(L) and the three(M) annual festivals—the Festival of Unleavened Bread,(N) the Festival of Weeks(O) and the Festival of Tabernacles.(P) 14 In keeping with the ordinance of his father David, he appointed the divisions(Q) of the priests for their duties, and the Levites(R) to lead the praise and to assist the priests according to each day’s requirement. He also appointed the gatekeepers(S) by divisions for the various gates, because this was what David the man of God(T) had ordered.(U) 15 They did not deviate from the king’s commands to the priests or to the Levites in any matter, including that of the treasuries.
16 All Solomon’s work was carried out, from the day the foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid until its completion. So the temple of the Lord was finished.
17 Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and Elath on the coast of Edom. 18 And Hiram sent him ships commanded by his own men, sailors who knew the sea. These, with Solomon’s men, sailed to Ophir and brought back four hundred and fifty talents[c] of gold,(V) which they delivered to King Solomon.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 8:2 Hebrew Huram, a variant of Hiram; also in verse 18
- 2 Chronicles 8:6 Or charioteers
- 2 Chronicles 8:18 That is, about 17 tons or about 15 metric tons
Cross references
- 2 Chronicles 8:1 : 8:1-18pp — 1Ki 9:10-28
- 2 Chronicles 8:1 : S 2Sa 7:2
- 2 Chronicles 8:4 : S 2Sa 8:9
- 2 Chronicles 8:5 : S Jos 10:10
- 2 Chronicles 8:6 : S Jos 19:44
- 2 Chronicles 8:7 : S Ge 10:16; S 15:18-21; Ezr 9:1
- 2 Chronicles 8:8 : S 2Ch 2:18
- 2 Chronicles 8:11 : S 1Ki 3:1
- 2 Chronicles 8:12 : S 1Ki 8:64; 2Ch 15:8
- 2 Chronicles 8:13 : S Ex 29:38
- 2 Chronicles 8:13 : Nu 28:9
- 2 Chronicles 8:13 : S Nu 10:10
- 2 Chronicles 8:13 : S Ex 23:14
- 2 Chronicles 8:13 : S Ex 12:17; Nu 28:16-25
- 2 Chronicles 8:13 : S Ex 23:16
- 2 Chronicles 8:13 : Nu 29:12-38; Ne 8:17
- 2 Chronicles 8:14 : S 1Ch 24:1
- 2 Chronicles 8:14 : S 1Ch 25:1
- 2 Chronicles 8:14 : S 1Ch 9:17
- 2 Chronicles 8:14 : Ne 12:24, 36
- 2 Chronicles 8:14 : S 1Ch 23:6; Ne 12:45
- 2 Chronicles 8:18 : 2Ch 9:9
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source:  BibleGateway
1. Building and construction (1-10)
The places mentioned in these verses tell us the broad extent of Solomon's kingdom. He built fortified cities and store cities in the far reaches of his kingdom. They were well-protected by his army. He did not destroy the Canaanites; he made them his slaves, and used them as labor in his extensive building projects. Solomon was a builder and an able administrator.
2. Pharaoh's daughter (11-18)
Solomon followed the law of Moses and the instructions of David regarding temple worship, sacrifices, feast days and the work of the Levites. But he was a worldly man and a compromiser. He married Pharaoh's daughter because of pride and politics. He knew that this was a compromise, and he resolved it by not bringing her to the City of Zion (the part of the city of Jerusalem where the temple and the king's palace were). His double life planted the seeds of division which bore fruit during his son's reign.
Prayer: Lord, help me not to compromise with the world.
One Word: Don't plant evil seeds