If I were to describe Solomon and his legacy today, I would say he was by and large a fierce businessman and real estate mogul. Building his kingdom was first and foremost in his mind, above all other aspects of life. It showed. I found a great map that shows what he inherited from his father David, and what he added on (below). He built up cities and he amassed an enormous fortune. He became a trade and shipping tycoon. Even most (if not all) of his 700 marriages were arranged (1 Kings 11:3), strictly for diplomatic purposes, starting with his first Egyptian wife. We know he had a son who totally messed things up for the future of the Israeli nation, but we dont even know who his mother was. Solomon met his match with the Queen from the South -- Sheba. She was a brilliant businesswoman herself. She engaged in contractual trades with Africa, India and Asia. Her trip to see Solomon was definitely not a social visit and gift exchange. Theres no doubt in my mind that she intended to conduct business with the brilliant, wise Solomon, in the form of a major trade agreement. If she was only after information, she could much more easily have sent court officials to do some spying. We know that Solomon dabbled with religion, because of his foreign wives. As it was with most arranged diplomatic marriages of the day, the bride brought with her her religion. While I dont believe he completely denounced his own faith in God, I do believe he became a double-minded fence rider. That was his big downfall. How did he get there? Greed. He literally broke every kingly law in Deut 17:15-20. It was for that that the holy nation of Israel was to pay dearly after his death. What is so sad to me is that I wonder if Solomon ever truly knew love. He evidently had been in love once that we knew of, to a beautiful, humble shepherdess named Abishag. Perhaps she was the mother of Rehoboam. What ever happened to her? I do know that Solomon had a heart, and a very passionate one. I think maybe with his busy work schedule, he may not have had as much time as he would have liked to nurture it. But one thing he did leave us, besides the incredibly beautiful Songs book, was the extraordinarily passionate 31st Proverb. I would like to challenge the great men we have in our group to start sitting down with your wives periodically and read to her The Wife of Noble Character. Read it to her like you mean it. (If you happen to have a yamaka and tallit laying around, that would be good. J/K) Seriously, its one thing to read something to yourself, but it takes on a special meaning to have it read to you by someone you love. The more you hear it spoken, the more you believe it. I guarantee you will see amazing results ;)
Posted on: Wed, 25 Jun 2014 19:32:04 +0000
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