Tag Archives: 2 Chronicles 8-10

Daily Bible Study

May 20, 2023 Bible Study — Solomon Sought Mutually Beneficial Trade

Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Chronicles 8-10.

In today’s passage, chapters 8 and 9 are written to highlight Solomon’s wealth, power, and wisdom.   In particular, chapter 8 discusses how he used the wealth he acquired to strengthen Israel by building fortified cities and settling Israelites into border territories.  Chapter 9 illustrates how word of his knowledge and wisdom spread far and wide, with the Queen of Sheba coming to see for herself that the rumors were true.  Perhaps I am reading too much into it, but in the account here, and in the one in 1 Kings, the Queen of Sheba comes to Jerusalem after Solomon had partnered with Hiram of Tyre to send a trading fleet into the Arabian Sea.  This is significant because the best sources I can find place the kingdom of Sheba as being on the Arabian Peninsula in the area where Yemen is today.  With such a location, Sheba would have traded with the east coast of Africa and with India.  Reading the descriptions of Solomon’s trade fleets suggests that they also traded with the east coast of Africa (perhaps as far south as modern South Africa) and with India.   It is likely that Solomon was taking goods obtained from the lands along the western Mediterranean, transporting them overland the short distance to the Red Sea, then carrying them by boat to lands to the east.  The Queen of Sheba traveled to Jerusalem to determine what kind of threat this new trading empire was to her own country’s prosperity.  I believe her comments about Solomon’s wisdom indicate that she found Solomon intent on making mutually beneficial trades with all his subordinates encountered (after all, Solomon and his father before him had a mutually beneficial relationship with Tyre).

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

May 20, 2021 Bible Study Solomon Cuts a Trade Deal With the Queen of Sheba

Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Chronicles 8-10.

The story of the Queen of Sheba coming to visit King Solomon has caught the imagination of people over the centuries.  Yet, it is overall a rather minor story.  Much of the legend which has risen about it suggests that King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba were lovers.  However, there is nothing in the account of her visit to suggest that was the case.  Reading the account here today makes more sense out of her visit than any to which I had previously come.  In the account here, the Queen of Sheba’s visit follows immediately after Solomon had started sending ships out in to the Red Sea and from there to the Gulf of Persia.  Up until that point most of the trade from India, and points east going to the Mediterranean would have gone overland, or through places such as Sheba and overland to the Mediterranean.  Here was Solomon capturing both sides of that sea trade with ports on both the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.  The Queen of Sheba went to Jerusalem to figure out how she could keep her country from getting completely cut out of this trade.  To me, the story suggests that Solomon had both the wisdom to set up sea trading from ports on the Red Sea and to cut a deal with the established players in that trade (as he previously had done with Hiram of Tyre on the Mediterranean side).

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

May 20, 2020 Bible Study Rehoboam Chose Youth Over Experience And Arrogance Over Humility

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 8-10.

The story about Rehoboam’s reaction to the challenge to his rule from the Northern Tribes contains multiple examples in what not to do when seeking power.  He did one thing right when he sought the advice of his father’s experienced counselors.  However, he completely defeated the point of such a wise act by ignoring their advice and taking that of his friends who told him what he wanted to hear.  The advice given to Rehoboam by his father’s advisers was good advice and that given by his friends was bad advice.  The elder advisers advised him to show humility while the younger ones advised arrogance.  So, we really have two mistakes in one.  He rejected advice from his elders in favor of that from his peers.  And he rejected advice to be humble in favor of advice to be arrogant.  Rarely is it a good idea to favor the advice of youth over that of experience, but it is never wise to choose arrogance over humility.

Daily Bible Study

May 20, 2019 Bible Study — King Solomon’s Reign

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 8-10.

King Solomon had married Pharaoh’s daughter.  Then rather than insist that she give up her idolatry, he built her a palace because he understood it would be wrong to have her live in the same palace where the Ark of the Covenant was housed for a period of time.  (Side note: nowhere does the Bible mention that the Ark was in David’s palace except here, I would interpret this to mean that it was kept on the grounds of David’s palace. )   Reading between the lines, this suggests to me that the writer is telling us that Pharoah’s daughter was practicing her idolatrous religious practices in the palace where she lived, and rather than make her stop, Solomon relocated her away from the center of Jerusalame.  This is the only hint of the idolatry which 1 Kings says led to the Northern Tribes revolting against Solomon’s son, Rehoboam.  The passage tells us that after doing so Solomon offered sacrifices on the altar he had built in front of the entrance to the Temple.  To a degree, Solomon was trying to have it both ways, worshiping God while taking part, even if only passively, in his wife’s religious practices.  Something we can take as a warning against marrying someone who does not share our religious convictions (although I do not believe that is any part of the writer’s intention).

From time to time I see people write about the Queen of Sheba’s visit to King Solomon as a romantic liaison.  There is nothing in the passage to lead us to that conclusion.  The only biblical basis for reaching such a conclusion is the fact that elsewhere we are told that King Solomon was a prolific womanizer (in 1 Kings we are told that he had 700 wives and 300 concubines, which pretty much sounds like a womanizer to me).  However, I read the Queen of Sheba’s visit as a diplomatic/trade mission.  The account of the Queen of Sheba comes after the writer describes the trade routes King Solomon setup and before describing the great wealth he accumulated from that trade.  Sheba was a trade kingdom.  To me this seems as if the Queen of Sheba visited King Solomon to figure out how he had developed such a large trade network in such a short time.

Daily Bible Study

May 20, 2018 Bible Study — Evolving Government of Ancient Israel

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 8-10.

    In addition to building the Temple and his own palace Solomon conducted other building projects throughout the kingdom. This was done with a conscripted labor force of non-Israelites living in the kingdom. He did however apparently maintain a large army of Israelites conscripted for that purpose. This passage tells us that Solomon spent his reign consolidating control over the territory which his father, King David, had conquered In addition, Solomon built a trading empire rather than extending his military and political control over the surrounding areas. For several years now I have believed that David’s conquests were mostly about protecting the merchants who used the trade routes which ran through Israel focusing on overthrowing rulers who supported banditry and ensuring that their replacements did not resume such support. Solomon took the next step of sending out his own merchant caravans. The visit from the Queen of Sheba shows that Solomon developed quite a widespread reputation. I would suggest that that reputation was likely as a sharp negotiator who entered into mutually beneficial agreements.

    However, it seems that the wealth which Solomon’s trade generated did not spread to those outside of the area around Jerusalem. It seems that while the entire kingdom bore the burden of maintaining Solomon’s trade empire, the benefits accrued only to those who lived in the area controlled by the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. So that when Solomon died, the rest of the kingdom demanded that Rehoboam reduce the burden on them. As I had noted when reading the description of how David became king, David became king over Israel as the various groups which composed the nation of Israel chose him as their king. Rehoboam thought that he had the ability to impose himself as king over them against their wishes. He discovered that while it is possible to rule by force, you need to have people willing to impose that force in order to do so. The army of Judah, as shown in Kings, was unwilling to impose that force on their fellow Israelites.

Daily Bible Study

May 20, 2017 Bible Study — Living Wisely

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 8-10.

    David had risen to power and consolidated the unity of Israel by defending the trade routes. He conquered the surrounding nations which either supported banditry or failed to control it within their territories (I am doing a bit of reading between the lines here, but that is what it reads like to me). Solomon took this one step further and built a merchant empire by entering into trade himself (this is clearly spelled out here and in the 1 Kings description of Solomon’s reign). The account of the Queen of Sheba suggests that Solomon’s merchants credited his, and their, success to worshiping God. The Queen of Sheba came to Jerusalem to find out if Solomon was as wise, wealthy, and powerful as rumor painted him. My pragmatic understanding of politics suggests to me that her visit was also intended to gain advantage. When her negotiations and questioning revealed that his wisdom and faith left him prepared to match all of her machinations, she entered into a mutually profitable agreement with him. The key here was that Solomon lived according to his reputation. When nonbelievers come to investigate us, we should live so that they will see that we live our lives according to what we claim to believe.

    When Rehoboam succeeded his father Solomon on the throne of Israel, the people of Israel demanded that he reduce their tax burden (I am oversimplifying into today’s terms). Rehoboam wisely chose to delay giving them an answer so that he could consult with his advisers. First he consulted with those who had been his father’s advisers (who were older men). They advised him to be conciliatory and yield to the people’s demands. There is a hint in their wording to suggest that they believed the people’s demands to be justified, but they also suggest that if Rehoboam yields to their demands now, he can make demands on them later. Rehoboam did not like their advice, so he turned to those he had grown up with. They told him to tell the people that he was boss and not only would he not reduce the demands his father had made of the people, he would increase those demands. When the people of Israel heard Rehoboam’s response, they rejected his rule. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal. When Rehoboam sent out his subordinate to enforce his rule on those who had rejected it the subordinate was killed. It was then that Rehoboam realized that his power to rule over the people of Israel came from the willingness of some portion of them to uphold his rule. Rehoboam failed because he did not listen to the advice of those with greater experience, who had explained why their course of action was the one to take. Rather he followed the advice of those who played to his ego.

Daily Bible Study

May 20, 2016 Bible Study

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

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Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Chronicles 8-10.

    When I came to the place where Solomon decided that he needed to build a separate palace for his wife because the Ark had been in David’s palace, and therefore David’s palace was holy ground, my first thought was, “You should have thought of that before you married her.” We all make foolish decisions, but if a woman (or, if you are a woman, a man) does not share your love and dedication to God, do NOT marry them. Solomon had many reasons for marrying Pharaoh’s daughter, but none of them should have been allowed to overcome this deficiency.

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    When Rehoboam became king, the people of Israel came to him and asked him to scale back his father’s projects, to reduce the burden on the common man. He asked the advice of both his father’s advisers and of the guys he had hung out with while he was growing up. His father’s advisers advised him to give the people a favorable answer, to be conciliatory. His contemporaries advised him to show the people who was in charge, to stand firm and be tough. Rehoboam followed his contemporaries advice because it appealed to his vanity. He discovered that he was not in charge as much as he thought. There are two important lessons here. The first is the importance of listening to the advice of those with experience over the inexperienced. The second is the importance of being responsive to the “general populace” and making sure they feel like their interests are being taken into account. In this year’s election cycle we see what happens when the experienced advisers forget the second lesson.