Chapter Twelve

 1Ki 12:1  And Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. 

1Ki 12:2  And it happened, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard (and he was still in Egypt where he had fled from the face of Solomon the king, and Jeroboam lived in Egypt) 

1Ki 12:3  that they sent and called for him; and they came, Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel, and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 

1Ki 12:4  Your father made our yoke hard; and now you should lighten some of the hard service of your father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve you. 

1Ki 12:5  And he said to them, Go; yet in three days come back to me. And the people went. 

1Ki 12:6  And King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had been standing before the face of his father Solomon while he was alive, saying, How do you advise in order to answer this people? 

1Ki 12:7  And they spoke to him, saying, If you are servant to this people today, and will serve them, and answer them and speak to them good words, then they will be servants to you forever. 

1Ki 12:8  But he forsook the counsel of the elders which they advised him, and consulted with the young men who had grown up with him, who were standing before him. 

1Ki 12:9  And he said to them, What do you advise, and we shall answer the people who have spoken to me, saying, Lighten some of the yoke that your father put upon us? 

1Ki 12:10  And they spoke to him, the young men who had grown up with him, saying, So you shall say to this people who have spoken to you, saying, Your father made our yoke heavy, and you make it light on us; so you shall speak to them, My little finger is thicker than the loins of my father, 

1Ki 12:11  and now my father laid a heavy yoke on you, and I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, and I will surely chastise you with scorpions. 

1Ki 12:12  And they came, Jeroboam and all the people, to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had spoken, saying, Come back to me on the third day. 

1Ki 12:13  And the king replied to the people harshly, and forsook the counsel of the elders which they advised him, 

1Ki 12:14  and spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I shall add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, and I will surely chastise you with scorpions. 

1Ki 12:15  And the king did not listen to the people, for the turn of events was from Jehovah, in order to lift up His Word that Jehovah spoke by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 

1Ki 12:16  And all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, and the people sent the king back word, saying, What portion do we have in David? Yea, there is no inheritance in the son of Jesse; to your tents, O Israel; now see to your house, O David! And Israel went to its tents. 

1Ki 12:17  As to the sons of Israel, those living in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. 

1Ki 12:18  And King Rehoboam sent Adoram who was over the tribute, and all Israel threw stones at him, and he died. And King Rehoboam made haste to go up into a chariot to flee to Jerusalem. 

1Ki 12:19  And Israel rebelled against the house of David to this day. 

1Ki 12:20  And it happened when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, that they sent and called him to the company, and caused him to reign over all Israel; none followed after the house of David except the tribe of Judah only. 

1Ki 12:21  And Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, and gathered all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand chosen makers of war to fight with the house of Israel, to bring back the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, 

1Ki 12:22  then the Word of God came to Shemaiah a man of God, saying, 

1Ki 12:23  Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon the king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah, and Benjamin, and the rest of the people, saying, 

1Ki 12:24  So says Jehovah, You shall not go up nor fight with your brothers the sons of Israel. Each turn back to his house, for this thing has been from Me. And they heard the Word of Jehovah, and turned to go back, according to the Word of Jehovah. 

1Ki 12:25  And Jeroboam built Shechem in the hills of Ephraim and lived in it, and went out from there and built Penuel. 

1Ki 12:26  And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now the kingdom shall turn back to the house of David; 

1Ki 12:27  if this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people shall turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam the king of Judah, and they will kill me and go again to Rehoboam the king of Judah. 

1Ki 12:28  And the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Behold your gods, O Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt! 

1Ki 12:29  And he set the one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 

1Ki 12:30  And this thing became a sin, for the people went before the one, to Dan. 

1Ki 12:31  And he made a house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of people, who were not of the sons of Levi. 

1Ki 12:32  And Jeroboam made a feast in the eighth month, in the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast that is in Judah; and he offered on the altar, so he did in Bethel, to sacrifice to the calves which he made; and he made stand in Bethel the priests of the high places that he made. 

1Ki 12:33  And he offered up on the altar that he made in Bethel, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month that he devised out of his own heart; and he made a feast for the sons of Israel, and offered on the altar, to burn incense. 

Verses 1-15 Summary: Rehoboam goes to Shechem to be made king. He confers with the heads of the clans, including Rehoboam. The people ask for some relief. Rehoboam takes three days to consider it. He confers with his elders and then his young friends. He takes the advice of his friends.

1. Concerning the foolishness of Rehoboam, what lesson does Solomon teach us in Ecc. 2:18-21?Ecc 2:17  So then I hated life; because the work that is done under the sun is evil to me; for all is vanity and striving after wind.
Ecc 2:18  Yes, I, a laborer, hated all my labor under the sun, that I must leave it to the man who will be after me.
Ecc 2:19  And who knows if he will be wise or a fool? Yet he shall rule among all my labor in which I labored, and acted wisely under the sun. This is also vanity.
Ecc 2:20  And I turned to make my heart despair over all the labor which I labored under the sun.
Ecc 2:21  When there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, and with knowledge, and with advantage; yet he shall give it to a man who has not labored with it, for his share; this also is vanity and a great evil. 
Solomon decries a person's work and effort. We put our all into whatever the task is to make a good thing, and the person who may benefit for it may use it and/or take it in vain. The attitude amounts to contempt. Do we see this today? Of course.

2. What may be some of the reasons that a leader would use such authoritarian methods over the people who are entrusted to him?
Fear will produce all sorts of heavy-handed rule. If you intend to abuse the masses for your own benefit, it demands all sorts of measures to make sure people "stay in line."
Having a mistrust (being suspicious) causes this sort of action. "If I give in, I will be seen as weak..."

NOTE: It is apparent that Rehobam lacks any measure of wisdom Solomon had. (1) Shechem is 20 miles north of Jerusalem. It was held by the tribe of Ephraim. (2) Jeroboam was an enemy of Solomon, and HE WAS FROM EPHRAIM! Rehoboam was way out of his element, away from home in "enemy" territory. Not good...at all.

Verses 16-24 Summary:
Israel rejects Rehoboam as king and chooses Jeroboam as their king. Rehoboam sends Adoram (as if he could force them?). Adoram is executed. Rehoboam musters an army to go to war (It includes Benjamites). God tells them no to do it, because He is the one who has split the kingdom.

Note: What was Rehoboam thinking when he "sent" Adoram (who was over forced labor)? Perhaps there were some miscalculations.

Verses 25-33 Summary:
Jeroboam builds up Shechem and Penuel. He fears that if Israel returns to Jerusalem to worship, they will be moved to make Rehoboam king an they will kill him. So, he makes some idols, makes some priests and tells the people to make sacrifices there instead of Jerusalem.

3. By Checking a map of where Jeroboam set up calf worship, can you see a reason he chose these locations? 
On this map we see Dan at the northand Bethel towards the south in Israel territory. This covers his bases to make worship "easier" for them.

4. Compare  12:31 with 2 Chron. 11:13-16 to learn what happens as a result of Jeroboam setting up priests from every class of people: 

The Levites were thrown out of Israel by Jeroboam and they migrated to Judah/Jerusalem. The text says:  "And after them, out of all the tribes of Israel, those who gave their heart to seek Jehovah the God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to Jehovah, the God of their fathers. 

2Ch 11:17  And they made the kingdom of Judah stronger, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon stronger, for three years..." 
It appears that some in Israel still worshiped in Jerusalem.

5. Consider the consequences in the years to come that resulted in Jeroboam's sins:
Jeroboam's sin of ignoring God opened the door to others doing the same and eventually the entire nation was overthrown by it and because of it.
We saw God tell Solomon that it was the king that instilled the character of the nation. It was really too much for any mere man to bear, which is why Jesus was needed.
Was it Jeroboam's sin that caused this nation to sour? Was Solomon better? We see that for a period of three years Rehoboam is strengthened, but does he stop the idolatry Solomon started?

There are bigger questions we must ask ourselves and realize I myself can fall just as easily if I am not diligent.

Note verse 20:  "...none followed after the house of David except the tribe of Judah only." 

We already know that Simeon is assimilated into Judah, but at this point there is an alliance with Benjamin. 
There was no doubt some dissenters of the northern tribe, especially when it came time to worship.

It was messy and it might be that the 10 tribes might just be land locations. If you hand Manasseh (2) land tracts, that makes ten. The dividing line is north/south as is identified by their assigned inheritance from God.

                                                           

Chapter Eleven

 1Ki 11:1  And King Solomon loved many foreign women, even the daughter of Pharaoh, Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, Hittites; 

1Ki 11:2  of the nations which Jehovah said to the sons of Israel, You shall not go in to them, and they shall not go in to you; they shall turn aside your heart after their gods; Solomon clung to these in love. 

1Ki 11:3  And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. 

1Ki 11:4  And it happened, at the time Solomon was old, his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not perfect with Jehovah his God, like the heart of his father David. 

1Ki 11:5  And Solomon went after Ashtoreth, goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites; 

1Ki 11:6  and Solomon did evil in the sight of Jehovah, and did not go fully after Jehovah like his father David. 

1Ki 11:7  Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the sons of Ammon; 

1Ki 11:8  and so he did for all his foreign wives, who burnt incense and sacrificed to their gods. 

1Ki 11:9  And Jehovah was angry with Solomon, for his heart had bent away from Jehovah, God of Israel who had appeared to him twice, 

1Ki 11:10  and had given a charge to him concerning this thing, not to go after other gods; and he did not keep that which Jehovah commanded. 

1Ki 11:11  And Jehovah said to Solomon, Because this has been done by you, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes that I charged on you, I shall surely tear the kingdom from you and shall give it to your servant. 

1Ki 11:12  Only, I will not do it in your days, for the sake of your father David; I shall tear it out of your son's hand. 

1Ki 11:13  Only I will not tear away all the kingdom; I will give one tribe to your son for my servant David's sake, and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen. 

1Ki 11:14  And it happened, Jehovah raised an adversary to Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was of the seed of the king in Edom. 

1Ki 11:15  And it happened when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army had gone up to bury the ones who died, after he had stricken every male in Edom; 

1Ki 11:16  Joab and all Israel remained there six months until every male in Edom was cut off. 

1Ki 11:17  And Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him, to go into Egypt; and Hadad was a little child. 

1Ki 11:18  And they rose up out of Midian and came to Paran, and they took men with them out of Paran and came into Egypt, to Pharaoh the king of Egypt. And he gave him a house and commanded bread for him, and gave land to him. 

1Ki 11:19  And Hadad found much favor in the eyes of Pharaoh, and he gave him a wife, the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen. 

1Ki 11:20  And the sister of Tahpenes bore him a son, Genubath, and Tahpenes weaned him in Pharaoh's house among Pharaoh's sons. 

1Ki 11:21  And Hadad had heard in Egypt that David had slept with his fathers, and that Joab the commander of the army was dead. And Hadad said to Pharaoh, Send me away and I will go to my land. 

1Ki 11:22  And Pharaoh said to him, But what are you lacking with me, that, lo, you are seeking to go to your land? And he said, Nothing. However, you shall certainly send me away. 

1Ki 11:23  And God raised up an adversary to him, Rezon the son of Eliadah, who fled from his lord Hadadezer the king of Zobah. 

1Ki 11:24  And he gathered men to himself, and was head of a troop when David killed them. And they went to Damascus and lived in it, and reigned in Damascus. 

1Ki 11:25  And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, besides the evil that Hadad did; and he despised Israel and reigned over Syria. 

1Ki 11:26  And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, a servant of Solomon (and his mother's name was Zeruah, a widow woman) he also lifted up a hand against the king. 

1Ki 11:27  And this was the thing for which he lifted up his hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, repairing the breaks of the city of his father David. 

1Ki 11:28  And the man Jeroboam was a mighty warrior. And Solomon saw the young man, that he was doing work. And he appointed him to all the burden of the house of Joseph. 

1Ki 11:29  And at that time it happened that Jeroboam had gone out from Jerusalem, and Ahijah the Shilonite, the prophet, found him in the way. And he covered himself with a new garment, and both of them were by themselves in a field. 

1Ki 11:30  And Ahijah laid hold on the new garment on him and tore it into twelve pieces. 

1Ki 11:31  And he said to Jeroboam, Take ten pieces for yourself. For so says Jehovah, God of Israel, Behold, I am tearing the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and giving to you the ten tribes. 

1Ki 11:32  And he shall have the one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. 

1Ki 11:33  Because they have forsaken Me, and bow themselves to Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, to Chemosh the god of Moab, to Milcom the god of the sons of Ammon; and have not walked in My ways, to do the right in My eyes, and My statutes and My judgments, as his father David did. 

1Ki 11:34  But I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him ruler all the days of his life, for My servant David's sake, whom I chose, because he kept My commands and My statutes. 

1Ki 11:35  But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it to you, ten tribes. 

1Ki 11:36  And I will give one tribe to his son, that there may be a lamp to My servant David before Me all the days in Jerusalem the city that I have chosen to Myself, to put My name there. 

1Ki 11:37  And I will take you, and you shall reign according to all that your soul desires, and shall be king over Israel. 

1Ki 11:38  And it shall be, if you shall hear all that I command you, and shall walk in My ways, and do that which is right in My eyes, to keep My statutes and My commands, as My servant David did, then I shall be with you and shall build a sure house for you, as I built for David, and shall give Israel to you. 

1Ki 11:39  And for this I will humble the seed of David; but not forever. 

1Ki 11:40  And Solomon sought to put Jeroboam to death, and Jeroboam rose up and fled to Egypt, to Shishak the king of Egypt; and he was in Egypt until the death of Solomon. 

1Ki 11:41  And the rest of the matters of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the Book of the Acts of Solomon? 

1Ki 11:42  And the days that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel were forty years; 

1Ki 11:43  and Solomon lay with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David; and his son Rehoboam reigned in his place. 

Verses 1-13 Summary: Solomon has (too) many wives. The writer attributes the influence on him by his wives as to the reason why he becomes unfaithful to Jehovah. God tells Solomon that after his death, the kingdom will be reduced to one tribe for his successor. 

5. Check Deuteronomy 17:16-17 and list all the ways that Solomon had violated God's laws for kings:

Idolatry, association with Egypt, many horses/chariots, amassing wealth, many wives. 

6. What principles might we learn for our lives today from Solomon's mistakes?

    By new testament teaching, Solomon was "unequally yoked." Simply put, he did not have influence over his wives. They had influence over him. Even with all of his wisdom Solomon did not take care of  the basics that God requires of His children. The influence of earthly matters became too great. What is most interesting is that this was a long progression. It took twenty years to build the temple and his house, all the while Solomon is amassing these things. It isn't until we see the insurgence of idolatry with Solomon that God put the clamps down. We must not lose sight of the fact that these various sins were always present. God draws a line when our actions disregard God's sovereign position.

7. Check a Bible dictionary and find out what you can about worship to:

    Ashtoreth: This goddess worship was very prevalent throughout the region. The names were changed by region but the characteristics of the god where somewhat maintained. She was a symbol of fertility and thus the "worship" would include some sexual debauchery. In some cases she was a warrioress. Or, she would bifurcate as male/female. Also, she is associated with Baal.

    Chemosh: This god may also be associated with Baal (one of multiple) or Ashtoreth. Again, names may change by region but the character attributions remain. Name might have meaning of "destroyer" or "subduer." This idol may have been represented as a fish. Human sacrifice was part of worship to this god.

    Molech (Moloch): Possibly interchangeable with Chemosh (name wise). Child sacrifice was integral to this system. 

Note: Most idol worship would eventually incorporate sexual deviancy as part of "sacrifice/worship."

Verse 14-25 Summary: Hadad of Edom was Solomon's enemy (he lived in Egypt). Rezon was an enemy of solomon in the region of Syria (Damascus).

Note: 2 Samuel 8 recounts David's conquest of enemies and some of it very brutal (common for that time). Imagine Hadad in Pharaoh's house, part of the extended family, and Solomon is married to Pharaoh's daughter! 

Verses 26-40 Summary: Jeroboam is an enemy of Solomon. Ahijah meets him and delivers the message from God that he will be king over Israel for Solomon's idolatry. Jeroboam flees to Egypt from Solomon. Strange politics.

NOTE: In verses 27-28 the writer of 1Kings displays a peculiar way of pointing out the cause for Jeroboam's rebellion. Though it is not directly stated, it is possible that Jeroboam, and the labor force of the house of Joseph were not happy spending their time building and repairing cities within Judah that did not pertain to their own tribes and territory. Jeroboam was then ripe for the encouragement given him by the prophet Ahijah.

8. Ahijah speaks of giving Jeroboam ten tribes and the house of David one tribe. Since there are twelve tribes, how do we account for the other tribe? For all intents and purposes, the tribe of Simeon was assimilated into Judah. Numbers 26 confirms that their population was down to 22K from 59k earlier in the book. Joshua 19:1 explains that their inheritance was inside of Judah's territory. 
See also chapter 12. Benjamin allies with Judah after the great split. It is likely that the counting of the "tribes" at this point was simply assigned lands. Since Manasseh had two inheritances, the numbers add up. 
Gen. 34: Jacob curses Simeon for their role in the killings in Shechem. "I will scatter them in Israel."

Verses 41-43 Summary: Solomon dies. Rehoboam succeeds his father Solomon as king. (Solomon's reign was forty years and he started very young)

Chapter Ten

 Ki 10:1  And the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon as to the name of Jehovah, and she came to test him with hard questions. 

1Ki 10:2  And she came to Jerusalem with a very great company, camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stones. And she came to Solomon and spoke with him all that had been in her heart. 

1Ki 10:3  And Solomon told her all her matters; there was not one thing hidden from the king that he did not declare to her. 

1Ki 10:4  And the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he built, 

1Ki 10:5  and the food of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the standing of his ministers, and their clothing, and his cupbearers and his burnt offering that he offered in the house of Jehovah; and there was no more breath in her. 

1Ki 10:6  And she said to the king, The word that I heard in my land was true as to your matters and your wisdom. 

1Ki 10:7  And I did not believe the words until I had come and my eyes had seen; and behold, the half was not told to me. You have wisdom and prosperity exceeding the fame which I heard. 

1Ki 10:8  Oh the happiness of your men! Oh the happiness of your servants, these who stand before you continually, who hear your wisdom! 

1Ki 10:9  Blessed be Jehovah your God who delighted in you, putting your person on the throne of Israel, because Jehovah loved Israel forever, therefore He appointed you king, to do judgment and righteousness. 

1Ki 10:10  And she gave to the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and very many spices, and precious stones; no spice like that came any more for abundance, that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. 

1Ki 10:11  And also, the navy of Hiram that bore gold from Ophir brought in from Ophir almug trees, a great many, and precious stones; 

1Ki 10:12  and the king made the almug trees a support for the house of Jehovah, and for the king's house, and harps and lyres for singers; no such almug trees have come, nor have there been seen such to this day. 

1Ki 10:13  And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire that she asked, apart from that which he gave to her as a memorial of King Solomon. And she turned and went to her land, she and her servants. 

1Ki 10:14  And the weight of the gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty six talents of gold,

1Ki 10:15  apart from the merchant men, and from the traffic of the traders, and from all the Arabian kings, and from the governors of the lands. 

1Ki 10:16  And King Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target; 

1Ki 10:17  and three hundred shields of beaten gold: three minas of gold went to one shield; and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. 

1Ki 10:18  And the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with refined gold. 

1Ki 10:19  The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind; and stays were on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays; 

1Ki 10:20  and twelve lions were standing on the six steps, on this side and on that; there was not the like made in any kingdom. 

1Ki 10:21  And all the drinking vessels of King Solomon were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of refined gold; there was none of silver; it was not counted for anything in the days of Solomon; 

1Ki 10:22  For the king had a navy of Tarshish at sea with a navy of Hiram; once in three years the navy of Tarshish would come bearing gold, and silver, and ivory, and apes, and peacocks. 

1Ki 10:23  And King Solomon was greater than any of the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom; 

1Ki 10:24  and all the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom that God had put into his heart; 

1Ki 10:25  and they were each one bringing his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armor, and spices, horses, and mules, a year by year matter. 

1Ki 10:26  And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen, and he had a thousand, four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; and he placed them in the cities of the chariots, and with the king in Jerusalem. 

1Ki 10:27  And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedars as the sycamores that are in the low country, for abundance. 

1Ki 10:28  And the horses that King Solomon had were brought from Egypt, and from Kue; the king's merchants received them from Kue at a price; 

1Ki 10:29  and a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty; and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria they brought them out by their means. 

Verses 1-13 Summary: The queen of Sheba visits Solomon and is overwhelmed by what she sees.
Solomon answers her questions (displays wisdom). They trade gifts (alliance).

Note verse 5: "there was no more breath in her" describes her reaction to the splendor shown to her - 
Verse 8 "happy" - eh'-sher - denotes a grand exclamation - What was she saying? It must be assumed that she came with some doubt, but the grandness of the kingdom simply overwhelmed her. Even Solomon's subjects were "happy."

Verse 9: The queen gives credit to Jehovah. She names Him and give Him the Glory.

2. Locate Sheba on a map. Southern part of Arabia across from Africa

3. What did Jesus say about the queen of Sheba?
Mat 12:42  The queen of the south will be raised in the Judgment with this generation and will condemn it. For she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and, behold, a Greater-than-Solomon is here. 
Jesus predicted condemnation upon the Pharisees for ignoring what was sent from God (Himself). They asked for a sign. He indicated that HE was the sign.
Do we know more than the Pharisees? What conclusions should we come to? 

Verses 14-29 Summary: Solomon gains vast amounts of gold. Makes shields, and an elaborate throne. All of the king's drinking vessels are gold. He continues gaining wealth from his navy. Solomon's wisdom is sought out, the world understands that it was Jehovah that made it all happen. Solomon amasses horses, chariots and other physical wealth beyond measure. 

4. If the weight of a talent of gold is about seventy-five pounds, how much gold did Solomon bring in on a yearly basis? Value on today's market?
666x75=49,950 lbs - 49,950x16=799,200 oz. - 799,200 oz. x $1,961.00= $1,576,231,200.00 (at today's prices)

Based on all of this, what was the general understanding about Jehovah?
No doubt Jehovah was glorified during this time. What we do not see are measures to denounce other gods and idolatry. Jehovah God becomes well known, but does he get His true respect? As we see later  in the time of Daniel, gods are simply a means to an end (of wealth and power). Kings, queens, pharaoh's, and other rulers are considered as "gods."

Note: 2Ch 9:21  For the ships of the king were going to Tarshish with the servants of Hiram. This alliance with Hiram is what made this at all possible.  So now Solomon's navy (with Hiram) influences the southern region into Africa and north toward west Asia. 

Chapter Nine

 1Ki 9:1  And it happened, as Solomon finished building the house of Jehovah, and the house of the king, and all the desire of Solomon that he delighted to do, 

1Ki 9:2  that Jehovah appeared to Solomon a second time, as He appeared to him in Gibeon. 

1Ki 9:3  And Jehovah said to him, I have heard your prayer and your supplication with which you have made supplication before Me; I have sanctified this house that you have built to put My name there forever; and My eyes and My heart shall be there forever. 

1Ki 9:4  And you, if you walk before me as your father David walked, in singleness of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you; you shall keep My statutes and My judgments; 

1Ki 9:5  then I shall lift up the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I spoke to your father David, saying, there shall not fail you a man on the throne of Israel. 

1Ki 9:6  If you at all turn back, you and your sons, from following me, and do not keep My commands, My statutes which I have set before you, and you shall go and serve other gods and bow yourselves to them, 

1Ki 9:7  then I shall cut off Israel from the face of the land that I have given to them, and the house that I have hallowed for My name I shall send away from My face, and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 

1Ki 9:8  As to this house, which is high, everyone passing by it shall be astonished and shall hiss, and they shall say, Why has Jehovah done this to this land and to this house? 

1Ki 9:9  And they shall say, Because they have forsaken Jehovah their God, who brought their fathers out from the land of Egypt, and they laid hold on other gods and bowed themselves to them and served them. On account of this Jehovah has brought in upon them all this evil. 

1Ki 9:10  And it happened, at the end of twenty years Solomon had built the two houses, the house of Jehovah and the house of the king. 

1Ki 9:11  Hiram the king of Tyre had lifted Solomon with cedar trees and with fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire; then King Solomon gave to Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. 

1Ki 9:12  And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon had given to him, and they were not right in his eyes. 

1Ki 9:13  And he said, What are these cities that you have given to me, my brother? And one called them the land of Cabul to this day. 

1Ki 9:14  And Hiram sent to the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold. 

1Ki 9:15  And this is the reason of the labor force that King Solomon raised, to build the house of Jehovah, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer. 

1Ki 9:16  (Pharaoh the king of Egypt had gone up and had captured Gezer, and had burned it with fire. And he killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and gave it as a dowry to his daughter, the wife of Solomon.) 

1Ki 9:17  and Solomon built Gezer, and Beth-horon the lower, 

1Ki 9:18  and Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land; 

1Ki 9:19  and all the store cities which Solomon had, and the cities for his chariots, and the cities of the horsemen, and the desire of Solomon that he desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. 

1Ki 9:20  All the people that were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites who were not of the sons of Israel, 

1Ki 9:21  their sons left behind them in the land, whom the sons of Israel had not been able to exterminate, Solomon even caused to go on them a burden of forced labor to this day. 

1Ki 9:22  But Solomon did not give as a slave out of the sons of Israel, for they were the men of war, and his servants, and his rulers, and his commanders, and the commanders of his chariots, and his horsemen. 

1Ki 9:23  These were the commanders of the officers who were over the work of Solomon: five hundred and fifty, those ruling among the people who were working in the work. 

1Ki 9:24  But the daughter of Pharaoh went up out of the city of David to her house that he built for her; then he built Millo. 

1Ki 9:25  And three times in a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar that he built to Jehovah, and he burned incense on the altar before Jehovah, and finished the house. 

1Ki 9:26  And King Solomon built a navy in Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth, on the lip of the Sea of Reeds, in the land of Edom. 

1Ki 9:27  And Hiram sent his servants in the navy, shipmen who knew the sea, with the servants of Solomon; 

1Ki 9:28  and they came to Ophir and took gold from there, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it in to King Solomon. 

Verses 1-9 Summary: After Solomon builds the temple and his house, God revisits him again. God reiterates His conditions for success and warns of the curse that will happen should Israel go after idols.

a. Re-read chapter 3's version of God's promise. How is it different? Why is it Different?
    Chapter three does not contain the curses that come with the practice of idolatry. In chapter three, Solomon admits his lack of experience, he is humble. Now he is a grown man. He is different. His responsibilities are different. God knows what will happen eventually. As a just God, He has to put this on the table so no accusation can be brought against Him. 
b. If God knows what will happen eventually, why does He do all these things for Solomon?
    This reasoning is used by those who have little understanding of Jehovah. From the beginning, this greatness is what the people wanted and God worked through David, then Solomon to make it happen. However, if this greatness causes them to sin, it is not God who causes men to sin. If anything, we learn how easy it can be to lose sight of the BASIC thing God is looking for in us....our hearts. Note that walking in His ways, paying attention to his commandments and statutes is still required. It is the addition of IDOLATRY that every time violates the covenant in a non-redeemable way. Disobedience/sin is a problem, it is not insurmountable, but is IS a symptom of the much bigger problem of the practice of IDOLATRY. There is  no returning to God if the practice of sin becomes more important than God in our lives.

Verses 10-14 Summary: Solomon hands over twenty cities to Hiram for his help in resources to build the temple. Hiram visits the cities and is disappointed! ooops
Hiram sends 120 talents of gold.

a. 2Chron. 8:18 States that Hiram worked with Solomon to deliver 450 talents of gold. The 120 talents in this chapter were either a part of that or they may have been separate (as payment for the cities?).

These cities were known as "Cabul."

כָּבוּל

kâbûl

kaw-bool'

From the same as H3525 in the sense of limitation; sterile

Verses 15-28 Summary: 
Solomon's accomplishments with forced labor are listed.
He builds/rebuilds cities. Pharaoh gives Gezer to his daughter as marriage dowry.
Pharaoh had burned it to the ground. (Is that good or bad?)
People who were supposed to be wiped out but were not were made into slaves.
Pharaoh's daughter is sent out of Jerusalem. (To live in her own big house)
Solomon is faithful with the 3x a-year sacrifices.
Solomon builds a navy. Hiram sends his naval personnel to help Solomon get tons of gold. (Gifts, or forced?)

4. Locate Ophir on a map:
Hopefully someone will have better luck than me on this. Eloth and Ezion-geber in EDOM are depicted well in historical maps. This region is south of Jerusalem in the farthest reaches of Israel. These cities are part of today's Aqaba sea (a northern finger of the Red Sea). I did find a couple of maps that show Ophir at the southern part of Arabia, below Sheba. This seems reasonable since Solomon seemed to have influence over the queen of Sheba.
This is an interesting note considering Tyre was north of Israel. Hiram was very dedicated to Solomon to send his naval personnel on this quest. It also notes the reach that Solomon's empire attained.