Study Desk

So Solomon finished the house of the LORD and the king's palace, and successfully completed everything that he had planned on doing in the house of the LORD and in his palace.

Now it came about at the end of the twenty years in which Solomon had built the house of the LORD and his own house,

and Baalath and all the storage cities that Solomon had, and all the cities for his chariots and cities for his horsemen, and everything that it pleased Solomon to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and all the land under his rule.

But Solomon did not make slaves from the sons of Israel for his work; for they were men of war, his chief captains and commanders of his chariots and his horsemen.

Now according to the ordinance of his father David, he appointed the divisions of the priests for their service, and the Levites for their duties of praise and ministering before the priests according to the daily rule, and the gatekeepers by their divisions at every gate; for this is what David, the man of God, had commanded.

And by his servants Huram sent him ships and servants who knew the sea; and they went with Solomon's servants to Ophir and took from there 450 talents of gold, and brought it to King Solomon.

the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the attendance of his ministers and their attire, his cupbearers and their attire, and his stairway by which he went up to the house of the LORD, she was breathless.

"Blessed be the LORD your God who delighted in you, setting you on His throne as king for the LORD your God; because your God loved Israel, establishing them forever, He made you king over them, to carry out justice and righteousness."

And all the kings of the earth were seeking the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart.

They were bringing, each of them his gift: articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, balsam oil, horses, and mules, so much year by year.

And Solomon lay down with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David; and his son Rehoboam reigned in his place.

"Your father made our yoke hard; but now, lighten the hard labor imposed by your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you."

And then King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served his father Solomon while he was still alive, saying, "How do you advise me to answer this people?"

So the king did not listen to the people, because it was a turn of events from God so that the LORD might establish His word, which He spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

Then King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was in charge of the forced labor, and the sons of Israel stoned him to death. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem.

'This is what the LORD says: "You shall not go up nor fight against your relatives; return, every man, to his house, for this event is from Me."'" So they listened to the words of the LORD and returned from going against Jeroboam.

For the Levites left their pasture lands and their property and went to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons had excluded them from serving as priests to the LORD.

He set up priests of his own for the high places, for the satyrs and the calves which he had made.

Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom more than all his other wives and concubines. For he had taken eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.

Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah as head and leader among his brothers, for he intended to make him king.