"The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy. And Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These countries brought tribute and were Solomon's subjects all his life." (1 Kings 4:20-21) The peace of Solomon's reign was made possible because David and the army of Israel successfully repelled and subjugated many of Israel's enemies. The prosperity was also made possible by the fact that Israel made their subjects pay them tribute, which was the way things were done. But Solomon was a good steward of money and a wise investor, as evidenced by the financial advice he gives in the book of Proverbs, and he knew how to make money grow. In addition, he invested in prayer. He asked the Lord to bless the nation with prosperity and peace in Psalm 72.
Some of the words he penned in his prayer of Psalm 72 are as follows: "May the mountains bring prosperity to the people, the hills the fruit of righteousness...May grain abound throughout the land; on the tops of the hills may it sway. May the crops flourish like Lebanon and thrive like the grass of the field." (Psalm 72:3,16) These blessings would provide the "eating and drinking" we find the people enjoying in our chapter today. He prayed for financial blessings for the nation as well (the "him" referred to in these verses is himself, the king): "May the kings of Tarshish and of distant shores bring tribute to him. May the kings of Sheba and Seba present him gifts. " (Psalm 72:10) Psalm 72 has traditionally been attributed to Solomon as it is titled "of Solomon". However, I must point out that some scholars believe the title should be rendered "for Solomon" since at the end of the psalm it says, "This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse." (Psalm 72:20) If Solomon is not the author of this psalm and if David wrote this prayerful song on behalf of his son Solomon, then we find David investing in his son and in Israel by praying a prayer he expected to keep paying off long after his own time on earth was ended.
Whether the author of Psalm 72 was David or Solomon or a combination of the two, (I personally hold to the theory that it was written mainly or entirely by Solomon as the king seems to be speaking of himself), the Lord answered the prayers of Psalm 72 in a big way. Our text today from 1 Kings 4 tells us that the people were enjoying their lives and enjoying an era of abundance. It's difficult for a person to derive a great deal of enjoyment from life when they are going without some of the most basic necessities, so we know by the words of today's text that the people had more than enough. They had so much that they rejoiced in the promised land more than they ever had before. We are about to look at how many provisions were necessary for the king's household each day, and by the amount of food necessary we can tell that the members of Solomon's family were being blessed with many children and that the royal household employed a large number of palace servants, shepherds, farmers, and other types of estate workers. In addition I am sure the royal household entertained Solomon's officials on a regular basis. In some nations we might find only the royal household enjoying plenty while the citizens go without, but that's not the case during Solomon's reign. His household is living luxuriously but not because the citizens have been driven into poverty. Everyone has more than enough to eat.
"Solomon's daily provisions were thirty cors of the finest flour and sixty cors of meal, ten head of stall-fed cattle, twenty of pasture-fed cattle and a hundred sheep and goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks and choice fowl." (1 Kings 4:22-23) A "cor" was term used for a measurement of dry volume and my Google results state that a cor was about six bushels, approximately 220-230 liters. In verses 22-23 we learn that the Israelite's main source of protein was a mix of domesticated and wild animals. The Lord multiplied their flocks and herds and He multiplied the animals of the fields, woods, and skies.
During Solomon's reign everyone enjoyed peace in addition to prosperity. "For he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, and had peace on all sides. During Solomon's lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, everyone under their own vine and under their own fig tree." (1 Kings 4:24-25) To say that everyone "lived under their own vine and under their own fig tree" was a proverbial expression. It indicated not having to spend all one's time just scratching out a meager living. It indicated not being troubled by enemies. To be able to sit in the shade of one's own vine or fig tree meant the person was not enslaved or oppressed by an enemy, that the person owned the property on which he enjoyed the shade, that the person had the time to enjoy the shade because he didn't have to toil all the day long, and that life was pleasant and fulfilling.
"Solomon had four thousand stalls for chariot horses, and twelve thousand horses." (1 Kings 4:26) Were these for the use of the king's special guard? Were these horses and chariots maintained for use by the army should Israel be attacked by an enemy? We don't know. We know more about where they came from than what they were used for. A lot of them came from plundering the enemies Israel conquered during the days of King David. You'll recall that the army took the best of the horses and chariots for themselves whenever they won a battle. A lot of the horses likely came as tribute from the nations that were subject to Israel. A lot of them were purchased by Solomon from Egypt and Kue according to 1 Kings 10:28 and 2 Chronicles 1:16. Kue is believed to have been located within what is now Turkey. Sadly, the fact that Solomon purchases large numbers of horses from other nations and, more specifically, that he obtains them from Egypt is a violation of this very clear command from the Lord: "The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, 'You are not to go back that way again.'" (Deuteronomy 17:16)
Something to keep in mind is that when the author of 1 Kings tells us of the glory of Solomon's reign, he's probably speaking of it as a whole, as he looks back on it. The king's procuring of the many horses (a violation of Deuteronomy 17:16) and his procuring of many wives (a violation of Deuteronomy 17:17) are things that did not happen immediately upon his ascension to the throne, in my opinion. I think he slipped into these behaviors gradually. Most people don't suddenly slide into a deep pit of sin with no warning; it tends to happen gradually, by one infraction of God's laws at a time. That's why it's so important to daily commune with the Lord and to daily read God's word so He can help us catch wrong behaviors while they are still "small", for lack of a better word. It's far better to catch and correct something in its early stages than to become enslaved by a sin, which is something that hurts us and everyone around us. I think the Lord's command for kings to study His law every day of their lives was intended as a valuable tool to prevent them from becoming enslaved to sin, for He said that the king's copy of His law was to be with the king at all times and that the king "is to read it every day of his life". (Deuteronomy 17:19)
But Solomon's gradual slide into sin is something we'll learn more and more about as we continue on through the book. Today's section concludes by telling us that the men he put in charge of collecting taxes were faithful and honest in their duties. They were not defrauding the people by taking more than they were supposed to take. They were not embezzling any of the goods either, so Solomon's household is not running short of supplies. As a result, the people still have plenty and Solomon is able to provide for his wives and children, his extended family and their spouses and children, and all his workers. Even Solomon's horses are provided for out of the quotas of barley and grain. "The district governors, each in his month, supplied provisions for King Solomon and all who came to the king's table. They also brought to the proper place their quotas of barley and straw for the chariot horses and the other horses." (1 Kings 4:27-28)
When things are done in an orderly way and in an honest way, it is a blessing upon everyone. If you have time you might like to read all of Psalm 72 because in it Solomon prayed for the Lord to give him the wisdom to be fair and just in all his dealings with the people. He asked the Lord to help him deliver the needy and afflicted. He asked the Lord to enable him to rescue those who are weak and who are being oppressed. Because Solomon had a heart of compassion for the people and sought to do them good, the Lord made sure he achieved these goals. Solomon has his faults but he cared about his nation and wanted wonderful things to happen for the nation and its citizens.
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