Read 2 Chronicles 8:1-18
After so much focus on the temple, the Chronicler now shifts to tell us more about Solomon’s accomplishments as king. Whereas King David had been a visionary military king, Solomon was the king of construction!
Solomon’s royal projects seem to have been well organized. His labor force was made up of foreigners while Solomon’s own Israelite people were given more “important” tasks, like protecting the kingdom in the army or supervising the projects.
What struck me most was the mention of Solomon’s wife. The Chronicler hasn’t mentioned her before, and we’re roughly twenty years into Solomon’s reign! I was surprised she was a foreigner. Yet she was an Egyptian princess—how perfect to have a royal wife for the King of Israel. That was certainly a mixed marriage.
The Chronicler doesn’t call out the problems of having a foreign wife. The Hebrew Bible was not silent about intermarriage. (See Deuteronomy 7:4, Deuteronomy 23:8, Numbers, 25:1-15 and 1 Kings 11:1-13) However, there are also examples of key mixed marriages in the Bible, i.e. Boaz marrying a Moabite, Ruth, who becomes the great-grandmother of King David.
The biggest fear in my mind of intermarriage is the high potential for marrying someone who doesn’t share the same faith values and belief system. Matters of faith are non-negotiable in my eyes. Unfortunately, I didn’t always think that way and ended up married to someone who understood Scripture a lot differently than I did and was not God honoring in his behaviors. That first marriage taught me so much.
No mention is made of the many wives Solomon had or of God’s displeasure with Solomon. Those details are found in in 1 Kings. Why did the Chronicler not include those less than stellar details? Could it be because the Chronicler’s focus had been the temple and Solomon’s successful mission to build it?
Solomon’s other “claim to fame,” according to the Chronicler, was how he instituted all the liturgy or worship practices his father had prescribed. The ritual sacrifices and celebrations of the festivals followed the law of Moses and was key in continuing good practices in God’s eyes.
What accomplishments have you made for God’s kingdom? Maybe you’re still in the building process yourself. Just be grateful you have found Jesus and are loving learning about his family history. Make a plan for your next step forward in accomplishing your God-given mission.
Let’s pray. Lord, you are a master at orchestrating all that is and all that ever shall be. Help me in accomplishing the tasks you have laid out for me. I know they are from you when I feel like I’m on fire inside when working on those missions. I feel underqualified so much but then marvel at how you are equipping me. Let’s accomplish this together, Lord. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
