1 - 9 Promise and Warning to Solomon
After the Temple is finished, the Lord appears to Solomon and promises to be there always and that if Solomon is upright and sincere as David was (!) He will establish his sovereignty over Israel forever. If Solomon or his descendants draw away from God, the Lord will cut off Israel and the temple will become a "heap of ruins."
10 - 28 Other Acts of the King
After 20 years, Solomon gave Hiram 20 cities in Galilee. Hiram sends Solomon 120 talents (three million six hundred thousand dollars - that was lot back then).
King Solomon levied forced labor to build the temple. (No Israelites were used - except as supervisors).
Solomon built Millo for Pharaoh's daughter.
Solomon offered three holocausts a year & kept the temple in good shape.
Solomon built a fleet at Eziongeber with seamen who went to Ophir and brought back 420 talents
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God appeared to Solomon when the temple was finished (about the 24th year of his reign) and told him He will be in the temple forever and IF he "walks before Him with integrity of heart and uprightness", do all He commands, and observes his decrees and laws He will keep Israel a major world power. If Solomon allows Israel to stray then the rest of the world will make fun of them and the world will know that their downfall was because they were unfaithful to God.
I just noticed that, so far, the reward for obedience is receiving God's blessings of "success" but nothing is said about restoring our fallen souls and trying to makes ourselves "worthy" for heaven as Jesus made the way for. It seems that the Old Testament "goal" of our faith was different than it is today. I'm leading devotion at Lifeway today where I'll bring this up.
Notes about Solomon's gifts and debts to Hiram say that his debt increased as time went on so he kept having to pay him more. The 20 towns were collateral until he could pay him in gold which he did later.
Solomon used all their neighbors who'd been defeated but not extinguished as slave labor for all the many building projects throughout the kingdom. Israelites were soldiers, government officials, military leaders, and overseers of the building projects.
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