2 Chronicles 1:13-17 Then Solomon came from his journey to the high place that was at Gibeon to Jerusalem, from before the tabernacle of the congregation… I. HIS SPLENDID EQUIPAGE. "Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen." 1. A sign of great prosperity. Mentioned on this account rather than as a proof of the expensiveness and burdensomeness of Solomon's reign (Ewald). (1) A discrepancy. Solomon had 40,000 stalls (1 Kings 4:26; Josephus, 'Ant. Jud.,' 8:2. 4); 12,000 horsemen and 1400 chariots (ver. 14; 2 Chronicles 10:26); 4000 stalls and 12,000 horsemen (2 Chronicles 9:25). (2) An explanation. The stalls probably were 4000, the horsemen 12,000, and the chariots 1400. The Israelitish war-chariot, like the Egyptian and Assyrian, may have been two-horsed, in which case 1400 chariots would represent 2800 horses. A reserve force of 1200 would bring the total number of horses to 4000, which would require 4000 stalls: That the horsemen should be 12,000 may be explained by supposing that, as Solomon's equestrian equipage was more for show than action, each horse may have had a rider as well as each chariot a charioteer; or the term "horsemen" may have embraced all persons connected with the equestrian service. 2. An act of great wickedness. If the Divine prohibition (Deuteronomy 17:16) forbade not the actual possession of horses by Israelitish kings, it certainly condemned their indefinite multiplication. David respected this prohibition (2 Samuel 8:4; 1 Chronicles 18:4); Solomon overstepped its limits, consequently what Moses had predicted ensued - first Solomon sought a matrimonial alliance with (1 Kings 3:1), and then the people put their trust in, Egypt (2 Kings 18:24; Isaiah 31:1; Hosea 7:11). The glory of princes does not always harmonize with the commands of the King of kings. Solomon's horsemen and chariots were partly kept in Jerusalem to augment his magnificence, and partly distributed through chariot-cities, not so much to overawe the people as for convenience in providing fodder for the beasts, and meeting the state necessities of the king. II. HIS ENORMOUS WEALTH. The revenues of Solomon were: 1. Varied. Gold and silver and cedar wood; the precious metals obtained from Ophir, in South Arabia (Ewald, Keil, Bahr, etc.), by means of Tarshish ships (cf. the modern expressions, "India-men," "Greenlanders"), which sailed from Ezion-geber, on the Red Sea (2 Chronicles 9:21; 1 Kings 9:26-28), and also from the numerous Eastern potentates - "all the kings of the earth" (2 Chronicles 9:23), who came to hear his wisdom, and brought every man his present, vessels of silver and vessels of gold (2 Chronicles 9:24); the timber purchased from Hiram of Tyre, and procured from Mount Lebanon (1 Kings 5:10). 2. Abundant. Making large allowance for rhetorical exaggeration, the crown wealth in Solomon's days was immense. Even if the gold and silver were barely as plentiful as stones (ver. 15), one may judge of its quantity by the statements that "the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and sixty-six talents" (equivalent to £3,646,350, estimating the gold talent at £5475), besides that brought by chapmen, merchants, foreign kings, and provincial governors (2 Chronicles 9:13, 14; 1 Kings 10:14, 15). This accumulation of wealth in the hands of the crown, more accordant with ancient than with modern practice, was likewise then more excusable than now for obvious religious as well as political reasons. III. HIS COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISE. 1. How far it extended. To Egypt, The first mention of commercial intercourse between Israel and Egypt, this is also one of the earliest indications of contact between these two peoples since the Exodus; and the silence of Scripture as to Egypt during the long interval between the Exodus and the age of Solomon receives a striking confirmation from the monuments, which show "no really great or conquering monarch between Rameses III. and Sheshonk I." (Rawlinson, 'Egypt and Babylon,' p. 328). 2. In what it consisted. Horses and chariots. A native of Armenia and Media, whence it was fetched by the Jews to Palestine (Ezra 2:66), the horse had been used in Egypt from the earliest times (Genesis 41:43; Genesis 47:17), and in Solomon's time had been brought by the Egyptians to a high degree of cultivation in respect both of swiftness and courage - two qualities highly serviceable for war. Hence Solomon naturally turned to the Nile valley when he thought of setting up an equestrian establishment. The manufacturing of war-chariots had also engaged the attention of the Pharaohs and their people; and these likewise were imported by the Israelitish monarch. Taking the shekel at 3s. 4d., the price of a horse was £25, and of a war-chariot (perhaps with two horses and harness) £100 sterling. 3. By whom it was conducted. By the king's merchants, who were so called, not because, as foreign horse-dealers settled in the country, they were required to contribute to the king's treasury a portion of their gains in the shape of an income-tax (Bertheau), but because they traded for the king (Keil), acting as his agents, going down to Egypt, purchasing the animals in droves, and fetching them up for his use. So skilful did these merchants show themselves both in judging of the animals and in driving bargains with Egyptian dealers, and so far had their fame travelled, that their services were sought for by the Hittite and Syrian kings of the day. LESSONS. 1. The criminality of disobedience. 2. The danger of wealth. 3. The advantages of trade and commerce. - W. Parallel Verses KJV: Then Solomon came from his journey to the high place that was at Gibeon to Jerusalem, from before the tabernacle of the congregation, and reigned over Israel. |
    |