“…You shall seek the place that the LORD your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name and make his habitation there… And there you shall eat before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your households, in all that you undertake, in which the LORD your God has blessed you.” - Deuteronomy 12:5 & 7

Though Solomon and David each reigned for forty years, Solomon receives less than a quarter of the airtime given to his father. The highlight of those four decades, though, was of such importance that the author erects a milepost:

In the four hundred and eightieth year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build the house of the LORD.

This connection with the Exodus generation reinforces that Solomon can take no credit for the Temple, or for the conditions that allowed its completion. For Solomon to even begin construction on so grand a structure this must have been an era of extraordinary peace and prosperity for Israel – security that those first Israelites could have only dreamed of.

No, the Temple is the fulfillment of a promise that the LORD made to Israel 440 years ago on the plains of Moab. Back before the land had been taken, the kingdom established, and David’s family installed on the throne. “In the four hundred eightieth year…” is not just a chronological marker; it’s a reminder of God’s faithfulness to His covenant and to His people.

These chapters are a reminder of all that Solomon inherited. His father had left him a united kingdom that touched the Gulf of Aqaba in the south and the Euphrates in the north. Tribute flowed from Edom, Moab, Ammon, Aram and Hamath. He bartered as an equal with the wealth of Tyre and Sidon.

And to top it all, God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure. Listen as peace, wisdom, and blessing converge in ways we’ve not yet seen.

Our verse for this week is Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

1 Kings 4 through 6. Now let’s read it!

Day 131 Guided Podcast