1 Kings 10:26-29 – Taking care to end well

Apart from acquiring wealth, 1 Kings 10:26-29 said that Solomon also acquired horses and chariots. Verse 26 said that he gathered all his chariots and horsemen and that he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, stored in chariots cities in Jerusalem near where he was. The king also had countless silver and cedar trees. Verse 27 said that he had made silver more common than stones in Jerusalem and cedar trees more than sycamore trees. Not only did he acquire horses, but he also traded them. Verse 28 said that he imported those horses from Egypt and Kue. He paid 600 shekels of silver for each chariot and 120 for each horse. And verses 29 said that he would also export those horses to the kings of Hittites and Arameans.   

These last four verses not only see Solomon’s great wealth but also his impending decline. There were signs of clear violation of the instructions laid down by God through Moses in Deuteronomy 17:14-17. Take a look at what the passage in Deuteronomy says, “When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, and you possess it and live in it, and you say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me,’ you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses, one from among your countrymen you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your countryman. Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses since the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way.’ He shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself.” 

Solomon fitted the descriptions given in these verses so perfectly that it is as if the warnings were specially customized for him. Obviously, he did not take this warning seriously. So in the next chapter, we will see the effect of his disobedience. He was beginning to slowly bring impending shame and destruction to what had been a glorious start to his reign. 

Here’s a lesson we must learn for our spiritual well-being. It is not only needful that we start well with the Lord,  but we must also end well. However, if we want to end well, what we do in-between our starting and ending points must be carefully planned and carried out. We must take seriously Paul’s admonition in Ephesians 5:15-17. We must seek to understand the will of God. Then we will be careful to walk, not as fools but as wise. We must learn to make the most out of every opportunity accorded to us. Why? It’s because the day we live in is teeming with luring potential evil, designs to tempt and take us down. So 1 Peter 5:8 warns us saying, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Plan for a glorious end. As we seek to walk with God diligently, we must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith! It’s the surest way to end well.