1 Kings 9:15-24 Compromise!

 “And this is the reason for the labor force which King Solomon raised: to build the house of the Lord, his own house, the Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer and burned it with fire, had killed the Canaanites who dwelt in the city, and had given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.) And Solomon built Gezer, Lower Beth Horon, Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land of Judah, all the storage cities that Solomon had, cities for his chariots and cities for his cavalry, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. All the people who were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel— that is, their descendants who were left in the land after them, whom the children of Israel had not been able to destroy completely—from these Solomon raised forced labor, as it is to this day. But of the children of Israel Solomon made no forced laborers, because they were men of war and his servants: his officers, his captains, commanders of his chariots, and his cavalry. Others were chiefs of the officials who were over Solomon’s work: five hundred and fifty, who ruled over the people who did the work. But Pharaoh’s daughter came up from the City of David to her house which Solomon had built for her. Then he built the Millo.” I Kings‬ ‭9‬:‭15‬-‭24‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. This is the reason for the labor force which King Solomon raised: Solomon raised this massive labor force to complete massive building projects. Archaeology is a witness to the ambitious and successful building projects of Solomon.

b. He built the Millo: The Hebrew term millois probably a name for a prominent fortress near the temple and the palace. However, it is possible that it describes architectural terracing and buttressing along the northeastern slope of the east hill of Jerusalem, the city of David.

c. Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer: These were three prominently fortified cities in the days of Solomon. “Recent work has demonstrated that these three cities had certain characteristics in common with regard particularly to their fortifications attributable to the Solomonic era… Most distinctive are the gate complexes, which are identical in plan and virtually of the same dimensions in all three cities.” (Patterson and Austel)

i. “Hazor was strategically placed in the north (c. three miles north of the Sea of Galilee), being situated at the juncture of the two major highways approaching from the north. It became Israel’s chief bulwark against northern invaders until it was destroyed in the eighth century by Tiglath-pileser III.” (Patterson and Austel)

ii. “Megiddo was the great fortress that controlled on the major passes from the Plain of Sharon on the coast into the Valley of Jezreel through the Carmel range. It figures in prophecy as the staging area for the last great battle (Armageddon) in which Christ will defeat the forces of the Antichrist.” (Patterson and Austel)

iii. “Gezer, on the road from Joppa to Jerusalem, had been a powerful Canaanite city. Though it was included in the tribal territory of Ephraim, it was not occupied by the Israelites until the time of Solomon. Then it was given to Solomon as a wedding gift by Pharaoh to his daughter.” (Patterson and Austel)

d. All the people who were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites… from these Solomon raised forced labor, as it is to this day: This was another apparent compromise by Solomon. God strictly commanded that the remnants of these tribes be driven out of the land, not used as slave laborers in Israel. Solomon didn’t make Israelites forced laborers, but used them to oversee the remnants of the Canaanite tribes. (Guzik)

Compromise!

It’s interesting that Solomon used the Canaanite tribes as forced labor considering God forbid it and the Israelites past as forced laborers for the Pharaoh of Egypt.

Compromise is a slippery slope. A little compromising sin opens the door to bigger sin!

“Be ye warned, then, against falling into the meanness of compromise, for compromise is nothing better than varnished rebellion against God, a mockery of his claims, and an insult to his judgment.” (Spurgeon)

“As is usual with people on an incline, some who got on “the down grade” went further than they intended, showing that it is easier to get on than to get off, and that where there is no brake it is very difficult to stop.” (Spurgeon)

From Spurgeon’s quotes, I believe if we compromise in our faith of Jesus Christ we will sooner or later find out that we have no brakes!

Blessings