4 And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments: 5 Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.

When we surrender to Christ, He takes it seriously; and He wants us to take it seriously also. God cannot pour out His grace as profusely as He wants if we are not "walking" in His will.
God's statement to Solomon holds true for each Christian today. "IF you will walk...I will establish.." It is not WE who establish righteousness and goodness in our lives, it is GOD. And the manner He chooses to do that is when we obediently follow His will.

6 But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them: 7 Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:

Notice that the condition of the nation depends upon the condition of its leader. Solomon and his children who will be kings after him are charged with the responsibility of leading the nation in obedience to God.
My friends, the REAL leaders of our nation today are Christians. It is not so much the political and social leaders that are elected, but we Christians who determine the blessings of God upon the nation.
God promises to bless a nation if HIS SPIRITUAL LEADERS will walk in obedience to Him.

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."(2Chronicles 7:14)

8 And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house? 9 And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil.

When the kings of Israel turned to evil, so did the people. And when that happened, God destroyed Jerusalem, the temple, and caused the people to be carried away into captivity.
And today, when Christians refuse to walk in obedience to God, He will send discipline and shame upon them.
People may wonder why. There is only one answer: DISOBEDIENCE.

10 And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD, and the king's house, 11 (Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. 12 And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not. 13 And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul unto this day. 14 And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold.

For twenty years, Hiram and Solomon had worked together in a treaty-partnership. Hiram had provided all that Solomon had asked for the building of the temple and of Solomon's house. Their agreement had worked well. Solomon had also provided Hiram with food for his household (the dainty precious and delicious things of Israel).
But Solomon wanted to do MORE for Hiram. Hiram had been a good friend. So Solomon conquered some cities north of Asher (about 20 in number). These cities had good pasture and farming land. He turned these over to Hiram. But Hiram was a "city-boy" and didn't care for the country atmosphere of these cities. So Hiram gave them back to Solomon, and Solomon sent Israelites to live in them (2Chronicles 8:2).

15 And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.

Solomon instituted a tax upon the people. The purpose for the tax was as follows:
1) to build the Lord's house,
2) to build the king's house,
3) to build "Millo" - or a City Hall,
4) to build the wall around Jerusalem,
5) to build the cities of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.
These cities were strategic fortress places in the kingdom.

16 For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon's wife. 17 And Solomon built Gezer, and Beth-horon the nether, 18 And Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land, 19 And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

The Egyptian Pharoah, as a present to his daughter, captured and burned the Canaanite city of Gezer. Solomon, a wise man, was inspired by this action to rebuild Gezer and the other fortress cities in strategic locations to insure the strength of the land.
He built in them places to hold soliders - or armories.

20 And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel, 21 Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day. 22 But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen. 23 These were the chief of the officers that were over Solomon's work, five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work.

Solomon took FIRM hold of the land. Those people who did not belong to Israel, but wanted to remain in the land became subject to "conscripted labor." They were "taxed" (so to speak) with being bondservants.
Over these servants, Solomon appointed 550 supervisors. They organized the bondservants into working parties, and completed many projects for the king. Solomon was a "master-builder," and he used these people to build for the kingdom: roads, buildings, fortresses, etc.

24 But Pharaoh's daughter came up out of the city of David unto her house which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Millo. 25 And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the LORD, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the LORD. So he finished the house. 26 And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom. 27 And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. 28 And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.

Solomon's wife, Pharoah's daughter, moved into the special house he had built for her.
Notice that Solomon was careful to go before the Lord in obedience and worship as he was taught.
Solomon then used the labor force he had to build a navy of ships. Hiram sent some experienced naval men to train Solomon's men in sailing. Then they sailed to Ophir, and brought gold for the treasury.

See this progression of events:
1) God told Solomon to be OBEDIENT and He would bless him,
2) Solomon took care of GOD'S business FIRST,
3) He took care of the kingdom second,
4) And God did bless him, as well as the whole kingdom.
God is TRUE to His promises!!

Please continue with us in daily Bible study.