Solomon's Building Projects and Fleet

October 9th, 2026
by Chris Adomanis

[ READ ] 1 Kings 9:15–28

15 And this is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon drafted to build the house of the Lord and his own house and the Millo and the wall of Jerusalem and Hazor and Megiddo and Gezer 16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and captured Gezer and burned it with fire, and had killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and had given it as dowry to his daughter, Solomon's wife; 17 so Solomon rebuilt Gezer) and Lower Beth-horon 18 and Baalath and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land of Judah, 19 and all the store cities that Solomon had, and the cities for his chariots, and the cities for his horsemen, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. 20 All the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the people of Israel— 21 their descendants who were left after them in the land, whom the people of Israel were unable to devote to destruction—these Solomon drafted to be slaves, and so they are to this day. 22 But of the people of Israel Solomon made no slaves. They were the soldiers, they were his officials, his commanders, his captains, his chariot commanders and his horsemen.
23 These were the chief officers who were over Solomon's work: 550 who had charge of the people who carried on the work.
24 But Pharaoh's daughter went up from the city of David to her own house that Solomon had built for her. Then he built the Millo.
25 Three times a year Solomon used to offer up burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar that he built to the Lord, making offerings with it before the Lord. So he finished the house.
26 King Solomon built a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. 27 And Hiram sent with the fleet his servants, seamen who were familiar with the sea, together with the servants of Solomon. 28 And they went to Ophir and brought from there gold, 420 talents, and they brought it to King Solomon.

The circumstances surrounding Solomon’s rise to power as recorded here in 1 Kings always seems just a little off to me. First, his father David encourages Solomon to stay true to the statutes and commandments of God, but he then advises him to “knock off” three men to ensure the establishment of his kingship. After the Lord bestows great wisdom upon Solomon as a reward for his earnest prayer, he goes out and marries outside the family of faith (the daughter of the Pharaoh) to secure peace with the nation of Egypt. Earlier here in 1 Kings 9, Solomon rightly repays a debt to King Hiram of Tyre for supplying goods for the building of the Temple, but he pays him by giving him rights to 20 cities located in Galilee. This land was given by divine decree for the nation of Israel and, therefore, not rightly his to give away.
Solomon’s pursuit of wealth and power and his half hearted attempts at keeping the commands of the Lord continues in the verses we have before us today.
- Chris Adomanis

[ EXAMINE ] the passage. At this point, answer some questions about the meaning of the text. Take time to reflect.
+ Who were these people drafted into forced labor by Solomon? What was supposed to happen to them by divine decree? What do you make of Solomon’s decision to keep them in forced labor instead?
+ What do you make of Solomon offering sacrifices to God on altars he built?
+ Why do you think the author mentions the ship building and the gold that was gathered in verses 26-28?

[ APPLY ] the passage to your own life.
+ Is there sin to confess or a next step to take? How has it gone since last time?
+ How would you describe the trajectory of Solomon’s life through the first nine chapters of 1 Kings? What has led him down this path in his walk with the Lord?
+ The term “half hearted” is used quite frequently in describing the character of Solomon. Reflect on times you have been half hearted living as a disciple of Jesus. What can you do to be more “whole hearted” in your devotion?

[ PRAY ] through the passage and your application, and ask God to change your heart and your life.
+ Pray with me:
Heavenly Father, sometimes I am not a disciplined disciple. I am so often led astray by the wants and desires of my heart that I vacillate and compromise in my attitudes and actions. Have mercy on me and forgive my half hearted devotion. Fill me, Holy Spirit, and grant me the power to overcome the enemies of my soul. Amen.

Matthew 7:24-27: 24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

[ SHARE ] what God is teaching you with at least one person: your roommate,
your spouse, your kids, or your coworkers. Don’t keep what God taught you to
yourself.
(e.g., your family around the dinner table, a friend, co-worker or neighbor- for help join a community group at downtownhope.org/community-groups)
yourself:
+ Talk today’s message over with someone who is discipling you, and someone you are discipling.