Monday - I Kings 4 - Organization, Peace and Prosperity

One should get the impression that the reign of Solomon was very nearly surreal in the extravagance of how blessed everyone was. Just read the chapter slowly and mull over what life must have been like when Solomon was the king in Israel. First, we have already read (in the last chapter) how Solomon's wisdom was unsurpassed. Here that quality is expounded on even more. Solomon's compassion, intelligence, ingenuity, discernment, organization and creativity were renowned worldwide in his own day. Additionally, he was rich... extremely rich. Just read his daily entree menu: 30 cows, 100 sheep, plus a variety of wild game... daily (I Kings 4:23)! Consider his stables: 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots along with 12,000 horsemen (I Kings 4:26).

What else can be said? The population was comfortable and increasing. I Kings 4:20 says "Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry."  It was an amazing time of sumptuous prosperity... an era of unmatched peace and happiness. In fact, it really was a harbinger of the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. Pax Romana holds no candle to what went on during the days of Solomon... and neither the blessedness of Solomon's kingdom nor the power of the Roman Empire can accurately measure up to how spectacularly wonderful things will be when Jesus rules the world from Jerusalem. In that day, pleasures - holy and innocent pleasures - will abound, proliferate and increase (Psalm 16:11).  Say it with me, "THY KINGDOM COME!"