…the king sent for Shimei and said to him, “Build a house for yourself here in Jerusalem. Live in it and don’t leave the city. If you ever leave and go beyond Kidron Brook, you will certainly die—and you yourself will be to blame.”
“Very well, Your Majesty,” Shimei answered. “I will do what you say.” So he lived in Jerusalem a long time.
Three years later, however, two of Shimei’s slaves ran away to the king of Gath, Achish son of Maacah. When Shimei heard that they were in Gath, he saddled his donkey and went to King Achish in Gath, to find his slaves. He found them and brought them back home. When Solomon heard what Shimei had done, he sent for him and said, “I made you promise in the Lord’s name not to leave Jerusalem. And I warned you that if you ever did, you would certainly die. Did you not agree to it and say that you would obey me? Why, then, have you broken your promise and disobeyed my command? You know very well all the wrong that you did to my father David. The Lord will punish you for it. But he will bless me, and he will make David’s kingdom secure forever.”
Solomon couldn’t punish Shimei for the wrong done to David. What he could do, however, is put him to the test. Given his disdain for authority (2 Samuel 16:5-8), it would only be a matter of time before he rebelled. No doubt his slaves were aware of his restriction to leave Jerusalem and so they also put him to the test. May I likewise put others to the test, Lord (Jeremiah 6:27).
Then the king gave orders to Benaiah, who went out and killed Shimei. Solomon was now in complete control.
Solomon made an alliance with the king of Egypt by marrying his daughter. He brought her to live in David’s City until he had finished building his palace, the Temple, and the wall around Jerusalem.
Solomon was a strategic thinker: he first solidified his control within his borders then without via a strategic alliance with Egypt and walls around his stronghold. How interesting that Egypt – the center of the known world at the time – has not been mentioned since the Exodus! How difficult it must have been for Pharoah’s daughter to move to this backwater of a place…
A temple had not yet been built for the Lord, and so the people were still offering sacrifices at many different altars. Solomon loved the Lord and followed the instructions of his father David, but he also slaughtered animals and offered them as sacrifices on various altars.
An oft repeated reproach (1 Kings 15:14). I suppose every epoque has its lense through which everything and everyone is judged (2 Kings 14:1-4). What’s mine? And how accurately does it reflect the way you look at everything and everyone, Lord?