Solomon Establishes Kingdom and Receives Wisdom

King Solomon assumes absolute command of the Israelite kingdom around 970 b.c. He consolidates his military forces and travels to the ancient sanctuary at Gibeon. This elevated ridge holds the original bronze altar from the wilderness migrations. The new monarch offers a thousand burnt sacrifices upon its heavy metal grate. Heavy columns of smoke rise across the central highland ridges of Judah.

The God of Israel appears to the young ruler during the dark night. The Almighty offers to grant any single request the new king desires. Solomon ignores common demands for gold or the destruction of foreign enemies. He asks only for the intellect to manage an expanding national population. God grants this wisdom and promises unmatched material wealth for his reign.

Solomon returns to the capital and builds a massive mechanized military force. He imports fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand combat horses from Egyptian traders. Royal merchants pay roughly fifteen pounds of silver for each heavy chariot. The administration stores these wooden war machines inside specialized stone fortress cities. Precious metals soon become as common as paving stones in the capital streets. Imported cedar logs pile up like ordinary scrub brush in the western foothills.

Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?

The king secures his national borders with heavy cavalry and vast commercial wealth. He shifts his absolute focus toward a massive public project in Jerusalem. The time approaches to build a permanent stone structure for his deity. Thousands of drafted laborers prepare to cut massive limestone blocks from the bedrock.