Page 40 - Biblical Backgrounds student textbook

Social and Commercially important aspects of the period:

Eliminating rivals to the throne:
Some see the killing off potential rivals such as Adonijah to be cruel. In this culture it was not considered
cruel. The Old Testament texts go out of their way to show how David and Solomon showed restraint
from what would have been standard practice in that culture.

Why build a temple?
The building of a temple to honor your deity was not considered abnormal. In this regard it made sense
to do so. The grandeur of Solomon’s temple was spoken of widely.

The forgotten reasons for war:
We have already noted the motivations of ruling, religion, and tribalism for war in this period. Other
motivations existed as well. Commerce for instance was an important motivation. There were trade
routes between lands that were established. Owning those routes guaranteed the owners an influx of
wealth and trade. The same was true of owning seaports. This guaranteed shipping as a possible source
of trade and communication. Some battles were fought over these trade locations for that very reason.
As Christians we read the Old Testament and focus on the power, religion and tribalism. Sometimes
conflict erupts over water rights, grazing pastures, and ancient claims to regions. We should read
carefully to discover what reasons, or group of reasons, would motivate a war.

The golden age of Israel:

Commercially, Solomon ruled during the golden age of Israel. The peace won by David’s wars gave
Solomon the opportunity to develop Israel into a wealthy people. The fame of his wisdom and wealth
spread far and wide. In fact, it spread so wide that Assyria and Babylon would later attack to plunder the
wealth.

What ended the United Monarchy?
As with many times of great abundance, the time of unification came to an end under Solomon. Many
factors converged to bring this about. Dissatisfaction with taxation laws ignited anger and cessation.
Tribalism led to the divisions as well. In the next section we will cover the period of the divided
monarchy.

King David and the United Monarchy

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