And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; and he had a thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; and he placed them in the chariot-cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.
Solomon's reign has just reached its high point. The queen of Sheba has gone home and the gold has piled up. Now the king builds a standing army of chariots and cavalry. Commentators read this one verse in two directions. It pictures the safety of the kingdom Christ will one day rule. It also shows the first crack in Solomon's obedience.
Solomon's father left him a throne already made safe. He built a large army anyway. One writer contrasts that armed peace with the peace of the King who is greater than Solomon:
David had subdued all the enemies of Israel around them, and left Solomon a peaceful throne... But Solomon was no believer in disarmament. It is twice repeated, "Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen." Every picture falls short! When He who is "greater than Solomon" reigns in Jerusalem, men "shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks." Then "nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore." Because He is there, the name of the city from that day will be "The LORD Is There."
These chariot cities still picture something real about the coming kingdom. But the picture fails on one point: what that safety rests on.
The chariots and horsemen were for the protection of his kingdom. They remind us that the kingdom of the Lord Jesus will have fuller protection than this, though with no trust in chariots and horses. Israel's trust then will be in the name of the Lord alone.
Long before Israel had a king, the law already said what he must not accumulate. God gave Solomon riches he never asked for. Solomon then used means God had ruled out:
God foresaw that Israel might have a king. If they did, that king was forbidden to multiply his wives or his riches, or to go down into Egypt to multiply horses. Now, whatever blessings surround us, we can never abandon the law of God without paying for it. The same holds for the walk the Word lays down for His children. God had given great riches and honour to Solomon, who had only asked for wisdom. But the law required the king to study it, and that study should have kept him from the means he used to gain his riches. These chapters teach us that he did exactly what the law forbade. Solomon was rich and glorious above all the kings of his day. But the means he used to enrich himself showed a heart far from God, and led to his ruin.
The horses came from the country God had redeemed Israel out of. The law shut that road back to Egypt:
Egypt was famous for its horses and chariots. The Lord's prohibition to the king notes this: "He shall not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the LORD has said to you, 'You shall never return that way again.'" Their redemption from Egypt and all its power should have been final; nothing should have tempted them back. But in Solomon's reign we find horses were a chief article of trade with Egypt.
Solomon's stables contradicted his own proverb:
Solomon himself tells us in Proverbs that "the horse is made ready for the day of battle." He then adds what he later forgot: "but the victory belongs to the LORD"... David wrote before Solomon began to reign, "The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue." He wrote again that the LORD's "delight is not in the strength of the horse." In days of danger the LORD is worth more to His people than regiments of cavalry.
Not every writer reads these horses as sin. One points to Chronicles for a different view:
Solomon accumulated much silver and gold at Jerusalem, and his merchants brought him horses from Egypt. Some have thought this proves Solomon was unfaithful to the requirements of the law in Deuteronomy 17:16-17. The study of Chronicles causes us to reject that reading. Here, Egypt pays tribute to Solomon, who deals with it justly. He lets foreign nations share the same advantages, and so it shall be under Christ's future reign.
A great division later split Israel. One writer traces its root to these verses:
The tenth chapter of the First Book of Kings, verses 26 to 29, together with chapter eleven, will bring before us the root of this great division in Israel. It all traces back to a loss of devotion to God, and to departure from the Word of God.
- Glory — the chariots and horsemen show Solomon's splendour, and picture the protection Christ's kingdom will have.
- Gap — the picture fails where it counts. That kingdom needs no cavalry, because Israel's trust will be in the name of the Lord alone.
- Given — God gave Solomon the riches; He forbade the method — horses multiplied, and fetched from Egypt.
- Gone back — Egypt was the place of redemption left behind, and the trade route reopened a road God had closed.
- Growth of ruin — the division of the kingdom traces back to this point: lost devotion to God and departure from His Word.
And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he as the sycamores that are in the lowland for abundance.
The summary of Solomon's reign ends with a note about prices. That one line measures a wealth no other city has matched — and readers ask what it pictures, and whether it was pure blessing.
The comparison is not about how much silver Solomon owned. It is about what silver came to be worth in his reign. Cedar went the same way — as common as the lowly sycamore. One writer walks through a court where gold had taken over:
And what riches and glory the king had! Everything was of gold. His throne was solid ivory overlaid with gold. Twelve wonderful lions stood on the one side and on the other. All the drinking vessels were of gold. Silver lost its value in his days; it was worth next to nothing.
Set beside the famous capitals of history, Jerusalem under Solomon still stands alone:
There was the grandest witness of magnificence that was ever found in any city on earth. Not even Augustus finding Rome brick and leaving it marble could be compared with Solomon.
Solomon's splendour points past itself. One writer treats those few decades in Jerusalem as a small-scale model of a greater reign still to come:
So far, even though we are dealing with a man and therefore with an imperfect being, we have been able to see a beautiful unity in Solomon's life. It was joined to the wisdom that lifted the king's name high among the nations, linked with the name of the Lord. The greatness, the majesty, the power, the wealth of his reign were only a faint image of what the Millennium will show under the reign of the true King of Glory.
But the model does not hold everywhere. The next verses list chariots and horsemen, and that detail shows where the picture breaks:
But Solomon was no believer in disarmament. The record says twice that he gathered chariots and horsemen, and that he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen. Every such picture falls short! When He who is "greater than Solomon" reigns in Jerusalem, men "shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks." And "nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore."
Verse 27 does not stand alone. It sits in a paragraph about trade, and that trade crossed a command the Lord had given the king:
Silver became as common as stones in Jerusalem and cedar trees as plentiful as the lowly sycamores (v. 27). Solomon also imported chariots and horsemen from Egypt... He used these in Israel, but also exported them to the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria, making a profit. If he had read Deuteronomy 17:15-16, then he disobeyed on purpose. The Lord forbade a king to gather many horses or to have horses bought from Egypt. This was depending on the world (Egypt) for the protection of his kingdom, instead of on the Lord.
What Solomon did with his riches is where the account turns. The contrast with his father is sharp:
First, we notice one thing about this magnificent pile of gold, silver and ivory, of valuables and works of art, right down to apes and peacocks. He collected it all for his own pleasure and enjoyment. He was the centre around which everything revolved. How different he was from his father... David did receive large sums into his own purse. Even so, he kept the Lord's interests before him... Solomon was on quite different lines. All that he got he heaped up for his own benefit.
Solomon had wisdom, wealth and power together. One writer weighs what all of it finally gave him:
God gave him a measure of wisdom greater than anyone before him... He had wealth beyond any monarch the world has ever seen — in his days silver counted for nothing. All that wealth could buy, all that power could command, all that wisdom could search out, he could enjoy and understand. "What, then, can the man do who comes after the king?"
- Cheapened. Silver did not just pile up. It collapsed in value, worth next to nothing beside the gold of Solomon's court.
- Unmatched. No city in history, Rome included, matched the magnificence of Jerusalem in those years.
- Preview. That greatness is only a faint image of the greater reign still to come, never its equal.
- Cracked. The picture breaks at the chariots. The coming King ends war; Solomon stockpiled for it, buying horses from Egypt against a clear command.
- Hollow. Solomon heaped it up for himself, while David kept God's interests in view. The richest man alive ended by asking what anyone after him could add.
And the exportation of horses that Solomon had was from Egypt a caravan of the king's merchants fetched a drove [of horses], at a price.
Solomon's reign has just been described at its most splendid. Then comes a plain business note about where the king bought his horses. It looks harmless. Commentators read it as the point where failure starts to show.
The older English Bibles read "linen yarn" here, and that reading has long been questioned. One reference work explains why the wording was revised:
["Linen yarn"] appears in the Authorised Version only in 1 Kings 10:28 and 2 Chronicles 1:16, as something brought out of Egypt. But "horses" come just before and just after, so "linen yarn" is unlikely to be the sense here... The Septuagint, Latin, Syriac and Arabic versions treat the word as a proper name. The Revised Version, following others before it, reads: "And the horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt; and the king's merchants received them in droves, each drove at a price." This is no doubt the best translation.
The ESV follows that proper-name reading and prints "Kue." Either way, the trade is the same: Solomon bought horses in bulk. The next verse adds that he sold them on:
Solomon appears to have established a considerable business in horse-dealing... The next verse tells us that he sold horses to the kings of the Hittites and of Syria. This trading may have been profitable, but the Lord was not pleased with His servant for it. What a testimony to the nations around him! They should have learned from him that trusting God is better than trusting horses.
The law had already spoken to Israel's king about horses:
There were also three laws set down specially for him. First, he was NOT to multiply horses to himself, and thereby cause the people to return to Egypt. Second, he was NOT to multiply wives to himself, so that his heart should not be turned away. Third, he was NOT to multiply to himself silver and gold. Notice how the word "multiply" keeps coming back. The third time it is "greatly multiply." And in each case it is "multiply to himself."
One writer weighs what that trade meant if Solomon had read the law:
If he had read Deuteronomy 17:15-16, then he was disobedient on purpose. The Lord forbade a king to multiply horses or to have horses bought from Egypt. This was depending on the world (Egypt) for the protection of his kingdom, instead of on the Lord.
Egypt was the country God had brought Israel out of. One writer connects the horse trade to that history:
Egypt was famous for its horses and chariots. The Lord's ban on the king takes note of this: "he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt so that he should multiply horses, since the Lord has said to you, You shall never return that way again." Their redemption from Egypt and all its power should have been final; nothing should have tempted them back to it. But in Solomon's reign we find horses were a main item of trade with Egypt.
Solomon himself had written that the horse is made ready for the day of battle — and then forgot the second half of his own proverb:
Solomon himself tells us in Proverbs 21:31 that "the horse is made ready for the day of battle"; and he adds, what he afterwards quite forgot, "but the victory belongs to the Lord."
William Kelly presses the obvious questions:
Was this obedience? Was this the king after God's own heart? Had He not expressly warned His king to beware of it?... God had guaranteed him wealth, but he sought it and prided himself on it. He laid no small burdens on his people to build up wealth for the king. At the same time he shows his dependence on the Gentiles. He goes down to Egypt for horses, for what would add to royal splendour.
One writer draws out the principle behind it:
All this self-promotion rests on one idea: that the way of life is to get everything possible for self-gratification. The consequence is solemn. You are trapped into disobedience, and you forfeit the support of God. Solomon did not act in ignorance of God's Word — it was simply staring him in the face, and so he broke it outrageously.
- Read it right. The Hebrew describes horses bought in droves at a price, not "linen yarn." Solomon ran a bulk trade in horses, buying and selling.
- Known law. The law named three things the king must not multiply for himself: horses, wives, and gold. God's Word was staring Solomon in the face, so this was not ignorance.
- Wrong source. The horses came from Egypt — the country God had redeemed Israel out of for good. Buying there meant leaning on the world for protection.
- Wrong hour. The crack shows at the peak of his splendour. He leaned on the Gentiles and burdened his own people to build up royal wealth.
- Real cost. Egypt cost him more than money: his wives turned his heart, and the first invader after his death was Shishak king of Egypt. "Wisdom did not keep Solomon, nor will it keep any one of us, but cleaving to the Lord will" (A. J. Pollock).
And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred [shekels] of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty; and so they brought [them] by their means, for all the kings of the Hittites and for the kings of Syria.
This verse puts a price tag on Solomon's glory. Chariots and horses come from Egypt at a set rate, and the king's traders sell them on to the kings around him. Most commentators see the golden reign crossing a line God had drawn for Israel's kings.
Solomon is not just keeping horses. He is dealing in them, and one writer names what the nations around should have learned from him instead.
Solomon appears to have established a considerable business in horse-dealing. He sold horses to the kings of the Hittites and of Syria. This trading may have been profitable, but the Lord was not pleased with His servant for it. What a testimony to the nations around! They should have learned from him that trusting God is better than trusting horses. When Israel entered Canaan, a land full of horses and chariots, the Lord told them to hamstring the horses and burn the chariots (Joshua 11:6). Israel's God rejected the methods of the nations in His work. His people's confidence must be in Himself alone.
This was not just a business decision. One commentator turns the verse into a set of questions.
Was this obedience? Was this the king after God's own heart? Had He not expressly warned His king to beware of it? He also shows his dependence on the Gentiles. He goes down to Egypt for horses, for what would add to royal splendour. It would tempt his sons, if not himself, to seek conquest that was not according to the mind of God.
The problem was not the price. It was the source, and what leaning on that source meant.
Solomon imported chariots and horsemen from Egypt. He used them in Israel, but also sold them on to the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria, making a profit. If he had read Deuteronomy 17:15-16, then he disobeyed on purpose. The Lord forbade a king to multiply horses or to arrange the buying of horses from Egypt. This was depending on the world (Egypt) for the protection of his kingdom, instead of on the Lord.
Solomon had the text in front of him. One writer imagines the arguments a wise man could assemble against it.
I do not know, but perhaps Solomon had very plausible excuses for what he did when he read that passage in Deuteronomy. He may have said — Ah, but those instructions from the Lord through Moses were written so long ago. Times have changed. All the other nations have horses. What are we going to do without horses when all those chariots come against us? I can quite imagine the plausible reasoning that might have come in about each of the three prohibitions. But it was all false.
The same writer compares Solomon with his father David, and refuses to call the disobedience ignorance:
David won his great victories without horses, because God was with him. Solomon had horses, and from that point Israel began to say goodbye to victory. He multiplied horses and wives and riches. He did the three things the king was told not to do, and he did them blatantly. Solomon did not act in ignorance of God's Word — it was simply staring him in the face, and so he did it outrageously.
Solomon bought protection for his kingdom. It did not hold.
Of course, people thought war horses were necessary to protect the kingdom. Could faith not depend on God for such protection rather than on horses? See Psalm 33:17; Hosea 14:3. Despite this warning, Solomon, rich king as he was, brought in horses from Egypt, as well as chariots. Reports say he had 40,000 stalls of horses. These did not protect the kingdom from division soon after the death of Solomon. Depending on these things is not depending on God.
Not everyone reads the horse trade as sin. One writer weighs the parallel account in Chronicles and reaches the opposite conclusion.
Solomon gathered much silver and gold at Jerusalem, and his merchants brought him horses from Egypt and passed them on to all the kings of the Hittites and of Syria. Some have thought this proves Solomon was unfaithful to the requirements of the law in Deuteronomy 17:16-17. The study of Chronicles causes us to reject such an interpretation. Here, Egypt pays tribute to Solomon, who treats it fairly. He lets foreign nations profit from the same advantages, and so it shall be under Christ's future reign.
- Traffic. Solomon bought chariots and horses in Egypt and sold them on at a profit to the kings around him.
- Trust. The law forbade a king to multiply horses. Buying them meant leaning on the world for safety, not on the Lord.
- Text. The command in Deuteronomy 17 stared him in the face. He broke it knowing exactly what it said.
- Talk. Changed times, other nations, military need — every command can be argued away. The reasoning was false.
- Test. The 40,000 stalls failed the one test that mattered — the kingdom split soon after he died.