And this is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon drafted to build the house of the LORD and his own house and the Millo and the wall of Jerusalem and Hazor and Megiddo and Gezer
Solomon has finished the temple and his own palace. Now the record names the cost of the rest: a labour force drafted from the nation, and a list of cities — one of them a wedding gift from Egypt.
What the Forced Labour Built
The verse lists the projects without explaining them. Here is what each one was, and why these places needed work.
Leslie M. GrantIn verse 15 we are told of a labour force that Solomon raised. It built the temple, his own house, the Millo (a citadel, perhaps a tower in the fortifications of Jerusalem), the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer. These were areas that plainly needed repair. Gezer gets a special mention: Pharaoh king of Egypt had captured it from the Canaanites, and he gave the city as a dowry to his daughter, whom Solomon married.
Cities With an Unfinished History
The building was not only for defence. It organised the kingdom for trade and for war, and it settled an old account with the Canaanites without a fight.
H. L. RossierSolomon's activity and wisdom show in the store-cities he set up, and in the cities for chariots and for horsemen. This is the outward organisation of the kingdom, whether for commerce and trade or for war. He receives Gezer from Pharaoh, who had wiped out the Canaanites living in that city and had given it to his daughter, the king's wife. So the order to destroy the Canaanites is carried out without any trouble to this reign of peace. Their city rightfully belonged to Israel.
Defences Outside, a Danger Already Inside
That same Egyptian marriage is the shadow over the whole project. Solomon walls his capital against attack while the real threat is already living in it.
Leslie M. GrantThe account then tells of the Millo being built. This was clearly a citadel, a tower in the fortifications of Jerusalem. Solomon fortified his kingdom against possible attacks by enemies. But he had already welcomed the enemy into his kingdom by marrying an Egyptian woman!
Who Carried the Load
Not everyone in this work force stood in the same place, and the difference says something about service today.
Leslie M. GrantIsraelites, on the other hand, were free men, not forced labourers. In the same way, believers today serve the Lord in willing-hearted obedience, whether in conflict or in whatever service.
The Price the Nation Paid
Still, someone paid for all this splendour, and the people did not forget the cost.
W. W. FeredaySolomon built new cities and rebuilt others. But all this meant heavy taxation. In time the people groaned under the burden, while Solomon groaned with disappointment of heart. The weight of taxation is probably what made the people ask Rehoboam for a change. They wanted their service less harsh and their yoke lighter. Men will not complain like that when the Lord reigns in Zion. His glory will far exceed Solomon's, but it will be as true then as now: "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
The Millo and the Man Who Learned Its Secrets
The Millo works needed a manager. Solomon gave the job to one of his own servants, a man of the tribe of Ephraim, and it proved a dangerous choice.
H. L. RossierThe last and most dangerous of Solomon's enemies is the enemy from within, Jeroboam. He was "Solomon's servant," an Ephraimite. Solomon had set him over Ephraim for the work of fortifying the Millo. The Millo was the defence of Jerusalem against enemies from the north. It was a very dangerous move, but what could Solomon foresee? God alone knew. His duties taught Jeroboam all the secrets of the stronghold, and he won the sympathies of his own tribe as well.
A Shadow of the King's Peace
These walled cities also point forward. Commentators see in them a small picture of the safety of a kingdom still to come.
The Bible TreasurySolomon built cities and fenced them with walls and bars, so that "Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Beersheba, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, all the days of Solomon." In the same way the King says through His prophet, "My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places."
Summary
- Built — The forced labour raised the temple, the palace, the Millo citadel, Jerusalem's wall, and three cities: Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer.
- Finished — Gezer came as a dowry from Pharaoh, so this reign of peace cleared the Canaanites from a city that rightfully belonged to Israel, without a fight.
- Flawed — Solomon fortified against outside attack while the enemy he had married was already inside the kingdom.
- Costly — Foreigners did forced labour; Israelites served as free men. But the taxation behind the building made the people ask Rehoboam for a lighter yoke.
- Foreshadowed — The walled, secure cities picture a coming reign where the people dwell safely and the King's burden is light.