“It took Solomon twenty years to build the Lord’s Temple and his own royal palace. At the end of that time, Solomon turned his attention to rebuilding the towns that King Hiram had given him, and he settled Israelites in them. Solomon also fought against the town of Hamath-zobah and conquered it. He rebuilt Tadmor in the wilderness and built towns in the region of Hamath as supply centers. He fortified the towns of Upper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon, rebuilding their walls and installing barred gates. He also rebuilt Baalath and other supply centers and constructed towns where his chariots and horses could be stationed. He built everything he desired in Jerusalem and Lebanon and throughout his entire realm. There were still some people living in the land who were not Israelites, including the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. These were descendants of the nations whom the people of Israel had not destroyed. So Solomon conscripted them for his labor force, and they serve as forced laborers to this day. But Solomon did not conscript any of the Israelites for his labor force. Instead, he assigned them to serve as fighting men, officers in his army, commanders of his chariots, and charioteers. King Solomon appointed 250 of them to supervise the people. Solomon moved his wife, Pharaoh’s daughter, from the City of David to the new palace he had built for her. He said, “My wife must not live in King David’s palace, for the Ark of the Lord has been there, and it is holy ground.” Then Solomon presented burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar he had built for him in front of the entry room of the Temple. He offered the sacrifices for the Sabbaths, the new moon festivals, and the three annual festivals—the Passover celebration, the Festival of Harvest, and the Festival of Shelters—as Moses had commanded. In assigning the priests to their duties, Solomon followed the regulations of his father, David. He also assigned the Levites to lead the people in praise and to assist the priests in their daily duties. And he assigned the gatekeepers to their gates by their divisions, following the commands of David, the man of God. Solomon did not deviate in any way from David’s commands concerning the priests and Levites and the treasuries. So Solomon made sure that all the work related to building the Temple of the Lord was carried out, from the day its foundation was laid to the day of its completion.”
2 Chronicles 8:1-16 NLT
It is easy to forget that in all the bad that happened because of Solomon’s reign, a lot of good also came from it. This passage highlights two powerful truths regarding this. The first is as stated. Perhaps the ends don’t justify the means, but these passages were preserved by the Holy Spirit because the means should not be completely dismissed either. Solomon did many good things and in many ways should be remembered for those deeds. But perhaps more bittersweet should also be the realization that decades of godly service doesn’t always equate to a faithful legacy. This works in both ways. An ungodly legacy also does not mean that there weren’t long bouts of time when someone was faithful and producing good works for the kingdom. For some this might lead to the conclusion that nothing can be trusted and that one’s efforts have no value, but the fact that these efforts were included and exemplified shows the opposite. He does not paint on broad strokes. He has enough nuance to give proper credit where it belongs and give faithful service its fair chance to shine, even amongst an unfaithful legacy. This means that these moments do ultimately count. We should not discount them in the lives of the unfaithful. In fact we should extol their virtues. That being said, we should also not forget that seeing long periods of faith doesn’t mean that this will be the end of someone’s legacy. For ourselves, the conclusion is that we ought to live in the tension of it all, and while holding the dissonance, we ought to keep striving to be faithful until our actions cement into legacy in our deaths. Then we will hear God say, “well done my good and faithful servant.”
Solomon’s Legacy: Solomon’s reign, despite its flaws, had positive aspects that should not be ignored.
Faithfulness and Legacy: Decades of faithful service do not guarantee a faithful legacy, and vice versa.
Value of Faithful Actions: Even amidst an unfaithful legacy, moments of faithful service are significant and should be acknowledged.
JOSH McGARY.COM 