Day 97: 1 Kings 4, 5 and 6

Solomon also had twelve district governors over all Israel, who supplied provisions for the king and the royal household. Each one had to provide supplies for one month in the year. (1 Kings 4:7)

The nation of Israel was growing up. During the reign of Saul, Israel was at war, subject to, or at the very least tormented by the Philistines. During the reign of David, Israel conquered its enemies and its borders were expanded. In Solomon’s time, Israel enjoyed a season of peace and prosperity – at least temporarily.

As enemies were conquered, they were required to pay tribute to Israel. That partially accounted for its prosperity. Under Solomon, however, the kingdom quit expanding even though its bureaucracies did not. Chapter 4 gives us our first glimpse of Solomon organizing Israel into 12 administrative districts (read: tax districts), coordinating roughly with tribal borders. Each district was responsible to provide the funding for one month's national budget.

No longer were the costs of doing business covered by tribute from other nations (there was still tribute to be sure, but not enough to cover expenses); now Israel’s own people were being taxed to help pay for the many levels of bureaucracy.

We think of the reigns of David and Solomon as the golden age of Israel. We would be wise to consider how their decisions affected future generations.

How will your decisions this week affect your great grandchildren?