Shalom During the Reign of Solomon
And we could say that this almost happened some three thousand years ago. We catch a glimpse of this shalom during the reign of David’s son Solomon, the third king of Israel. Let’s explore what it was like to live in Israel during the early reign of Solomon. The book of Kings gives us some helpful information about this historical period.
Perhaps we should come clean right from the start. There is no evidence that anybody played football back in those far distant times. There was no Champions League and nobody had heard of Manchester United, Arsenal or Chelsea. People at the court of Solomon did not discuss the relative merits of Figo, Zidane, Ronaldo, Scholes, Beckham or Giggs. Certainly nobody complained that Real Madrid had poached all the best players and nobody did impressions of Alan Hanson or Gary Lineker. But should any of those players find themselves in a time machine with an affable and cooperative Dr Who, they would be chuffed to find themselves whisked back to the glory days of Big Sol.
v Solomon is anointed King
Solomon was a ruler who could have entertained our football heroes in style. His banquets and feasts were famous for their exotic cuisine of deer, gazelles, roebucks and choice fowl (1 Kings 4:23). Solomon’s yearly income was huge; he pulled in more than 22 tons of gold every year! (1 Kings 10:14) We might even say that David Beckham would have seemed a pauper in comparison with Big Sol.
So often in the modern world great luxury comes at the cost of human squalor and degradation. We live in a world of outrageous contrasts; rich people are pampered and spoilt with their expensive Gucci adornments while the poor suffer enormous pain and privation. In Brazil it is estimated that there are between seven million and eleven million homeless people! It was not like this at the court of Solomon.
The book of Kings tells us that the Israelites lived comfortably and safely; each family enjoyed its inheritance from God. Everyone possessed land, vineyards and fig-trees (1 Kings 4:25). Further we are told that people ate and drank and were happy. There were no landless peasants who could be bought and sold at the drop of a hat. Peace and justice filled the land and happiness did not come at someone’s expense.
We are also told that Solomon possessed great wisdom and insight. This is how the book of Kings puts it:
  He was wiser than any other man, including
Ethan the Ezrahite – wiser than Heman, Calcol
and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame
spread to all the surrounding nations. He spoke
three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered
a thousand and five. He described plant life, from
the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out
of walls. He also taught about animals and birds,
reptiles and fish. Men of all nations came to listen
to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the
world, who had heard of his wisdom.

1 Kings 4:31-34
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