1 Kings 9:15-22. An account of the people Solomon has used as forced labor and the things that he has had them build. Solomon built the Temple, his own house, the walls of Jerusalem, many cities, including Gezer (which was captured by Pharaoh and given to Solomon as a gift upon the marriage of Solomon to Pharaoh's daughter), cities for his chariots, horsemen, and whatever else Solomon desired to build in the land of his dominion. He did all of this with forced labor taken from the survivors of various peoples under his control, but never from the Jews themselves.

Does it sound like Solomon is starting to go bad to you? It certainly does to me! That is kind of the point actually. Solomon has become proud. His wisdom has been so great that he has become self-reliant and has strayed from God. He has forgotten that his people were slaves themselves, and that God's rules showed that He wanted people to be free. So Solomon has married an Egyptian woman, the Pharough's daughter; he has taken land conquered by Pharaoh and rebuilt it with slave labor; he has used slaves to build his cities for his "stuff" - horses and chariots and whatever else he wants to build. He has forgotten God's warning to Samuel that the kings of Israel should not have many wives nor many horses and chariots - they should be reliant on God. Because of this, Solomon now sees no problem with using other human beings as forced labor.

Riches and power are so corrupting. If Solomon, who was so gifted and rewarded by God, can end up like this, we know that any one of us can. This is a lesson for us. We are all slaves to sin. Knowing what it is like to be a slave, we should not make slaves of others. Our only rightful king is Jesus, and he does not want us since enslaved. We should never forget our own bondage in dealing with others. God wants freedom for all, not just for his chosen people.