I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Kings 4-6.

    David had his mighty men, the Three and the Thirty. Solomon, on the other hand, had his advisers and his district governors. David had a strong military and used them to exert control over the various factions in Israel, but it was a balancing act that he had to constantly maintain. Solomon built an administrative government and subjected all of the factions to those administrators. By dividing up the country into twelve units and making each unit only responsible for supporting the government one month out of the year he was able to make the burden seem bearable. He followed a similar pattern when he instituted forced labor to build the Temple. In this manner Solomon was able to build a stable state which did not need war to maintain itself.