Solomon had four thousand stalls for chariot horses, and twelve thousand horses. – 1 Kings 4:26

Today’s Scripture Reading (March 24, 2013): 1 Kings 4

I am the grandson of a fairly famous (at least in some circles) gospel singer. That fact has at times had a very peculiar effect on my life. I remember being at a camp meeting, where my grandfather was singing, and I became interested in a particular girl at the camp. And so we started to spend some time together. The problem was that her mother did not really like me. I could not understand why. I was a thin fourteen year old boy with long stringy hair and often wearing a denim vest with no shirt underneath – I mean, what is not to like. So mom would often try to stand between the two of us - attempting to keep us apart. That was, until the day that mom found out who I was – or rather who my grandfather was. All in a sudden I was her favorite kid. I was invited to the family campfire and encouraged to sit with her daughter in church. Everything – and nothing – had changed.

Our reality is that there is no one that is good. Oh, there are people that we endeavor to cast in a positive light, just as there are people that we cast in a villainous light. But no one is truly good. So maybe it should not be surprising that in the opening movements of the story of Solomon’s life we would find both the seeds of good and the seed of evil in his life. On the good side was his wisdom – something that definitely seemed to come directly from God. But we also find the negative – Solomon’s pride.

God’s desire was that Israel would come to find their dependence on him – not on their own power. So we come to this innocuous verse of Solomon’s horses and often miss the problem. The trouble is found in Deuteronomy and placed in the voice of God. - The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.” (Deuteronomy 17:16) The reason for this injunction is God wanted the king to depend on him and not in his own military might. And in several places we find stories where Israel won, not because of their own military strength and ability, but rather because God decided to move on their behalf. It is obvious that Solomon has not taken God at his word.

In fact, the situation might be worse than the NIV has led us to believe. The problem is in the number – four thousand. A plain reading of this text would translate this as forty thousand horses. But a problem arises in that in a parallel verse in 2 Chronicles 9:25 the number is four thousand, resulting in argument over which number is correct. The translators of the NIV have resolved the problem by using the number found in 2 Chronicles. But, in context, this verse seems to be about bragging about Solomon’s great affluence and power. In two other disputed passages in the Books of Samuel, the Philistines may have had as many as 30,000 horses and the Syrians 40,000 horses. If those numbers are correct, then maybe the 40,000 horses is a better reading here.

But, regardless of the four thousand or the forty thousand, Solomon’s pride was already threatening to become his ruin – ruin that was symbolized by a great number of horses.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Proverbs 1

Note: The VantagePoint Community Church (Edmonton) message "Abandoned" from the series "Blood, Sweat and Tears" is now available on the VantagePoint website. You can find it here.