And this is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon drafted to build the house of the Lord and his own house and the Millo and the wall of Jerusalem and Hazor and Megiddo and Gezer (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and captured Gezer and burned it with fire, and had killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and had given it as dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife; so Solomon rebuilt Gezer) and Lower Beth-horon and Baalath and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land of Judah, and all the store cities that Solomon had, and the cities for his chariots, and the cities for his horsemen, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

All the people who were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of the people of Israel— their descendants who were left after them in the land, whom the people of Israel were unable to devote to destruction—these Solomon drafted to be slaves, and so they are to this day.

But of the people of Israel Solomon made no slaves. They were the soldiers, they were his officials, his commanders, his captains, his chariot commanders and his horsemen (1 Kings 9:15-22).

A reign at its height

King Solomon’s reign marks the climax of ancient Israel’s story. Having been granted supernatural wisdom from the Lord, Solomon grows extremely wealthy, and expands Israel’s borders, marking the height of the nation’s power.

During his reign, the people “ate, drank, and were happy” (1 Kings 4:20), but at what cost?

The price of prosperity

Solmon’s reign was marred by a heavy-handed political violence, as he executed anyone, who represented a threat to his governance (2:13-46). The Israelites accepted the slaughter of many innocent people because it benefited them.

They accepted the totalitarian execution of conscientious protesters, such as Shimei ben Gera, as the price of prosperity. They ate, drank, and were happy with the spoils of violence, while the world around them burned.

Alliances built on oppression

But Solomon did not achieve his military success off his own bat. To secure his oppression of the peoples surrounding Israel, Solomon formed strategic alliances with other foreign nation states.

Many of Solomon’s foreign wives were princesses, acquired as part of a treaty process with other foreign kings. The text blames these women for leading Solomon astray, by enticing him to worship other gods (11:1-8), but such ritual acts were a necessary part of forming alliances with foreign nations.

Solomon leverages foreign relationships with rich and powerful people to oppress and exploit those around him. Not only does Solomon persecute the foreigners dwelling in his midst, but he also conscripts his own people to die for him in battle.

A parable for today

Solomon’s story serves as a powerful parable for our own geopolitical environment.

Will we eat, drink, and be merry, while the world burns around us? Or will we stand up for truth and justice?

• Dr Simon Skidmore is a Brisbane-based biblical scholar and educator. He is the creator of The Mimetic Exegete podcast, which applies mimetic theory to biblical texts, offering unique insights and practical applications. His recent book, Capital Punishment in the Pentateuch, explores ritual killing through René Girard’s mimetic theory.