10:23-25
Solomon became the richest person on earth, though that actually means the region they lived in, rather than physically the whole world, for the writer did not know about the whole world. However, it is possible he was actually wealthier than anyone else on earth. The people of other nations did know that Solomon’s wealth had something to do with the God of Israel. People brought more gifts to Solomon.
10:26-29
Solomon also accumulated chariots and horses. All of this was in direct contravention of Deut 17:16,17 where the Law says:
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.” He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.
As we see, Solomon broke everyone of these prohibitions. We haven’t had much mention of the wives yet, but we will soon see that he broke that one in a big way. At the beginning I wondered why God gave Solomon wealth. Perhaps the case was that God gave him wealth, but then Solomon just wanted more and more and went to all sorts of lengths to get it.
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