May 15

Construction of Cities and Royal Palace - 1 Kings 7:1-12; 2 Chronicles 7:11-22, 8:1-11, 8:17-18, 9:21; 1 Kings 9:1-14, 9:17-23, 9:15, 9:24, 9:26-28; Extend of Solomon's Glory - 1 Kings 4:29-34, 10:14-21, 10:27, 23-25, 4:26, 10:26, 28-29, 4:21, 14, 20, 25, 4:1-19, 4:22-28, 10:1-13; 2 Chronicles 1:15, 9:13-20, 27, 22-24, 1:14, 16-17, 9:25, 28, 26, 9:1-12; Psalms 72:1-19

Interesting the riches that Solomon's trading ships bring back:  "[The ship] returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons." 1 Kings 10:22

Baboons?  Ok.  Seems a little bit frivolous but I guess baboons must have been the early Hebrew equivalent of television.  Hey, let's catch another episode of the Royal Baboons, shall we?  We watched the baboons last night.  Can't we go 24 hours without watching the baboons?  I don't think it's healthy for the children to spend so much time watching the baboons.  They should be playing outside.

I'm also curious about the other smart guys the Bible enumerates and measures the wisdom of Solomon against.  These people are the gold standard when it comes to wisdom.  Solomon is just wiser.  Or are these Buds wiser?  [Sorry, couldn't help myself]  "He was wiser than any other man, including Ethan the Ezrahite -- wiser than Heman, Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol." 1 Kings 4:31.  

Who are these guys?  They sound like a Levitical Quiz Bowl team.  I wish we knew more about them.  Also, please note that the text says that Solomon was "wiser than any other man."  Yes, it doesn't mention women.  So I'm sure there were women smarter than Solomon.  Lord knows.