The Prosperity Doctrine

[Tallen]

Actually, that was so good, I think I am going to send Leroy a check.

Peace...

I am glad I could help you decide to do this, YHWH will have you account for your actions in the day His Son judges His people. You might as well send a check to Creflo to, he was right beside Leroy and his worldly display of lusting for mammon.

A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; (1 Timothy 3:2-3, KJV)

Let's just pretend this isn't in our bible, OK?

 

[dkbwarrior]

Although, I'm not sure how showing a preacher being excited about the subject they are preaching on has to do with the OP, (I know tallen, you don't care about the OP, all you care about is the opportunity to mock and scorn that with which you disagree).

Here is what the scripture says:

But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. (Titus 2:1-2, KJV)

So now even getting excited when you preach is a sin according to you? Any more laws you wish to put on the church of Christ?

Actually, you sound like someone else from scripture, who was it?.................Ooooooooooohhhhhhh, I rememnber:

14And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.
15So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet.
16And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.
20Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!
21And David said unto Michal, It was before the LORD, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel: therefore will I play before the LORD.
22And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour.
23Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.
-2 Samuel 6:14-16, 20-23

But as I said, your lack of christian charity notwithstanding, let us get back to the OP.

What the OP said is this:

Originally Posted by Oscarr

The Prosperity doctrine teaches that those who have faith in God will become wealthy, have the best of material things and life will be sweet and comfortable.
​

Until such time as someone can show me where a well known prosperity teacher that I esteem has ever said any thing like this, I declare this to be a false witness.

I have never heard anyone say that those that have faith in God will become wealthy. Lots of poeple have faith in God. But not all believe the promises of God regarding finances.

However, I have heard people say that meditating on, confessing and believing the promises of God regarding prosperity can bring wealth and riches. It is a very different thing.

I have never heard anyone say that life will be sweet and comfortable. In fact, was just listening to a Kenneth Hagin sermon on healing last week at work (I play those pesky WOF preachers at work for my employees to listen too; they don't all like it, but I own the business, so what can they say), and he said that he can gaurantee that if you start believing the promises of God you are not going to "float through life on flowery beds of ease". Trial and temptations and persecutions come, but we can be assured that if we hold fast the confession of our faith without wavering, He is faithful that promised, and He will bring it to pass. Bad stuff will come, but God will bring us out the other side. This is taught by every so-called "prosperity teacher" that I have ever listened too.

This is what I have heard. Creflo Dollar said the same thing this morning on his daily show. (I have the week off, so I caught him). He said that everyone talks about the confession and the possession, but they forget to talk about the process between the too. When you have to hold fast your confession in the face of circumstances that seem to be saying just the opposite of what one is believing.

No-one says that life will be sweet and comfortable.

Of that you can be certain. Until he proves his initial premise to be true, and not a false witness, (which he cannot, because it is a false witness), then all he will find here is a brick wall. Of course, I'm sure he will find an amen corner in all those who enjoy the mocking of their brethren, even if it is mocking based upon false a false witness. I suppose that the opportunity to belittle others is much more appealing than the truth.

Peace...

 

[pdudgeon]

The Prosperity doctrine teaches that those who have faith in God will become wealthy, have the best of material things and life will be sweet and comfortable.

Note that Baal was and still is the pagan god of fertility and prosperity. This is was the sin of Israel. They had a faith in God, but they also worshipped Baal to ensure that they were able to have good harvests and healthy families. They put material wealth before daily trust in the providence and care of God, as they did in the desert before they reached the Promised Land.

So, it can be argued that the present day Prosperity Doctrine is merely a modern form of Baal worship, and the same judgment that happened to the Baal worshippers of Israel, may very well happen to those who subscribe to the Prosperity doctrine.

Dear Oscarr, i have only one question for you;
who was it that King Solomon prayed to-- to Baal or to God. What did he pray for, and what did he receive?

King Solomon by anyone's estimation was the richest man ever to live. if his life doesn't show the prosperity doctrine, and God's pleasure in giving him the prosperity, then whose does?
and if prosperity is so wrong, then how shall we judge the prosperity of God, who owns the cattle on a thousand hills and calls heaven His throne and earth His footstool?

it is not prosperity itself that is the problem. It's just like any other gift--it's all in how you use it.

 

[Tallen]

King Solomon by anyone's estimation was the richest man ever to live.

Naa..., read the story again. He accumalated the wealth as Israel's king, for Israel. It wasn't his personal wealth. Israel became a prosperous nation under his, leadership. YHWH blessed the nation because of his prayer. Solomon appointed 12 overseers of this wealth and forced labor of the Israelites to continue to build it. The overseers were responsible for using the wealth properly, for each was accountable for 1/12 of the year to see that the people had provision, to provide food for Solomon's house and all those who attended the kings business. Solomon was paid a yearly amount out of that wealth total wealth. Did you get that? He was paid yearly by those that were appointed to oversee the nations treasure. This was a hefty sum of money granted, but it didn't make him the richest man ever to live.

Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold, (1 Kings 10:14, KJV)

He was paid 666 talents. Hmmm..., a familiar number, I wonder the meaning of that?

I wonder if the gold in Fort Knox is Obama's personal wealth? After all he is the king over it. And he is also like one of the successor king's of Israel. Who, because of their ways contrary to the Law of YHWH, had lost the wealth that Solomon had gathered.

 

[Tallen]

Aside from you ad hominem and obfuscation, what does the scripture say about the leaders of the church? The Apostle was clear. Consider carefully:

A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (1 Timothy 3:2-4, KJV)

Now tell me, was the man you "esteem", Creflo Dollar, acting according to these instructions of the Apostle when he was running through mammon and praising wealth with his wofist buddy? And don't obfuscate by telling me David danced unless you want to tell me that these fellows in the video were dancing because of the mammon. That is were their joy was coming from, that's why they were running through the money like children running through a mud puddle. Let's concentrate on the Apostle's instruction to the church leaders.

So now even getting excited when you preach is a sin according to you?

Nope, you are obscurring the point and trying to misrepresent what was said. A typical wofist tactic and expected. In fact, this is the way wofist think, restate what someone said in a ridiculous manner to disparage what was said. Thank you for that demonstration. And it is noted how you have avoided what the Apostle said.

Any more laws you wish to put on the church of Christ?

You know, this is almost funny. Who wrote 1 Timothy and put those laws on the leaders of the church? It was me. And you tactic is once again noted. Instead of realizing what the Apostle said, and looking at the behavior of the leaders of the wof religion, you would rather suggest something that I never did and bear false witness for your religion. It is a powerful deception when a person is willing to disobey YHWH for his own ways.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. (Exodus 20:16, KJV)

Blessings.

 

[Optimax]

Tallen you are absolutely going to wear yourself out fighting WOF.

I would suggest for your own health that you find something in life to do that benefits you. Spending all your time fighting something you are not going to defeat is wasting your life.

Go outside sit in the shade and just enjoy the life God has for you today.

Relax, those of us who are wrong in what we believe Jesus will correct sooner of later.

He is the Head. Therefore we answer sooner or later to Him.

 

[Tallen]

Tallen you are absolutely going to wear yourself out fighting WOF.

I would suggest for your own health that you find something in life to do that benefits you. Spending all your time fighting something you are not going to defeat is wasting your life.

Go outside sit in the shade and just enjoy the life God has for you today.

Relax, those of us who are wrong in what we believe Jesus will correct sooner of later.

He is the Head. Therefore we answer sooner or later to Him.

Well..., since I'm not fighting wof, I guess I'll never wear out. I would rather be doing what YHWH leads me to do, defend His word and the faith, than what people want me to do.

You do want me to fulfill the calling of YHWH on my life don't you O? BTW, how do you think He is going to correct those of you (us) in error?

 

[pdudgeon]

Naa..., read the story again. He accumalated the wealth as Israel's king, for Israel. It wasn't his personal wealth. Israel became a prosperous nation under his, leadership. YHWH blessed the nation because of his prayer. Solomon appointed 12 overseers of this wealth and forced labor of the Israelites to continue to build it. The overseers were responsible for using the wealth properly, for each was accountable for 1/12 of the year to see that the people had provision, to provide food for Solomon's house and all those who attended the kings business. Solomon was paid a yearly amount out of that wealth total wealth. Did you get that? He was paid yearly by those that were appointed to oversee the nations treasure. This was a hefty sum of money granted, but it didn't make him the richest man ever to live.

Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold, (1 Kings 10:14, KJV)

He was paid 666 talents. Hmmm..., a familiar number, I wonder the meaning of that?

I wonder if the gold in Fort Knox is Obama's personal wealth? After all he is the king over it. And he is also like one of the successor king's of Israel. Who, because of their ways contrary to the Law of YHWH, had lost the wealth that Solomon had gathered.

sorry, but you are comparing apples with oranges.

kingdoms are run quite differently than what we are used to.
Solomon was a king.
he ruled over a kingdom.
everything and everyone in a kingdom belongs to the king.
not to the state.

those overseers that you mentioned owed their jobs to the king.
The skill and general ability of kings and the wealth of their kingdoms is measured by their battle-worthiness,the state of their defenses, the well-being of their people,the productiveness of their land, and their quality of life.
And it is all in the hands of the king.

What the Bible describes as King Solomon's monarchy is the first definition found in Websters;

Definition of MONARCHY
1: undivided rule or absolute sovereignty by a single person

wht you are describing is the second definition of a monarchy:

2: a nation or state having a monarchical government

and what everyone is used to as a monarchy is the third definition, which is quite a different animal.

3: a government having a hereditary chief of state with life tenure and powers varying from nominal to absolute

 

[Tallen]

Sorry pd, Solomon was a a ruler in a Suzerainty, a ruler under a higher authority. Solomon was not the sovereign over this vassal state, but ruled by covenant under the higher authority, YHWH.

He didn't own the wealth, but sat over it to oversee what wealth the Sovereign brought to his treasures. Solomon wasn't the owner, he was the steward.

Sorry you missed this important bit of information.

 

[pdudgeon]

Sorry pd, Solomon was a a ruler in a Suzerainty, a ruler under a higher authority. Solomon was not the sovereign over this vassal state, but ruled by covenant under the higher authority, YHWH.

He didn't own the wealth, but sat over it to oversee what wealth the Sovereign brought to his treasures. Solomon wasn't the owner, he was the steward.

Sorry you missed this important bit of information.

thank you for that interesting bit of information. the first known use of that word was in 1807, so during Biblical times Solomon was known as a king.
and yes, he did rule under God's authority.

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

Dear Oscarr, i have only one question for you;
who was it that King Solomon prayed to-- to Baal or to God. What did he pray for, and what did he receive?

King Solomon by anyone's estimation was the richest man ever to live. if his life doesn't show the prosperity doctrine, and God's pleasure in giving him the prosperity, then whose does?
and if prosperity is so wrong, then how shall we judge the prosperity of God, who owns the cattle on a thousand hills and calls heaven His throne and earth His footstool?

it is not prosperity itself that is the problem. It's just like any other gift--it's all in how you use it.

It is significant that Solomon thought about all that he could ask of God, and he chose wisdom. Because God liked his request and saw the goodness of his heart, He decided to give Solomon everything else as well. (We won't discuss the misuse Solomon made of these things later in his life.)

There is a difference between God giving wealth and prosperity to someone who is totally dependent on Him, and putting dependence on prosperity and wealth as an indicator of God's favour, or not.

Solomon did not ask for wealth, but God gave it to him as a bonus, in the same way that He will give abundance to those who depend wholly on Christ, as a bonus because He loves giving in abundance.

That is not praying to Baal.

But if a person depends on prosperity and puts that before Christ, or mixes that dependance with worshiping God, as Israel did, then that is praying to Baal. Because we worship what we are dependent on.

If I give money to my local church with the expectation of receiving a lot of money back, like a chain letter, and then getting all grumpy when it doesn't happen, this shows dependence on prosperity and an alliegance to the god of prosperity, namely Baal.

 

[dkbwarrior]

It is significant that Solomon thought about all that he could ask of God, and he chose wisdom. Because God liked his request and saw the goodness of his heart, He decided to give Solomon everything else as well. (We won't discuss the misuse Solomon made of these things later in his life.)

There is a difference between God giving wealth and prosperity to someone who is totally dependent on Him, and putting dependence on prosperity and wealth as an indicator of God's favour, or not.

Solomon did not ask for wealth, but God gave it to him as a bonus, in the same way that He will give abundance to those who depend wholly on Christ, as a bonus because He loves giving in abundance.

That is not praying to Baal.

But if a person depends on prosperity and puts that before Christ, or mixes that dependance with worshiping God, as Israel did, then that is praying to Baal. Because we worship what we are dependent on.

If I give money to my local church with the expectation of receiving a lot of money back, like a chain letter, and then getting all grumpy when it doesn't happen, this shows dependence on prosperity and an alliegance to the god of prosperity, namely Baal.

You see Oscarr, this post I can agree with. Nearly 100%. The fact is, for the most part (and I am sure their are exceptions, but I am talking as a general rule) those teachers in the WOF and/or prosperity movements don't teach that God is a vending machine.

What happens, is many who come to WOF personally interpret the message as a get rich quick scheme. They are only hearing the part they want to hear, and ignoring the rest. Then, when they don't get rich quck, or get healed quick, etc., the leave the movement in bitterness, and begin to criticize it. Get into groups of others that also misinterpreted the message and wanted to get rich quick or get healed quick or become a successful minister quick and failed, and form anti-WOF hate groups. Then they transfer their personal misunderstanding of the message into theological and philisophical sophistries that are nothing but collections of false witness (a sin in itself, that was punishable with the same consequence as that which was being falsely accused), that are not battling WOF or the so-called 'prosperity' movements, but rather are battling their own personal misinterpretation of a system that failed for them.

You can see the truth of this in what they post. They post only a one-sided view of sound bites and things taken out of context to support their personal misinterpretations, and continue to claim that these movements believe things that the movements continually explain that they do not. These one sided sound-bites and comments taken out of their context do not truly represent the WOF or so-called 'prosperity' movements, however, they do represent what their purveyors were looking for in the movements, and also explain why it failed for them.

If their is any comparison to BAAL worship here, I would have to say it is in the camp of those who forsook the promises of God, because they didn't come to pass for them fast enough, and then became critics of the movement. They were unable to compehend faith at all, could not accept that faith is believing what you cannot see, rather than experienceing what you can see. Becuase they didn't see it, they chose to believe that it wasn't Gods will for them, and missed the message of faith being the evidence of what one cannot yet see.

Hope this helps.

Peace...

For those of us within the movement, we understand that all the promises of God are yes and amen, (even the ones about money, yes), but we believe them whether we see them or not, and we are willing to stand forever believing, even if we never see. That is what faith is.

Peace...

 

[gennaoanothen]

You see Oscarr, this post I can agree with. Nearly 100%. The fact is, for the most part (and I am sure their are exceptions, but I am talking as a general rule) those teachers in the WOF and/or prosperity movements don't teach that God is a vending machine.

What happens, is many who come to WOF personally interpret the message as a get rich quick scheme. They are only hearing the part they want to hear, and ignoring the rest. Then, when they don't get rich quck, or get healed quick, etc., the leave the movement in bitterness, and begin to criticize it. Get into groups of others that also misinterpreted the message and wanted to get rich quick or get healed quick or become a successful minister quick and failed, and form anti-WOF hate groups. Then they transfer their personal misunderstanding of the message into theological and philisophical sophistries that are nothing but collections of false witness (a sin in itself, that was punishable with the same consequence as that which was being falsely accused), that are not battling WOF or the so-called 'prosperity' movements, but rather are battling their own personal misinterpretation of a system that failed for them.

You can see the truth of this in what they post. They post only a one-sided view of sound bites and things taken out of context to support their personal misinterpretations, and continue to claim that these movements believe things that the movements continually explain that they do not. These one sided sound-bites and comments taken out of their context do not truly represent the WOF or so-called 'prosperity' movements, however, they do represent what their purveyors were looking for in the movements, and also explain why it failed for them.

If their is any comparison to BAAL worship here, I would have to say it is in the camp of those who forsook the promises of God, because they didn't come to pass for them fast enough, and then became critics of the movement. They were unable to compehend faith at all, could not accept that faith is believing what you cannot see, rather than experienceing what you can see. Becuase they didn't see it, they chose to believe that it wasn't Gods will for them, and missed the message of faith being the evidence of what one cannot yet see.

Hope this helps.

Peace...

For those of us within the movement, we understand that all the promises of God are yes and amen, (even the ones about money, yes), but we believe them whether we see them or not, and we are willing to stand forever believing, even if we never see. That is what faith is.

Peace...

excellent post, that has been my observation all along, for some reason the critics did not receive, and instead of examining why and looking at self, (motives, lack of faith, sin, etc etc), they assume it was the message, and attack the message. namely faith is not a requirment, trying to void the very Words and teachings of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

The Word of Father doesn't fail, people fail.

 

[pdudgeon]

excellent post, that has been my observation all along, for some reason the critics did not receive, and instead of examining why and looking at self, (motives, lack of faith, sin, etc etc), they assume it was the message, and attack the message. namely faith is not a requirment, trying to void the very Words and teachings of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

The Word of Father doesn't fail, people fail.

agreed.
it's like taking a bicycle frame out of the box and trying to ride it without putting on the wheels, pedals, handlebars, chain, and brakes. No bicycle will work if it's not complete.

 

[Tallen]

thank you for that interesting bit of information. the first known use of that word was in 1807, so during Biblical times Solomon was known as a king.
and yes, he did rule under God's authority.

Your welcome, and thanks for pointing out when the word was first known. Actually, when the word was first known has little to do with the point, though. The idea of Suzerain Covenants are found through out scripture and date back to very ancient Semitic times. We also see the same concept in Medieval Europe with Kings and Vassals. Which brings us back to my point, the majority of wealth that Solomon accumulated was his, but belonged to the nation as the covenant of YHWH promised. Solomon appointed overseers to manage this wealth and to pay him a yearly wage from it. To attribute to Solomon personal wealth all of the wealth of Israel is very misleading, and the wof leaders and teachers that propagate that idea are doing the scriptures a great disservice by distorting the truth of YHWH's word.

Solomon's yearly wage would be in the range of some of the highest paid athletes today. Which made him a very rich man, but not the richest man that every lived. What we can say is this, when Israel was obedient to the Covenant with YHWH, He would bless them. And because of Solomon's unselfish prayer, YHWH blessed him and Israel greatly. In fact, there is evidence that the ships of Solomon traveled the whole world, even to Americas, where they mined copper out of Michigan and explored the North American and South American continents. If you would like me to recommend a book about the extent of Israel's explorations and the size of their economy, I would be happy to.

Blessings.

 

[Optimax]

You see Oscarr, this post I can agree with. Nearly 100%. The fact is, for the most part (and I am sure their are exceptions, but I am talking as a general rule) those teachers in the WOF and/or prosperity movements don't teach that God is a vending machine.

What happens, is many who come to WOF personally interpret the message as a get rich quick scheme. They are only hearing the part they want to hear, and ignoring the rest. Then, when they don't get rich quck, or get healed quick, etc., the leave the movement in bitterness, and begin to criticize it. Get into groups of others that also misinterpreted the message and wanted to get rich quick or get healed quick or become a successful minister quick and failed, and form anti-WOF hate groups. Then they transfer their personal misunderstanding of the message into theological and philisophical sophistries that are nothing but collections of false witness (a sin in itself, that was punishable with the same consequence as that which was being falsely accused), that are not battling WOF or the so-called 'prosperity' movements, but rather are battling their own personal misinterpretation of a system that failed for them.

You can see the truth of this in what they post. They post only a one-sided view of sound bites and things taken out of context to support their personal misinterpretations, and continue to claim that these movements believe things that the movements continually explain that they do not. These one sided sound-bites and comments taken out of their context do not truly represent the WOF or so-called 'prosperity' movements, however, they do represent what their purveyors were looking for in the movements, and also explain why it failed for them.

If their is any comparison to BAAL worship here, I would have to say it is in the camp of those who forsook the promises of God, because they didn't come to pass for them fast enough, and then became critics of the movement. They were unable to compehend faith at all, could not accept that faith is believing what you cannot see, rather than experienceing what you can see. Becuase they didn't see it, they chose to believe that it wasn't Gods will for them, and missed the message of faith being the evidence of what one cannot yet see.

Hope this helps.

Peace...

For those of us within the movement, we understand that all the promises of God are yes and amen, (even the ones about money, yes), but we believe them whether we see them or not, and we are willing to stand forever believing, even if we never see. That is what faith is.

Peace...

Great explanation of the anti WOF crowd..

 

[Tallen]

What happens, is many who come to WOF personally interpret the message as a get rich quick scheme. They are only hearing the part they want to hear, and ignoring the rest. Then, when they don't get rich quck, or get healed quick, etc., the leave the movement in bitterness, and begin to criticize it. Get into groups of others that also misinterpreted the message and wanted to get rich quick or get healed quick or become a successful minister quick and failed, and form anti-WOF hate groups. Then they transfer their personal misunderstanding of the message into theological and philisophical sophistries that are nothing but collections of false witness (a sin in itself, that was punishable with the same consequence as that which was being falsely accused), that are not battling WOF or the so-called 'prosperity' movements, but rather are battling their own personal misinterpretation of a system that failed for them.

You can see the truth of this in what they post. They post only a one-sided view of sound bites and things taken out of context to support their personal misinterpretations, and continue to claim that these movements believe things that the movements continually explain that they do not. These one sided sound-bites and comments taken out of their context do not truly represent the WOF or so-called 'prosperity' movements, however, they do represent what their purveyors were looking for in the movements, and also explain why it failed for them.

If their is any comparison to BAAL worship here, I would have to say it is in the camp of those who forsook the promises of God, because they didn't come to pass for them fast enough, and then became critics of the movement. They were unable to compehend faith at all, could not accept that faith is believing what you cannot see, rather than experienceing what you can see. Becuase they didn't see it, they chose to believe that it wasn't Gods will for them, and missed the message of faith being the evidence of what one cannot yet see.

Hope this helps.

Yeah, it really helps us see the baloney that is passed out by wofist. It helps us see how wof like to build straw men and pass fantasies out as though their reality.

Granted pb, there may have been someone that fit that description, but the truth of the matter is that it is not the description of the usual critic at all. It is what wof likes to tell each other as their defense against those who are critical of their theology. The fact that wof are agreeing with you is testimony to this. The fact of the matter is, most critics know much more about wof than many wofist. They have left the movement because of what the main leaders and teachers are passing out as sound doctrine.

Let's be honest here, or show us the proof of all these allegations you have made.

Peace...

Yes peace.

 

[Gxg (G²)]

King Solomon by anyone's estimation was the richest man ever to live. .

Shalom, Bruh..

Though I really don't have a dog in this specific fight/battle, I did want to briefly share on how Solomon's life is indeed amazing to consider when it comes to the many ways in which wealth flowed.

The PBS Program known as NOVA actually did a documentary on the subject that was rather fascinating..as seen in their video entitled NOVA: Quest for Solomon's Minesjavascript:void(0)


From a historical perspective, here's some information that seemed fasinating to me--as seen here:

The Remarkable Prosperity of the Solomonic Era

The rapid expansion of Israel's economic life under Solomon was due to a number of reasons, among which the political was of great importance. Either by treaties of friendship or subjugation David had extended the sphere of Israel's influence so that by the time Solomon succeeded to the throne the nation possessed a vast potential for expanding trade and inflow of tribute. Solomon, displaying political and administrative wisdom like his father, showed himself equal to taking full advantage of the unparalleled opportunity for economic expansion that presented itself to him, and "in his relations with other peoples...maintained his father's policy."

Solomon's Foreign Diplomacy. Israel's great commercial king carefully cultivated the ties of friendship which had existed between Israel and the important maritive kingdom of Tyre and which had great economic advantages. In addition he preserved at least the outward loyalty of subject peoples, except those of Damascus and Edom in the latter part of his long reign when decadence in his adminstration had set in. The outward loyalty of subject peoples as accomplished largely by royal marriages, which bound his satellites to him, but lead to grave religious evils (1 Kings 11:1-8). Foremost among these royal alliances was that with Egypt, which was cemented by his marriage to the daughter of the reigning Pharaoh (1 Kings 3:1-2). This ruler possessed considerable power, since he was able to claim and partially enforce authority over Palestine.

The important and strategic Canaanite city of Gezer in the Shephelah near the Maritime Plain, with an occupational history going back to about 3000 BC, is said to have revolted against Pharaoh, and after being destroyed, to have been handed over to Solomon as a dowry with Pharaoh's daughter when she was given in marriage to the Hebrew king (1 Kings 9:16). The excavated ruins of the site confirm the statement of the book of Kings and show that Solomon did not actually rebuild the city, but errected a fortress on a neighboring site (1 Kings 9:17).


Solomon's Domestic Economy. Within his own realm the Israelite monarch took important administrative steps both to further prosperity and to siphon a considerable portion of the vastly augmented national income into the royal treasury to finance his luxurious style of living and his ambitious building and commercial ventures. His division of the country into 12 districts, which to a large extent ignored the old tribal boundaries (1 Kings 4:7-20), is specifically mentioned and must have been only the skeleton of a highly efficient organization, presided over by important officals, two of whom were married to daughters of Solomon.


One of the main sources of the enormous revenue required to support Solomon's splendid reign was direct taxation in the form of money, goods, or unpaid labor furnished for his vast building projects. Weighed silver was the medium os exchange, if money was employed, since coins did not come into use until centuries later. But archeological evidence points to the fact that money was not common and that the Israelite paid his taxes in staple produce of the land, such as wheat, wine and oil. Even as late as the ninth century BC, the tribute rendered to Israel by Mesha of Moab, of archeological fame, whose stele was discovered in 1868, was paid in lambs and wool, products of a pastoral country (2 Kings 3:4).

Besides taxes in money and produce, Solomon required large donations of free labor from the remnants of the original non-Israelite inhabitants of the land, whom he pressed into practical slavery (1 Kings 9:20-21). He also raised a special levy from "all Israel" apparently for the construction of the temple (1 Kings 5:13-18).

Solomon's Commercial Expansion. Another important source of revenue for the royal treasurery was from the king's remarkable expansion of industry. He is renowned as "the first great commercial king of Israel." Taking full advantage of peculiarly favorable conditions which existed both by land and by sea, he expanded trade to a remarkable degree. The domestication of the Arabian camel from the twelth century BC onward, as Albright has noted, brough with it a tremendous increase in nomadic mobility. Caravans could now travel through deserts whose sources of water might be two or three days apart. There is ample archeological evidence that by Solomon's time caravan trade between the Fertile Crescent and south Arabia was already well-developed.


Solomon's control of the frontier districts of Zobah, Damascus, hauran, Ammon, Moab and Edom meant that he monopolized the entire cravan trade between Arabia and Mesopotamia from the Red Sea to Palmyra ("Tadmor", 2 Chron. 8:4), an oasis 140 miles northeast of Damascus, which he built (1 Kings 9:18). By thus exercising control over virtually all the trade routes both to the east and the west of the Jordan, the Israelite monarch was able substantially to increase the revenue flowing into the royal coffers by exacting tolls from the merchants passing through his territories (1 Kings 10:15).


Trade in Horses and Chariots. This prosperous enterprise, developed by Israel's industrially minded monarch and made possible because of his control of the trade routes between Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, and Egypt, is recounted in what had been an enigmatic passage in 1 Kings 10:28-29:

Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt and Kue -- the royal merchants purchaced them from Kue. They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and of the Arameans.
​

Instead of Kue at this point, the KJV has "linen yarn", and the American Revised Version of 1901 had "droves." The NIV, the NASB, and the New Scofield have the right translation: Kue or Qwh. Qwh, according to the Assyrian records, is Cilicia, the country between the Taurus Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea in Asia Minor.


This reading of the text would make Solomon the commercial middleman between Egypt and Asia Minor, having a complete monopoly on the horse and chariot trade, four Cilician horses being exchanged for one Egyptian chariot.


Construction of Chariot Cities. Solomon is said to have built up a powerful standing army of chariotry (1 Kings 4:26), which was stationed in a number of chariot cities, among which Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer are mentioned (1 Kings 9:15-19). "Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousands horses, which he kept in the chairot cities and also with him in Jerusalem." (1 Kings 10:26).

Archeological excavations at Megiddo, Hazor and Gezer have illustrated the biblical notices of Solomon's building operations there. Especially at Megiddo, the great thirteen acre mound in the Valley of Esdraelon and the headquarters of Solomon's fifth administrative district, notable discovereis dating from the Solomonic era have been made. A group of stables, capable of housing at least 450 horses and a hundred fifty chariots, have been uncovered. The plan and mode of construction of these buildings are definitely Solomonic. There has been some doubt expressed recently in the literature as to whether these are really stables or if they are actually storerooms of some sort.
Similar groups of stables (or whatever they might be) from Solomon's time at Hazor and Tell el Hesi had other evidence of Solomon's splendor and military power. The biblical evideence, substantiated by archeology, is that Solomon was the first king of Israel to employ horses and chariots in fighting. David had "hamstrung all the chariot horses" (2 Sam. 8:4). But compare Deut. 17:16. Notice the difference in attitutde between David and Solomon! Cf. 2 Sam. 12:5-6 and Exodus 22:1 for the story of the sheep and the penalty.


Voyages to Ophir. Solomon's navy and his maritime trading projects in collaboration with Hiram of Tyre constitute another source of his proverbial prosperity.

King Solomon also built ships at Ezion Geber, which is near Elath in Edom, on the shore of the Red Sea. And Hiram sent his men -- sailors who knew the sea -- to serve in the fleet with Solomon's men. They sailed to Ophir and brought back 420 talents of gold, which the delevered to King Solomon. (1 Kings 9:26-28).


The king had a fleet of trading ships at sea along with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years it returned carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons. (1 Kings 10:22)

It should be noted that the word translated "baboons" is rare, and it is unclear precisely what is intended. Some older translations have "peacocks" instead.
The phrase translated "trading ships" (Hebrew 'oni tarshish) in older translations is rendered simple "Ships of Tarshish". The newer rendering is the consequence of the light brought from early Phoenician trading activities in the Mediterranean. Another way of rendering the phrase would be "smelting" or "refining ships", since these were the ships hauling smelted ores from the mining towns in Sardinia and Spain. Although such colonizing and commercial activity previous to the eigth century BC was commonly denied the Phoenicians by writers on the history and arecheology of the western Mediterranean world until relatively recently, inscriptions recovered from Nora and Bosa in Sardinia prove that as early as the ninth century BC Phoenicians were colonizing and trading in the western Mediterranean. One of these inscriptions from Nora contains the name Tarshish immediately before the name Sardinia, evidently indicating that the Phoenician name of Nora was Tarshish, meaning "the Refinery."


The name "Tarshish" also occurs in an inscription of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria in the seventh century BC and refers to a Phoenician land at the opposite end of the Mediterranean from the island of Cyprus. In the light of the archeological evidence available there is not the least reason to doubt that at the time of Hiram I of Tyre (c. 969-936 BC) Phoenician commerce was already widespread in the Mediterranean, and that Tyrian seamen were able to assist Solomon in building his fleet and in furnishing the skill to operate it.


Copper Mining and Refining. Archeology not only attests the historical reasonableness of the fact that Phoenician seamen and artisans aided Solomon in building and operating his fleet in the Red Sea, but cllearly illustrates an additional point. Phoenician technicians built the seaport of Ezeion-geber for him. An important copper smeltery discovered there by Nelson Glueck (1938-1940), the first ever found, was certainly the work of Phoenician craftsmen who were widely experinenced in the art of setting up copper furnaces and refineries at the smelting settlements in Sardinia and in Spain (the later Tartessus) which were called Tarshish, after which the ships specially equipped for transporting such ore and metal cargoes were called Tarshish ships.


The construction of the copper refinery at ancient Ezion-geber (modern Tell el-Kheleifeh) is unusually good, as Glueck has noted, and points to practical knowledge and skill which were the result of long experience. The inescapable conclusion is that Hiram's technicians, who were experts in the business, were responsible for the construction of the refinery and that it dated from the tenth century BC and was rebuilt at various later periods. Tell el-Kheleifeh was, therefore, a Tarshish, or metal refinery like the Phoenician stations of the same name in Sardinia and Spain.


The discovery of the copper refinery at Tell el-Kheleifeh illustrates the brief but important biblical reference to copper smelting and casting in the Jordan Valley (1 Kings 7:46) and points to another prolific sources of Solomon's wealth. As Glueck says, it was Solomon "who was the first one who placed the mining industry in the Wadi Arabah upon a really national scale." As a result, copper became the king's principlal export and his merchants' main stock in trade. Putting out from Ezion-geber laden with smelted ore, his fleet brought back in exchange otehr valuable goods obtainable in Arabian ports or from the nearby coasts of Africa.
​

 

[Optimax]

The fact of the matter is, most critics know much more about wof than many wofist.

Yes peace.

If "most critics" knew half as much about WOF as they think they would be WOF.

DBK's assessment is "proven" by your very statements.

Curious. What event that did not "happen" in you life caused you to be anti WOF?

 

[Tallen]

If "most critics" knew half as much about WOF as they think they would be WOF.

DBK's assessment is "proven" by your very statements.

Curious. What event that did not "happen" in you life caused you to be anti WOF?

Typical wof response, O. Asking someone to prove a negative. Gotta love it. I point out the straw in pb's post, you turn around and restate it negatively and ask me to show your point and then, claim his points are proven.

Curious. Who teaches wof to think like this?