1 Kings 9:15

1 Kings 9:15 says, And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the Lord, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.  We are told that Solomon had raised a levy, or tax, for the purpose of paying for all the building he did.  Taxes are still raised to pay for government work today, but not for church work, so if God's work is to be done, we as Christians must give to support it.  Verse sixteen adds, For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon's wife.  Pharoah, king of Egypt, had taken Gezer and burned it and had given it to his daughter, Solomon's wife.  Of course, it really wasn't his to give, but we do see that the Egyptians were still a threat to the people around them, but he caused Solomon to build a city there.  Sometimes, our one-time enemies may be become our friends, but if they do not become followers of Christ as well, we should not put a lot of faith in their goodness toward us.  Verse seventeen continues, And Solomon built Gezer, and Bethhoron the nether, Verse eighteen states, And Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land,  Verse nineteen adds, And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. As already stated, Solomon built a city at Gezer, but he also built many others to support his army.  We today may not like taxes, but if we are going to have police forces, fire departments, and armies, as well as all the things needed to live our everyday life functioning with ease, they are necessary.  Of course, they can also be abused.  Verse twenty says, And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel,  Verse twenty-one adds, Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day.  We are told that not all of those who had lived in the Promised Land before God gave it to Israel had been destroyed, but their children lived as bondservants to the people of Israel.  Matthew Henry says this fulfilled God's law that these people would be the bondservants of Israel found in Leviticus 25:44 and Noah's curse on the Canaanites found in Genesis 9:25.  Some people today attempt to use the Bible to justify being morally superior to other groups of people, but we are all but sinners saved by grace.  Verse twenty-two continues, But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen.  None of the people of Israel were made bondservants, but they were men of war and Solomon's servants, princes, captains, and rulers of his horsemen and chariots.  They weren't freed just for a life of leisure, but still had a very important role in Israel.  We are God's servants as followers of Christ today, and we all have our individual calling, but we are all called to be a part of the army of God.  Verse twenty-three states, These were the chief of the officers that were over Solomon's work, five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work.  Solomon had five-hundred and fifty chief officers over the work of Israel.  We have many preachers who are in charge of insuring that the gospel is preached, and God's word is taught today, but they are not solely responsible.  We as Christians all have an equal responsibility to ensure that God's work is done today, and we each have our own responsibility to ensure that it is done.  Verse twenty-four adds, But Pharaoh's daughter came up out of the city of David unto her house which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Millo.  Solomon's wife, the Pharoah's daughter, did not live in Jerusalem but in Millo.  We aren't told why he built her a separate house, but we do know that Solomon had multiple wives and concubines, so maybe this was just a logical decision.