15 Now this is the account of the forced labor which King Solomon levied to build the house of the Lord , his own house , the Millo , the wall of Jerusalem , Hazor , Megiddo , and Gezer . 16 For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and captured Gezer and burned it with fire , and killed the Canaanites who lived in the city , and had given it as a dowry to his daughter , Solomon's wife . 17 So Solomon rebuilt Gezer and the lower Beth-horon 18 and Baalath and Tamar in the wilderness , in the land of Judah, 19 and all the storage cities which Solomon had , even the cities for his chariots and the cities for his horsemen , and all that it pleased e Solomon to build in Jerusalem , in Lebanon , and in all the land under his rule .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Kings 9:15-19
Commentary on 1 Kings 9:15-28
(Read 1 Kings 9:15-28)
Here is a further account of Solomon's greatness. He began at the right end, for he built God's house first, and finished that before he began his own; then God blessed him, and he prospered in all his other buildings. Let piety begin, and profit follow; leave pleasure to the last. Whatever pains we take for the glory of God, and to profit others, we are likely to have the advantage. Canaan, the holy land, the glory of all lands, had no gold in it; which shows that the best produce is that which is for the present support of life, our own and others; such things did Canaan produce. Solomon got much by his merchandise, and yet has directed us to a better trade, within reach of the poorest. Wisdom is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold, Proverbs 3:14.