The Lord said to him, "I heard your prayer and what you asked me to do. You built this Temple, and I have made it a holy place. So I will be honored there forever. I will watch over it and think of it always.
If you do, I will make sure that your family will always rule Israel, just as I promised your father David when I told him that Israel would always be ruled by one of his descendants.
"But if you or your children stop following me, and don't obey the laws and commands that I have given you, and if you serve and worship other gods, I will force Israel to leave the land that I have given to them. Israel will be an example to other people. Other people will make jokes about Israel. I made the Temple holy. It is the place where people honor me. But I will tear it down.
This Temple will be destroyed. Everyone who sees it will be amazed. They will ask, 'Why did the Lord do this terrible thing to this land and to this temple?'
People will say, 'This happened because they left the Lord their God. He brought their ancestors out of Egypt, but they decided to follow other gods. They began to worship and serve those gods. That is why the Lord caused all these bad things to happen to them.'"
King Hiram said, "What are these towns that you have given me, my brother?" King Hiram named that land the Land of Cabul. And that area is still called Cabul today.
King Solomon forced slaves to work for him to build the Temple and his palace. Then he used these slaves to build many other things. He built the Millo and the city wall around Jerusalem. Then he rebuilt the cities of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.
In the past the king of Egypt had fought against the city of Gezer and burned it. He killed the Canaanites who lived there. When Solomon married Pharaoh's daughter, Pharaoh gave him that city as a wedding present.
He also built cities where he could store grain, and he built places for his chariots and his horses. King Solomon also built whatever he wanted in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and all the places he ruled.
Solomon did not force any Israelites to be his slaves. The Israelites were soldiers, government officials, officers, captains, and chariot commanders and drivers.
Three times each year Solomon offered burned sacrifices and fellowship offerings on the altar that he built for the Lord. King Solomon also burned incense before the Lord and supplied what was needed for the Temple.