Rich in Wisdom and Material

At the end of chapter 9 we are told of Solomon and Hiram’s partnership which led to a vast amount of gold but also opened up shipping and land trade.

If any doubts about Solomon’s greatness remain after chapter 9 then chapter 10 should help remove them.

1 Kings 10 CSB

1 The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s fame connected with the name of the Lord and came to test him with difficult questions. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very large entourage, with camels bearing spices, gold in great abundance, and precious stones. She came to Solomon and spoke to him about everything that was on her mind. 3 So Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for the king to explain to her. 4 When the queen of Sheba observed all of Solomon’s wisdom, the palace he had built, 5 the food at his table, his servants’ residence, his attendants’ service and their attire, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he offered at the Lord’s temple, it took her breath away. 6 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your words and about your wisdom is true. 7 But I didn’t believe the reports until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, I was not even told half. Your wisdom and prosperity far exceed the report I heard. 8 How happy are your men. How happy are these servants of yours, who always stand in your presence hearing your wisdom. 9 Blessed be the Lord your God! He delighted in you and put you on the throne of Israel, because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel. He has made you king to carry out justice and righteousness.” 10 Then she gave the king four and a half tons of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again did such a quantity of spices arrive as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. 11 In addition, Hiram’s fleet that carried gold from Ophir brought from Ophir a large quantity of almug wood and precious stones. 12 The king made the almug wood into steps for the Lord’s temple and the king’s palace and into lyres and harps for the singers. Never before did such almug wood arrive, and the like has not been seen again. 13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba her every desire—whatever she asked—besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she, along with her servants, returned to her own country.

Here we meet the Queen of Sheba - Sheba has several proposed locations but the two main ones are Yemen and Ethiopia (Yemen having the most extra-biblical support) - She is mentioned in the NT by Jesus but as “the Queen of the South”. Non-biblical sources claim that she conceived a child in secret with King Solomon and that she is the mysterious woman Solomon is talking about in Song of Solomon… both are completely speculative and cannot be determined as factual.

What we need to understand and what Jesus was referring to are the 2 reasons she came to Solomon. 1. She heard about the fame of Solomon - his God given abilities have earned him the reputation of being the wisest man in the ancient world… this leads into the second reason - 2. She came because of Solomon’s relation to the name of the Lord.

I other words, she recognizes that only God could produce such a great king - this stands in contrast to the Lord’s waring in chapter 9 that if the people disobyed they would be ridiculed because God turned away from them.

The purpose of her visit - to find out if all she heard is true by testing Solomon.

She definitely came to pay homage to the new king based on the amount of riches she brought with her.

All that she heard about Solomon seemed to good to be true until she met him.

She asked Solomon all that on her mind (we don’t get the details of her questions here) and Solomon had no problem answering them at all.

Solomon gave the queen material gifts when it was time for her to depart.

The most important part of the queen’s trip to see Solomon was her desire to learn about God - Jesus used her as an example of the effort one should be willing to make to hear God’s truth - she traveled 1500 miles to question Solomon, but Jesus’ audience refuses to listen to the Son of God himself.

1 Kings 10 CSB

14 The weight of gold that came to Solomon annually was twenty-five tons, 15 besides what came from merchants, traders’ merchandise, and all the Arabian kings and governors of the land. 16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; fifteen pounds of gold went into each shield. 17 He made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; nearly four pounds of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. 18 The king also made a large ivory throne and overlaid it with fine gold. 19 The throne had six steps; there was a rounded top at the back of the throne, armrests on either side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the armrests. 20 Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps, one at each end. Nothing like it had ever been made in any other kingdom. 21 All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, since it was considered as nothing in Solomon’s time, 22 for the king had ships of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s fleet, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. 23 King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the world in riches and in wisdom. 24 The whole world wanted an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had put in his heart. 25 Every man would bring his annual tribute: items of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, and horses and mules. 26 Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen and stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar as abundant as sycamore in the Judean foothills. 28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue. The king’s traders bought them from Kue at the going price. 29 A chariot was imported from Egypt for fifteen pounds of silver, and a horse for four pounds. In the same way, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram through their agents.

In verse 14 the amount of gold mentioned in the CSB is 25 tons which translates closely to 666 talents - scholars dispute whether the amount of gold listed here is exaggerated or accurate.

The point of all the wealth is to show God’s blessing on Solomon and thus Israel.

The amount of wealth is spelled out perfectly in verse 27 - “silver as common in Jerusalem as stones”.

So far Solomon has upheld his end of the bargain but the question remains, will he continue to do so.

Chapter 10 offers on last picture of Solomon at his best - the king above all ancient kings… its point is that Solomon enjoyed God’s special favor - next we will see what he did with that favor.

Three Takeaways

God makes a name for Himself and often uses us to do it.

All that Solomon had, wisdom and success, weren’t about him - they pointed other toward God.

Following God faithfully will attract others.

Our lives reflect the glory and goodness of God so that people are drawn not just to you - but the Lord who lives in you.

Our testimony will draw people but the reality of God in our lives will amaze them.

The queen came because she heard about Solomon but when she encountered the real God through Solomon she was amazed.

Worldly success is not a substitute for spiritual depth.

Solomon had it all - wealth, fame, honor and even a close relationship with God. We will see that the seeds of spiritual drift were already being planted…

We must stay rooted in our relationship with God, no matter what lever of success we have.