2 Chronicles 9: 1 – 31
You can’t take it with you
9 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with hard questions, having a very great retinue, camels that bore spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. 2 So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so difficult for Solomon that he could not explain it to her. 3 And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 4 the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers and their apparel, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the LORD, there was no more spirit in her. 5 Then she said to the king: “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 6 However I did not believe their words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told me. You exceed the fame of which I heard. 7 Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! 8 Blessed be the LORD your God, who delighted in you, setting you on His throne to be king for the LORD your God! Because your God has loved Israel, to establish them forever, therefore He made you king over them, to do justice and righteousness.” 9 And she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great abundance, and precious stones; there never were any spices such as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. 10 Also, the servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, brought algum wood and precious stones. 11 And the king made walkways of the algum wood for the house of the LORD and for the king’s house, also harps and stringed instruments for singers; and there were none such as these seen before in the land of Judah. 12 Now King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, much more than she had brought to the king. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants. 13 The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, 14 besides what the traveling merchants and traders brought. And all the kings of Arabia and governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon. 15 And King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of hammered gold went into each shield. 16 He also made three hundred shields of hammered gold; three hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. 17 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 The throne had six steps, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne; there were armrests on either side of the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the armrests. 19 Twelve lions stood there, one on each side of the six steps; nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom. 20 All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Not one was silver, for this was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon. 21 For the king’s ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Hiram. Once every three years the merchant ships came, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys. 22 So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. 23 And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. 24 Each man brought his present: articles of silver and gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate year by year. 25 Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem. 26 So he reigned over all the kings from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland. 28 And they brought horses to Solomon from Egypt and from all lands. 29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? 30 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 31 Then Solomon rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.
I am sure you have heard the term, ‘You can’t take it with you.’ Everybody leaves their wealth behind after death and are not able to take anything along when one dies.
Here is an interesting poem that speaks about this subject and today’s chapter study. It was composed by Claude Tillier (1801–1844).
All our enterprises have but a beginning; the house that we build is for our heirs; the morning wrapper that we wad with love to envelop our old age, will be made into swaddling-clothes for our grandchildren. We say to ourselves: "There, the day is ended!" We light our lamp, we stir our fire; we get ready to pass a quiet and peaceful evening at the corner of our hearth; tic, tac, someone knocks at the door. Who is there? It is death; we must start. When we have all the appetites of youth, when our blood is full of iron and alcohol, we are without a cent; when our teeth and stomach are gone, we are millionaires. We have scarcely time to say to a woman: "I love you!" at our second kiss, she is old and decrepit. Empires are no sooner consolidated than they begin to crumble: they resemble those ant-hills which the poor insects build with such great efforts; when it needs but a grain to finish them, an ox crushes them under his broad foot, or a cart under its wheel.... You do not take a step that you do not raise about you the dust of a thousand things destroyed before they were finished.
Today we are going to learn of the massive amount of wealth that Solomon accumulated. Just the amount of gold he took in is brought out by our Precious Holy Spirit Who informs us is, “The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold.” It is interesting to me that it wasn’t 665 or 667 but it was 666. Do you think it has something negative in its listing?
In the end of this chapter we quickly get his ending of not being able to take it with him as it declares, “31 Then Solomon rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David his father.”
Let’s find out what comes in between these two facts.
9 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with hard questions, having a very great retinue, camels that bore spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart.
The queen’s journey would have been one of about 1400 miles across sandy deserts. The real purpose of her visit would be to sound out the possibilities of trade with Solomon and discuss the terms on which Arabian traders could pass through Israel on their way to other buyers. She was possibly also concerned that Solomon’s trade from Ezion-geber was affecting her own overland trading routes with Arabian/African countries. But this would naturally not be mentioned in the royal records. However, there is no good reason for doubting the Queen of Sheba’s genuine interest in what she had heard of Yahwism. The fame of David’s exploits and of Solomon’s Temple had no doubt spread, and together with it the mystery of the covenant chest, topped by the Cherubim which represented the invisible God, which ‘bore the Name of YHWH of Hosts’ (2 Samuel 6.2), and was so important by Israel. The greatness that YHWH had given to Solomon, as He had raised up this powerful empire on his behalf, had become a legend. Furthermore, Solomon’s reputation for wisdom had also reached her ears, and she wanted to test him out with riddles, as well as discussing diplomatic and ethical questions. All this is quite in accord with what we might expect.
2 So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so difficult for Solomon that he could not explain it to her.
The Queen was taking advantage of the visit for trading purposes and brought with her a huge train of valuable commodities, no doubt well-guarded. Her camels brought the spices, gold and precious stones for which Arabia was famous. They would, of course, have been a ‘gift’, in return for which she would be entitled to expect similar ‘gifts’. But the main purpose of her own coming was to sound Solomon out, and discover what she could about him, with thoughts of future dealings in mind. Thus, they talked about many things, and she was so impressed by him that she discussed with him her problems, which were probably mainly political.
She found Solomon competent and capable, and able to live up to the reputation that he had earned. He was able to give satisfactory answers to all her questions and was not caught out by any of them. This was where his God-given wisdom mainly lay, in the ability to rule wisely. Like Solomon we are all often better at giving good advice than at following it ourselves.
3 And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 4 the food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers and their apparel, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the LORD, there was no more spirit in her.
The magnificence of Solomon’s court impressed even such a great queen, while his wisdom, the magnificence of his palace complex, and the engineering ingenuity of the access which had been built between the palace and the Temple (or possibly the fact that it was made of intricately carved algum wood, possibly sandalwood), filled her with awe. It fulfilled all her expectations. Also included among her impressions was the quality, variety and quantity of food, the protocol of his chief ministers, the wide variety of lesser ministers, (or the huge number of servants) and the kind of clothing that they wore, together with the hugely important ‘cupbearers’ (not just wine waiters. Everything was magnificent, and it ‘took her breath away’.
5 Then she said to the king: “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 6 However I did not believe their words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told me. You exceed the fame of which I heard.
While praise was expected by kings, and indeed its lack would have been looked on as an insult, there is no reason for doubting the genuineness of the Queen’s words. She had heard of both his doings and his wisdom and had hardly been able to believe that it was true. Now, however, she had seen it with her own eyes. What she had seen had surpassed all that she had heard. Both in wisdom and in wealth, Solomon had surpassed all expectations. Sadly, it was these very things which would contribute so very much towards his downfall. Reputation and wealth can destroy the best of men, especially when they have absolute power and rarely hear criticism of themselves. It is possibly significant that no prophet raised his voice against him in his day. It suggests that their voices were muted.
7 Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom!
Having seen the luxurious living of Solomon’s leading ministers and administrators, and having seen how they were guided by Solomon, the queen declared how blessed they were. She declared that his wisdom was such that all who served him should only count themselves as fortunate. How this abundant praise must have delighted Solomon’s heart. And how dangerous it was for him. It is little wonder that he began to believe that he could do anything that he liked with impunity. He began to see himself as the center of his world, and as being beyond requiring advice or rebuke, hence the silence of the prophets.
8 Blessed be the LORD your God, who delighted in you, setting you on His throne to be king for the LORD your God! Because your God has loved Israel, to establish them forever, therefore He made you king over them, to do justice and righteousness.”
The throne of Israel was, of course, YHWH’s throne for He was Lord God of Israel, and the king His representative. So, the queen now expressed her full appreciation of YHWH Who had set him on His throne (the throne of Israel). To her, of course, the throne of Israel was the only one on which YHWH could set him. In her eyes He was the God of Israel, not of the whole world. And she declared how the appointment of such a one as Solomon must show how much He loved Israel.
But even her reference to YHWH almost made it sound as if it was YHWH Who was privileged to have been able to establish Solomon’s throne. He had chosen Solomon out of His love for Israel because none could be found who compared with him. No doubt she had learned all about YHWH’s covenant with David, and His promise of an everlasting throne, and how YHWH required him to rule in justice and righteousness. Solomon was proud of all these facts and would not have hesitated to have spoken of them. And kings in those days always gave due credit to their gods, while at the same time, of course, keeping some of it for themselves. So even her honoring of YHWH was eclipsed by her appreciation of Solomon. How careful we must be that we do not take away the glory from God.
9 And she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great abundance, and precious stones; there never were any spices such as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
The Queen brought much gold, and large quantities of spices and precious stones. As she had accompanied the caravan she would not want it to come short in any. It had to reveal her own worth. It was thus much larger than usual, and beyond compare. She would, of course, expect to return to her country with reciprocal gifts of equal value.
10 Also, the servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, brought algum wood and precious stones.
The re-introduction of Huram here was no afterthought or postscript. Solomon’s dealings with Huram have acted as an interlude for the visit of the queen of Sheba, because they were more profitable and longer lasting, and because the aim was to bring out that Solomon’s trading activities were ‘world-wide’. Where the queen scored was in making Solomon feel good about himself. She thus got the most publicity.
So meanwhile Solomon’s other trading avenues were continuing, and his ships as supplemented by Huram, also brought in algum (almug) trees and precious stones, as well as more gold than the queen of Sheba. The word ‘almug’ is witnessed to at Ugarit. It would appear to have been a particularly fine wood, as its use in musical instruments suggests. At Alalakh it appears to have been used to make fine furniture. It was possibly a type of sandalwood imported by the Phoenicians.
11 And the king made walkways of the algum wood for the house of the LORD and for the king’s house, also harps and stringed instruments for singers; and there were none such as these seen before in the land of Judah.
Solomon’s importance was such that only the very best was sent to Solomon. The lyres and harps (both stringed instruments) are a reminder of David’s prowess, and of the musical background to Temple worship (Amos 5.23),
The fact that ‘none such were seen before in the land of Judah’ indicates how exotic the wood was seen to be.
12 Now King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, much more than she had brought to the king. So, she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.
Some people I witness take items all the time and give back nothing in return. In this case Solomon lavished more gifts back to her. To me it is interesting in that the gifts Solomon gave to his male friend Huram was insulting. In the book of 1 Kings chapter 9 we read this, “10 Now it happened at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD and the king’s house 11 (Hiram the king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress and gold, as much as he desired), that King Solomon then gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. 12 Then Hiram went from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, but they did not please him. 13 So he said, “What kind of cities are these which you have given me, my brother?” And he called them the land of Cabul, as they are to this day. 14 Then Hiram sent the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold.” By the way ‘Cabul’ means ‘Good for nothing.’
For the Queen of Sheba everything having been satisfactorily settled, the caravan was loaded up with her ‘gifts’ and she returned with her array of ministers and attendants to her own land, no doubt well satisfied with the outcome of her visit. There was nothing romantic about it. It had been a hard-headed business trip.
The glory and greatness of YHWH had been revealed by the care taken to fulfil all His commandments concerning worship. Solomon had stopped at nothing to give Him His due. Here he turns his mind to his own glory, and how he could enhance it, something which he accomplishes by making a throne of pearl and ceremonial shields of gold.
So the following verses now indicates Solomon’s great wealth in terms of gold coming to him from many sources, which was partly used for ornamental shields and bucklers (larger shields) and for a multiplicity of golden drinking vessels, and his great majesty in terms of his ivory throne.
13 The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, 14 besides what the traveling merchants and traders brought. And all the kings of Arabia and governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.
This huge sum received by Solomon annually was on top of what he received from all the kings of Arabia, and all his own governors, and was also on top of the equally huge amounts he obtained from his trading ventures mentioned in verse 22. The weight of this gold was around 20 tons. Much of it might have been from tolls as he and his administrators charged tolls to all who passed through his extensive territory. Other would be from tribute paid by subject kings (verse 25). Other would be from spoils resulting from invasions (8.3). The sources were varied and the total enormous.
15 And King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of hammered gold went into each shield. 16 He also made three hundred shields of hammered gold; three hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
Solomon made large numbers of shields and bucklers of pure gold for ceremonial purposes. They made a grand show when he was seeking to impress people like the queen of Sheba, as well as when trying to impress his own people with his majesty and greatness. The two hundred large shields each contained six hundred shekels of gold. The three hundred smaller shields each contained three hundred shekels of gold These were placed in the house of the forest of Lebanon and brought out for ceremonial purposes (1 Kings 7.2). The house of the forest of Lebanon was a part of the palace complex, so named because it had an array of large pillars which gave the impression of a forest and were made from cedars of Lebanon.
17 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold.
The king also had made for him his own unique throne. It was an ostentatious throne inlaid with ivory and overlaid with the finest gold. Everything about Solomon had to be extreme. He was the most powerful monarch in his region and was determined to receive due honor.
18 The throne had six steps, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne; there were armrests on either side of the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the armrests.
Six steps led up to the throne, which had a footstool of gold. (1 Kings 10.18 mentions the rearward curving back which is paralleled in Egyptian thrones). The purpose of the throne was to lift Solomon above his subjects, and all who approached him. The six steps led up to the dais on which the throne was placed which would be the seventh level. Such sevenfold designs elsewhere indicated the supreme power of the gods. In Babylon the seven-staged ziggurats led up to the gods. At Ugarit seven steps led up to inmost shrine of the Temple of Baal. Solomon did not yet realize it, but in exalting himself he was on the way down.
19 Twelve lions stood there, one on each side of the six steps; nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom.
On either side of the throne seat were stays, with two lions standing by the stays, providing protection (in a similar way to the Cherubim) and indicating Solomon’s power and fearsomeness. They may well also have symbolized the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Genesis 49.9-10).
20 All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Not one was silver, for this was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon.
In addition all the drinking and other vessels in the palace complex were made of pure gold. Silver vessels could not be found anywhere, because they were too inferior. They were for lesser people. Silver counted for nothing in the court of Solomon. Such was his splendor, although it was a fading splendor, yet it did not seem fading at the time. Solomon and his adherents no doubt thought that it would last forever.
21 For the king’s ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Hiram. Once every three years the merchant ships came, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys.
Solomon had a number of ships which sailed to Tarshish with the assistance of Phoenician sailors. They returned ‘every three years. The ‘ships of Tarshish’ were large sea-going vessels of the type used on long distance voyages, often carrying ore, but also bringing back other exotic cargoes from far distant places. ‘Tarshish’ may simply signify ‘a far-off place’ where ore could be found.
They would then return with exotic goods such as gold, silver, ivory, and apes and. Translators have always had difficulties with them from earliest times).
22 So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. 23 And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.
Our Holy God Is Omniscient. He knows ‘everything’. He Is also Omnipresent. He Is ‘everywhere’. So, He therefor can state that in ‘all the world’ because He sees and knows everything going on in His Creation.
24 Each man brought his present: articles of silver and gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate year by year.
As they came to learn from his wisdom they also brought him tribute. He was the overlord, and they were his underlings. Thus, they brought year by year the tribute that had been assessed on them, made up of ‘vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, armor, and spices, horses, and mules’.
25 Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem.
Central to Solomon’s status was his armed might for chariots were the ‘tanks’ of prior history.
This being so it indicates that Solomon’s trust was now firmly in chariots and horsemen which contrasts with his dad’s prophecy in Psalm 20.7, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the Name of the LORD our God.” This was what his greatness and wisdom had led him to, armed might and global arms-dealing.
26 So he reigned over all the kings from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt.
The size of Solomon’s empire is now described. It stretched from the Euphrates to the borders of Egypt, and either included the land of the Philistines, or went up to the border of their lands.
27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland.
Such was the prosperity of Israel, and especially of Jerusalem, that silver was worth little more than the stones on the ground, while valuable cedarwood was as common as the local ‘sycamore trees’.
28 And they brought horses to Solomon from Egypt and from all lands.
Another thing that is emphasized at both the beginning and the end of Solomon’s life is the bringing of horses from Egypt. This would appear to indicate a deliberate reference to Deuteronomy 17.16. The hint was that Solomon was, by his behavior, taking his people back into Egypt, i.e. was involving them once again with idolaters and foreign ways. Indeed, one of the features of Solomon’s reign was his flirtation with idolaters, a question mark thus hung over his loyalty to full love and obedience to Adoni Yahweh.
In a sense these words summarized Solomon’s reign (the following conclusion is remarkably silent). They reveal to us that whilst he was wise, wealthy and powerful, and established the Temple of YHWH and the Ark together in Jerusalem, his reign was epitomized by his contacts with Egypt and Tyre and other lands which dragged him away from pure devotion to Yahweh. He had failed to be the model king of Deuteronomy 17.14-20.
29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat?
This verse cites sources for further reading and review. Good contemporary records were therefore being maintained.
30 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.
Solomon’s reign is depicted in solitary greatness. He reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. His kingdom was established in Jerusalem when he began to reign, he reigned over the whole of Israel, and the kingdom was still united in Jerusalem when he died. No other king would do that, even though it appeared that all was well. For we will soon learn that all was not well. He did not leave behind a contented kingdom. And the consequence of his failures was the division of the kingdom.
31 Then Solomon rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.
With slight variations this is the standard ending for the life of a king of Judah when they died naturally. He slept with his fathers, he was buried in the city of David, his son reigned instead of him. Our Holy Lord God’s promise stayed true -The dynasty continued.
