The queen of Sheba was in awe at Solomon’s wealth and earthly glory. How much more should we be in awe of Christ’s glory?! Be blessed as you seek His face today.
2 Chronicles 9: The Queen of Sheba
1 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions, having a very great retinue and camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind.
2 And Solomon answered all her questions. There was nothing hidden from Solomon that he could not explain to her.
3 And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built,
4 the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, and their clothing, his cupbearers, and their clothing, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the LORD, there was no more breath in her.
5 And she said to the king, "The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom,
6 but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, half the greatness of your wisdom was not told me; you surpass the report that I heard.
7 Happy are your wives! Happy are these your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!
8 Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and set you on his throne as king for the LORD your God! Because your God loved Israel and would establish them forever, he has made you king over them, that you may execute justice and righteousness."
9 Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones. There were no spices such as those that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
10 Moreover, 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 from the algum wood supports for the house of the LORD and for the king's house, lyres also and harps for the singers. There never was seen the like of them before in the land of Judah.
12 And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what she had brought to the king. So she turned and went back to her own land with her servants.
Solomon's Wealth
13 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold,
14 besides that which the explorers and merchants brought. And all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land brought gold and silver to Solomon.
15 King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels of beaten gold went into each shield.
16 And he made 300 shields of beaten gold; 300 shekels of gold went into each shield; and the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
17 The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold.
18 The throne had six steps and a footstool of gold, which were attached to the throne, and on each side of the seat were armrests and two lions standing beside the armrests,
19 while twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. Nothing like it was ever made for any kingdom.
20 All King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. Silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon.
21 For the king's ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Hiram. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
22 Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.
23 And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind.
24 Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and of gold, garments, myrrh, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.
25 And Solomon had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots, and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.
26 And he ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt.
27 And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah.
28 And horses were imported for Solomon from Egypt and from all lands.
Solomon's Death
29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, from first to last, are they not written in the history of Nathan the prophet, and 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 And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father, and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.
Things to think about…
2Chr 9:1,2 we see all the queen of Sheba’s questions being answered by Solomon. David’s greater Son, Jesus, is often called the ‘Answer’. Are there questions you have asked Jesus that you have not received any answers for? If He has answered, how have you received those answers when He hasn’t been physically present as Solomon was for the queen of Sheba?
In 2Chr 9:3-7 the queen of Sheba is in awe to the point where it says she had her breath taken away, vs 4. Has this ever occurred at any point for you? What was the situation? Has this been your experience with Christ? We should be in awe of our God? Solomon’s greatness was more than the queen of Sheba had heard, vs 7. The reality was far greater. Parallels can be drawn here with respect to Christ’s glory and the reality of heaven for the Christian.
The queen of Sheba brought 120 talents of gold to Solomon, 2 Chr 9:9. In today’s money $250M, a substantial gift in anyone’s language. We bring Christ praise but we also give financially. As with our Lord the queen of Sheba received from Solomon everything and more than she asked so that she left with more than she brought, vs 12. Surely our Lord gives us far more than we give Him, yes, even more than we ask or imagine! What are you asking Him for at the moment?
666 talents of gold came to Solomon every year, $1.4B today, vs 13. This was besides all the gold, silver, etc that came in by ships and the merchants, vss 14, 21. Some have said that the 666 talents of gold, 2Chr9:13, is a significant figure because it is the mark of man mentioned in Rev 13. Not all numbers in the bible should cause us to be alarmist.
What happened to these gold shields mentioned in 2Chr9:15, 16? They didn’t hang around too long, King Shishak of Egypt took them, 1Kings 14:26…and why not, Solomon’s son, Rehoboam was a fool. Shishak also took all the treasures out of the temple. If the original Ark of the Covenant is anywhere it would be in Egypt.
We do not know what happened to Solomon’s throne 2Ch9 :17-19, but it would have been an amazing piece of furniture. One wonders why it had to have been made of Ivory if it was only going to be covered by gold. Why not wood – it would have been easier to carve and less costly if a mistake was made. But this is the point of Solomon’s reign. His wealth was given by the Lord and so his rule reflects in some small part the glory of the Lord’s kingdom and His throne. Our Lord Jesus gives us direct access into His presence. We don’t have to travel hundreds of kilometres like the Queen of Sheba or go through a priest. We come straight to Him as sons and daughters, heirs of this kingdom. Hallelujah!
In 2 Chr 9:24-28 we see horses mentioned a number of times. Horses were not to be owned by Israel or acquired by the king especially from Egypt Deut 17:6, because they represented earthly strength, Deut 20:1-4. The Egyptians were the epitome of earthly strength, they were the primary breeders of these horses and Solomon’s first wife was from Egypt as we read yesterday. What earthly strength do we rely upon that the Lord asks us to forsake in our lives? Do we trust the banks or insurance companies before the One who says ‘take no money bag’ to His disciples? How do you recognise the difference between faith and fatalism knowing that the Lord ordains even earthly systems and institutions? Surely He created the horse to start with, why shouldn’t we use what the Lord gives us? The Lord Jesus tells us to use unrighteous mammon for an eternal cause, Luke 16:9. Ultimately all our earthly transactions should have a heavenly minded focus.
The works of the 3 prophets mentioned in 2Chr 9:29, Nathan, Ahijah and Iddo record the works of Solomon. We no longer have these writings, but we do have the books of the kings, aside from Chronicles that also recorded Solomon’s works. Aside from the Proverbs, the Song of Solomon and Ecclesiastes which were written by Solomon’s hand.
Vision Point for cell groups – Cell groups on break over the school holidays
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Title was “Broken Promises” from Nehemiah 9:1-6
1. Have you ever broken a promise or perhaps someone has broken a promise to you. Were you a Christian at the time? How did it affect you?
2. The wall had been built in 52 days around Jerusalem. Truly miraculous. The people had dedicated themselves to a. give to the temple – tithes offerings b. Keep the Sabbath c. Keep marriages/relationships pure d. Attend to the hearing of the law. How did this go for them? What happened during the 10-12 years Nehemiah was away back in Susa.
3. How are Christians/the church affected by 1. Bible reading 2. Giving 3. Gathering together 3. Christ centred relationships.
4. Pray for prayer points and for each other.
Prayer Points
1. As we celebrated the sacrifice for the Anzacs yesterday let’s pray for peace to rest over Ukraine.
2. Pray for people as they settle into life at CBC.
3. Over 400 flood victims in South Africa. These people are in great poverty as well.
4. Upcoming Australian elections – pray for the Lord’s choice of MP’s.
5. Continue to pray for the flood clean-up as well as the money donated to help.
6. Folk sick with Covid – relief and healing.
7. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
8. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Anzac Day and the freedoms we have because of the sacrifice given by those of those the past and present.
2. Visitors to CBC over the weekend – new people added to the church.
3. God’s word affecting people for Christ
4. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
5. Flood cleanup is restoring communities around Ipswich and Brisbane.
Announcements
1. Service 9:30am – remember to check your duty rosters.
2. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
3. Tune in again this week on our youtube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism question for April...
Q. 2. Where is Christ now? A. In heaven, interceding for sinners and sitting at the right hand of God the Father.
