Wealth Beyond Measure - 1 Kings 4:20-34

Wealth Beyond Measure    1 Kings 4:20-34

1 Kings 4:20-21 Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea. They ate and drank and were happy. Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

God’s promises were being fulfilled (Genesis 13:14-17, Exodus 3:8)

Israel was blessed by God, there was much wealth

22 Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty cors of fine flour and sixty cors of meal,

That’s about 6,600 litres of flour and 13,200 litres of meal, per day!

Solomon’s wealth was extensive. About 23 tons of gold a year was brought to him. About 1.7 billion Australian dollars’ worth, but also other commodities. (2 Chronicles 9)

24 For he had dominion over all the region west of the Euphrates from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings west of the Euphrates. And he had peace on all sides around him.

Israel finally had peace in their own land!

26 Solomon also had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen.

Solomon disobeyed God. He wasn’t supposed to have many horses. (Deuteronomy 17:14-16)

Solomon began to trust in temporal stuff. We must trust in Jesus. Trusting in anything or anyone else can only lead to heartache.

So, Solomon was not without some character flaws, but for the moment, he still gave glory to God and mostly trusted in him.

Right at the beginning of his reign, God asked Solomon what he wanted. Solomon asked for the wisdom he needed to rule Israel. (1 Kings 3:9)

29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore, 30 so that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 For he was wiser than all other men, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame was in all the surrounding nations.

How often have you prayed for wisdom from God? We may not reach the heights of Solomon’s wisdom, but the wisdom we need is available to us. (James 1:5-6)

So, what did Solomon think of his great wealth?

Solomon knew that all of this wealth was temporary. “All is vanity” he would say. (Ecclesiastes 5:15)

Jesus has greater wisdom than Solomon and has more to say about earthly stuff (Matthew 6:19-33 see also 1 Timothy 6:7-10.)

Jerusalem under Solomon had unparalleled wealth, but that was only a dim foreshadowing of what we can expect in the New Jerusalem. (Revelation 21)

Solomon had acquired an astonishing amount of wealth, but his greatest wealth was that God had chosen him. Israel’s greatest asset was having God on their side, but they neglected their greatest treasure.

Kings of Israel weren’t supposed to have many wives (Deuteronomy 17:17)

For all of his wisdom, Solomon did a very foolish thing and married many foreign women - 700 wives & 300 concubines. These women turned Solomon’s heart to their false gods.  (1 Kings 11:1-8)

If you are single, don’t look for a spouse among unbelievers. (2 Corinthians 6:14-16- but see also 1 Corinthians 7:12-16)

Solomon made some huge mistakes, but God was gracious to him. (2 Samuel 7:14-15)

God’s love didn’t depart from Solomon, but he did face God’s discipline. (1 Kings 11:9-12)

Likewise, if we go astray, God will discipline us (Hebrews 12:5-11)

We can learn much from Solomon, but not just from what he got right. There are important lessons to learn from his mistakes. Whether we are blessed with much earthly wealth, or only a little, our focus must stay on God. Then we will be laying up for ourselves treasures in heaven.