Read 2 Chronicles 9
The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon
9 When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. Arriving with a very great caravan—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all she had on her mind.2 Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for him to explain to her. 3 When the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon, as well as the palace he had built, 4 the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, the cupbearers in their robes and the burnt offerings he made at the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.
5 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. 6 But I did not believe what they said until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half the greatness of your wisdom was told me; you have far exceeded the report I heard.7 How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 8 Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne as king to rule for the Lord your God. Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever, he has made you king over them, to maintain justice and righteousness.”
9 Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. There had never been such spices as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
10 (The servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon brought gold from Ophir; they also brought algumwood and precious stones. 11 The king used the algumwood to make steps for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. Nothing like them had ever been seen in Judah.)
12 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for; he gave her more than she had brought to him. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.
Solomon’s Splendor
13 The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,14 not including the revenues brought in by merchants and traders. Also all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the territories brought gold and silver to Solomon.
15 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 small shields of hammered gold, with three hundred shekelsof gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.
17 Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with pure gold. 18 The throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold was attached to it. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. 19 Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. 20 All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s day. 21 The king had a fleet of trading ships manned by Hiram’s servants. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.
22 King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. 23 All the kings of the earth sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. 24 Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift—articles of silver and gold, and robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.
25 Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horses, which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 26 He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates 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 cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. 28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from all other countries.
Solomon’s Death
29 As for the other events of Solomon’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboamson of Nebat? 30 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.31 Then he rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king.
Go Deeper
As we read about the glory, fame, honor, and power of King Solomon, we must recall how all of this came about. A few chapters prior to this, in 2 Chronicles 1, the author wrote about how God came to Solomon in a way we have never seen God approach any other man in the scriptures. We’ve all heard of the statement “God is not a genie in the sky,” but this part of the story is an instance where it seems like He was willing to be genie-like. One night, as the king was worshiping God, God came to Solomon and said, “Ask of me and I will give it to you.” Whoa! Think about it: what would you ask for?
Solomon, without hesitation, asks for wisdom and knowledge to govern God’s people of Israel. God not only gave him enough wisdom to be the wisest man on earth, but also all of the material possessions and wealth one could ever want. With this context in mind, we can now understand with greater understanding truly how great and magnificent God allowed his servant Solomon to be.
The truth is, God is the giver of all gifts (James 1:17). We have all been entrusted with different gifts. Why? To bring God glory. We have been created in the image of God which means we have been created to reflect Him. As image bearers, we are ultimately glory spreaders. We are created to reflect God’s glory unto the world for all to see His goodness and majesty. As Solomon’s gifts of wisdom, power, wealth, and fame brought the pagan Queen of Sheba to come and see for herself, it says she was “overwhelmed” and began praising the God of Israel. She says in verse 8, “Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne as king to rule for the LORD your God. Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever, he has made you king over them, to maintain justice and righteousness.”
Our job is usually not in choosing the gifts God gives us, rather in stewarding them. Your gift could be hospitality, your intelligence, your leadership, your communication ability, your wealth, your passion, the ability to serve others with supernatural joy, or even fame. Whatever it may be, He has entrusted it to you. Whether you work at a restaurant, a factory, in corporate America, ministry, or any other field, God has given you specific gifts to use for His glory. And our job is to steward them for His name. As we see Solomon in this chapter steward what God has given Him for His glory, we must use our gifts to draw others to see the God behind the gift!
Jesus said in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good deeds and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Let your light shine! Don’t be afraid or ashamed of your gift; rather let it shine. In that, people will see and give glory to your heavenly Father. As Solomon’s story continues, we see sad moments Solomon’s heart drifts from what God intended. We are just as prone to stray. We must never allow the gifts of God to become greater than the Giver. We did nothing to receive the gift, so we must use it freely for any and every occasion to bring glory to God. Be encouraged, you never know when your “Queen of Sheba” may come to see if what they have heard is true. Hopefully it will result in them praising God and giving Him ultimate glory!
Questions
- If God came to you and asked you to ask Him for anything, what would be your answer?
- When people see you using your gifts, does it usually point them to the glory of God or the glory of yourself?
- Are there times when you shy away from using your gifts out of fear of man’s opinion? Do you fear being misunderstood in using your gift?
Keep Digging
Solomon is a complicated figure in the Old Testament. While he was the wisest man to ever live, he also drifted far from the heart of God. Check out this article “Was Solomon Saved?” from GotQuestions.org!
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4 thoughts on “2 Chronicles 9”
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The truth is we have nothing to fear and nothing to overcome because He is all in all and we are more than conquerors through Him. The recognition of this truth is not flattering to the worker’s sense of heroics, but it is amazingly glorifying to the work of Christ.
Of course Solomon did not have Christ but we do so even though we do not have all of Solomon’s wisdom we have something better, Jesus Christ. Queen Sheba came to see Solomon to see what he had because she had heard. Do people come see what we have because they have heard? Do we share what we have, Jesus Christ, with them? Solomon had all the earthly things in “world” he could want but from what I read between the lines, he was not completely satisfied or he would not have kept acquiring “things”. BUT GOD knew what we needed and what others want. So let us glorify Christ by our lives and lead them to HIM!!
Thank You God that You already knew and know what it is I need. Thank You that I can receive it with thanksgiving and let Your light so shine from me that all want to know about it. God I praise You for this day. God I just ask for these kiddos that are going to camp from HC, that You protect them, guide them in a closer walk with You and help them to understand at the deepest level of understanding about You and Your nature. God reveal Yourself to them, overwhelm them Your Love that helps them to look to You for all their needs instead of this world, in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Proverbs 9:10)
LORD, help me to look to you for guidance in all things great and small. Thank you for your Word, which is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
Answers to the 3 questions:
1. I would ask God to be given an obedient heart to follow him in all ways.
2. My greatest desire is to point others to the Savior and the joy of knowing and serving him.
3. There have been times I’ve neglected to use a gift; however, I’ve discovered the beauty of aging and maturing in my faith is that I care less about fear of man and most about remaining close to Jesus.
My ask would be that the Lord bless me with wisdom and discernment for the long haul in life. I pray that my perseverance and steadfast hope during the hard times will demonstrate my love and faithfulness to God. I pray that how I live my life will lead others to see Jesus, for there is no good in me apart from Him.
“I say to the Lord, apart from You, I have no good thing.”
Psalm 16:2