WHOSE FAME?
Opening Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for the unsearchable riches of Christ that are mine. Thank you for the privilege you have given me to share with others his grace and mercy that are without limit.
Read 1 KINGS 10
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon
10 When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to the Lord, she came to test Solomon with hard questions. 2 Arriving at Jerusalem 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 that she had on her mind. 3 Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. 4 When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, 5 the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at[a] the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.
6 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. 7 But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard. 8 How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 9 Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness.”
10 And she gave the king 120 talents[b] of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
11 (Hiram’s ships brought gold from Ophir; and from there they brought great cargoes of almugwood[c] and precious stones. 12 The king used the almugwood to make supports[d] for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. So much almugwood has never been imported or seen since that day.)
13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.
Solomon’s Splendor
14 The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,[e] 15 not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the territories.
16 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels[f] of gold went into each shield. 17 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three minas[g] of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.
18 Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. 20 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. 21 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 days. 22 The king had a fleet of trading ships[h] at sea along with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.
23 King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. 24 The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. 25 Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift—articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.
26 Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses,[i] which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 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 Kue[j]—the royal merchants purchased them from Kue at the current price. 29 They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty.[k] They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and of the Arameans.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 10:5 Or the ascent by which he went up to
- 1 Kings 10:10 That is, about 4 1/2 tons or about 4 metric tons
- 1 Kings 10:11 Probably a variant of algumwood; also in verse 12
- 1 Kings 10:12 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- 1 Kings 10:14 That is, about 25 tons or about 23 metric tons
- 1 Kings 10:16 That is, about 15 pounds or about 6.9 kilograms; also in verse 29
- 1 Kings 10:17 That is, about 3 3/4 pounds or about 1.7 kilograms; or perhaps reference is to double minas, that is, about 7 1/2 pounds or about 3.5 kilograms.
- 1 Kings 10:22 Hebrew of ships of Tarshish
- 1 Kings 10:26 Or charioteers
- 1 Kings 10:28 Probably Cilicia
- 1 Kings 10:29 That is, about 3 3/4 pounds or about 1.7 kilograms
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
Let’s not take ourselves too seriously. May we be humbled as we come to God’s Word today.
Think Further
The desire to be famous is one of the facets of modern Western culture. It seems some people will do anything to be recognized as a celebrity. Solomon has achieved such fame that the Queen of Sheba (Sheba is a land toward the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula) has heard of him. It is perhaps not surprising, as Solomon is the key trading partner in the region, with economic power and significant influence. The queen is impressed by what Solomon has achieved – and his wisdom is breathtaking (vv. 1–9). Solomon is prospering in relationship with the Lord (v. 1) and his success is entirely God’s work. As people hear of Solomon, it is so that the Name of the Lord can be spread and recognized across the world. The Lord’s fame and that of Solomon are tied together.
The Queen of Sheba herself controlled a large amount of wealth (v. 2). The fact that her extraordinary gifts receive mention underlines how great Solomon’s wealth is. There is so much wealth in the kingdom that even silver has become commonplace (v. 21), not to mention the exotic imports (v. 22). A nation established by heaven is not inferior to one established by people! To look at some churches you would be forgiven for thinking we lack resources, but God owns the cattle on a thousand hills.1 He supplies all our needs.
There is a contrast between godly and kingly rule here. Solomon has a marvelous throne (vv. 19, 20), but there is One who has a higher and greater throne than this, with justice and righteousness as its foundation.2 Solomon reigns over a territory, but Jesus will reign over all the earth. Solomon has enormous wealth: Jesus had everything at his disposal, yet chose to come in humility and meekness.
Apply
How often do we seek the Lord’s renown and fame above our own?
Closing prayer
Almighty God, thank you for the Christians you have put in places of authority and leadership. Help them to be faithful, to seek you first in all that they do, and first and foremost, to be followers of Christ.
1 Ps 50:10 2 Ps 97:2
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