Verse 22: So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.
So King Solomon had it all: gold, silver, success, wives, and on top it all, wisdom. His fame reached out 1500 miles from Jerusalem and touched the ear of Queen Sheba. When she heard of how great Solomon's kingdom was prospering, naturally, she wanted to see it for herself.
When she got to Jerusalem, she was astounded by all that she heard and saw. Indeed, King Solomon exceeded her expectation, and as a result, left him with lots and lots of....you guessed it, gold and spices galore.
On top of all his wealth, the Kings from Arabia and Governors of provinces gave him tons of gold and silver. Merchants and traders also generated revenue for King Solomon, because their trading routes from Egypt to Mesopotamia runs through Israel.
With all of these wealth, King Solomon turned many of his household items and eating utensils into gold. He even built himself a throne, which was "immaculate" in its design. Personally, I preferred less giant cats gold sculptures beside my seat. .......Anyway, he collected tons gold and stored multiple chariots, amassed more horses and married more women than anyone who has ever lived. In the modern slang,.... "he had it made."
Unfortunately, in this particular case, what Solomon did (example: amassed horses) ran contrary to what God had stated in the past to Israel. The reason is that people tend to trust in military might than on the power of God. Deuteronomy 17: 16&17 the Lord says, "But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the LORD has said to you, ‘You shall not return that way again.’ Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself."
Well, somewhere along the latter part of his life, amidst all of his kingdom's prosperity, Solomon finally realized that all of these stuff did not mean a thing. This is when he wrote the book of 'Ecclesiastes.' King Solomon nicely summed it all up in the last two verses in Ecclesiates, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil."
From this chapter, we learn that King Solomon was an imperfect picture of Jesus Christ. With all the lavish table spreads, golden utensils, prepared foods and royal garments that adorned Solomon's guests and servants, they were all dimmed compared to what Jesus Christ is going to do with His bride-the Church, one day in glory! And as for Queen Sheba, she depicts you and I coming to Jesus Christ and giving our all to him. Do you want to dine with Jesus, then come to the table!
Prayer: Lord, help us to put our trust in you each and everyday. Help us to see that materialism and money in the bank often times stumbles us to think that we got it made. Help us to seek you first in our hearts. May we surrender our all to you every moment of our lives. Thank you that you have called and invited us to the banquet table to fellowship with you!
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