1 KINGS LESSON 14


     We will begin this lesson in I Kings 10:1 "And when the queen of
Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD,
she came to prove him with hard questions."

     The fame of Solomon had become apparent in the world of that day.
The great wealth he had accumulated, along with all of the cities he
built, had been widely known. His greatest achievement in building the
temple to the LORD was, also, widely known. His palace was, also, of
astounding beauty. The Queen of Sheba comes to see for herself, if all
of this is really true, or just a fable. There are various opinions of
where Sheba was. It could have been either Ethiopian, or Arabian. It
really does not matter for the study here. We do know that her wealth
was great, as well. She was rich in gold, and jewels, and spices. She
had come to see for herself this greatness. She had been told of his
great wisdom, as well. She had many questions to ask him, to see if he
was truly wise.

     I Kings 10:2 "And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train,
with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones:
and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that
was in her heart."

     The items she brought would indicate that she was an Arabian.
Yemen is the country best known for spices. At this time, there
appeared to be much gold there, as well. One writer said there were
huge nuggets of gold found in that area. The onyx, emerald, and
turquoise were plentiful. This caravan of camels were loaded down with
gifts for Solomon. He received her as royalty, and she talked with him
at length, to get her questions answered.

     I Kings 10:3 "And Solomon told her all her questions: there was
not [any] thing hid from the king, which he told her not."

     It seems, Solomon held nothing back. He answered all of her
questions. It appeared, that her questions were not easy ones. They
had been of great interest to her, for her to make this long trip by
camel.

     I Kings 10:4 "And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's
wisdom, and the house that he had built," I Kings 10:5 "And the meat
of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of
his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent
by which he went up unto the house of the LORD; there was no more
spirit in her."

     When she saw and heard all of Solomon, she was overwhelmed. She
saw Solomon's palace, and all of the beautiful cedar of Lebanon it was
built with. The temple of the LORD, she saw just from the outside. She
could not believe the lavish way they lived. They had abundance of
meat to eat. They had lavish clothing, as well. Solomon had hundreds
in attendance to him in his palace. This is far more than she had even
heard. The ascent speaks of the burnt offering.

     I Kings 10:6 "And she said to the king, It was a true report that
I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom."

     She had heard, before she came, of the power, prestige, and
wisdom of Solomon. Nearly every time a person hears a story such as
she had heard, it was an exaggeration. She told Solomon that it
certainly was no exaggeration in this case. It was all true. She had
seen it for herself.

     I Kings 10:7 "Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and
mine eyes had seen [it]: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy
wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard."

     She admits to Solomon that she did not believe it, until she saw
it with her own eyes. Not only was it all true, but it had been
understated. Notice, she placed his wisdom before his prosperity.

     I Kings 10:8 "Happy [are] thy men, happy [are] these thy
servants, which stand continually before thee, [and] that hear thy
wisdom."

     The happiness of his men was, also, a surprise to her. She could
not believe the loyalty and respect, that even the servants had for
Solomon.

     I Kings 10:9 "Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in
thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved
Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and
justice."

     The queen was pretty smart, herself. She immediately realized
that all of this had come from the LORD, Solomon's God. She said, you
are blessed with all of this, because the LORD loves you. She adds
that the LORD had always loved Israel. The judgement and justice of
Solomon were gifts from God. He judges righteously. She was very
impressed with Solomon, and even more impressed with Solomon's God.

     I Kings 10:10 "And she gave the king an hundred and twenty
talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones:
there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen
of Sheba gave to king Solomon."

     One talent is supposed to weigh 125 pounds, so this is a very
large amount of gold. In the last lesson, we figured at $400.00 per
ounce, this would be worth $72,000,000.00 in gold. The spices were in
great abundance, as well. The stones have no number or amount, but we
can assume they were great in number, also. Solomon was the richest
man in the world, and from these gifts of gold from the Queen of Sheba
and from Hiram, we can understand why.

     I Kings 10:11 "And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from
Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious
stones."

     "Almug" was, probably, sandal-wood which is beautiful for
carving. It would have been suitable for making musical instruments.
Again, we see gold and precious stones. Ophir was a prominent gold
producing land in the days of Solomon.

     I Kings 10:12 "And the king made of the almug trees pillars for
the house of the LORD, and for the king's house, harps also and
psalteries for singers: there came no such almug trees, nor were seen
unto this day."

     This was beautiful wood used for fine woodworking. These pillars
were as much for beauty, as for strength. There are no almug trees
known today in Israel.

     I Kings 10:13 "And king Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all
her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside [that] which Solomon gave her
of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she
and her servants."

     We are not told what Solomon gave her. We do know that he would
not send her back with nothing, after she had lavished such gifts upon
him.  We may safely assume, that the things he gave her were things
not plentiful in her country.

     I Kings 10:14  "Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in
one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold,"

     This is speaking of 666 talents of gold, which is 83,250 pounds.
This is 999,000 ounces. At $400.00 per ounce, this is $399,600,000.00.

     I Kings 10:15 "Beside [that he had] of the merchantmen, and of
the traffick of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia,
and of the governors of the country."

     The ships were, possibly, used for personal trade by Solomon. The
merchantmen were traders for him.

     I Kings 10:16  "And king Solomon made two hundred targets [of]
beaten gold: six hundred [shekels] of gold went to one target."

     A shekel is a half-ounce of gold. This means there were 300
ounces of gold in each target. At $400.00 per ounce, each target would
be worth $120,000.00.

     I Kings 10:17 "And [he made] three hundred shields [of] beaten
gold; three pound of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in
the house of the forest of Lebanon."

     In gold, 12 ounces makes a pound. So there were 36 ounces of gold
in each shield. Again, at $400.00 an ounce gold, each shield cost
$14,400.00. 300 shields would be worth $4,320,000.00. All of this
shows the extreme wealth of Solomon and the Israelites. This sort of
thing would be classed as an extravagance.

     I Kings 10:18  "Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory,
and overlaid it with the best gold."

     We do not know if this chair was solid ivory or just ivory
overlaid. Whatever was the case, the ivory was covered with gold. This
was an extravagant throne, as was everything else in the palace.

     I Kings 10:19 "The throne had six steps, and the top of the
throne [was] round behind: and [there were] stays on either side on
the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays."

     The lion is a symbol of power. Perhaps, that is why they were at
either side. These sound like intricate carvings on the throne. The
steps were, possibly, carved wood, as well. The lions were, possibly,
wood overlaid with gold.

     I Kings 10:20 "And twelve lions stood there on the one side and
on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any
kingdom."

     There was a carving of a lion at each end of each step.

     I Kings 10:21  "And 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; none [were of] silver: it was nothing accounted of in
the days of Solomon."

     This is speaking of the very lavish living conditions of Solomon.
This gold was not alloyed with silver, it was pure gold. This was the
most lavish palace in all the world.

     I Kings 10:22 "For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish with
the navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of Tharshish,
bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks."

     We can easily see that these ships were gathering even more
wealth for Solomon. It seemed to take three years for each voyage.
There was so much wealth being brought in, that silver was not thought
of too highly. Gold is, generally, 15 to 20 times as valuable as
silver by the ounce. Solomon preferred the most valuable for his
palace.

     I Kings 10:23 "So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the
earth for riches and for wisdom." I Kings 10:24  "And all the earth
sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his
heart."

     This leaves no doubt that Solomon, truly, was the richest man in
the world. His wisdom had helped him attain this great wealth, and
keep it. It was all because the blessings of God were upon him. The
wisdom of Solomon was a gift the LORD had given him, because he asked
for it to rule his people fairly. The wealth was, also, a gift from
God, because he did not ask for wealth.

     I Kings 10:25 "And they brought every man his present, vessels of
silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices,
horses, and mules, a rate year by year."

     Whether this is tribute levied every year, or whether these are
just gifts of gratitude, we are not told. The fact they are done
yearly would indicate a tax. The word "present" makes them appear to
be offerings of their own free will.

     I Kings 10:26  "And Solomon gathered together chariots and
horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve
thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and
with the king at Jerusalem."

     With all of this wealth, he would have had to have an army, to
keep what he had. They had a large standing army, but they were well
equipped, as well, with the chariots and horses. Solomon was a man of
peace, but the best way to have peace was to be very strong
militarily.

     I Kings 10:27 "And the king made silver [to be] in Jerusalem as
stones, and cedars made he [to be] as the sycomore trees that [are] in
the vale, for abundance."

     There was so much silver that came in, that it was not thought of
as great value. The abundance of it made it seem almost worthless.
There were so many cedars used in the buildings of the temple and the
palace, that they seemed to be more plentiful than the native trees.
We remember, they were floated down the river for use in the building
of the temple and Solomon's palace.

     I Kings 10:28  "And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and
linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price."

     The wealth of many nations had been congregated in Jerusalem.
Israel had been an army on foot primarily. Now, it seems, they have
imported horses.

     I Kings 10:29 "And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for
six hundred [shekels] of silver, and an horse for an hundred and
fifty: and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of
Syria, did they bring [them] out by their means."

     A shekel was a half ounce of silver. The chariot cost 300 ounces
of silver. With silver at $5.00 per ounce it would have cost $1500.00.
A horse cost 75 ounces of silver. This would mean the horse would cost
$375.00 at $5.00 an ounce. The horses and chariots were, primarily, to
ward off attack by the Syrians and the Hittites. They must show
strength to keep from going to war.




                        1 Kings 14 Questions


1.  What did the Queen of Sheba do, when she heard about Solomon?
2.  What had been Solomon's greatest achievement?
3.  Why did she ask him questions?
4.  What did she bring to Jerusalem with her?
5.  What were some of the gifts she brought Solomon?
6.  What did Solomon tell her?
7.  When she had seen his wisdom and all that he built, what effect
    did it have on her?
8.  What did she notice about his servants?
9.  What did she say to the king in verse 6?
10. What does she admit to Solomon?
11. In verse 9, who does the Queen of Sheba bless for all of this?
12. How much gold did she give Solomon?
13. At $400.00 per ounce, how much value is that?
14. The navy of Hiram brought gold from _________.
15. What kind of wood is "almug"?
16. What did Solomon make of the almug tree?
17. What did Solomon give the queen of Sheba?
18. What was the weight of gold, that came to Solomon in one year?
19. What were the 200 targets made of?
20. How many shields did he make of beaten gold?
21. How much gold was in one shield?
22. What was Solomon's throne made of?
23. How many steps did the throne have?
24. What was on each step?
25. What were Solomon's drinking vessels made of?
26. How often did the ships come with more wealth?
27. What did all the earth seek Solomon for?
28. In verse 25, what makes this seem like a tax?
29. How many chariots did Solomon have?
30. Where did he get his horses?
31. How much did each chariot cost Solomon?