2 CHRONICLES LESSON 9
We will begin this lesson in II Chronicles 9:1 "And when the
queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon
with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company, and
camels that bare spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones:
and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that
was in her heart."
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 addition of the statement "concerning the name
of the LORD", I believe, is very important. The fame of Solomon and
his kingdom had spread to the lands around them. This queen was very
wealthy and came to see Solomon, bringing many camels laden with
gifts. There were so many people named Sheba, that it is difficult to
determine which of the persons the country of Sheba was named for. She
had not only heard of Solomon's great wealth, and magnificent
buildings he had erected, but had heard of his great wisdom, as well.
II Chronicles 9:2 "And Solomon told her all her questions: and
there was nothing hid from Solomon which he told her not."
Solomon spent a great deal of time with her, as he would with any
monarch of honor who visited him. He tried to answer her questions as
fully as he could. He showed her his home and everything else she had
wondered about. She, of course, was not allowed to see the ark.
II Chronicles 9:3 "And when the queen of Sheba had seen the
wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built,"
I am sure that Solomon informed her that his wisdom was a gift
from God. No one could deny that he had great wisdom. His judgements
were just, but filled with wisdom only God could have given him. A
good example of this is how he settled the argument of the two women,
over who the baby belonged to. His house was magnificent. There was
gold and silver in abundance. Some of the greatest artisans of that
day had done the engravings and decorations.
II Chronicles 9:4 "And the meat of his table, and the sitting of
his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel;
his cupbearers also, and their apparel; and his ascent by which he
went up into the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her."
In 1 Kings chapter 4, we went into great detail on the amount of
food furnished for Solomon's table. Solomon, probably, had a state
dinner in her honor. The food so far surpassed anything she had ever
seen, and she was very impressed. Many exotic foods were brought in
from other countries. Solomon had need for nothing. The sitting of the
servants is, possibly, speaking of his officers, who would have been
invited to such an affair. The finest apparel in all the world was
Solomon's. Even the stairs, that he ascended up into the house of the
LORD by, were elegant. "There was no spirit in her" means it was so
wonderful it took her breath away.
II Chronicles 9:5 "And she said to the king, [It was] a true
report which I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy
wisdom:" II Chronicles 9:6 "Howbeit I believed not their words, until
I came, and mine eyes had seen [it]: and, behold, the one half of the
greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: [for] thou exceedest the fame
that I heard." II Chronicles 9:7 "Happy [are] thy men, and happy [are]
these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and hear thy
wisdom."
She had heard of the greatness of Solomon and his kingdom, but
she had not believed any of it, because it seemed impossible. Now that
she had seen this, she was terribly impressed. It was far beyond even
what she had heard. It seems, that all of the greatness of the
buildings and the wealth they represented did not impress her as much,
as the wisdom of Solomon.
II Chronicles 9:8 "Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted
in thee to set thee on his throne, [to be] king for the LORD thy God:
because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore
made he thee king over them, to do judgment and justice."
These words are those of the Queen of Sheba. We can take notice
here, that the queen spoke of the LORD as the God of Solomon, not her
own God. She recognized Him as powerful above other gods, but she did
not express a desire for Him to be her God. This seems so strange,
because she really gave the LORD credit for Solomon's accomplishments.
II Chronicles 9:9 "And she gave the king an hundred and twenty
talents of gold, and of spices great abundance, and precious stones:
neither was there any such spice as the queen of Sheba gave king
Solomon."
120 talents of gold is speaking of $72,000,000.00 worth of gold
at $400.00 per ounce. The spices of the part of Arabia, that she came
from, were well known for being the finest in the world. The precious
stones are not explained any further than here. This was a
tremendously valuable gift to bring Solomon.
II Chronicles 9:10 "And the servants also of Huram, and the
servants of Solomon, which brought gold from Ophir, brought algum
trees and precious stones." II Chronicles 9:11 "And the king made [of]
the algum trees terraces to the house of the LORD, and to the king's
palace, and harps and psalteries for singers: and there were none such
seen before in the land of Judah."
These terraces, made with the algum wood were, probably, the
terraces that were spoken of earlier as the ascent for Solomon to the
temple. The beautiful wood was used for musical instruments, as well.
The decorations, and all of the grandeur associated with the temple
and Solomon's home were, probably, what greatly impressed the queen.
This algum was, probably, red sandal-wood.
II Chronicles 9:12 "And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba
all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside [that] which she had
brought unto the king. So she turned, and went away to her own land,
she and her servants."
We are not told exactly what Solomon gave to the Queen of Sheba.
The things he gave her were, probably, things she could not get in her
own land. Whatever Solomon gave her was even greater than what she had
brought him.
II Chronicles 9:13 "Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon
in one year was six hundred and threescore and six talents of gold;"
The 666 talents of gold would have 999,000 ounces of gold. At
$400.00 per ounce, that would be worth $399,000,000.00. This is almost
beyond comprehension.
II Chronicles 9:14 "Beside [that which] chapmen and merchants
brought. And all the kings of Arabia and governors of the country
brought gold and silver to Solomon."
There were so many ways that Solomon was getting all of this
wealth. He received tribute money, he, probably, charged taxes, on the
merchant seamen, as well. Of course, some of it was gifts from people,
like the Queen of Sheba.
II Chronicles 9:15 "And king Solomon made two hundred targets
[of] beaten gold: six hundred [shekels] of beaten gold went to one
target."
The targets contained about 300 ounces of gold for each target. A
shekel is a half-ounce of gold. This target, on today's market, would
be worth $120,000.00 at $400.00 per ounce. The fact that they made
targets of gold, shows just how plentiful it was.
II Chronicles 9:16 "And three hundred shields [made he of] beaten
gold: three hundred [shekels] of gold went to one shield. And the king
put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon."
Again, these shields contained 150 ounces of gold for each
shield. Each shield would be worth $60,000.00.
II Chronicles 9:17 "Moreover the king made a great throne of
ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold."
This is spoken of, again, in 1 Kings chapter 10 verse 19. The
throne could have been inlaid with ivory, and the wood covered with
gold. It, also, could have been solid gold over ivory.
II Chronicles 9:18 "And [there were] six steps to the throne,
with a footstool of gold, [which were] fastened to the throne, and
stays on each side of the sitting place, and two lions standing by the
stays:" II Chronicles 9:19 "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."
The lions were on either end of each step going up to the throne.
The lion was the emblem for the tribe of Judah. The fact that there
were twelve represented the twelve tribes of Israel. These were
beautifully carved.
II Chronicles 9:20 "And all the drinking vessels of king Solomon
[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 [not] any
thing accounted of in the days of Solomon."
The gold was so abundant, that even the drinking cups were of
gold. This is, probably, speaking of the area where the great banquets
were held. There was much pomp associated with the reign of Solomon.
II Chronicles 9:21 "For the king's ships went to Tarshish with
the servants of Huram: every three years once came the ships of
Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks."
We dealt with this in 1 Kings chapter 10 verse 22. The ships were
a way to bring in the gold and the other items of trade. Tarshish was
across from the coast of Africa. We are not sure whether each voyage
took three years, or not. That would have been a long time to cover
such a short distance. They could have made many stops, however.
II Chronicles 9:22 "And king Solomon passed all the kings of the
earth in riches and wisdom." II Chronicles 9:23 "And all the kings of
the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, that God
had put in his heart."
His gift of wisdom, that God had given him, was one of the
reasons for his great wealth. There was no king before him, or after
him, that had the wealth of Solomon. Of course, this does not include
Jesus who owns everything.
II Chronicles 9:24 "And they brought every man his present,
vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, harness, and
spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year."
The fact that these were brought year by year, indicates that
this was tribute, or taxes. It appears, also, that Solomon accepted
things as well as money for the tribute. Probably, Solomon had so much
gold and silver, that he needed the animals, and harness, and raiment
more than the gold.
II Chronicles 9:25 "And Solomon had four thousand stalls for
horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed in
the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem."
This was the largest number of horses and chariots of any of his
predecessors. It was more than his neighbors, as well. The fact that
they were so well-equipped, probably, was one of the reasons they had
peace. He had some of them in Jerusalem, but had many of them in the
cities in the outskirts to protect Jerusalem.
II Chronicles 9:26 "And he reigned over all the kings from the
river even unto the land of the Philistines, and to the border of
Egypt."
David had defeated these bordering countries in his reign, and
Solomon kept them under subjection to himself.
II Chronicles 9:27 "And the king made silver in Jerusalem as
stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycomore trees that [are] in
the low plains in abundance."
The cedars had been sent into this area by Hiram. They were not
native to the land of Israel. The sycamore tree was native to the
land, and that is the reason for this. The silver was so plentiful,
they did not even bother to weigh it.
II Chronicles 9:28 "And they brought unto Solomon horses out of
Egypt, and out of all lands."
The all lands, here, is speaking of the horses that came from
Arabia, and Armenia.
II Chronicles 9:29 "Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first
and last, [are] they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet,
and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of
Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?"
These works, mentioned here, are not in the Bible. These are
historical works of that day. Nathan had a great deal to do with
Solomon, so his work should be very accurate. Both Ahijah and Iddo are
mentioned in other Scriptures, and their works were, probably, highly
regarded, as well.
II Chronicles 9:30 "And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all
Israel forty years."
Solomon reigned 40 years, and if he was 12 years old when he
began to reign, he was about 52 when he died. We do not know for sure
how old he was when he began to reign, but he was no more than a
youth. His reign was in Jerusalem. The one outstanding thing he was
remembered for, was the building of the temple.
II Chronicles 9:31 "And Solomon slept with his fathers, and he
was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son
reigned in his stead."
The city of David is, of course, Jerusalem. He was buried beside
his father, David. Rehoboam would reign over Judah in the divided
kingdom.
2 Chronicles 9 Questions
1. Why did the Queen of Sheba come to meet Solomon?
2. What did she bring for Solomon?
3. In 1 Kings, the same statement adds what?
4. What was she more interested in than the great wealth of Solomon?
5. What did Solomon tell her?
6. What was a good example of Solomon's wisdom?
7. Why did the food for Solomon's table impress her?
8. What does the statement "there was no spirit in her" mean?
9. After she had seen all of this and talked with Solomon, what was
her reaction?
10. Who did she call God in verse 8?
11. How many talents of gold did she bring Solomon?
12. What other things did she bring him?
13. What had the servants of Huram brought Solomon?
14. What had Solomon made of the algum trees?
15. What did Solomon give the Queen of Sheba?
16. How many talents of gold came to Solomon in one year?
17. How many ounces of gold was this?
18. Where did some of the other gold come from?
19. How much gold was in one target?
20. How much gold was in one shield?
21. The throne was made of what?
22. How many steps led up to the throne?
23. What was at either end of each step?
24. What was the emblem of the tribe of Judah?
25. Why were there twelve of them?
26. What were the drinking vessels made of?
27. Quote 2 Chronicles chapter 9 verse 21.
28. What did all the other kings bring to Solomon?
29. What was meant by them being brought yearly?
30. How many chariots did Solomon have?
31. Silver in Jerusalem was as _____________.
32. How long did Solomon reign?
33. Where was the city of David?
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