1 Kings 10:14-29
14 The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold, 15 besides that from the traveling merchants, from the income of traders, from all the kings of Arabia, and from the governors of the country. 16 And King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. 17 He also made three hundred shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
18 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round at the back; there were armrests on either side of the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the armrests. 20 Twelve lions stood there, one on each side of the six steps; nothing like this had been made for any other kingdom.
21 All King Solomon's drinking vessels were gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Not one was silver, for this was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon. 22 For the king had merchant ships at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the merchant ships came bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and monkeys. 23 So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.
24 Now all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. 25 Each man brought his present: articles of silver and gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, and mules, at a set rate year by year.
26 And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; he had one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king at Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland.
28 Also Solomon had horses imported from Egypt and Keveh; the king's merchants bought them in Keveh at the current price. 29 Now a chariot that was imported from Egypt cost six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse one hundred and fifty; and thus, through their agents, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.
Solomon continued to amass wealth of gold while ruling, even creating his throne of ivory overlaid with gold. Even the cups and plates were made of the precious metal which had made silver as relatively worthless, as common rocks picked up from the ground. God had given what He promised, the unparalleled wisdom and wealth far beyond any king or kingdom. God put wisdom into Solomon’s heart, and people came from all over the known world to consult with and to listen to him. They were also awestruck by the great bounty the LORD of Israel provided him and his people, but they came for the wisdom and then to enjoy the splendor. Solomon also built up a large army to defend all this, including many chariots guarding Jerusalem and other cities. His wisdom included defense as well as wealth, common sense of the God-given gift of wise understanding he had asked for when beginning his reign to lead and shepherd God’s flock (1 Kings 3:9, 12-13). We should also put Christ first, not wealth or power, for wisdom to serve and follow as His disciples is true knowledge of His power and true wealth of the Kingdom of God. Knowing Christ as Lord is truly great wisdom and wealth, real life and happiness. Anything extra He chooses to give is grace to be used in service to Him by helping others to know Him and make Him known.
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