FRAMEWORKS:
1
Kings 10: Solomon's Fame
v.1-13
The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon & is overwhelmed
v.14-23
Solomon's Splendour
v.24-29
The World makes Solomon rich
v.1-13
The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon & is overwhelmed
v.1
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.
v.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.
v.3
Solomon
answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king
to explain to her.
v.4
When
the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace
he had built,
v.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 the temple of the LORD, she was overwhelmed.
v.6
She
said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about
your achievements and your wisdom is true.
v.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.
v.8
How
happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually
stand before you and hear your wisdom!
v.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.”
v.10
And
she gave the king 120 talents 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.
v.11
(Hiram's
ships brought gold from Ophir; and from there they brought great
cargoes of almugwood and precious stones.
v.12 The
king used the almugwood to make supports 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.)
v.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.
[Notes:
This
passage is possibly one of the greatest testimonies in the Bible
to the goodness of God through the reign of Solomon which reveals
His glory to the world.]
v.14-23
Solomon's Splendour
v.14
The
weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly
was 666 talents,
v.15
not
including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all
the Arabian kings and the governors of the territories.
v.16 King
Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered
gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield.
v.17
He
also made three hundred small shields of hammered
gold, with three minas of gold in each shield. The king put
them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.
v.18
Then
the king made a great throne covered with ivory
and overlaid with fine gold.
v.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.
v.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.
v.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.
v.22
The
king had a fleet of trading ships at sea
along with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years it returned,
carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.
v.23
King
Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings
of the earth.
[Notes:
The
splendour of his reign was demonstrated in the abundance of gold
that poured into his kingdom.]
v.24-29
The World makes Solomon rich
v.24
The
whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God
had put in his heart.
v.25
Year
after year, everyone who came brought a gift—articles of silver
and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.
v.26
Solomon
accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots
and twelve thousand horses, which he kept in the chariot
cities and also with him in Jerusalem.
v.27
The
king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as
plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills.
v.28
Solomon's
horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue —the royal merchants
purchased them from Kue at the current price.
v.29
They
imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver,
and a horse for a hundred and fifty. They also exported them
to all the kings of the Hittites and of the Arameans.
[Notes:
The
world drew near to hear the wisdom from God through Solomon, bringing
with them further wealth for his kingdom. This chapter is the pinnacle
of the glory of his kingdom, which makes what follows even more
terrible.]
Design
Criteria
1.
Divided by main sub-headings which are also listed at the
top.
2.
Notes after each section reiterate the content of what has
just been read, or expand or clarify it.
3.
In this particular chapter we have emboldened some words
of the text to help the reader focus on
particularly important points.
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Otherwise the design of this page seeks to be as simple
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