Deeper Commentary
2Ch 9:1 When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she
came to Jerusalem to prove Solomon with hard questions, with a very great
train, and camels that bore spices, and gold in abundance and precious
stones. When she had come to Solomon, she talked with him of all that was in
her heart-
As explained on 2 Chron. 8:18, she would have first encountered
Solomon's servants when they came to Sheba in search of gold, for which
Sheba was famous. "Hard questions" is the word for "riddle". And it seems
Solomon answered her riddles using his book of Proverbs. For he uses the
word in Prov. 1:5,6 about how his Divinely inspired Proverbs were the
answers to such "riddles" of the wise: "These proverbs can even add to the
knowledge of the wise and give guidance to the educated, so that they can
understand the hidden meanings of proverbs and the problems [s.w.
"riddles", "hard questions"] that the wise raise" (GNB). He may have this
wise queen of Sheba in mind, as it was her who raised these "riddles" /
"problems" with him. The Hebrew idea seems to be of trick questions. She came to "prove"
him- what we read of in this chapter is the conversion of a sceptic, but
she ws converted not so much by the ideas, the intellectual gymnastics,
but what she saw with her own eyes of the effect of that wisdom. "No more
spirit in her" (:4) could imply a giving up in a mental fight against
Solomon. She initially didn't believe the words about Solomon (:6).
2Ch 9:2 Solomon told her all her questions; and there was not anything
hidden from Solomon which he didn’t tell her-
"Questions" is a poor translation. Literally, her 'words', s.w. "communed" in :1. He told her the words she had in her mind before she said them. This is the way good conversation goes, this is how people are won for Christ- when you tell them things which they were about to say. Paul uses this method when he foresees and answers questions which he foresees, e.g. "Some man will say, How are the dead raised up?" (1 Cor. 15:35).
"Told her" translates the word used for solving riddles (Jud. 14:13) and
interpreting dreams (Gen. 41:24; Dan. 5:12).
2Ch 9:3 When the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the
house that he had built-
The next verse suggests the "house" she was amazed at was not so much
the temple, as his own house which had taken nearly twice as long to build
and was of a grander nature than the temple. Yet he had prayed in 1 Kings
8 that the temple would be the source of wonder for the Gentile world, and
would of itself bring about the creation of proselytes for Yahweh. But in
reality it was replaced by his own house. We note how she was impressed by
'seeing' his wisdom; she had heard it in theory (:1), but it is the word
made flesh which has the power of personal conversion in practice.
"Seen the wisdom" shows how wisdom and truth are seen in practice, not just heard with the ear. Only as the word becomes flesh in us will our witness of that word be ultimately persuasive to our audience.
2Ch 9:4 and the food of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and
the attendance of his ministers and their clothing, his cup bearers also
and their clothing, and his ascent by which he went up to the house of
Yahweh; there was no more spirit in her-
See on :1. Clearly 'spirit' here means something other than the life
force, it refers to something mental and emotional. The way the Queen of Sheba was given a guided tour of Solomon's wealth
makes ominous connection with Hezekiah's proud parading of his blessings
to the Babylonian ambassadors.
2Ch 9:5 She said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in my own
land of your acts and of your wisdom-
"Report" is s.w. 'word', see note on :3. Hearing reports, wisdom in mere words, is not persuasive of itself until it is seen in practice. The actual content of Solomon's wisdom, perhaps in the form of the
writings we now have as the book of Proverbs, had already been taken to
her. She had heard the words by "report", but "didn't believe the words"
(:6) until she actually saw the word made flesh. And this is typical of so
many people. It is why God speaks His word to us now "in His Son", and why
our witness will be the more effective if we make the word flesh in our
lives.
2Ch 9:6 However I didn’t believe their words until I came, and my eyes had
seen it; and behold, the half of the greatness of your wisdom wasn’t told
me: you exceed the fame that I heard-
As explained on :5, it is hard for people to believe mere words. They
have to see the word made flesh. This is why simply distributing
propositional truths on various media will not of itself convert many
people. The word must be made flesh, and then it is believed. This is why
the person of the Lord Jesus, the word made flesh, must be absolutely and
utterly paramount in our teaching of the Gospel. And it is why public
lecturing about various Gospel truths will never convert as many people as
witnessing that word in the flesh. It is encounter with real persons which
converts real persons, rather than encounter with words and ideas. That is
not to say God's word is not alive and powerful of itself. But people are
people, they are weak, and often they have lacked access to God's word in
its written form. It is the word made flesh in believers of that word
which will be the most powerful witness in practice. By seeing the theory turned into practice, the word made flesh,
she was converted.
2Ch 9:7 Happy are your men-
It is as if she wishes to see David's words about the blessedness or
happiness of the righteous nation and people being fulfilled, or perhaps
it was Solomon trying to fulfil those words (Ps. 1:1; 33:12 etc.). But it
seems this was all an impression Solomon was giving her, for many things
were "rotten in the state of Denmark" as noted throughout 1 Kings 8,9. LXX
gives "wives" for "men", as if she was struck by the happiness of the
wives in his harem, which was unusual. But surely this too was only an
appearance, because Ecclesiastes betrays an unhappy family life in
Solomon's experience.
And happy are these your servants who stand
continually before you, and hear your wisdom-
Joy / happiness is a proof of wisdom in practice. Acts records constant
joy amongst those who accepted Christ, and Heb. 3:6 implies that to stop
rejoicing in the hope means we have lost the spiritual plot completely.
Joy is therefore a necessary hallmark of those who are truly secured in
Christ. The next generation were to complain that Solomon had chastised the
people with whips (1 Kings 12:11). The happiness of the people which the
Queen of Sheba observed was therefore just an impression Solomon arranged
for her to receive.
2Ch 9:8 Blessed be Yahweh your God, who delighted in you to set you on His
throne, to be king for Yahweh your God: because your God loved Israel to
establish them forever, therefore He made you king over them, to do
justice and righteousness-
These are identical words as in 1 Kings 5:7, of Hiram's response. We
are given the impression that they became proselytes because they used the
Yahweh Name; although polytheists could take the name of other gods, such
as Yahweh, without it meaning they had accepted them as their own gods.
Because of God's enthusiasm for human response to His ways, the exalted language in which He describes believers, even in their weakness, is a further essay in His humility. The way the Father runs to the prodigal and falls on his neck in tears is a superb essay in this (Lk. 15:20). Thus God "delighted" in Solomon- translating a Hebrew word meaning literally 'to bend down to'. It's used about men in love (Gen. 34:19; Dt. 21:14; 25:7), and about Jonathan's deferential attitude to David (1 Sam. 19:2).
Although Israel's desire for a human king was a rejection of God as
king, yet God worked through that situation rather than reject them as
they had rejected Him. He accepted the human kingdom of Israel as His
Kingdom on earth. It was God's wish that Israel would not have a human
king; hence His sorrow when they did (1 Sam. 10:19-21). Yet in the Law,
God foresaw that they would want a human king, and so He gave commandments
concerning how he should behave (Dt. 17:14,15). These passages speak of
how Israel would choose to set a King over themselves, and would do so.
Yet God worked through this system of human kings; hence the Queen of
Sheba speaks of how God had set Solomon over Israel as King, and
how he was king on God's behalf (2 Chron. 9:8). Israel set a king over
themselves; but God worked with this, so that in a sense
He set the King over them.
"To establish them forever" shows that she perceived that God's intention was that Solomon's kingdom should be eternal, that he should be the full fulfilment of the Messianic Kingdom and King promised to David. But Israel later complained of how Solomon abused them, and his happy servants of :7 turned against his son, complaining of how harshly Solomon abused them. The great potential wasn't achieved, and so God's prophetic word was delayed and fulfilled a different way in Jesus.
2Ch 9:9 She gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, and
spices in great abundance, and precious stones. Neither was there any such
spice as the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon-
This was about one third of his annual income (:13), which could
imply she was more wealthy than he was. This note seems to imply that spices were never again imported into
Israel, the implication being as Josephus states (Antiquities,
8.6.6), "that the cultivation of the balsam in Palestine dates from this
visit; the plant having been one of the queen’s gifts".
2Ch 9:10 The servants also of Huram, and the servants of Solomon, who
brought gold from Ophir, brought algum trees and precious stones-
"Almug" appears to refer to sandalwood, "the Hebraized form of the
Deccan word for sandal". This points to "Ophir" as being in the east,
possibly as far as the Indian coast where these trees grow.
2Ch 9:11 The king made of the algum trees terraces for the house of Yahweh
and for the king’s house, and harps and stringed instruments for the
singers. There were none like these seen before in the land of Judah-
The idea is of a magnificent staircase with elaborate banisters. This
appears to be the king's "ascent" into the temple which so amazed the
queen of Sheba (:4). This verse is referring back before her visit,
because the almug trees were brought for the temple and for the king's
house, which were already built by the time she visited.
The way the record of Solomon's house follows straight on from that of God's house (1 Kings 6,7) seems to highlight the similarity between them. The house of Yahweh and Solomon's house are often spoke of together (e.g. 2 Chron. 7:11; 8:1; 9:11).The Temple was smaller than Solomon's house' he took nearly twice as long to build it. Clearly he spent more effort at housing his own glory than he did housing God's. The comparisons are intended to show this. The following comparisons put the temple first, and then Solomon's house.
Length: 60 cubits, breadth 20, height 30 (1 Kings 6:2) cp. Length: 100 cubits, breadth 50, height 30 (1 Kings 7:2)
Used cedar pillars and beams (1 Kings 6:9,10)
cp. 1 Kings 7:2
Inner court built with three rows of hewn stone and a row of cedar
beams (1 Kings 6:36 RV) cp. “The great court round about had three rows of
hewn stones, and a row of cedar beams, like as the inner court of the
house of the Lord” (1 Kings 7:12)
Hiram called in to build it (1 Kings 5:1-5)
cp. 1 Kings 7:13
The Most Holy within God's house (1 Kings 7:8)
cp. The "another court within the porch" in his house seems to have
been a replica of the Most Holy within God's house. Here Solomon’s wives
worshipped their idols.
Built on large foundation stones cp. The record of the foundation
stones (7:10) is similar to that of the temple foundations.
The temple had a “porch” (Ez. 8:7,16) cp. The porch of Solomon's house
matches that of the temple (Ez. 8:7,16), which in Ezekiel's time was a
place of apostacy.
Open flowers design of the temple cp.
The two pillars with their pomegranates and lily-work seem to have matched
the open flowers of the temple, and they have ominous connections with
Absalom's pillar of self-glorification (2 Sam. 18:18).
2Ch 9:12 King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatever
she asked, besides that which she had brought to the king. So she returned
to her own land, she and her servants-
"She returned" is s.w. 'to be converted'. She became a proselyte. It is unclear whether this was a genuine gift, or whether it was part
of a trade deal. For she had brought a huge caravan of gifts, and in
return Solomon gave her what she asked for, as well as his own presents
("his royal bounty"). According to Ethiopian tradition, Solomon slept with the queen of Sheba
and she bore Solomon a son called Melimelek. It is possible to interpret
Ps. 45 as a reference to Solomon's relationship with the Queen of Sheba.
2Ch 9:13 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six
hundred and sixty-six talents of gold-
This number occurs in the description of the number and mark of the beast in
Rev. 13:18. It is one of the biggest hints that in fact Solomon's kingdom
was the kingdom of the flesh, and not at all God's Kingdom as had been
promised to David. The apostate religious system called "Babylon" in Revelation is
evidently presented in the language of Solomon - at the time his kingdom
was apparently flourishing, due to his righteousness. 1 Kings 10:14 = Rev.
13:17,18; 1 Kings 10:23 = Rev. 18:11,12,15; 1 Kings 11:1,2 = Rev. 17:1,2;
1 Kings 10:22 = Rev. 18:17,19; 1 Kings 10:23 = Rev. 18:3,17; 1 Kings
10:21,22 = Rev. 18:12; 1 Kings 10:11 = Rev. 18:12; 1 Kings 10:22 = Rev.
18:12; 1 Kings 10:10,25 = Rev. 18:13; 1 Kings 10:23 = Rev. 18:3,9; 1 Kings
10:28 = Rev. 18:12; 1 Kings 9:22 = Rev. 18:13. These allusions of themselves suggest Solomon's spirituality
was a mere appearance. The latter day system which his kingdom looked
ahead to may therefore be Jewish or Jerusalem based, with elements of
apparent obedience to God.
2 Chron. 3:8 says that Solomon used 600 talents of gold on the temple. Seeing he received 666 talents / year, plus the large income from :16, this means that it was not particularly generous. One talent is 26 kilograms (57 pounds). 1 kilogram of gold is currently worth about 40,000 US$ [2020].
2Ch 9:14 besides that which the traders and merchants brought. All the
kings of Arabia and the governors of the country brought gold and silver
to Solomon-
LXX understand this as tribute, the taxes he charged on trading with
his ships or through his territory; and in addition there was the income
from the taxation system described in 1 Kings 4.
2Ch 9:15 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold; six
hundred shekels of beaten gold went to one large shield-
The apostate religious system called "Babylon" in Revelation is
evidently presented in the language of Solomon - at the time his kingdom
was apparently flourishing, due to his righteousness. 1 Kings 10:14 = Rev.
13:17,18; 1 Kings 10:23 = Rev. 18:11,12,15; 1 Kings 11:1,2 = Rev. 17:1,2;
1 Kings 10:22 = Rev. 18:17,19; 1 Kings 10:23 = Rev. 18:3,17; 1 Kings
10:21,22 = Rev. 18:12; 1 Kings 10:11 = Rev. 18:12; 1 Kings 10:22 = Rev.
18:12; 1 Kings 10:10,25 = Rev. 18:13; 1 Kings 10:23 = Rev. 18:3,9; 1 Kings
10:28 = Rev. 18:12; 1 Kings 9:22 = Rev. 18:13; 2 Chron. 9:15 (666) = Rev.
13:18. These allusions of themselves suggest Solomon was fairly wrotten
from the start, and his spirituality a mere appearance.
2Ch 9:16 He made three hundred other shields 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-
1 Kings 10:17 says that "three minas of gold went to one shield". 2 Chron. 9:16 says they weighed 300 shekels each, meaning that one
mina was 100 shekels; although the definitions seemed to vary over time
(Ez. 45:12). There were 60 shekels to one talent. But this hanging of
shields on the walls was exactly what was done in Tyre (Ez. 27:11,12), so
as noted earlier, it seems Solomon was copying Tyre as well as other
Gentiles. Song 4:4 speaks of 1000 shields hanging "on the tower of David".
This may be an exaggerated number, or it could be that these shields
combined with those David had taken (see on :16) were 1000 in number.
Is. 2:6-13 condemns Israel for their pride whilst making many
allusions to Solomon: "Full of silver and gold, neither is there any end
of their treasures... full of horses... chariots... idols... the work of
their own hands... the cedars of Lebanon" (i.e. Solomon's armoury of 1
Kings 7:2,3; 10:17). The amount of cedar used for Solomon's house as well
as the temple would have probably resulted in the deforestation of parts
of Lebanon in order to provide this number of mature cedar trees. To cover
an area of 100 x 50 cubits (1 Kings 7:2) with a roof of cedar (1 Kings
7:3) would have required 5000 square cubits of cedar wood if it were a
flat roof, and more if the roof was angled; although it could be that not
all the area was covered, i.e. there may have been a courtyard. But
if it was, then we can better understand why it was called "the house of
the forest of Lebanon" (1 Kings 10:17; Is. 22:8). About a whole forest of
Lebanon would have been felled and transported to Jerusalem for all this
building work.
2Ch 9:17 Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it
with pure gold-
"Ivory" is literally "tooth". It was likely made of wood
overlaid with ivory and then gold, just as the 'house of ivory' (1 Kings
22:39) and 'bed of ivory' (Am. 6:4) were likewise not made of solid ivory.
Ivory thrones were typical of the kings of Assyria, and we wonder if again
this is evidence of pagan influence upon Solomon. God had promised to
establish David's throne for ever, and Solomon wrongly assumed this was
fulfilled in him and therefore he glorified his literal throne. This is
typical of his total lack of spiritual perspective.
2Ch 9:18 And there were six steps to the throne, with a footstool of gold,
which were fastened to the throne, and stays on either side by the place
of the seat, and two lions standing beside the stays-
The six steps stressed the elevation of the throne. It is God's
throne which alone is exalted (Is. 6:1). But Solomon justified his self
exaltation on the basis that he had been exalted by God, and his throne
was God's throne. He repeatedly refused to accept the conditionality of
what had been promised to him. The two lions were surely part of the 12
lions of :20. Clearly two of the 12 lions [tribes of Israel] were seen as
more exalted. This implies the supremacy of Judah over the ten tribes- and
yet this kind of human point scoring was built in to what was supposed to
be a replica of God's throne. Solomon was quite unawed by God's glory. For
if he had been, he would have realized that before Him, all the tribes
were equal.
Here Solomon starts to play God, because the idea of having a throne
over the 12 tribes of Israel with a footstool is the language of God's
throne.
The porch of Solomon's house matches that of the temple (Ez. 8:7,16),
which in Ezekiel's time was a place of apostacy. Solomon's own house was
undeniably larger than God's, although built with the same layout (e.g. 1
Kings 6:2 cp. 7:2; 6:36 cp. 7:12; 5:1-5 cp. 7:13). The
"another court within the porch" in his house seems to have been a replica
of the Most Holy within God's house (1 Kings 7:8), yet it was here that
Solomon's wives worshipped their idols. Likewise the record of the
foundation stones (7:10) is similar to that of the temple foundations.
The two pillars with their pomegranates and lily-work seem to have matched
the open flowers of the temple, and they have ominous connections with
Absalom's pillar of self-glorification (2 Sam. 18:18). Worst of all,
Solomon's throne seems to have been built with allusion to Yahweh's
enthronement upon the praises of Israel in the Most Holy. The temple steps
are mentioned in the context of the steps to Solomon's throne (2 Chron.
9:4,18).
2Ch 9:19 Twelve lions stood there on both sides of the six steps: there
was nothing like it made in any kingdom-
This extraordinary throne received so much attention from Solomon
because he was convinced that the promises about David's throne being
eternal were fulfilled in him. And so he effectively portrayed it as God's
throne, with the 12 lions representing the tribes of Israel ruled over by
him. After the division of the kingdom, the throne would have been a sad
piece of furniture. But the 12 lions were found on each side of the steps,
making 24. This is a number associated with the throne room of God, with
24 elders or division of Angels before it (Rev. 4:4; 5:8; 11:16; 19:4).
Perhaps Solomon was aware of this, and so he was making his throne an
imitation of God's. The lion was specifically the symbol of Judah (Gen.
49:9); again, Solomon was inserting a subtext of Judah's domination of the
rest of Israel. All Israel were to fall under the overall characterization
of Judah.
If there were 12 lions on each side of the throne on each of the six steps then we have a total of 144 lions. The 144,000 before God's throne was an allusion to how royalty considered 144 a significant number. Solomon was acting as God, assuming his kingdom was the Kingdom of God, that he was the promised Messiah son of David, yet without the spirituality required for that. When have we played God?
The way Solomon built a huge physical throne, defended by impressive lions of his own creation (1 Kings 10:19,20), rather indicates how he missed the entire point- of ruling on God's throne, over a dynasty or 'throne' which God would perpetuate by grace; rather than establishing or creating the throne himself.
2Ch 9:20 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. Silver
was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon-
However, Solomon only received 666 talents of gold / year (:13); and
Alexander’s pillage of Ectabana was estimated at 120,000 talents of gold.
So Solomon's wealth was not so great, relatively speaking. But it appeared
like that, relative to the earlier poverty of a subsistence farming
economy like Israel had been before Solomon.
“He that loves silver (as Solomon did, Ecc. 2:8; 1 Kings 10:21-29)
shall not be satisfied with silver (as he wasn’t- see Ecc. 2); nor he that
loves abundance (s.w. used about the abundance of Solomon’s wives, 2
Chron. 11:23) with increase. When goods increase, they are increased that
eat them (cp. the large numbers at his table, 1 Kings 4:27)” (Ecc.
5:10,11). The Hebrew word translated “not be satisfied” occurs around 25
times in the Proverbs, with Solomon warning of how the way of the flesh
couldn’t satisfy. Solomon said all this with an eye on himself. He
preached it to others, he felt deeply the truth of it, but he saw no
personal way out of it. All he had was the accurate knowledge of his
situation, but no real motivation to change- like the alcoholic or drug
abuser who knows every aspect of the harm of his habit.
2Ch 9:21 For the king had ships that went to Tarshish with the servants of
Huram; once every three years came the ships of Tarshish, bringing gold,
silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks-
The abundance of gold and silver is explained on the basis of the
fact that Solomon had a "navy of Tarshish" along with that of Hiram. And
along with the gold and silver therefore came ivory, apes and peacocks.
The association of these five items together points to trading with areas
to the south and east of Israel. There is no way that "Tarshish" can refer
to Britain because these items are simply not found there in abundance,
and apes and elephants [for the ivory] are hardly natives of Britain. The
word for "peacocks" appears to be a Hebraized form of an Indian word. The
location of the trading partners is consistently areas to the south and
east of Israel, not to the west. "Tarshish" may not in this context refer
to a particular location. Rather is it a play on the meaning of the word,
'endurance / long distance', and refers to long distance trading vessels;
just as in the 19th century, such vessels were known as "Indiamen", even
if they were not bound for India. Likewise minibuses in the USSR were
known as "Latvias" but that didn't mean they were located in Latvia nor
were going there. Comparing 2 Chron. 8:18 and 1 Kings 9:26, it seems that
the navy of Solomon was initially based around the navy of Hiram. Hiram
had transported his ships to the sea overland through Israel, and Solomon
decided to have them build ships for him at their port of departure, so
that his traders could accompany the men of Tyre. The ships were perhaps
"sent" in the form of wooden structures which were then assembled at the
port. But then Solomon began to have the men of Tyre build him his own
ships, so that his navy was separate to that of Hiram. But they journeyed
together, trading up and down the gulf and as far as India; returning
every three years to port and transporting their valuable profits overland
back to Israel and thence to Tyre. Each visit to a port would have taken
some time, and they would have gained the gold, silver etc. through
trading rather than thieving. So they would have bought good from one
place and sold them at another, and after three years they had accumulated
boats full of gold and silver which amounted to their profits.
2Ch 9:22 So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and
wisdom-
These are the kings of the earth / land promised to Abraham, which is
the same reference of :23. These are the kings of :25 LXX "and he ruled
over all the kings from the river to the land of the Philistines, and to
the borders of Egypt". The river Euphrates and the borders of Egypt were
the eretz promised to Abraham.
2Ch 9:23 All the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to
hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart-
This refers to the earth / land promised to Abraham, the eretz
of :22. As with the queen of Sheba, we note that they wanted
to hear his wisdom from his actual mouth, in his presence; rather than
just hear the ideas, which could easily enough have been relayed by word
of mouth or even in writing. But for most people, the word has to become
flesh to be persuasive. And so it is that God speaks to us in His Son,
having earlier spoken solely through His written word. And our preaching
of the word is likewise so far more effective through it being made flesh
in us, as it was in the Lord, rather than being solely communicated
through the written medium.
2Ch 9:24 They brought each man his tribute, vessels of silver, and vessels
of gold, and clothing, armour, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year
by year-
The
nations traded their material wealth for spiritual instruction, coming
annually to Jerusalem for instruction (2 Chron. 9:23,24).
"A rate" would suggest Solomon began to charge for his wisdom- when it was God's wisdom. Even if it is argued that the gifts were totally voluntary, we recall how Daniel and others despised the gifts of kings offered in return for their having shared God's wisdom with them. Should wisdom ever really be paid for?
The first mention of mules in the Bible is associated with Absalom's murder of Amnon his brother (2 Sam. 13:29). They were cross bred in disobedience to Lev. 19:19. We get the impression that a generally slack attitude to what might have been considered minor matters of the law was associated with the major sin of murder. This is the problem when we start to think that some parts of God's laws can just be ignored. David was fond of them, having his own mule (1 Kings 1:33), and Solomon was willing to receive them as tribute (1 Kings 10:25).
2Ch 9:25 Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and
twelve thousand horsemen that he stationed in the chariot cities, and with
the king at Jerusalem-
All in total disobedience to Dt. 17:16-20. When have we been blind to
clear commandments, whilst preaching God's wisdom so well to others?
Solomon had obsessive tendencies. We know that he became addicted to
finding pleasure in women, and Ecc. 2 shows him racing down the road of
obsession with architecture, alcohol, food, gold etc. The historical
narratives so often mention his gold and silver (e.g. 2 Chron.
9:13-21,24,27). This repetition reflects Solomon's obsession. The same
fact explains the record's repetition of Solomon's enthusiasm for horses
(1 Kings 10:25-29; 4:26,28; 9:19,22; 2 Chron. 1:14,16,17; 8:6,9;
9:24,25,28). Yet amassing of gold, silver and horses was explicitly
forbidden for the King of Israel (Dt. 17:17). There is a powerful point to
be made here: we can deceive ourselves that God is blessing us, when
actually we are breaching explicit commands. Would Solomon had understood
the concept of self-examination.
2Ch 9:26 He ruled over all the kings from the River even to the land of
the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt-
Israel was at its largest extent in Solomon's Kingdom; lost land was
restored, and the borders re-established (2 Chron. 9:26; 8:4 cp. Josh.
16:3,5); it was also at its political strongest; nations submitted to
Solomon (1 Kings 4:20); Israel was the chief of the nations (1 Kings
4:21).
2Ch 9:27 The king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and he made
cedars to be as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland, for abundance-
All typical of the future Kingdom of God. This could mean that he planted cedars in Israel, perhaps
transplanting them from Lebanon; for his wisdom included being given
wisdom about plants. And that wisdom was for the sake of the blessing and
wise leadership of God's people Israel.
2Ch 9:28 They brought horses for Solomon out of Egypt, and out of all
lands-
Solomon started off as a middleman in the horse trade, buying horses from Egypt and selling them to the Hittite and Syrian kings (2 Chron.
1:16,17; 1 Kings 10:25,29); but he was playing with fire, and he soon
came to flout the spirit of the command not to buy horses from Egypt.
It’s rather like the brother who works in a video store starting to watch
the blue movies which he handles daily. Solomon would have justified it
initially by saying that the horses were not for himself; just as we saw
he justified his Egyptian wife by the thought that Joseph also
married an Egyptian girl.
2Ch 9:29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, aren’t they
written in the history of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of
Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning
Jeroboam the son of Nebat?_
We can imagine that all of these prophets would have been critical of
Solomon. He was therefore mentioned in the judgments against Jeroboam.
2Ch 9:30 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years-
Saul, David and Solomon are all said to have reigned for "forty
years", but the similarity is such that we wonder whether this isn't a
symbolic period. For numbers were not used in Semitic literature in the
precise way which we are accustomed to. Thus three consecutive kings of
Babylon, Saosduchinus, Chiniladanus, and Nabopolassar are each recorded as
having reigned 21 years.
2Ch 9:31 Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of
David his father. Rehoboam his son reigned in his place-
The description of death as sleeping with fathers is clear evidence that
death is seen as a sleep, unconsciousness, and not as the start of an
immortal soul going to heaven or 'hell'. Good and bad, David and Solomon,
are gathered together in death. The division between them will only
therefore come at the resurrection of the dead, and the granting of
immortality at the judgment seat of the Lord Jesus.
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