I
Kings 10
The Visit of the Queen
of
The last words of the preceding chapter spoke of Solomon’s
fleet, of its voyages,
and the treasures it brought home. The historian now
proceeds to tell of one result
to which these voyages led. The fame of the king and his
great undertakings was
so widely diffused, and excited so much wonder and
curiosity, that a queen of
marvels of Solomon’s city and court. The prediction of
Solomon’s prayer (ch. 8:42)
has soon had a fulfillment.
1 “And when the queen
of
by ab;v]
we are to understand the
that while Genesis
25:3 (cf. I Chronicles 1:32) speaks of
one of the colonists of southern
another
or an Ethiopian princess, and it is alleged that she was
the latter by Josephus, who
calls her “queen of
traditions of the Abyssinian church. But the kingdoms of
(ab;s]) are entirely distinct (Psalm 72:10), the latter being the
name both of the
capital and country of
the former in like manner designates both the chief city
and also the kingdom of the
Sabeans (Job 1:15). This tribe would seem to have grown richer and
stronger than
all the other Arabian peoples by means of its commercial
enterprise, and it was
especially famed for its gold, gems, and spices (Ezekiel
27:22; Jeremiah 6:20;
Isaiah 60:6; Joel 3:8; Job 6:19; Psalm 72:10). It is
noticeable that in both kingdoms
government by female sovereigns was not uncommon (cf. Acts
8:27); but it is very
remarkable to find any country under the rule of a queen at
this early date.
“heard of the
fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came
to prove him with
hard questions.” The record of this visit, following immediately
upon the mention of the voyages (ch.
9:26), is a grain of evidence in favor of locating
Ophir in
and extensive collections of these have been made by Burckhardt and others
(see Keil in loc.) According to Dius (cited in Josephus, Contra Ap. 1:17. 18) Solomon
also had dialectical encounters with Hiram and with Abdemon, or, according to
Menander,
a younger son of Abdemon, a man of
2 “And she came to
lays stress on this long journed
(Matthew 12:42; Luke 11:31) – “with a very
great train,” - Thenius understands the words of an armed escort, which may well
have been necessary considering the countries through which she passed, and the
treasures she carried. It would also be quite in the spirit of the age that the queen
should
be escorted by a band of her soldiers - “with camels that bare spices,
and very much
gold, and precious stones:” – such a
procession as this would
create great astonishment in
line the bazaars as she passed, and the acclamations with
which they would greet
the queen (cf. 1:40; Matthew 21:9) and her swart attendants. The perfumes
of
Arabia are proverbial (see Herod. 3:107-113), and
country. The onyx, emerald, and turquoise are still
found in
times
the variety was apparently much greater (Plin., Nat.
Hist. 37.) - “and
when
she was come to
Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.”
These may well have been religious discourses.
3 “And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any
thing
hid from the
king, which he told her not. 4 And when the queen of
had seen all
Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built,”
Josephus says she was especially astonished at the h ouse of the forest
of
the attendance of his
ministers, and their apparel,” - The rich and costly dress
of Eastern courtiers and attendants is sometimes furnished
by the king (Genesis 45:22;
I Samuel 18:4; II Kings 5:5; Daniel 5:7) - “and his cupbearers, and his ascent by
which he went up
unto the house of the LORD; there was no more
spirit in her.
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. 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. 8 Happy are thy men,
happy are these
thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that
hear thy
wisdom. 9
Blessed be the LORD thy God,” - From this mention of
the name of Jehovah, taken in connection with Matthew
12:42, it has been
concluded that the queen became a convert to the faith of
is unwarranted. Polytheism permitted, and, indeed,
encouraged, a full recognition
of the gods many of the different races and regions (See ch. 5:7, II Chronicles 2:12
and Ezra 1:3). Observe, too, it is “Jehovah, thy God.”
And it is very significant that
all her gifts and treasures were for the king; none were
offerings to the temple -
“which delighted
in thee, to set thee on the throne of
LORD loved
This visit was as flattering to the pride of the chosen people as to their king -
“therefore made
he thee king, to do judgment and justice.”
10 “And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of
gold, and
of spices very
great store,” - The immense abundance of spices in
is noted by many writers. Herodotus says that the whole tract exhaled an odor
marvelously
sweet (3:113). Diodorus relates that the odor was carried out to
sea to a considerable distance from the shore (3:46). According to Strabo the
spice
trade of
Gerrhaeans, whose profits from it were so enormous that in his time they were
the two wealthiest nations on the face of the earth (16. 4. 19),” Rawlinson],
“and precious
stones: there came no more such abundance of spices
as these which
the queen of
states
(
this visit; the plant having been one of the queen’s gifts.
The two following verses form a sort of parenthesis. In speaking of the gold
and gems brought by the Arabian queen, it occurs to the historian to state that
both of these commodities were also brought in by the fleet. Possibly, too, the
mention of the spices reminded him of the fragrant almug trees brought from
Ophir (Bahr). But it would rather seem that they are included as one of the
chief products of the voyage.
11 “And the navy also
of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought
in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees,” - It is pretty generally agreed
that the red sandalwood (pterocarpus sandaliorus, Linn.; or, according to
others, santalum album, the white species) is intended — a tree which grows
in
called
valguha (same root); and
of
the
well as fine-grained, and
unlike many other aromatic woods it retains its fragrance
for decades. The sandalwood
fragrance is very distinctive and is used in countless
applications. Sandalwood has
been valued and treasured for many years for its
fragrance, carving, medical,
and religious qualities – Wikipedia) -
“and precious
stones.”
12 “And the king made
of the almug trees pillars for the house of the
LORD, and for the
king's house,” - Keil understands “steps with banisters”,
others benches or similar movables – “harps also and psalteries for singers:”
stringed instruments but their precise shape and character
is quite uncertain –
“there came no
such almug trees, nor were seen unto this day.” The
wood was no doubt purchased at the emporium of Ophir. The intrinsic
nature
of the wood, and its intrinsically valuable nature, may
easily be inferred from its
use for the woodwork and sounding-board woodwork of musical
instruments.
(See also II Chronicles 9:11)
13 “And king Solomon
gave unto the queen of
whatsoever she
asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his
royal
bounty. The chronicler (Ibid.) says “beside that which she had
brought unto the king.” That is to say, in addition to the fitting presents
which he made in return for her gifts, he freely gave her whatsoever she
asked for. To ask for a coveted thing is no breach of Oriental propriety.
The Ethiopian Christians find in these words (and considering the character
of Solomon and the license of that age, perhaps not altogether without
reason) a basis for their belief that she bore Solomon a son, Melimelek
by
name, from whom, indeed, the present
sovereigns of
derive
their descent. “So she turned and went to her own country, she
and her servants.
Bishop Wordsworth has remarked (p. 44) that the record of this visit
disappoints us. He says, “He (Solomon) answered her hard questions. He
showed
her his palace… but
we do not hear that he invited her to go up
with him into the
house of the Lord,” etc. Again: “The visit of the queen of
adds,
“we hear nothing of any attempt on Solomon’s part to
improve his
friendship and commercial relations with Hiram into an
occasion for
communicating the better
merchandise of Divine truth to the Sidonians.”
But surely this criticism overlooks the fact that Judaism was not a
missionary religion, and that the chosen people had no sort of commission
to convert the heathen, It is, no doubt, a mystery; but it is a fact, that for
2,000 years the light of God’s truth was, by the counsel and purpose of
God,
restricted within the extremely narrow confines of
“fullness of the time,” when the Gentiles should be “fellow heirs,” was
distant from Solomon’s day by a whole millennium.,
ADDITIONAL NOTES ON THE VISIT OF THE QUEEN OF
This incident is remarkable as the only one in the reign of
Solomon to which reference
is made in the New Testament. Solomon is twice spoken of by
our Lord in His
recorded discourses. In one case his royal magnificence is
declared inferior to the
beauty with which God has clothed the “lilies of the field.” “Even Solomon in
all his glory was
not arrayed like one of these” (Matthew
6:29). Art can never
vie with nature. What loveliness of form or hue that human
skill can produce is
comparable with that
of the petals of a flower? What is all the glory with which
man may robe himself
to that which is the product of the creative
finger of God?
In the other
case, it is the wisdom of Solomon that our Lord refers to, as
having its widespread fame illustrated by the visit of the
Queen of Sheba,
and as being surpassed by the
higher revelation of truth in Himself.
Well may the journey of this Eastern queen have a triple
mention in the sacred page
(here; II Chronicles 9.; St. Matthew 12.; St. Luke
11). A woman, a princess, an
Arab queen, travels some three thousand miles in search of
wisdom. We have read
of long voyages undertaken and of great hardships endured
by men who were in
search of gold. Fable tells of the search for a golden
fleece; history tells of many
voyages to a fancied
do we read of a traveler
who brought gold and sought wisdom. And our
Lord
has honored this history — this almost romantic story — by drawing one of its
lessons with His own hand (Matthew 12:42; Luke 11:31). But though He has
there furnished the outline, He has left it for us to fill
in the coloring. And the
rest of the story He has left untouched; the other lessons we have to gather
for ourselves. Let
us consider:
I. THE NATURE OF
THIS JOURNEY. Four particulars must be borne in
mind:
would be at no great distance from Mocha or
fifteen hundred
miles distant from
not to be measured by miles, but by hours. Now both the
queen and her
company
travelled by camels, and the camel can only go, with any degree
of
comfort, at a walking pace, and, like other beasts of burden, must have
occasional
rests. Even if they had some “swift dromedaries” for the queen,
the
pace must have been regulated by the sumpter camels.
We may be
pretty
sure, therefore that the party would not travel, on the average, more
than twenty miles a day, which would give something like seventy-five
days
for the journey to
were acquainted with luxury (note on ver. 2), and the
journey through the
“great and
terrible wilderness” would subject this lady to many
discomforts.
Camel riding is very tiring; desert travel profoundly
wearisome.
Whatever comforts her “very great train” might be able to
procure
her, nothing could alter the blazing sun overhead, the burning
sands beneath, or the utter
desolation and monotony of the desert.
Those who
have made the journey to Sinai will have some idea what
the dally
life of this party was like.
and “perils of robbers” alike. Her course lay through the
whose
“hand was against every man,” (Genesis 16:12) and she carried
with
her large
treasure — a tempting bait to the rapacious Bedouin.
True,
she had an
armed escort, but that would not exempt her from dangers.
Nor
were these
“perils by the way” all. She had left her
kingdom without its
head. An insurrection might be fomented against her (Luke 19:14), or a
usurper might snatch her crown. And all this was
presumably
hardy and patient, but all the same the sex of the traveler
increases
our admiration, especially when we consider the estimation in
which
women have generally been held in the East. And she was a queen,
and left a
court, left her fragrant country, “Araby the blest,”
to plod
painfully
and slowly over the desert reaches, till she came to the “city of
the vision
of peace.”
Consider: Jesus
said, “The queen of the south shall rise up in the
judgment
with
this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came
from
the uttermost part of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon;
and,
behold, a greater
than Solomon is here.”
II. THE PURPOSE OF
THIS UNDERTAKING. Many sovereigns have
left their
homes at the head of “a very great train” both before and since
her day, but
with what different objects in view. They have swept across
continents —
the Rameses, the Shishaks,
the Alexanders, the Tamerlanes
(Tamerlane was
the most influential military leader of the Middle Ages who
restored the
former Mongol empire of Genghis Khan) of history, but not
for wisdom. Theirs was no peaceful or kindly mission. Some, like Peter
the Great, have
visited foreign courts for the sake of advancing the commerce,
etc., of their
country. Some, like the Persian Shah recently, have travelled far
to see the
wonders of the world, and to taste of its pleasures; but she came to
“prove Solomon with hard questions,” to “commune with him
of all that
was in her heart,” to
“reason high
Of
providence, foreknowledge, will, and fate,
Fixed
fate, freewill, foreknowledge absolute.”
It is clear that
to her “wisdom” was “the principal thing,” and she brought
gold and rubies
(Job 28:18; Proverbs 3:15; 8:11) to obtain it. She is
like the “merchantman seeking goodly pearls.”
(Matthew 13:45-46)
She has found
one pearl of great price, and she will give all that she has to
possess it.
True, she saw the wonders of Solomon’s court, but she came
to hear his
wisdom. She envied his courtiers, not because of their places,
palaces, etc.,
but because they stood before him (v. 8) and heard his words.
And our Savior has said that this conduct will condemn the men of
His
generation. It were easy to show how. But it will be more to the point
if
we consider how it may condemn the men of our own time.
was the wisest of men; Christ was “the wisdom of God.” (I Corinthians
1:24) - Solomon, a great king; Christ, “King of kings and Lord of
lords” (Revelation 19:16). Compare the Song of Solomon with the
Beatitudes;
the Proverbs with the Sermon on the Mount; Solomon’s
end
and Christ’s death. We should not dare to
compare them had not
He
done it before.
“Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to
bring Christ down from above:) or, Who shall
descend into the
deep? (that is,
to bring up Christ again from the dead. )
But
what saith it? The word
is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and
in thy
heart: that is the word of faith which
we preazch;”
(Romans
10:6-8). And say not, “True, He was
present in those
Galilean
synagogues, in those streets of
His
own words affirm the contrary – “lo, I am
with you always, even
unto the end of
the world.” (Matthew 28:20) – “For where two or
three are
gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of
them.” (Ibid. 18:20) He is
Omnipresent! He is present everywhere!
“One Spirit, His
Who
wore the platted crown with bleeding brows,
Fills
universal nature.”
But more especially is He present in His Church, His word,
His sacraments.
not we who have to leave a kingdom. He has left His
that He may “appoint
unto us a kingdom.” (Luke
22:29)
“Thy Father’s home of light;
Thy
rainbow-circled throne,
Were
left for earthly night,
For
wanderings sad and lone.”
And yet men will not listen to Him, will not learn of Him. It is said that
ninety-five
per cent of our laboring classes do not statedly
attend any
place of
Christian worship. And of those who do, how many do His
bidding?
In the Great Assize ALL will meet the Queen of the
She will
witness of:
ü
the journey she took,
ü
the sacrifices she
made, and
ü
the risks she
incurred,
to sit at
the feet of Solomon. She will tell of
Solomon’s “ascent,” etc.,
and she will put to shame and everlasting contempt those to whom
the
words and
wisdom, the sacrifice and ascension of the Lord were
unholy or
indifferent things (Hebrews 10:29***).
And not the Queen of the South alone. The kings of the East, Melchior,
Jasper, Balthasar — so tradition calls them they too came a long journey to
see the child Christ. And how many
pagans in Africa, in
islands of the sea, have gone long miles just to hear one sermon from the
passing missionary? Will not all these condemn the men of this generation?
(I once saw Billy Graham on TV speak to 1,500,000 Koreans
sitting on an
airport
runway – will not those who met Jesus there and accepted Him as
their
personal savior rise up also and condemn those who would not? - CY -
2010)
Solomon’s Wealth, Pomp
and Power (vs. 14-29)
The visit of the Queen of Sheba, in itself a striking proof of the fame and greatness
of Solomon, is followed by a description of his revenues, his throne, and various
other particulars of his wealth and magnificence, some of which are related here
because they were the products of the voyages of that same fleet which had
been
the means of acquainting the queen with Solomon and his glory.
14 “Now the weight of
gold that came to Solomon in one year was six
hundred
threescore and six talents of gold,” – The correspondence with the
number of the Beast (Revelation
13:18; cf. Ezra 2:13) is in all probability not
altogether accidental. It is
possible, i.e., that the number of the beast is a
reminiscence of this number of talents. For we may surely see in this statement
of Solomon’s prodigious wealth an indication of his worldliness,
the turning
point, perhaps, in
his estrangement from God. “The love of money” may
have been the root of all his evil (I Timothy 6:10). It is
certainly remarkable that
from this time
forward his career is one of steady declension. It is
also
remarkable that while he is here represented to us as a
“royal merchant,” the
mark of the
beast is on the buyers and sellers
(Revelation 13:17). Although
we do not know the value of the Hebrew talent, this was a
tremendous sum.
15 “Beside that he had
of the merchantmen, and of the traffick of the
spice merchants,” - It is probable that Solomon’s great commercial enterprises
were conducted for his own benefit, i.e., that the merchants were little more than
agents,
who bought and sold for the king - “and of all the kings of
and of the governors of the country.” The contributions which passed
through their hands were furnished in kind; hence, perhaps, it is that this income
is distinguished from the gold of v.14.
16 And king Solomon made two hundred targets (hN;xi, from a root which
signifies protect, a large oblong shield which
covered the entire person) of beaten
gold: six hundred shekels of
gold went to one target.”
17 “And he made three
hundred shields” - portable shields (peltas, Vulgate)
adapted for use in hand to hand encounters (II Chronicles
12:9-10) – “of beaten
gold; three pound
of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the
house of the
of armories in those days.
There were also arms hung round the wails of the
second temple (Joshua,
those made by Solomon were hung the shields taken by David
from the
Syrians, as according to II Samuel 8:7, LXX., these latter
also were
carried off by Shishak. It has
been inferred from Song of Solomon 4:4
that these also were 500 in number, and that the entire
thousand were
suspended on a part of the house of the
The historian now proceeds to describe the great feature of another of
Solomon’s
palaces. As the house of the
by
the golden shields which emblazoned and glorified its walls,
so was
“the porch of judgment” (ch. 7:7) by the chryselephantine throne.
18 “Moreover the king
made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it
with the best
gold.” Hebrew seat. The use of a chair where the custom of
the country is to squat on the ground, or to recline on a
divan, is always a mark
of dignity. (See II
Kings 4:10; Proverbs 9:14).
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. 20 And twelve lions stood
there
on the one side
and on the other upon the six steps:” - It
is somewhat
doubtful whether there were twelve or fourteen lions in
all. Most commentators
assume that there were fourteen, and the text will
certainly bear that construction.
But it is altogether more likely that there were twelve;
that is to say, that the two
lions on the topmost step are the two mentioned in the
preceding verse as
“standing beside
the stays,” otherwise there would have
been four lions on
that step. And we all know that twelve had a
significance such as could not
attach to any other number. It
would signify that all the tribes had an interest
in the royal house (ch.12:16;
II Samuel 20:1); and a right of approach to the
throne (ch.18:31). The lion, a familiar emblem of sovereignty
among
many nations, had an especial appropriateness in this case,
as being the
symbol of the
tribe of
not the like made
in any kingdom.”
21 “And all king Solomon's
drinking vessels were of gold, and all the
vessels of the
house of the
of silver:” This lavish display was characteristic of Oriental courts. This immense
quantity of gold is quite paralleled in the accounts of profane writers. “Sardanapalus,
when
talents of gold, ten times as much silver, etc. (Ctesias, ap. Athenaeus, 12. p. 29). No
less
than 7170 talents of gold were used for the vessels and statues of the
in
“it was nothing
accounted of in the days of Solomon.”
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.” The extent of the trade is speculated, possibly
apes, and peacocks) are designated in the Hebrew Scriptures are identical
with
the Tamil names by which some of them are called in
day. Wordsworth very justly sees in the mention of these curious beasts and birds
a symptom of
declension in simplicity and piety, a token that “wealth had
brought with it luxury and effeminacy, and a frivolous,
vainglorious love
for novel and outlandish objects.’
23 “So king Solomon
exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and
for wisdom.” There is something
ominous of evil here. Riches are put before
wisdom. This was not
the case in the beginning of Solomon’s reign (ch.3:11)
24 “And all the earth
sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which
God had put in
his heart. 25 And they brought every man his present,
vessels of
silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armor, and spices,
horses, and
mules, a rate year by year.” This seems to
be tribute rather than
gifts.
The remaining verses of this chapter, which, in the account
of the chronicler,
(II Chronicles 1:16-17)
repeat some of the information already given in chps.
4:26 and 9:19, and furnish a few additional particulars as to the wealth and
commerce of the king.
26 “And Solomon
gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had
a thousand and
four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen,”
The
question may suggest itself here, why did Solomon, who was a “man of peace,”
maintain such a formidable array of chariots and horsemen?
For not only was it in
contravention of Deuteronomy 17:16 – see I Samuel 8:11, but it was entirely
unnecessary, especially for a nation inhabiting a hilly
country like that of
We find, consequently, that David, when he took a thousand
chariots from
Hadarezer (1 Chronicles 18:4), only reserved for his own use one
hundred of
them, though he was at the time engaged in war. It may
perhaps be said that this
force was necessary
to keep the tributary kings in due subjection. But it seems
quite as likely
that it was maintained largely for the sake of pomp and display.
Solomon seems to have determined in every way, and at any cost, to rival and
surpass all contemporary kings. The maintenance of this large force of cavalry is
another token of declension - “whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots,
and with the king at
27 “And the king made silver to be in
made he to be as
the sycomore trees that are in the vale, for
abundance.
28 “And Solomon had
horses brought out of
king's merchants
received the linen yarn at a price.” The LXX.
(similarly the Vulgate) renders, “from
qekoue<, which Keil, however, contends is manifestly a variation of an
older reading, kai<
ejk Koue<, “and from Koua.” As to Koa or Kova, it is
objected that no such place is mentioned elsewhere, and it
is alleged that if
it were a market for horses, or even if it were a frontier
station, where the
duties on horses were collected, we should surely have heard
of it again.
But this is by no means certain. Koa may well have been an
in. significant
post on the frontier which it was only necessary to mention
in this
connection. Qekoue<
certainly looks like an emendation, but it is
to be
remembered that although Tekoa
(Amos 1:1; II Chronicles 11:6; 20:20)
was apparently an insignificant village, still it gave its
name to a district; it was
no great distance from the Egyptian frontier — it was some
six Roman miles south
of
rendezvous of the Egyptian and Hebrew horse dealers. The
text would thus yield
the following meaning: “And as for the expert of Solomon’s
horses from
and from Koa (or Tekoa),the
king’s merchants took them from Koa (or Tekoa)
at a price.”
29 “And a chariot came
up and went out of
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
bring them out by
their means.” Probably all we are to understand is that
neighboring nations received their supply of horses from
of horses and chariots (Exodus 14:6; 15:1; Deuteronomy
17:16; Isaiah 31:1;
Jeremiah 46:2-4) — largely through the instrumentality of
Solomon’s merchants.
ADDITIONAL NOTES (vs.
14-19)
The fall of Solomon, in itself one of the most portentous
facts in Scripture
history and is rendered doubly suggestive and admonitory by
a consideration
of the way in which it was brought about. It was not that
he succumbed to some
fierce onslaught of temptation; it was no terrible rush of
passion — no sudden
guilty love of “fair idolatresses,” as some have held —
wrought his ruin; on the
contrary, his decline in
piety was so gradual and slow as to be almost
imperceptible. It
is almost impossible
— and this consideration alone is most
instructive — to trace with certainty the steps which led to his downfall. The
Arab
tradition teaches that a little worm — no more — was, silently and
unseen, gnawing
at the staff on which this Colossus leaned, and that it was
only when it broke and
he fell that men discovered he was dead — an instructive
parable of his moral and
spiritual decay.
We may well cry here:
“O
fall’n at length that tower of strength
Which stood foursquare to all the winds that
blew.”
But it is much more pertinent to ask what brought that
proud fortress to
the ground. It would have sustained unshaken the blows of
engines of war;
it would have defied the hurtling storm and tempest, but it could not resist
the gradual subsidence of its foundations, and so, while
preserving a fair
appearance almost to the last, it settled and settled, and
at the last became
a heap of ruins.
Let us trace, then, as best we can, that downward course which ended in
the builder of the
temple building
altars to Baal; let us lay bare, if we
can,
this worm that was noiselessly
but ceaselessly eating out his inner life.
Perhaps we cannot discover all its hidden workings, but we
can surely see
some.
Up to the date of the dedication of the temple all would
seem to have gone
well. Unless the dedication prayer is, as some have
affirmed, the
composition of a later age, the prince who poured out his
soul before God
in those earnest and gracious words cannot have erred very
far from the
right way. And the
message he received during the building of the temple
confirms this view. It is a message not of warning but
of encouragement.
It is at the completion of the palaces that we discover the
first certain token
of defection. For it was
then that the Lord appeared unto him the second time,
and the communication then made was undeniably minatory
(threatening).
Its menacing tone is inexplicable, except on the supposition that Solomon’s
“heart was not right with the Lord.” At this period, then, about the
twenty-fourth year of his reign, the destroying worm was
already at work.
Nor is it difficult to conjecture what was the first
beginning of declension
on Solomon’s part. We find it in the erection of the
palaces, or rather in the
carnal mind and the self love and the desire for
ostentation which led to
their erection. It is just possible that the building of
these palaces was not,
in itself, to be condemned. It is suspicious, no doubt, and
argues selfishness
and heartlessness, when, as in
residences of the Crown contrast everywhere with the
wretched hovels of
the peasantry. And one would naturally expect the
theocratic king to attain
a higher level and to devote himself more to the
advancement of his
people’s good than ordinary rulers. But it must be
remembered that under
Solomon the Jewish people enjoyed an unprecedented prosperity
(ch.4:20-21).
The entire nation shared in the wealth and abundance of the
court. We cannot be
certain, consequently, that the palaces, per se,
involved a departure from the law,
the more so as some of them were necessary, for purposes of
state and justice
(ch. 7:7). But the matter appears
in a very different light when we come to consider
the way in which they were reared. Forced labor, on the part of the subject
races at least, can no doubt be justified from Scripture
(Joshua 9:21 sqq.), at any
rate, for the house of God (v. 23), but not for the
pleasure or aggrandizement of the
monarch (I Samuel 8:11, 16). “It is not of the Lord of Hosts that the people shall
labor in the very
fire, and the people shall weary themselves for very vanity”
(Habakkuk 2:13). And when we remember that Jeroboam was
probably
encouraged to
rebel by seeing and hearing the murmurings of the house of
Joseph (ch. 11:28) of whose labors he
was the overseer, and that this and similar
burdens laid upon the people (ch.12:4) resulted in the
revolt of the ten tribes,
we can hardly suppose that Solomon completed his great
undertakings
(ch. 9:15-19) without inflicting
positive hardship and grave injustice on large
numbers of his subjects. It is probable, indeed, that the
woe pronounced against
a later monarch (Jeremiah 22:13-14) had not been unmerited
by him. He had
“used his
neighbor’s service without wages,” etc.
Possibly he had raised his
forest of cedar
pillars, etc., by the sweat and groans of his serfs. It was a common
thing for Eastern autocrats to do, but when “Jedidiah” (Solomon’s first name)
did it, the cries of the oppressed laborer went up “into the ears of the Lord
of Sabaoth.” But whether the erection of the palaces was
in itself wrong or not,
and whether the raising of the “levy” (ch. 9:15) [think of the cries of
the Tea
Party in the election of 2010 in the
there can be little doubt that the “proud look and high stomach” (Psalm
101:5; 131:1-2) — the very spirit which David had
disclaimed — which
prompted some of these understandings was altogether
sinful. Solomon is
now no longer the “little child” he once was (ch. 3:7). Now that he
has “strengthened
himself,” (Think of leftist philosophy
of the 20th
and 21st century which encourages to “look deep within”
– CY – 2010)
like his son after him, he begins to forget his God and to forsake His
law
(II Chronicles 12:1). It has been promised him that he
shall exceed all other
kings in wisdom and riches and honor (ch.
3:12, 18); but this is not enough
for him, he must surpass them
also in the outward tokens of wealth and power.
His palaces, to begin with, must be greater than theirs, he
no longer covets the
best gifts. The fine gold is become dim. Still, so far, there has been no deliberate,
or perhaps even conscious, infraction of the law, only the worldly
and selfish mind.
He may well have argued that his state required this show
of magnificence; that the
Canaanites were ordained of God to hew wood and draw water
at his pleasure.
But this only shows how
slight are the beginnings of evil; how fine sometimes is
the line which divides right from wrong, and how
easily our judgment is
warped by our inclinations. It is the old story, Homo vult decipi et decipiatur.
(man wishes to be deceived, deceive him)
It is impossible to say in what precise order the records
of Solomon’s reign
are to be arranged, but it is probable that the next downward step is
to be
traced in the alliance in
which he engaged with the Tyrians. We cannot
blame him, of course, for the “league” of ch. 5:12. But for that, he
could hardly have built the temple, to say nothing of the
palaces. Whether
he was justified, however, in having at sea “a navy of Tarshish
with the navy
of Hiram” (v.22) may well be
doubted. For it was part of God’s plan that the
Jewish people should “dwell
alone and not be reckoned among the nations”
(Numbers 23:9). Their geographical position was one of almost complete isolation.
They were not destined to be a great commercial country. Their land was
to be the
theater of OUR REDEMPTION! Theirs were:
“those
holy fields
Over
whose acres walked those blessed feet,
Which
two thousand years ago were nailed
For
our salvation, to the bitter cross;”
and it was no preparation for the Incarnation that it
should become the
home of “gripple merchants.” Contact and co-partnership with idolaters
could hardly be for the advantage of the faith. Nor is it difficult to see that
Solomon’s commerce grew at the expense of his religion. Riches,
proverbially a
dangerous possession, were with him — wise
though he was
— a step towards utter ruin. All the time that his fleets
were plowing the
main, that caravans of merchants were filling his store
cities, that he was
driving bargains
with the Syrians and Hittites (v. 29), leanness was
spreading in his soul — he was becoming more and more a secular prince.
It has been justly remarked that the mention of “apes and
peacocks” (v. 22),
is a significant indication of the moral and mental
deterioration which
he was undergoing. To
think that the wisest of men should find his pleasure
in the antics of the one or the plumage of the other; or that he, the viceroy
of Jehovah, should import jibbering baboons and strutting fowls,
if not for
himself, for the outlandish
women of his court. No, these “wide
views of
commerce,” this partnership with the Tyrians,
this influx of prosperity, has
not been for Solomon’s or
of the average nineteenth century Jew, we may form a fair
idea of what
commercial enterprise and lust of gold did for Solomon, the
first of Hebrew
chapmen (merchant, trader).
And yet this commerce, it is easy to see, may have been in
its
commencement unexceptionable. Possibly it was in part
undertaken to
provide gold for the embellishment of the temple. But it
soon engendered,
if indeed it was not engendered by, that “love of money
which is the root
of all evil” (I Timothy 6:10). As Solomon grew richer he loved riches more.
V. 28 is full of significance. “So Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth
for riches and wisdom.” Time was when wisdom held the first place (ch.
3:11). And so it came to pass that he who at first was “rich toward
God,”
and who, like David his father, had only accumulated gold
for the glory of
the sanctuary, proceeded to “multiply silver and gold to himself”
(Deuteronomy 17:17). Even his drinking vessels were of pure
gold
(v. 21). So that his
commerce and its prodigious gains led at
last to a distinct violation
of the law. He has not ceased to serve
God. He
still sacrifices and burns incense three times a year (ch. 9:25). But he is trying
to serve God and mammon (Luke
16:13), and
mammon has gained the
mastery. It is probably
mentioned as a circumstance full of significance,
that the weight of gold that came to him in one year was six hundred and
sixty-six talents (v. 14).
For as seven is the number of the covenant, so
six marks a falling short of that covenant, and the first distinct violation
of the covenant consisted in the multiplication of silver and
gold.
(I stop in the middle of this to say that I have used
extensively the Pulpit
Commentary for 48 years and this is one of the best
comments
on scripture that I have ever read – whoever did this had
to have been
greatly lead by the Holy Spirit as it is so full of
instruction – and to contrast
this with some of the nonsense I came across a minute ago when I
researched the words “Homo vult
decipi et decipiatur”
on the internet –
basically an attack on God and religion – many comments
were made by
people we would recognize – pseudo-intellectuals are they
at best and, in my
opinion, are not in the same league as the writer of this
homily – CY - 2010)
And when a
breach in the law was once made we are not surprised to hear
presently that it was widened. Facilis descensus Averni. (the descent into
hell is easy). From the
multiplication of the precious metals it was an easy step to
the
multiplication of horses. And here we see
at once how Solomon’s conscience
has become seared, (I Timothy 4:2) or he has learnt to disregard its warnings.
He knew perfectly well that
his “twelve thousand horsemen” were a
violation of the law. And he could hardly excuse himself on the ground that
they were required for purposes of defense. The hilly
country of
does not admit of their being deployed therein. It was
partly because they
could only be employed in aggressive warfare that
they were forbidden.
Whatever unction, therefore, he might lay to his soul as to
his accumulation
of gold, he could hardly think, if he
thought at all, that his horses and
chariots involved no sin. (I would like to recommend II Kings 5 – Spurgeon
Sermon – I Thought – this
web site – CY – 2010) [Mr. Spurgeon once
said “the only way that
sinners can be happy is through thoughtlessness.”]
But they were necessary, he persuaded himself, to the state
of so great and
powerful a monarch, and he would have them. And so hardened was he,
so careless of the commandment, that he actually established
a market for
horses on his southern frontier and supplied them to
neighboring kings,
who presently employed them against the people of the Lord. (This is
probably nothing new to a drug dealer in
2010). And yet,
grave as was this disregard of law, it was but a worm that
was at work in his soul — only self love and self
confidence (Isaiah 30:1);
only the lust of the eye and the pride of life. He is still
the Lord’s anointed:
his tips distil knowledge; he
still offers hecatombs, but his “heart
is not
right,” – (I guess the next
question is “Do you or I have worms?” – CY –
2010)
AND SO THE YEARS
PASSED BY! To all outward appearance his glory
and magnificence increased. It is very suggestive to
consider how hollow was
that prosperity which was the marvel of the world, and how that wisdom
which was so renowned was foolishness with God. The court became more
splendid, more
voluptuous, more dazzling, but the man became year by
year poorer and meaner and baser. It only needed one step more — and
apparently he was not long in taking that — to complete
his defection.
The other monarchs of his time had their seraglios. It was
necessary that he too
should have an establishment of this kind, and he must have
it even greater
than theirs. He knew
that the law forebade the multiplication of wives, but
what of that? He had violated the law already: he might just as well do
it
again. An obsolete
precept, he may have argued, suited to primitive times,
must not stand in the way of his
pomp or his pleasures. And so the Lord’s
anointed gathered
round him in the holy city a thousand strange, immodest
women. His
fleets and merchants brought him mistresses from every land.
And they brought with them their foreign
rites, and the effeminate king was
taken captive by their charms, and they had their
way, and nothing would
suffice them but he must tolerate their religion, and what he did for one he
must do for all, and — and so the end of sin and shame is reached, and
THE DECLINE
BECOMES A FALL and “the darling of Jehovah,” the
wisest of men, the representative of Heaven, the builder of
the temple, the type
of our Lord, builds altars
to the “abominations” of
hill that is before
This MOURNFUL HISTORY is full of ADMONITION and INSTRUCTION.
Note the the following lessons:
9:27).
Solomon’s Prayer (ch. 8.), Psalm 127 and the book of
Proverbs
should be
studied in the light of his fall. “Thou
therefore which teachest
another, teachest
thou not thyself?” (Romans 2:21-23).
Compare vs.
22-23 with Proverbs 5-7.; and remember the
constant references to the
“law” in the dedication prayer.
by little
and little.”
“It
is the little rift within the lute
That
by and by shall make its music mute.”
fornications,” (Mark 7:21). It was not
to an assault from without,
it was to
treachery within that Solomon yielded — Solomon who had said,
“Keep thy heart
with all diligence,” (Proverbs 4:23) - did not keep his!
how hard it is for them that trust in riches to enter into
the kingdom
of God ,”
(Mark 10:24). “Take heed, and beware of
covetousness”
(Luke
12:15), “which is idolatry” – (Colossians
3:5).
as it goes) The sinner is on an
inclined plane; and the gradient at
first
is
almost imperceptible. Let us learn, too, “the
deceitfulness of sin.”
(Matthew
13:22; Mark 4:19) The chains of habit are too light to be felt
until they are too strong to be broken!
It is seldom that a man is
ruined but a woman has had a share in it.
“Whoredom and
wine and new wine take away the heart”
(Hosea 4:11)
dangers and temptations;
but mature age has them also. David was not less
than fifty
when he fell. It was “when
he was old.” Paul speaks of “youthful
lusts,” (II Timothy 2:22) but old age has its special dangers and temptations.
It was in the time of mature experience, when the hot blood of youth should
have cooled, when he should have known the world and his wisdom should
have been ripest, that his wives turned away his heart. Perhaps he presumed
upon his exalted gifts and revelations. With age came self-confidence. It is
thus that many strong cities have been taken. “Praeruptum eoque neglectum”
discloses the secret of their fall.
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