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Turn in your Bibles to 1 Kings 
chapter 10. 1 Kings chapter 10. Chapters 9 and 10 are something 
of a hinge between the golden age of Solomon's reign to the 
time of apostasy. Chapter 11 will detail Solomon's 
apostasy when his multitude of wives led his heart away after 
other gods. Up to chapter 8, we see nothing 
but positive. And chapter 9 and 10 are positive, 
but you do see some foreshadowing of things to come, and we'll 
see that tonight as we move through 1 Kings 10. I'll begin reading 
in verse 1. Now when the queen of Sheba heard 
of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came 
to test him with hard questions. She came to Jerusalem with a 
very great retinue, with camels that bore spices, very much gold 
and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, 
she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. So Solomon 
answered all her questions. There was nothing so difficult 
for the king that he could not explain it to her. And when the 
queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house 
that he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his 
servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his 
cupbearers and his entryway by which he went up to the house 
of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her. And she said to 
the king, it was a true report which I heard in my own land 
about your words and your wisdom. However, I did not believe the 
words until I came and saw with my own eyes. And indeed, the 
half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed 
the fame of which I heard. Happy are your men, and happy 
are these your servants who stand continually before you and hear 
your wisdom. Blessed be the Lord your God, 
who delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel. 
Because the Lord has loved Israel forever, therefore he made you 
king, to do justice and righteousness. Then she gave the king 120 talents 
of gold, spices in great quantity, and precious stones. There never 
again came such abundance of spices as the Queen of Sheba 
gave to King Solomon. Also the ships of Hiram, which 
brought gold from Ophir, brought great quantities of almog wood 
and precious stones from Ophir. And the king made steps of the 
almog wood for the house of the Lord and for the king's house, 
also harps and stringed instruments for singers. There never again 
came such almog wood, nor has the like been seen to this day. Now King Solomon gave the Queen 
of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, besides what Solomon 
had given her according to the royal generosity. So she turned 
and went to her own country, she and her servants. The weight 
of the gold that came to Solomon yearly was 666 talents of gold, 
besides that from the traveling merchants, from the income of 
traders, from all the kings of Arabia, and from the governors 
of the country. And King Solomon made 200 large 
shields of hammered gold. 600 shekels of gold went into 
each shield. He also made 300 shields of hammered 
gold. Three minas of gold went into 
each shield. The king put them in the house 
of the forest of Lebanon. Moreover, the king made a great 
throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. 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. Twelve lions stood 
there, one on each side of the six steps. Nothing like this 
had been made for any other kingdom. 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. 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. So King Solomon surpassed all 
the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. Now all the earth 
sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God 
had put in his heart. Each man brought his present, 
articles of silver and gold, garments, armor, spices, horses, 
and mules, at a set rate year by year. And Solomon gathered 
chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 
horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the 
king at Jerusalem. 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. Also Solomon had 
horses imported from Egypt and Keva. The king's merchants bought 
them in Keva at the current price. Now a chariot that was imported 
from Egypt cost 600 shekels of silver, and a horse 150. And 
thus, through their agents, they exported them to all the kings 
of the Hittites and the kings of Syria. Amen. Well, I remember 
when I was a kid in California, there's a place called Hertz 
Castle. And my parents, we went there on a vacation one time. 
Basically, the idea is just to see the splendor and the glamour 
and the excellence of that particular dwelling place. And that's precisely 
how Chapter 10 functions in this sort of record of Solomon's ministry. First, he is visited by the Queen 
of Sheba, and then the narrator undertakes to explain the great 
wealth of Solomon and essentially confirms precisely what Sheba 
discovers on her visit. So we're going to look at those 
two sections tonight. We're not going to deal with 
every single detail, but first of all, the queen of Sheba's 
visit to Solomon in verses 1 to 13, and then second, the surpassing 
wealth and wisdom of Solomon in verses 14 to 29. Robert Alter 
says the consensus is that Sheba is far to the south of ancient 
Israel. somewhere on the Arabian Peninsula 
along the shore of the Red Sea. This episode is linked associatively 
with the immediately preceding passage in which Solomon builds 
fleets on the Red Sea and carries on 
trade in rich materials with the South. Now, some say it was 
about a thousand-mile journey, others suggest it was around 
1,500-mile journey, and that will be important for us to remember 
later. But in the first place, we notice 
the Queen's knowledge of Solomon, verse 1. Now, when the Queen 
of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of 
the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. This reference 
to the Lord probably is owing that the wisdom and prominence 
of Solomon was due to the God of Israel. In other words, Solomon 
was known as the king over Israel, and Yahweh was the God of Israel. So she hears not only of Solomon, 
but she concludes or has heard that Solomon's wisdom had come 
from God. If you go back to chapter 4, 
you can see how it was the case. that various persons would have 
heard of Solomon's wisdom and his wealth. In 1 Kings 4 29, 
it says, God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding 
and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. Thus Solomon's 
wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the east and all 
the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men, 
than Ethan, the Ezraite, and Heman, Calchol, Darda, the sons 
of Mahal. And his fame was in all the surrounding 
nations. He spoke 3,000 proverbs, and 
his songs were 1,005. Also he spoke of trees, from 
the cedar tree of Lebanon, even to the hyssop that springs out 
of the wall. He spoke also of animals, of 
birds, of creeping things, and of fish." And I think that explains 
as well. in the latter part of chapter 
10 when these various animals are brought into the kingdom 
of Israel, the monkeys and then the apes. Now the marginal reading 
in the New King James for apes is peacocks, others suggest parrots 
is probably the better translation. but you can see why Solomon would 
have an interest in collecting sort of exotic animals, because 
he was given to a love of all things wisdom, not just in terms 
of theology, though he was a good theologian in his own right, 
as we see in his prayer at the dedication of the temple, but 
he was interested in science, he was interested in botany, 
he was interested in zoology, he was interested in all these 
sorts of things, truly the mark of wisdom. He sees God's world 
as God's world, and everything from peacocks or apes or monkeys 
or trees will lead him back to an understanding of just who 
God is. But you see how his fame had gone out, and so this queen 
of Sheba now wants to come and test him. Apparently this was 
common in the age to test him with hard questions. It was a 
means by which you would indeed determine whether or not a particular 
king or monarch had wisdom. So she probably had a list of 
three by five cards or a handful of three by five cards with some 
notoriously difficult questions that she thought might stomp 
the king of Israel. It's unfortunate we're not given 
access to what any of these questions were or what his particular responses 
were. That would be quite intriguing. 
Of course, I'm sure it would make the chapter much longer. 
But we see her knowledge, so she comes to test him with hard 
questions. Note her arrival in Jerusalem 
in verses 2 and 3. She came to Jerusalem with a 
very great retinue, with camels that bore spices, very much gold, 
precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, 
she spoke with him all that was in her heart. So she's no slouch 
herself. She comes from a particular land, 
and she is doing quite well. She has heard of his fame. She 
has heard of his wealth. She has heard of his wisdom, 
so she brings this Retinue with her, she brings all of these 
gifts. There is an aspect of royal generosity involved and 
something that would indeed mark the kings of the ancient world. They would exchange these kinds 
of things. Even Solomon sends her on her way, according to 
verse 13, with a particular parting gift. So she has all this stuff 
to bring to him. Now notice in verse 3, it says, 
Solomon answered all her questions. There was nothing so difficult 
for the king that she could not explain it to her. It's a great 
testimony concerning his wisdom. She tried to stomp him. She wanted 
to test him with hard questions, and he's able to dispatch them 
quite easily. Now note her particular testimony 
concerning Solomon in verses 4 to 9. In verses 4 and 5 it 
indicates what she saw. When the queen of Sheba had seen 
all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the 
food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service 
of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers and his entryway 
by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more 
spirit in her. Now, I should tell you with some 
of the commentaries that I use, you move through a particular 
book of the Bible and you're reading the commentators, you 
get the feel not only for the text of scripture, but for the 
particular commentators. There's one commentator, he actually 
teaches in Vancouver at Regent College, his name is Ian Proven, 
and he takes a pretty negative view of Solomon. I'll tell you 
what he says here in just a moment. But Proven, by and large, understanding 
the narrative leading up to chapter 11, which records Solomon's apostasy, 
sees pretty much every step of the way foreshadowing of Solomon's 
fall. On the other side, you have Dale 
Ralph Davis, and Davis takes a particularly positive view 
of Solomon all the way up till chapter 11. Now, typically, when 
I read the commentaries, I read Proven first, and then I read 
House. Paul House is kind of neutral, 
so I kind of put him in the middle so these two don't fight. And 
so I read the negative, and then I read House, who's more of a 
neutral party, just reports the text. And then I read Davis, 
who's quite positive. So I try to glean the best insights 
out of both those particular men. Well, it's difficult to 
completely neglect Proven's negativity in light of chapter 11. Chapter 
11 looms large in the entirety of the Solomon narratives, because 
we know where Solomon is heading. And in this particular chapter, 
the shadow of Deuteronomy 17 certainly lingers heavily. In 
Deuteronomy 17, the king is prohibited from multiplying wealth and weapons 
and women. Well, in chapter 10, he definitely 
multiplies wealth. He definitely multiplies horses 
and chariots, which were a form of weaponry. And so the only 
thing he hasn't multiplied in chapter 10 is women. And that 
sets the stage for chapter 11, where he does multiply women. 
So, if we completely neglect chapter 11 in our study, and 
we completely forget about Deuteronomy 17, then I suggest we can only 
treat this positively. But we can't neglect chapter 
11, and we certainly can't disregard Deuteronomy 17. So I don't think 
I'm quite as negative on Solomon as, say, a Proven, but I'm certainly 
not as positive on Solomon as, say, a Dale Ralph Davis. And 
I say that with great discouragement because I esteem Ralph Davis 
probably higher than any preacher that I know. I don't actually 
know him. I met him a couple times. But nevertheless, I think 
that there are foreshadowings even here in chapter 10. And 
one of the things that Proven points out in verses 4 and 5, 
notice the emphasis. When the Queen of Sheba had seen 
all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the 
food on his table, the seating of his servants, the service 
of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers, and his entryway 
by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more 
spirit in her. It doesn't say she toured the 
streets of Jerusalem. It doesn't say she toured the 
land of Israel. It doesn't report on the common 
man and woman living in an agrarian situation. We don't know that 
Solomon's reign wasn't good, but what she sees is directly 
connected to Solomon and to his household. It's directly connected 
to his sort of luxury. It's directly connected to those 
things which would benefit him. Now again, a queen is visiting, 
this is on display, this was the custom of the times, and 
we may be wrong to try and read too much into it. But it is suggestive, 
or at least it should be suggestive, of what Samuel warned against 
with reference to the monarchy in Israel in 1 Samuel chapter 
8. Samuel indicated that the monarchy 
might not be the sort of thing that the children of Israel were 
crying out for. Remember, the children of Israel 
in 1 Samuel 8 said, give us a king just like the other nations around 
us. And Samuel said, if you have 
a king, you need to know that he's going to take your sons, 
he's going to take your daughters, he's going to take your money 
via taxation, and he's going to leave you with very little. 
Again, I'm not suggesting that everything was, you know, it 
was only downtrodden and poor and destitution outside of Solomon's 
particular house, but it is interesting that there's no specific report 
on how things were going in the rest of the kingdom. By the time 
we get to chapter 12, There is great unrest in Israel, such 
that there is a division in the kingdom. Now, we could blame 
all of that upon Rehoboam and the revolt led by Jeroboam, but 
it seems like there were already seeds of this sort of thing, 
this sort of an unrest already there present. I think the Jeroboam 
revolt against Rehoboam perhaps brought to the surface some things 
that were already underlying. But nevertheless, I don't want 
to sully us too much because chapter 10 generally is a positive 
representation of Solomon. Now, when it says at the end 
of verse 5, there was no more spirit in her. Literally, she 
was breathless. Her breath was taken away. Davis 
says, the queen of Sheba was no slouch. Witness the inventory 
of her wares in verse 2. She found Solomon fully up to 
his reputation and wits and wisdom, but she found Solomonic style 
literally breathtaking. Such class she had never seen. So that's what she saw, verses 
4 and 5. Now notice what she said in verses 6 to 9. First 
of all, there is a confirmation of the reports that she heard. 
Verse 6, she said to the king, it was a true report which I 
heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. In other 
words, what has been circulating concerning the king of Israel 
who has received this from the Lord God most high. It is true. These are not false reports. Secondly, there is this escalation 
of the reports that she had heard. Verse 7, however, I did not believe 
the words until I came and saw with my own eyes, and indeed 
the half of it was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed 
the fame of which I heard. So that's an incredible statement. You know, she has heard this. 
She goes there to test him with hard questions, and she sees 
for herself, and it exceeds any expectations that she could have 
conceived of. Now, I should back up a moment. 
I don't want to present Solomon as an evil wretch. I think chapter 
11 is going to certainly show us some things about Solomon, 
but he was a good king. He was faithful. He was seeking 
to honor the Lord. All in all, his reign, at least 
up until this point, is very positive and very excellent. 
The foreshadowing I'm pointing out I think gives more or lends 
more to understanding how the Book of Kings is written. It's 
absolute brilliance the way the author undertakes to weave the 
tale of these particular kings in Israel. So nevertheless, he's 
doing a good job, and then she pronounces a benediction concerning 
his servants in verse 8. Happy are your men, happy are 
your servants who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom. It must be a good thing, Solomon, 
to be on your payroll. It must be a good thing, Solomon, 
to work for the king of Israel. Happy are they, happy are those 
who get to stand in your presence and hear your wisdom. And then 
notice, she gives a declaration concerning Israel's God. Now, 
this is a heathen. This is not an Israelite. This 
is not one in the covenant community. And nevertheless, hear what she 
says. Blessed be the Lord your God, the blessing pronounced 
upon God most high. I think in some respect Sheba, 
or the Queen of Sheba rather, could teach even professing Christians 
something in terms of her esteem and in terms of her theology 
in this brief verse. Notice she acknowledges God's 
sovereignty. Blessed be the Lord your God 
who delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel. 
There's a sign at the church on the way to our church, and 
this week it says, choice, not chance, determines your destiny. 
No, God determines our destiny, and the Queen of Sheba understood 
that. She realized it wasn't chance, 
it wasn't choice, but rather it was the sovereign God of Israel 
that had set Solomon on the throne of Israel. Notice her recognition 
of God's love, God's love for the nation of Israel. Again, 
this is something that is very, very encouraging to hear from 
a particular heathen. The gods of the heathen were 
not typically known for their love. They did what they were 
supposed to do, and they each had utility, and they each had 
their particular function. But you wouldn't say Baal is 
love, you wouldn't say Molech is love, you wouldn't say Asherah 
is love, though 1 John tells us very specifically that God 
is love. And this Queen of Sheba recognizes 
the love of God for Israel. Notice at the end of verse 9, 
Because the Lord has loved Israel forever, therefore He made you 
king. It's a beautiful statement. Because 
God loves Israel, He makes Solomon king. And then he confers upon 
Solomon the wisdom necessary to rule the kingdom, and he also 
bestows on him a great deal of wealth. And again, wealth in 
and of itself is not condemned. It's when it takes the place 
of God, it's when it becomes our resting place, it's when 
we become dependent on it. rather than seeing it as a gift 
given by God and a tool to be used for His glory. And then 
notice as well, because the Lord has loved Israel forever, therefore 
He made you king. Now note, to do justice and righteousness. This is the principal act of 
government. This is what the king, excuse 
me, of Israel was supposed to be about. to do justice and righteousness. It would be good for us to consider 
that reality in light of the sorts of things that we see in 
our own generation. You know, as our brother prayed 
for the government, I've been thinking a lot about government 
recently, and I don't ever believe God set up government to work 
against the people governed so that their lives would be more 
difficult. I mean, you have to go through, you know, jump through 
a whole host of hoops anymore to try and succeed in this life. 
And half of the hoops are set up by the government themselves, 
with this, that, and the other. But the purpose of and the function 
of government is to do justice and righteousness, and that was 
precisely Solomon's calling as the king of Israel. Now, House, 
Paul House notices this. He says, how must Solomon reflect 
God's love? By maintaining justice and righteousness 
in the land. the very gift Solomon requested 
in 1 Kings 3, 1 to 9. These comments are similar to 
those Hiram makes in 1 Kings 5. And then he says, both non-Jewish 
monarchs recognize God's primacy in Israel's history. Quite ironically, 
Solomon and future kings of Israel choose to ignore what even non-covenant 
rulers seem to know is true. God rules Israel and God blesses 
obedient Israelite kings. I think that is a wonderful bit 
of irony there. I mean, here you have the Queen 
of Sheba. coming and acknowledging the absolute sovereignty of God, 
purposing to set Solomon upon the throne of Israel as a result 
of God's love for Israel, he set Solomon upon that throne 
in order to do justice and righteousness. Now, Solomon in chapter 11 is 
going to be led astray by a multitude of wives. He's going to give 
his heart to other gods. This is not what was envisioned 
by the prophet Moses with reference to the king in Israel. But the 
Queen of Sheba recognizes this, and Hiram recognizes this. And 
as we move through 1 Kings, it will be one sad story after another. There's a few high points, and 
there's a few encouragements in the Kings in Judah, but for 
the most part, it's a pretty discouraging situation. We get 
to 2 Kings 17, and we see the Northern Kingdom fall. We get 
to 2 Kings 25, and we see the Southern Kingdom fall. So the queen of Sheba recognizes 
the purpose for Israel's king, but Israel's king never fully 
functions in that particular capacity. Now certainly the Messiah 
does, and Solomon typifies him, and we'll see some of that as 
we conclude our study later on tonight. So that is the testimony 
of Sheba concerning Solomon. She then gives this gift, the 
royal gift, to Solomon in verses 10 to 12. Specifically, we read, 
she gave the king 120 talents of gold. This is a lot of gold, 
gold, gold, gold through this chapter. We might call this the 
gold chapter, because every time Solomon turns around, people 
are handing him large quantities of gold. He's got gold coming 
out of his ears. And as we start to see what the 
narrator says in the latter half of the chapter, Solomon doesn't 
even drink water without a gold cup. I mean, this is a lot of 
gold. That's the point. He's got a 
lot of gold, such that silver really isn't that big of a deal 
anymore. Silver's chump change in Solomon's 
Israel, but nevertheless, he still acquires silver. So we 
see that she bestows this particular gift on him, and then he makes 
steps of this almug wood for the house of the Lord and for 
the king's house, also harps and stringed instruments for 
singers. She then departs after having 
received a great gift from Solomon as well. King Solomon, in verse 
13, gave the Queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, 
besides what Solomon had given her according to the royal generosity. 
So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants. 
So it's a wonderful testimony concerning King Solomon and his 
reign in Israel at that particular time. We move to the latter half 
of the chapter, we see the surpassing wealth and wisdom of Solomon. 
Again, the gold and its use. Verse 14, the weight of the gold 
that came to Solomon yearly was 666 talents of gold. Now I suspect 
our dispensational brothers would read that and freak out because 
666, that's the evil part in 1 Kings chapter 10. If he had 
665 talents of gold, there wouldn't be a problem. If he had 667, talents of gold, there wouldn't 
be a problem, but because he had 666 talents of gold, that's 
devilish. That 666 does have no bearing 
on what is being told us in this particular passage. And by the 
way, the number of the beast in Revelation 13, my suspicion 
is that it was Nero's Caesar, not Henry Kissinger, President 
Obama, or anybody like that. At any rate, it's telling us 
that he's receiving gold hand over fist, and then what he does 
with the gold in verses 16 to 17, he makes 200 large shields 
of hammered gold, 600 shekels of gold went into each shield. 
He also made 300 shields of hammered gold, three minas of gold went 
into each shield. The king put them in the house 
of the forest of Lebanon. Now some suspect that this house 
of the forest of Lebanon was an armory and that's where Solomon 
stored his weaponry. But the fact that these shields 
were made of gold would indicate that they were not used in battle. And so others suspect that this 
house of the Forest of Lebanon was actually a treasury and a 
place to secure the gold with reference to protecting it from 
any intruders, foreign or domestic. So either way, he had a lot of 
gold. That's the point. Verse 18, moreover, the king 
made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. 
So not only is he getting gold, he's getting ivory. The throne 
had six steps. 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. Twelve lions 
stood there, one on each side of the six steps. Nothing like 
this had been made for any other kingdom. So you see, it's kind 
of like going to visit some historic site that is just laden with 
wealth. It is a description of and a 
depiction of God's blessing upon Solomon. So make sure we understand 
that. As we look at the foreshadowing 
of Solomon's downfall, we ought not to bypass the reality that 
up to this point, God has been faithful. to God's promise in 
1 Kings chapter 3. When Solomon asks of God wisdom, 
God says, because you have asked me for wisdom, I'm going to give 
you wisdom, but I'm also going to grant you great riches. I'm 
going to bestow on you great wealth. And again, there's this 
delicate interplay. God gives wealth. We are to use 
it and be thankful to Him for it, but we're not to trust in 
it, and it's not to take the place of God. And so we need 
to appreciate that the King of Israel was duty-bound to the 
God of Israel over and above any wealth or any women or any 
weaponry. But nevertheless, the Lord is 
blessing him. Verse 21, all King Solomon's 
drinking vessels were gold, and all the vessels of the house 
of the forest of Lebanon were pure gold. You see what the author 
is doing here? You know, when you go into your 
kitchen and you reach for a cup, imagine if you were pulling out 
a gold goblet to pour your juice into. I mean, this is the sort 
of thing that was going on in Israel at that particular time. 
I doubt he was drinking juice. But nevertheless, it is a depiction 
of God's blessing in terms of wealth and wisdom upon Solomon. And then the narrator supplies 
for us a bit of testimony for himself. This is the way that 
Davis sees it. He says that he doesn't mention 
Proven in this particular chapter, but I think it's Proven that's 
in his crosshairs. He says the narrator's testimony 
matches the queen of Sheba's testimony. And if you look at 
verses 23 to 25, here's what the narrator says. So King Solomon 
surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. Again, 
I agree with Davis wholeheartedly, but I also agree with Proven 
that there is some foreshadowing going on in the chapter. Now, 
all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, 
which God had put in his heart. The author's conspicuous. He 
never lets us forget that this wasn't wisdom that was natural 
to Solomon. It was a God-given wisdom. And as we've read through and 
as we've studied this particular book up until this point, we 
need to appreciate the reality of 1 Kings chapter 3. Solomon 
asks for wisdom, God conveys wisdom. Every testimony subsequent 
to chapter 3 that indicates Solomon was in fact wise ought to produce 
in us an appreciation of the faithfulness of God. He is a 
prayer-hearing God. He is a prayer-answering God. 
Solomon prays for wisdom. God grants wisdom according to 
His promise to Solomon. So verse 25, each man brought 
his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, armor, spices, 
horses, and mules at a set rate year by year. A set rate year 
by year. Understand what this means. This 
is tribute paid to the king. This is a form of taxation. This is a form of make sure that 
we, the government, have what we need in order to operate in 
an efficient manner to rule over this particular kingdom. And 
then in verses 26 and following, we essentially see Solomon's 
accumulation of horses and chariots and things like that. Verses 
28 and 29 indicate that there was international trade. Solomon 
had horses imported from Egypt and Kaaba. The king's merchants 
brought them in Keba at the current price. Now a chariot that was 
imported from Egypt cost 600 shekels of silver and a horse 
150. And thus, through their agents, 
they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and the 
kings of Syria. So Solomon is not only functioning 
in terms of his own kingdom with reference to making sure they 
have everything they need or want, but he's also facilitating 
trade into other countries as well. So that's an explanation 
of the passage. I just want to draw out a few 
practical lessons, and then we'll close. It's a bit of a difficult 
chapter to just rehearse somebody else's money, right? I mean, 
look at what else he had, you know, that sort of a thing. I 
mean, it's one of those sorts of chapters we walk through, 
we admire, we marvel, and we see. But the bulk of the teaching 
ultimately is one in what the Queen of Sheba testifies and 
in what the narrator adds. So in the first place, the chapter 
does, in fact, call for a degree of admiration. calls for admiration. The wealth and wisdom of Solomon 
are on display for us to admire. It is a display case of God's 
answer to prayer with reference to Solomon's request. In fact, 
look back at 1 Kings for just a moment. 1 Kings chapter 3. 
Excuse me. 1 Kings chapter 3. Verse 9, Solomon says in response 
to God's question, what shall I give you? Verse 9, therefore 
give to your servant an understanding heart to judge your people that 
I may discern between good and evil for who is able to judge 
this great people of yours. The speech pleased the Lord that 
Solomon had asked this thing. Then God said to him, because 
you have asked this thing and have not asked long life for 
yourself, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked 
the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself, understanding 
to discern justice, behold, I have done according to your works. 
See, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that 
there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any 
like you arise after you. And I also have given you what 
you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there shall 
not be anyone like you among the kings all your days. So if 
you walk in My ways to keep My statutes and My commandments 
as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days." 
So it's a chapter for us to reflect not only on the prestige and 
the prominence and the wisdom and the wealth of Solomon, but 
on the answer to prayer that our God affords. In other words, 
in 1 Kings 10, the first one we're supposed to admire is God. 
It's because of God that the Queen of Sheba wants to go and 
hear Solomon's wisdom. And even the Queen of Sheba recognizes 
that herself. Yes, she admires Solomon. Yes, 
she presents him with great gifts. But it's blessed be the Lord 
your God who delighted in you, setting you on the throne of 
Israel, because the Lord has loved Israel forever. Therefore, 
He made you king to do justice and righteousness. So we ought 
to take our cue from the Queen of Sheba when we tour this particular 
chapter and give the glory to God. Instead of saying, wow, 
it's wonderful that they now had monkeys and apes in Israel 
and they had all these spices that before this point they had 
never quite enjoyed before. No, it's about God. God gave 
wisdom, God gave wealth in accordance with 1 Kings chapter 3 and the 
request made there by Solomon. Davis comments on the prosperity 
of the people of God. He says, the prosperity of the 
people of God is always a gift of God's goodness, which, I would 
think, demands of us both gratitude, lest we idolize the gifts in 
the place of God, and joy, lest we despise God's gifts as though 
they were sinful. Let me just read that again, 
because I think this is an appropriate way for us to view prosperity. 
Now, we're certainly not drinking juice out of gold goblets, but 
we're doing quite well here in North America, aren't we? I mean, 
when we read about the Sudan, or we read about Ethiopia, or 
we read about any number of places in the world, I mean, brethren, 
having a plastic cup to drink your juice in is a blessing from 
the Lord God Almighty. But I think at times prosperity 
challenges people. In fact, Proverbs 30, give me 
neither poverty nor riches. I'm not sure that we're all able 
to deal with riches. I think we're all convinced we 
can't deal with poverty, but some of us might realize as well 
we can't quite deal with riches. He says, if I have riches, I 
may forget God. And I think this is what Davis 
points out. Prosperity is always a gift of God's goodness, and 
it demands of us gratitude. gratitude lest we idolize the 
gifts in the place of God. You see, if we're not expressing 
thankfulness to God for the gift, we're going to obsess upon the 
gift itself. You see, this is a very necessary 
strategy. Instead of us obsessing on the 
gift, we are obsessed with the giver. We appreciate the gift, 
we have thankfulness for the gift, we utilize the gift, but 
we never forget we've been given the gift by the giver. and then 
as well joy, lest we despise God's gifts as though they were 
sinful." We need to appreciate that as well. If God gives you 
a nice bowl of soup, you don't have to throw ashes in it. I 
mean, you don't have to make yourself miserable. Davis points 
out in his commentary a particular missionary named Don McClure. And I'm not certain where he 
was, but it was a particular tribe. And the milk was drunk 
by, was drunk, I don't know if that's the correct form there. 
They ingested milk, mainly the women and the children. But the men quite liked the taste 
of milk, but it was so associated with women and children that 
to drink milk by itself would associate a man with women and 
children. So they'd take some cow urine 
and put it in the milk, and then it would be fit for men to consume. And I think as Christians, we 
approach God's blessings in this way. We can't really fully enjoy 
it. We've got to feel a little bad or have a little bit of guilt 
to go along with the enjoyment of this thing. That's really 
not the reason God gives us stuff. It's not so that we'll feel guilty. 
Some of us that were brought up Roman Catholics, I mean, they 
traffic in guilt. I don't know that you can ever 
shake that. I'm typically guilty for every breath I take, not 
quite that bad. But 1 Timothy chapter 4, the 
apostle gives us a strategy here as well, a prohibition against 
asceticism. Asceticism is essentially this 
idea that the physical is bad, we're more holy if we don't touch 
things, if we don't taste things, if we don't get near things. 
Ascetics believe that it's good to just go live out in the desert 
and have nothing, except the bare minimum to keep oneself 
alive. 1 Timothy 4, Paul says in verse 
1, the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will 
depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and 
doctrines of demons, speaking lies and hypocrisy, having their 
own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry and 
commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received 
with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. In 
other words, God didn't give you that steak so you could be 
miserable. He's okay with you being happy 
about it. You know, Israel was castigated 
for going into the land, enjoying, or eating the fruits of the land, 
and not returning gratitude to God. And Paul goes on to say, 
every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused 
if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is sanctified by the word 
of God and prayer. Now certainly, we can overdo 
luxury. We can overdo the good life. 
But brethren, the answer isn't to be miserable when God and 
his goodness is giving us nice things. You know, if somebody 
gave you a gift, would you break it because you don't deserve 
it? Sometimes that's how God's people respond to God. We can't 
always interpret every good and perfect gift that comes from 
above as a trap, or as a test, or as a means whereby I'm going 
to stumble and die. No, God's actually nice to his 
people. Dale Ralph Davis in his studies 
later on in Kings with the Shunammite woman, when Elisha raises the 
Shunammite woman's son from the dead. That Shunammite woman's 
son had no significance in redemptive history. He wasn't a prophet. He wouldn't be a king. He wasn't 
a preacher. He wasn't anybody in the grand 
scheme of things. Why did God allow Elisha to raise 
the Shunammite woman's son? Because God's nice. He's good. And we ought to appreciate that 
goodness. We ought to appreciate His gifts 
and not reject them wholesale because it's holy to be poor. If it was holy to be poor, then 
a whole host of people are holy or should be holy, but that really 
doesn't work that way as far as I'm able to tell. So on the 
one hand, don't forget to thank God because you'll idolize the 
gift in the place of God, but on the other hand, don't forget 
to be filled with joy lest we despise God's gifts as though 
they were sinful. If God gives us something good, 
we ought to be joyful. Now, obviously, it's not suggesting 
if you found crack on your way home, smoke it and be joyful 
in God. That's not a good gift. That's not a right thing. It's 
not a lawful thing for us to possess. But in terms of good 
gifts, brethren, it's okay to rejoice over those things, and 
we ought to. Second, and I don't want to bang 
this I've drummed too hard, but we ought to appreciate the chapter 
does indeed continue to foreshadow Solomon's downfall. The chapter 
in itself is a Solomon presentation, but the accumulation of gold, 
verses 14, 16 to 18, 21 to 22, 25, and then horses, verse 28, 
must remind the reader of the prohibitions concerning kings in Israel. It's an amazing thing to me how 
often we idealize kings without respect to Deuteronomy 17. I'm 
not suggesting we hate the kings. I'm not suggesting that we treat 
Solomon poorly or David poorly. They were men at best. And we 
need to appreciate that. But the standard for the king 
of Israel is always Deuteronomy 17. And if they violate that, 
we need to hold them accountable, just as God holds us accountable 
when we violate certain portions of Scripture. Thirdly, I think 
we ought to appreciate what has been pointed out, the principle 
end of government. That phrase is Gil's, by the 
way. The principle end of government is to do justice and righteousness. Now, David's reign at one particular 
point in 2 Samuel 8, 15 was described this way. So David reigned over 
all Israel, and David administered judgment and justice to all his 
people. So in David, we had something 
of that idealism realized. I think as well, with reference 
to Solomon, his reign was peaceful, the boundaries were extended, 
everything was going well. So to a degree, Solomon realized 
that also. The chapter I submit ends with 
an unspoken question. It ends with an unspoken question. If you hadn't thought of it, 
let me just tell you what you should be asking. What's Solomon 
going to do with all this wisdom and wealth? Right? We've just 
walked through his palace. We've heard the Queen of Sheba. 
We've heard the testimony of the narrator. We ought to ask 
the question before we get into chapter 11. What's he going to 
do with all this wisdom and wealth? Is he going to be like his father 
David? Is he going to do justice and righteousness? Is he going 
to faithfully execute what God had commanded? Because you see, 
as God gave him the wisdom and the wealth, we read on in 1 Kings 
chapter 3 wherein the Lord says, as long as you obey my commandments, 
as long as you do my statutes, as long as you fulfill my word 
and my law. And so we ought to appreciate 
that God has bestowed upon Solomon a great deal of resources and 
equipped him heavily in order to execute this justice and judgment 
upon the land. So we ought to ask the question. 
Certainly when we get to chapter 11, we find out that this is 
not the case with reference to Solomon. But as well, we ought 
to appreciate the chapter is rich with typical significance. Solomon was not a perfect man, 
but he pointed toward a perfect Christ. And there are things 
in this chapter that are indicative of that reality. In the first 
place, the Gentile inclusion in the covenant blessings of 
God. This queen of Sheba is a pagan coming to Israel's king. This 
is a down payment of the new covenant era, when the pagans 
come to Israel's king, when they come in mass, as Isaiah chapter 
2 tells us, when the nations stream to Zion to hear and to 
be taught the law of the Lord. So every time in the Old Testament 
you see a non-Israelite come into contact with the covenant 
people, I would submit that's pretty much always typical. of 
what's going to happen in the New Covenant era. Ruth the Moabitess 
is another down payment of the New Covenant inclusion of Gentiles 
in the people of God. Secondly, the conferral of gifts 
upon Israel's king. The fact that she brings all 
this stuff and lays it at the feet of Solomon is typical of 
what will happen to Solomon's greater son. If you look at Psalm 
72, a psalm written by Solomon that I suspect Solomon knew transcended 
Solomon. In Psalm 72, specifically verses 
10 and 11, the kings of Tarshish and of the isles will bring presents. 
The kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts. Yes, all kings shall 
fall down before him. All nations shall serve him. Verse 15, and he shall live and 
the gold of Sheba will be given to him. Prayer also will be made 
for him continually, and daily he shall be praised. Turn to 
the prophet Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 60. We have a typical function 
of the Queen of Sheba serving as a down payment of pagan kings 
bringing great gifts to Israel's king. Isaiah 60 verses 5 and 
6, then you shall see and become radiant and your heart shall 
swell with joy because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to 
you. The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you. The multitude 
of camels shall cover your land, the dromedaries of Midian and 
Ephah. All those from Sheba shall come. 
They shall bring gold and incense, and they shall proclaim the praises 
of the Lord. And then again in verse 11, therefore 
your gates shall be open continually. They shall not be shut day or 
night, that men may bring to you the wealth of the Gentiles 
and their kings in procession. Now turn to Matthew chapter 2. 
I suggest that this is how we ought to understand the wise 
man. This gift-gifting sort of ceremony 
that we see in Matthew 2 never was intended for us to say, you 
know, mommy, I want a new dump truck, so make sure I get one 
on Christmas morning. The idea is that these kings 
are functioning consistent with the prophetic testimony that 
the kings of the nations would come and present their gifts 
before the feet of Israel's king. Notice in Matthew 2 at verse 
11. It says, and when they had come into the house, they saw 
the young child and Mary, his mother, and fell down and worshiped 
him. And when they had opened their 
treasures, they presented gifts to him, gold, frankincense, and 
myrrh. Pretty interesting. The same 
book, Matthew's Gospel, wherein later on, Jesus is going to say, 
there's a greater than Solomon here. We see as well, with reference 
to the wisdom of Solomon, it's typical of the wisdom of Christ. 
Colossians 2 verse 3, in him are hid all the treasures of 
wisdom and knowledge. And then also we see the character 
of Christ's rule. Not only chapter 10 in 1 Kings 
verse 9, to do justice and righteousness, the prophet Isaiah outlining 
the program for the Messiah tells us He will operate specifically 
that way in Isaiah chapter 11, verses 1 to 5. And then we ought 
to appreciate the exceeding greatness of Christ. Turn to Matthew 12. 
This is a wonderful passage and most very similar to what we 
find in 1 Kings chapter 10. Notice in Matthew 12, verse 38. Then some of the scribes and 
Pharisees answered, saying, Teacher, we want to see a sign from you. 
What are they doing? They're testing him, aren't they? 
This is like the Queen of Sheba, armed with her three-by-five 
cards and all of her difficult questions as she goes to Jerusalem. She wants to test Solomon with 
hard questions. Well, these men want to test 
Jesus, these scribes and these Pharisees. We want to see a sign 
from you. We want you to perform. We want 
you to satisfy our carnal curiosity. We want you to do what we say. 
He answered and said to them, an evil and adulterous generation 
seeks after a sign and no sign will be given to it except the 
sign of the son of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three 
days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will 
the son of man be three days and three nights in the heart 
of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment 
with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at 
the preaching of Jonah, and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. 
The queen of the south will rise up in the judgment with this 
generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the 
earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and indeed a greater than Solomon 
is here. They come to test him, and he 
confounds them with his wisdom and his exceeding greatness in 
a manner similar to what we find in the Solomon narrative. But 
imagine when Jesus said this, when he said in verse 42, "...indeed 
a greater than Solomon is here." Just consider the magnitude of 
that for just a moment in this particular context. Remember 
that the scribes and the Pharisees knew 1 Kings 10. They knew the 
story of Solomon. They knew of the Queen of Sheba's 
visit to Solomon. They knew of her testimony concerning 
Solomon, and they knew of the narrator's testimony in the latter 
part of chapter 10 concerning his wealth and his wisdom and 
his fame and his glory and his majesty and his prominence. And 
the Lord Jesus Christ is standing before them with no gold. with 
no weapons, with no women on his arms, and he says, someone 
greater than Solomon is standing here. Consider how outlandish 
this probably appeared to be in terms of the scribes and the 
Pharisees. In chapter 12, they had accused him of sanctioning 
Sabbath breaking in 12.2. They wanted to destroy him for 
what they perceived was Sabbath-breaking in 1214. They ascribed his power 
to heal to Beelzebub, the devil, in Matthew 12, 24, and they would 
request a sign from him to satisfy their own carnal curiosity. And 
he stands before them and he says, one greater than Solomon 
is here. Brethren, I am not justifying 
it, but I understand why carnal men why these godless religious 
leaders hated and despised the Lord Jesus Christ. They didn't 
have faith to see Him as a greater than Solomon. This must have 
incensed them and this must have outraged them to no end when 
He said and He claimed to be greater than Solomon in all of 
His pomp and all of His glory. They had taken the tour of 1 
Kings 10. They knew what kind of a King Solomon was. They knew 
what the Queen of Sheba had testified. And here they have this Nazarene 
stand before them and say, one greater than Solomon is here. 
It's truly an amazing scenario as you consider it and compared 
to 1 Kings chapter 10. And then this chapter certainly 
does point to judgment. Notice what Jesus says, the Queen 
of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation 
and condemn it. For she came from the ends of 
the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon." Remember I said 
it's about 1,000 or maybe up to 1,500 miles that she had to 
travel to get to Jerusalem. This was before the Learjet. 
This was before the 747. This was, you know, on donkeys 
and horses or mules or whatever her, you know, preferred mode 
of travel was, but that was a long trek to go hear the wisdom of 
Solomon. These men didn't have to go anywhere. 
The Lord God Most High and the person of the Lord Jesus Christ 
comes to them, and He speaks truth to them. He speaks wisdom 
in their hearing, and they reject it, and they harden their heart 
against Him. So Jesus says the Queen of the South on that day, 
the Day of Judgment, will rise up with this generation and condemn 
it. The idea here or the emphasis 
is upon culpability. Davis says, Jesus' argument is 
that the Queen had both less truth and less privilege. She had only Solomon's wisdom 
and was not one of Solomon's people, yet she came to hear 
Solomon's word. Not bad for a Gentile apparently 
out of covenant loop. But now Israel faces something 
greater than Solomon, Jesus himself and his word and works, and she 
refuses to hear. Israel's great privilege will 
not secure her immunity, but will aggravate her responsibility. That is Jesus' point. Davies and Allison say, the queen 
of Sheba came to Solomon to test him with hard questions. So like 
the Pharisees, she tested a king. But unlike them, she could see 
the truth. It's an amazing indictment concerning 
the religious leaders in Jesus' day. Well, brethren, as we consider 
Christ in his typical significance here through Solomon, he is indeed 
altogether lovely, excuse me, and chief among 10,000, greater 
than Solomon, greater than the wise man that the kings of the 
earth fought to to hear his wisdom back in 1 Kings 10. Well, let 
us pray. Father, we thank you for your 
word. We thank you for your grace to us. We thank you for your 
kindness and your mercy. And Lord God, how we thank you 
that a greater than Solomon has come into this world. He came 
to live, to die, and to be raised the third day. We thank you for 
his session at your right hand, and we look forward to the day 
when he comes again in glory. to judge the living and the dead. 
How we thank you for that righteousness that you have given us, the forgiveness 
of sins. We pray that others would hear 
this truth, and others by your grace would believe this truth, 
and they would know the joy of being found in Him. Go with us 
now, watch over the entirety of our church, be with your people, 
grant us grace to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of 
our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And it's in His name that we 
pray, amen.