2 Chronicles 9 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

2 Chronicles 9

The Queen of Sheba

9:1 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions, having a very great retinue and camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. 2 And Solomon answered all her questions. There was nothing hidden from Solomon that he could not explain to her. 3 And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 4 the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, and their clothing, his cupbearers, and their clothing, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the LORD, there was no more breath in her.

5 And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, 6 but I did not believe the¹ reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, half the greatness of your wisdom was not told me; you surpass the report that I heard. 7 Happy are your wives!² Happy are these your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 8 Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and set you on his throne as king for the LORD your God! Because your God loved Israel and would establish them forever, he has made you king over them, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” 9 Then she gave the king 120 talents³ of gold, and a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones. There were no spices such as those that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

10 Moreover, the servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, brought algum wood and precious stones. 11 And the king made from the algum wood supports for the house of the LORD and for the king’s house, lyres also and harps for the singers. There never was seen the like of them before in the land of Judah.

12 And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what she had brought to the king. So she turned and went back to her own land with her servants.

Solomon’s Wealth

13 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 14 besides that which the explorers and merchants brought. And all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land brought gold and silver to Solomon. 15 King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels⁴ of beaten gold went into each shield. 16 And he made 300 shields of beaten gold; 300 shekels of gold went into each shield; and the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. 17 The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 The throne had six steps and a footstool of gold, which were attached to the throne, and on each side of the seat were armrests and two lions standing beside the armrests, 19 while twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. Nothing like it was ever made for any kingdom. 20 All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. Silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon. 21 For the king’s ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Hiram. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.⁵

22 Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. 23 And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. 24 Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and of gold, garments, myrrh,⁶ spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year. 25 And Solomon had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots, and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 26 And he ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates⁷ to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. 27 And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah. 28 And horses were imported for Solomon from Egypt and from all lands.

Solomon’s Death

29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, from first to last, are they not written in the history of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? 30 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. 31 And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father, and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.

Footnotes

[1] 9:6 Hebrew their
[2] 9:7 Septuagint (compare 1 Kings 10:8); Hebrew men
[3] 9:9 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
[4] 9:15 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
[5] 9:21 Or baboons
[6] 9:24 Or armor
[7] 9:26 Hebrew the River

Commentary

v1: The Queen of Sheba came to Solomon with "hard questions". We know that Christ has all the answers to our personal problems, as well as our theological queries. He knows all that is in our heart. Indeed, Christ is greater than Solomon (Matt 12.43).

v2: Nothing was too difficult for Solomon; just as nothing is too difficult for Christ (Jer 32.17).

v3-4: The different aspects of Solomon's reign impressed the Queen of Sheba, but she had to meet him to fully appreciate his greatness. We too must be taken up with the excellence of Jesus Christ, John 4.39, 42.

v5-6: The half was not told me; the effect of personal knowledge and first-hand experience; there is no substitute for this. The true Christian is one who knows Christ, not one who just knows about Christ.

v7: Happiness in continual communion; this is to be preferred above single acts of devotion. This is a taste of Heaven, where we shall enjoy uninterrupted communion.

v8: The Queen of Sheba was made to praise God; Jesus Christ, pictured by Solomon, is the only way to the Father. Our lives ought to have real impact upon others.

v9-11: The Queen left great riches for Solomon, just as Hiram had brought riches from Ophir.

v12: The Queen of Sheba left with far more than she had brought. Does not our Lord give us far more than we ask, see Mark 10.28-30?

In Luke 12.27, the Lord Jesus said that the lilies of the field exceeded Solomon's glory. We must look to the Lord to provide all our needs; in a spiritual sense we need the righteousness of Christ, not just to save us, but to sustain us.

Solomon's later apostasy is not recorded in Chronicles, just as David's adultery is omitted. Chronicles emphasises their greatness and glory. A total of 28 out of 65 chapters (1 & 2 Chronicles) are about these two kings.

v13-14: Great wealth poured into Israel, from trading and from tribute (taxation). The "heavy yoke" of Jeroboam's accusation (10.4) is hardly true. In contrast, some 100 years earlier, Samuel had warned the people of the burden of having a king, 1 Sam 8.11-18.

v15-17: Solomon had the wealth used essentially as decoration.

v18: The throne had steps and a footstool fastened to it; this was a place of worship and of access. Heaven is God's throne, and earth His footstool; Christ is the steps (or ladder) joining the two. The word "step", or elevation is found in Psalms 120-134, the Songs of Ascents.

v19: The golden lions were made; not real lions.

v20-28: various descriptions of Solomon's wealth. The wealth continued to grow, with the trading ships, and with kings of many nations coming to Solomon. We must see a picture of the greatness of Jesus Christ, and the glory of His eternal kingdom.

v29-31: Solomon reigned for forty years. The massive growth in wealth in his reign was very quickly lost. Riches, even when gained by godly means, are still deceitful, and we must not put our trust in them. Theses verses refer to Jeroboam and Rehoboam, who subsequently ruled over the divided kingdom.