QT 20 Apr 11

1 Kings 10:16-21 (NIV) King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred bekas of gold went into each shield. 17 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three minas of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.  // 18 Then the king made a great throne inlaid with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. 20 Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. 21 All King Solomon's goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon's days.

1 Kings 10:26-29 (NIV) Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore — fig trees in the foothills. 28 Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue—the royal merchants purchased them from Kue. 29 They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and of the Arameans.

NOTE: Nothing wrong with gold shields, although they are somewhat heavy and too soft for actual use.  They are ornamental and not really functional.  Likewise the great throne with twelve lions overlaid with gold is a bit ostentatious.  Drinking out of gold cups instead of silver because silver had little value also suggests the same.  But the first of the actual "wrongs" of Solomon is the accumulation of chariots and horses, which God had said not to do (Deut 17:16-17).  Also, the same passage speaks of not accumulating wives.  I think Solomon's fault goes back to one of the very first requirements of a King and that is, to read God's word entirely and copy it down onto paper.  If Solomon has continued in that habit (assuming he did it at first), I think he could have avoided the excesses of the latter half of his rule.  There is an application in here for me as well.  I need to be reading through God's word every year.  It doesn't matter how many books I studied or verses I memorized.  I need the fresh input of God's word constantly in my life, or the wisdom of the world will fool me into actions that are not pleasing to God.  I think that is where Solomon really went astray.  It wasn't the wives, it was ignoring God's word.