1 Kings 10:14-29

1 Kings 10:14-29

[14] Now the weight  of gold  that came  to Solomon  in one  year  was six  hundred  threescore  and six  talents  of gold,  [15] and of the traffick  of the spice merchants,  and of all the kings  of Arabia,  and of the governors  of the country.  [16] And king  Solomon  made  two hundred  targets  of beaten  gold:  six  hundred  shekels of gold  went  to one  target.  [17] And he made three  hundred  shields  of beaten  gold;  three  pound  of gold  went  to one  shield:  and the king  put  them in the house  of the forest  of Lebanon.  [18] Moreover the king  made  a great  throne  of ivory,  and overlaid  it with the best  gold.  [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:  there was 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 forest  of Lebanon  were of pure  gold;  none were of silver:  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.  [23] So king  Solomon  exceeded  all the kings  of the earth  for riches  and for wisdom.  [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 armour,  and spices,  horses,  and mules,  a rate  year  [26] And Solomon  gathered together  chariots  and horsemen:  and he had a thousand  and four  hundred  chariots,  and twelve  thousand  horsemen,  whom he bestowed  in the cities  for chariots,  and with the king  at Jerusalem.  [27] And the king  made  silver  to be in Jerusalem  as stones,  and cedars  made  he to be as the sycomore trees  that are in the vale,  for abundance.  [28] And Solomon  had horses  brought  out of Egypt,  and linen yarn:  the king's  merchants  received  the linen yarn  at a price.  [29] And a chariot  came up  and went out  of Egypt  for six  hundred  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 Syria,  did they bring them out  by their means. 

What does 1 Kings 10:14-29 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

This pericope summarizes Solomon"s wealth as the previous one summarized his wisdom. God brought much wealth to Song of Solomon , almost25 tons of gold a year ( 1 Kings 10:14), plus many other riches.
"Those who would consider his income of 666 talents (ca. 216 tons) of gold exaggeration should compare this with amounts registered in ancient Egypt about this time, "where gold is like dust in the land" and Osorkon I in his first four years (ca. 924-920 BC) accumulated eighteen tons of gold, to which some of the loot taken by his father Shishak from Jerusalem should be added (cf. 1 Kings 14:25-27). Similar large-scale acquisition and use of gold in temple building is attested from Mesopotamia." [1]
I do not believe we should criticize Solomon simply for being wealthy, since God promised to make him rich ( 1 Kings 3:13). Neither should we blame a person, who receives a fortune as an outright gift, for having money. It was the accumulation of riches and ornaments to become materially secure and independent that God forbade. To the extent that Solomon did this-and he evidently did it somewhat-he was guilty of violating God"s Law.
Solomon served as an international broker. He capitalized on Israel"s strategic geographic location as the land bridge that connected three continents: Europe, Asia, and Africa. He made Israel a clearinghouse through which merchandise passed and charged custom taxes as goods entered and left his country. [2] "Traders" probably refers to business people who passed through Israel and "merchants" to those who did business in Israel. [3] Solomon was probably history"s most successful Jewish businessman.
The gold shields he hung in the palace armory were evidently for parade use. Gold is a very soft metal and would have been inappropriate for shields that soldiers used for defense in battle ( 1 Kings 10:17). Perhaps the12lions surrounding Solomon"s throne represented Israel"s12tribes ( 1 Kings 10:20). Tarshish (lit. refinery, 1 Kings 10:22; cf. Jonah 1:3) was probably in Spain or Sardinia. Kue ( 1 Kings 10:28) was Cilicia (the Apostle Paul"s home province) in modern Turkey.
God forbade Israel"s kings from multiplying chariots ( 1 Kings 10:26), the most effective and dreaded military machines of their day ( Deuteronomy 17:16). God wanted His people to depend on Him primarily for their protection. Material prosperity and security often lead people to conclude that they have no needs when really our need for God never diminishes. Solomon fell into this trap. Wealth is not sinful in itself, but it does bring temptations with it (cf. James 5:1-6).
Though Solomon experienced great blessings from his faithful God, he fell prey to the sins these blessings make easier, as the writer explained in the next chapter.