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Speaker 1: I'm John Stanghy, and today we're in Second Chronicles, chapter nine,
Speaker 1: and we'll be reading from the English Standard version. Now,
Speaker 1: when the Queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon,
Speaker 1: she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions,
Speaker 1: having a very great retinue and camels bearing spices, and
Speaker 1: very much gold and precious stones. And when she came
Speaker 1: to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind,
Speaker 1: and Solomon answered all her questions. There was nothing hidden
Speaker 1: from Solomon that he could not explain to her. And
Speaker 1: when the Queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon,
Speaker 1: the house that he had built, the food of his table,
Speaker 1: the seating of his officials, and the attendants of his servants,
Speaker 1: and their clothing, his cupbears and their clothing, and his
Speaker 1: burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord,
Speaker 1: there was no more breath in her. And she said
Speaker 1: to the King, the report was true that I heard
Speaker 1: in my own land of your words and of your wisdom.
Speaker 1: But I did not believe the reports until I came
Speaker 1: and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, half
Speaker 1: the greatness of your wisdom was not told me. You
Speaker 1: surpassed the report that I heard. Happy are your wives? Happy?
Speaker 1: Are these your servants who continually stand before you and
Speaker 1: hear your wisdom? Blessed be the Lord your God, who
Speaker 1: has delighted in you and set you on his throne
Speaker 1: as king. For the Lord your God, because your God
Speaker 1: loved Israel and would establish them forever, he has made
Speaker 1: you king over them, that you may execute justice and righteousness.
Speaker 1: Then she gave the king one hundred twenty talents of
Speaker 1: gold and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones.
Speaker 1: There were no spices such as those that the Queen
Speaker 1: of Sheba gave to King Solomon. Moreover, the servants of
Speaker 1: Hyrum and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ofir,
Speaker 1: brought algamwood and precious stones. And the King made from
Speaker 1: the algamwoods supports for the house of the Lord and
Speaker 1: for the king's house, lears also, and harps for the singers.
Speaker 1: There never was seen the like of them before in
Speaker 1: the land of Judah and King Solomon gave to the
Speaker 1: Queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked,
Speaker 1: besides what she had brought to the king. So she
Speaker 1: turned and went back to her own land with her servants. Now,
Speaker 1: the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one
Speaker 1: year was six hundred sixty six talents of gold, besides
Speaker 1: that which the explorers and merchants brought, and all the
Speaker 1: kings of Arabia and the governors of the land brought
Speaker 1: gold and silver to Solomon. King Solomon made two hundred
Speaker 1: large shields of beaten gold. Six hundred shekels of beaten
Speaker 1: gold went into each shield, and he made three hundred
Speaker 1: shields of beaten gold. Three hundred shekels of gold went
Speaker 1: into each shield, and the king put them in the
Speaker 1: house of the Forest of Lebanon. The king also made
Speaker 1: a great ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold.
Speaker 1: The throne had six steps and a footstool of gold,
Speaker 1: which were attached to the throne, and on each side
Speaker 1: of the seat were armrests, and two lions standing beside
Speaker 1: the armrests, while twelve lions stood there, one on each
Speaker 1: end of a step. On the six steps, nothing like
Speaker 1: it was ever made for any kingdom. Also, King Solomon's
Speaker 1: drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of
Speaker 1: the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold.
Speaker 1: Silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon,
Speaker 1: for the king's ships went to Tarsish with the servants
Speaker 1: of Hiram once every three years. The ships of Tarsish
Speaker 1: used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes and peacocks.
Speaker 1: Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth
Speaker 1: in riches and in wisdom. And all the kings of
Speaker 1: the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his
Speaker 1: wisdom which God had put into his mind. Every one
Speaker 1: of them brought his present articles of silver and of gold, garments,
Speaker 1: myrh spices, horses and mules, so much year by year,
Speaker 1: And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots,
Speaker 1: and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities,
Speaker 1: and with the king in Jerusalem. And he ruled over
Speaker 1: all the kings from the Euphrates to the land of
Speaker 1: the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. And the
Speaker 1: king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and
Speaker 1: he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shefala.
Speaker 1: And horses were imported for Solomon from Egypt and from
Speaker 1: all lands. Now the rest of the acts of Solomon,
Speaker 1: from first to last, are they not written in the
Speaker 1: history of Nathan the Prophet, and in the prophecy of
Speaker 1: Ahijah the Shylonite, and in the visions of Iddo the
Speaker 1: Seer concerning Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. Solomon reigned in
Speaker 1: Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. And Solomon slept with
Speaker 1: his fathers and was buried in the city of David,
Speaker 1: his father, and Reeboam, his son, reigned in his place.
Speaker 1: Let's pray, Lord, we thank you for your word, and
Speaker 1: we thank you for the privilege of being able to
Speaker 1: look at it today. And as we look at this
Speaker 1: portion of scripture, we see the fascination that kings and
Speaker 1: queens from distant places had with Solomon. They sought to
Speaker 1: be in his presence, They sought to give him honor.
Speaker 1: They sought to be recipients of his great wisdom. And Lord,
Speaker 1: in this we see a picture of the nations coming
Speaker 1: to your son, Jesus Christ, the ultimate King over creation
Speaker 1: and bowing the knee in worship and allegiance to him. Lord,
Speaker 1: you tell us in your word that every tongue will
Speaker 1: confess and every knee will eventually bow to Jesus Christ,
Speaker 1: acknowledging him as Lord. And Lord, you give us the
Speaker 1: privilege to do that. Now. That's not something we have
Speaker 1: to wait until some distant time in the future to do.
Speaker 1: That's something we have the privilege to do today. So Lord,
Speaker 1: we're grateful for that privilege, and we pray that, by
Speaker 1: your grace that every day that we live that in
Speaker 1: our minds and in our hearts and in the actions
Speaker 1: that we take, that we would be declaring continually that
Speaker 1: Jesus Christ is Lord of our lives. We love you, Lord,
Speaker 1: We're grateful for your presence with us, and we pray
Speaker 1: Lord that throughout the the course of this day that
Speaker 1: we would seek to honor your name. We pray this
Speaker 1: all in Jesus' name. Amen.