Bird's-eye view
This passage presents us with the apex of Solomon's golden age, a breathtaking inventory of wealth, power, and international prestige. On the surface, it is the glorious fulfillment of God's promises to David. The son of David rules from the River to the land of the Philistines, and the kings of the earth are bringing their treasures to Jerusalem to hear the wisdom God has put in his heart. This is a stunning typological picture of the messianic kingdom. However, embedded within this very account of glory is a detailed record of Solomon's profound covenantal failure. The inspired historian is not just bedazzled by the gold; he is carefully documenting how Solomon systematically violated every one of the prohibitions for kings laid out in Deuteronomy 17. The king was not to multiply gold, not to multiply horses (especially from Egypt), and not to multiply wives. This chapter catalogues the first two, and the third follows shortly. And it all begins with the deeply ominous number 666, a divine watermark indicating that this man-centered empire, for all its splendor, is stamped with the number of the beast.
Therefore, we are meant to read this passage with a kind of theological double vision. We are to see the genuine, God-given glory that foreshadows the kingdom of the Lord Jesus, the greater Solomon. But we are also to see the rot of disobedience setting in at the very heart of the kingdom. This is a story of how God's greatest blessings can become the occasion for man's greatest temptations. Solomon's wisdom was from God, but his choices were his own, and they laid the foundation for the division and ultimate collapse of the kingdom.
Outline
- 1. The Compromised Kingdom (2 Chron 9:13-28)
- a. The Mark of the Beast's Gold (2 Chron 9:13-14)
- b. A Treasury of Disobedience (2 Chron 9:15-21)
- c. The Peak of Worldly Glory (2 Chron 9:22-24)
- d. The Chariots of Egypt (2 Chron 9:25-28)
Context In 2 Chronicles
This passage comes at the absolute zenith of Solomon's reign. It immediately follows the visit of the Queen of Sheba, whose testimony served as the international confirmation of Solomon's unparalleled wisdom and riches. Her conclusion was that the half had not been told her. This section, then, seems to be the narrator's way of saying, "You think that was impressive? Let me tell you the half." It is the high-water mark of the united monarchy and, in many ways, of the entire Old Covenant era in terms of peace, prosperity, and influence. However, it is a peak that stands on the edge of a precipice. The book of Kings makes it explicit that Solomon's heart was turned away by his many foreign wives, and that God pronounced judgment on him, promising to tear the kingdom from his son. While Chronicles focuses more on the glories of the Davidic line and the temple, it does not hide the seeds of this apostasy. This detailed accounting of Solomon's wealth and military might is not just a celebration; it is an indictment.
Key Issues
- The Significance of 666 Talents of Gold
- Solomon's Violations of Deuteronomy 17
- The Typology of Solomon's Kingdom
- The Relationship Between Blessing and Temptation
- Trust in Military Might vs. Trust in God
- The Nature of Old Covenant Glory
The Wise Fool's Gold
The law for Israel's king in Deuteronomy 17 is startlingly clear. Three things he must not do: he must not multiply wives for himself, lest they turn his heart away. He must not multiply horses for himself, especially from Egypt. And "neither shall he greatly multiply for himself silver and gold" (Deut. 17:17). These were the temptations of any pagan monarch, wealth, women, and weapons. God's king was to be different. He was to be a man of the Book, trusting in God's law and God's provision, not in the standard instruments of worldly power. Solomon, the man gifted with more wisdom than any other, proceeds to violate these commands with systematic precision and on a scale the world had never seen. This passage is the inspired record of his failure. It is a lesson that wisdom, without the fear of the Lord that leads to obedience, is just a tool for building a more impressive tower of Babel.
Verse by Verse Commentary
13-14 Now the weight of gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, besides that which the traders and merchants brought; and all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.
The narrator begins his audit of Solomon's glory with a number that should stop every Bible reader in his tracks: 666. This cannot be an accident. This is the Holy Spirit, centuries before John wrote the book of Revelation, stamping Solomon's enterprise with a mark of profound spiritual danger. Six is the number of man, falling short of God's perfect seven. Three is the number of divine fullness. To have 666 is to have a complete, emphatic, and thoroughgoing system of man-centered glory. This is man's kingdom at its very best, which is precisely what the beast's kingdom in Revelation represents. It is impressive, wealthy, powerful, and attractive, but it is not God's kingdom. Solomon's base annual income in gold was a monument to human achievement, and therefore a monument to disobedience. The very first item on the list is a violation of Deuteronomy 17:17, "neither shall he greatly multiply for himself silver and gold."
15-16 And King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, using 600 shekels of beaten gold on each large shield. And he made 300 shields of beaten gold, using 300 shekels of gold on each shield, and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.
What does one do with all this disobediently acquired gold? Solomon turns it into objects of display. These shields were not for war; you don't take a soft metal like gold into battle. They were for parades. They were symbols of power and wealth, hung in one of his opulent state buildings. This is what happens when wealth is multiplied against God's command. It ceases to be a tool and becomes an idol. It is used not for the good of the people, but for the aggrandizement of the state and the king. This is pure political vanity.
17-19 Moreover, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. And there were six steps to the throne and a footstool in gold attached to the throne, and arms on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the arms. Twelve lions were also standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for any other kingdom.
The throne is another exercise in excess. It is a monument to Solomon's own greatness. The description is meant to awe the reader: ivory, pure gold, six steps, lions everywhere. The narrator even adds the editorial comment that there was no throne like it in any other kingdom. In one sense, this is fitting for the king of God's people. But in the context of the Deuteronomy 17 prohibition and the 666 talents, it looks like hubris. The twelve lions likely represent the twelve tribes of Israel, but here they are decorations for the king's exalted seat, symbols of the nation in service to the monarch's majesty. The focus is on the splendor of Solomon, and it is a splendor that is beginning to eclipse the splendor of the God who gave it to him.
20-21 Now 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 valuable in the days of Solomon. For the king had ships which went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram; once every three years the ships of Tarshish came carrying gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks.
The opulence was so extreme that it distorted the very economy. Silver, a precious metal, was devalued to the point of being considered nothing. This is not a sign of a healthy commonwealth, but of a state treasury so bloated with imported wealth that it warps reality. The source of this wealth was a global trade network, bringing in not just precious metals but also exotic curiosities. Apes and peacocks. These are not the necessities of a kingdom; they are the trinkets of an empire obsessed with luxury and novelty. This is the kind of decadence that Roman emperors would later perfect.
22-24 So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. And all the kings of the earth were seeking the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. And they brought every man his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses and mules, a set amount year by year.
Here is the great paradox. The narrator states plainly that Solomon's greatness was a reality, and his wisdom was a gift from God. The nations were drawn to him, fulfilling the Abrahamic promise that Israel would be a blessing to the nations. This was the typological glory. This is what it looks like when God's people are faithful, the world takes notice and comes to inquire of their God. But notice what the nations bring: more gold, more silver, more weapons, more horses. The very blessings that flow to Solomon as a result of his God-given wisdom become the instruments of his temptation and disobedience. It is a tragic irony. The world comes to hear God's wisdom and, in the process, helps Solomon build a kingdom based on worldly principles.
25 And Solomon had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots and 12,000 horsemen, and he stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.
If the multiplication of gold was a clear violation of Deuteronomy 17, this is even more so. The second prohibition for the king was, "he shall not multiply horses for himself." Solomon does not just get a few extra horses; he builds a massive, state-of-the-art military machine. Chariots were the ancient equivalent of tanks, a fearsome offensive weapon. He builds specialized "chariot cities" to house his new army. This represents a fundamental shift in Israel's national security policy, away from trust in Yahweh, the divine warrior, and toward trust in the best military hardware available.
26-28 And he was the ruler over all the kings from the River even to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt. The king also made silver as plentiful as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the Shephelah. And they were importing horses for Solomon from Egypt and from all countries.
The narrator confirms the extent of his empire, which matches the borders promised to Abraham. He restates the incredible wealth, with silver as common as stones. And then he delivers the final, damning piece of evidence. Not only did Solomon multiply horses, but he was importing them from Egypt. This was the one place from which he was explicitly forbidden to get them. "He shall not multiply horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to multiply horses, since the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again’" (Deut. 17:16). Solomon's sin is not an accidental slip-up. It is a direct, flagrant, and willful defiance of the clear command of God. He has trusted in the arm of the flesh, the power of Egypt, rather than the Lord of Hosts.
Application
The story of Solomon is a profound warning against the seduction of success. God gives a man wisdom, wealth, and influence, and the man takes those very gifts and builds a monument to himself with them. The temptation for the successful church, the successful Christian leader, or the successful nation is to begin to trust in the machinery of that success rather than in the God who gave it. We can become so enamored with our large shields of beaten gold, our beautiful buildings, our large budgets, our impressive programs, that we forget they are nothing. We can build up our chariot armies, our political connections, our clever marketing strategies, our cultural influence, and forget that the battle belongs to the Lord.
Solomon's kingdom was a type of the kingdom of Christ, but it was a flawed type. The greater Solomon has come, and His kingdom is not built with gold or horses. Jesus had no wealth, no army, and no earthly throne. He rejected the temptation to turn stones to bread and to command the kingdoms of the world. His glory was revealed in obedience, humility, and sacrifice. The lesson for us is to be wary of any version of Christianity that looks too much like Solomon's kingdom and not enough like Christ's. The way of the cross is not the way of apes and peacocks. We are called to reject the 666 system of man-centered glory and to trust in the foolishness of a crucified King, whose kingdom is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.