The remarkable visit of Sheba’s queen concludes with an inventory list of her gifts to Solomon.
The Queen of Sheba gave the following to Solomon: “one hundred and twenty talents of gold [four-and-a-half tons!], spices in great quantity, and precious stones” (1 Ki 10:10). This spurs on the writer to continue in that vein—a gold vein, we might add! The text emphasizes the superlative nature of it all. “There never again came such abundance of spices as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon” (v 10). “Also, the ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought great quantities of almug wood [sandalwood?]…And the king made steps of the almug wood for the house of the Lord and for the king’s house…There never again came such almug wood, nor has the like been seen to this day” (vv 11-12). Again we read, “all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Not one was silver, for this was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon” (v 21). His annual increase of gold was 666 talents—25 tons! And his revenue stream was enhanced by “traveling merchants, from the income of traders, from all the kings of Arabia, and from the governors of the country” (v 15). The chapter goes on to describe 200 massive gold shields, his solid ivory throne with pairs of lions guarding each step up to the top. So what do we make of all this? We could see it as a promise fulfilled— “exceedingly abundantly above” Solomon’s asking (see 3:13), and it could inspire us to take more advantage of the Lord’s generosity through prayer. Or we could be reminded that the child of God today has wealth far superior to Solomon’s, as “heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ” (Rom 8:17). You have “an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Pet 1:4). Where’s Solomon’s wealth now, anyway?