“All King Shlomo’s drinking vessels were of gold; and all the utensils in the House of the L’vanon Forest were of pure gold; none was of silver, for in Shlomo’s time it was regarded as having little value. The king had a fleet of large ‘Tarshish’ ships along with Hiram’s fleet; once every three years the “Tarshish” fleet came in, bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes and peacocks.” – 1 Kings 10:21-22
So as I said yesterday, in terms of worldly wealth, Solomon sucked the planet dry.
He had so much gold that even his daily utensils and cups for eating and drinking were made out of gold.
His throne was overlaid with ivory and gold.
The ascent leading up to his throne had 6 steps.
And each step had a pair of exquisitely sculpted lions that would’ve given Da Vinci a run for his shekels.
Solomon went so overboard with gold that silver became almost worthless by comparison.
Heck, he even made hundreds of golden shields that would never be used on the battlefield.
They were only used to decorate his palace.
On top of that, Solomon amassed his own fleet of sea vessels known as “ships of Tarshish.”
What in the world are Tarshish ships?
Some Bible translations make it sound as though Tarshish was simply the port these ships sailed to and from.
Tarshish is commonly identified with a location in the western Mediterranean, possibly Tartessos in what is now Spain.
But here’s the interesting part.
Some academic homies believe that “ships of Tarshish” was actually a term for large, ocean-going trading vessels capable of making long-distance voyages.
In other words, the name may have described the kind of ships Solomon possessed rather than telling us exactly where they sailed.
If that’s the case, we gotta dismiss that first interpretation as marijuana-induced, and cross it off our list.
What’s beyond a doubt is that Solomon’s ships, together with Hiram’s fleet, sailed into the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
Some commentators even suggest they traveled as far as the Persian Gulf.
We’re told the cargo was “gold, silver, ivory, apes and peacocks.”
Now apes, peacocks, and ivory ain’t nowhere to be found in the Mediterranean.
They can only be found in Africa.
So this was definitely a Red Sea fleet.
Anyway, enough of digging into all this detail.
Let’s switch over to the takeaway.
So here’s what’s coming to me.
At what point does having enough turn into having too much?
I ain’t saying that having money or enjoying nice things is automatically sinful.
Scripture doesn’t teach that.
But take a look at Deuteronomy 17:17:
“Likewise, he is not to acquire many wives for himself, so that his heart will not turn away; and he is not to acquire excessive quantities of silver and gold.“
God specifically instructed Israel’s king not to greatly multiply silver and gold for himself.
So did God want Solomon to accumulate as much wealth as possible and then use it to demonstrate how freakin’ awesome his kingdom was?
Didn’t Solomon have a much more important responsibility?
To remain faithful to God’s Torah.
Walk in humility.
And remember that his authority came from God.
I guess what I’m trying to say is this:
There’s a big rear-end difference between enjoying God’s blessings…
And making the accumulation of those blessings the goal of our lives.
Ya feel me here?
Done.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Command those who are
rich in this present world
not to be arrogant
nor to put their hope in wealth,
which is so uncertain,
but to put their hope in God,
who richly provides us with
everything for our enjoyment.
Command them to do good,
to be rich in good deeds,
and to be generous and willing to share.
In this way they will lay up treasure
for themselves as a firm foundation f
or the coming age,
so that they may take hold
of the life that is truly life.”
– 1 Timothy 6:17-19
“Then he said to them,
‘Watch out!
Be on your guard against
all kinds of greed;
life does not consist
in an abundance of possessions.’”
-Luke 12:15
“For where your treasure is,
there your heart will be also.”
-Matthew 6:21
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