As Solomon’s fame exploded to the moon, every rich person, world leader, and their grandmother wanted to associate with him.
They traveled from the four corners of the earth to visit his palace.
Not only did they want to see for themselves just how wealthy he was and how smoothly Israel’s society ran…
They wanted to be just like Solomon.
But getting an audience with the King of Israel wasn’t cheap.
Expensive gifts were needed.
So expensive gifts were brought.
Gifts that further increased Solomon’s wealth.
And as his wealth increased…
So did the need to protect it.
To that end, Solomon built a ton of storage houses and army bases.
Interestingly, Solomon also became a dealer in the most fearsome military weapon of his day.
I’m talking about chariots.
He amassed a ton of them.
Where did he get them?
Well, where do you think he got them from, homie?
He got them from Egypt.
He was as tight with Pharaoh Siamun as Eminem was with Dr. Dre.
Ya feel me here?
Thanks to his special relationship with Pharaoh, Solomon acquired horses at rock-bottom prices and dominated the market like nobody’s business.
Bottom line, if you were a ruler in the Middle East…
And you needed some horses and chariots to spruce up your image (and your ego)…
Who were you gonna call?
Not the Ghostbusters.
You went to King Solomon.
Are you feeling me here?
In his day, Solomon was arguably the most powerful ruler on the planet.
But tragically, within a very short time, it would all come to an end.
Alrighty, let’s switch over to the takeaway.
You know, I could talk about how Solomon ended up breaking Torah left and right…
And how that ultimately led to the dissolution of his kingdom.
But I think by now, that’s an obvious point.
There’s something else, something much more profound coming to me.
I couldn’t help but notice that all the leaders of the world were only interested in Solomon because of his wealth.
They couldn’t have cared less about the divine wisdom behind his power and money…
And how well Israel ran.
Their focus was only on the gold…
Not the God behind the gold.
Ya feel me here?
To me, that’s a tragedy.
Godly wisdom sees beyond surface appearances.
It pierces to the very heart of the matter.
When you have wisdom…
Not only do you possess the means to get wealth…
But you also gain the insight to realize when pursuing too much of it makes about as much sense as dipping your head in a bucket of elephant vomit.
Ya feel me?
I leave with these words from the Book of Proverbs, written by Solomon himself:
“For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He holds success in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.”
-Proverbs 2:6-8
P.S. Actually, if you get a chance, read that entire chapter from Proverbs. It’s awesome!
P.P.S. Actually, screw just reading the 2nd chapter; dive into the whole Book of Proverbs, man! All of a sudden, I feel highly motivated to dive deep into that book.
NEXT TIME WE BEGIN 2 KINGS CHAPTER 11
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