“King Shlomo built a fleet of ships in ‘Etzyon-Gever, by Elot on the shore of the Sea of Suf in the land of Edom. Hiram sent some of his own servants, experienced sailors who understood the sea, to serve with Shlomo’s servants. They went to Ofir and took from there gold, fourteen tons of it, which they brought back to King Shlomo.”- 1 Kings 9:26-28
Alrighty, so today, we’re gonna finish up 1 Kings Chapter 9.
YAY!
So the chapter wraps up by providing details about how Solomon built a fleet of ships.
Apparently, this shipbuilding operation took place at the tip of the Red Sea known as the Gulf of Aqaba.
To be more precise, the area was near ancient Elath, in the vicinity of modern-day Eilat and Aqaba.
Ancient Elath was associated with the eastern side of the Gulf of Aqaba, in the area of what is now Jordan.
There’s also a modern-day Eilat located on the western side of the Gulf.
That is also a port city.
Now the Israelites were not exactly known as a major seafaring people.
So Solomon called on Hiram to send experienced sailors and shipbuilders to supervise the work and teach his men.
They sailed through the Red Sea, stopping at ports in Arabia and Africa, and may have traveled as far as the Indian Ocean.
Now, what’s up with the mention of a place called OFIR?
Apparently, that was where they acquired their gold in humongous quantities.
However, academic homies debate its location.
One commentator has mentioned that the common assertion that OFIR was located in the Mediterranean is absurd beyond the pale.
I agree with him.
Because if Ophir were supposedly in the Mediterranean, that would mean Solomon’s ships had to travel down the eastern coast of Africa…
Then circle the Horn of Africa…
Then sail down and around South Africa…
Then go back up Africa’s west coast…
Then finally enter the Mediterranean through the Straits of Gibraltar.
That makes about as much sense as saying Superman got stronger after eating Kryptonite for breakfast.
So what takeaway can we extract from this?
Well, notice that Solomon’s moves connected his kingdom to the wider world.
Think about the location of Ezion-Geber.
That location matters, man.
Why?
Because it gave Solomon access to the Red Sea and therefore to trade routes connecting Israel with Arabia and Africa.
He was putting Israel in a strategic position where his kingdom could interact with the nations around it.
I’m seeing a pattern here where, by God’s design, Israel is becoming the center of the world.
It was so back then.
And it is so today.
Look at how prominent a role Israel plays today in the world’s politics and economics.
Israel is…
“as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk”…
To quote Mark Twain for the umpteenth time.
But you know what’s even more inspiring.
As all of the nations line up against Israel — look at what happened at the recent UN General Assembly when a ton of nations walked out on Bibi Netanyahu — we see the prophetic stage being set for the return of the Messiah.
When Messiah comes, he will destroy Israel’s enemies, establish his throne in Jerusalem, and make Israel not only the center of the whole world…
But the entire universe!
Ya feel me?
Done.
NEXT TIME BEGIN 1 KINGS CHAPTER 10
I read once that the rock on which Abraham was to sacrifice Isaac, which is today the Dome of the Rock, is the center of the Universe. And Jerusalem is the spiritually highest place on the earth, which is why we read so often in the Bible that people “went down” to other parts of Israel.
Even though Jerusalem is not the highest point, geographically, it is the highest spiritual place so even if we go to a place in Israel higher over sea level, we are still “going down” if we are starting from Jerusalem.
Amen, Steven!
I don’t know if I ever shared this with you. But when I flew into Israel a couple of years ago, you know how you can monitor exactly where your plane is located on the TV screen in front of you. Well, as we drew closer to the holy land, I was monitoring the screen closely, and once I realized we had officially entered Israeli airspace, I broke out in tears. I was that excited and overtaken by emotion. I mean think about it. Even Moses himself wasn’t able to get into the Promised Land. But there I was on a Korean Air flight flying into the center of the universe. I was so happy and thrilled!