All is Bright: Solomon’s Gold

All is Bright: Solomon’s Gold

There are a lot of cultural statements made about gold:

“A heart of gold”

“Worth its weight in gold”

“The golden rule” 

“All that glitters is not gold”

“Gold digger”

“Golden parachute”

Nearly all of these statements could have been made of King Solomon. He was Israel’s “golden boy.” Solomon was the successor to King David and the son of Bathsheba. He was brilliant and wise. This man had the “golden touch.” 

 God gave Solomon very great wisdom and understanding, and knowledge as vast as the sands of the seashore. In fact, his wisdom exceeded that of all the wise men of the East and the wise men of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite and the sons of Mahol—Heman, Calcol, and Darda. His fame spread throughout all the surrounding nations. He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs. He could speak with authority about all kinds of plants, from the great cedar of Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows from cracks in a wall. He could also speak about animals, birds, small creatures, and fish. And kings from every nation sent their ambassadors to listen to the wisdom of Solomon. I Kings 4:29-34 (NLT)

Solomon did what his father David could not, he was blessed by God to build the Lord a temple for His glory! After achieving peace from Israel’s enemies, Solomon began his most auspicious endeavor:

It was in midspring, in the month of Ziv (Between April and May), during the fourth year of Solomon’s reign, that he began to construct the Temple of the Lord. This was 480 years after the people of Israel were rescued from their slavery in the land of Egypt. I Kings 6:1 (NLT)

Then the Lord gave this message to Solomon: “Concerning this Temple you are building, if you keep all my decrees and regulations and obey all my commands, I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father, David. I will live among the Israelites and will never abandon my people Israel.” I Kings 6:11-13 (NLT)

He (Solomon) prepared the inner sanctuary at the far end of the Temple, where the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant would be placed. This inner sanctuary was 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet high. He overlaid the inside with solid gold. He also overlaid the altar made of cedar. Then Solomon overlaid the rest of the Temple’s interior with solid gold, and he made gold chains to protect the entrance to the Most Holy Place. So he finished overlaying the entire Temple with gold, including the altar that belonged to the Most Holy Place.

He made two cherubim of wild olive wood, each 15 feet tall, and placed them in the inner sanctuary. The wingspan of each of the cherubim was 15 feet, each wing being 7 1⁄2 feet long. The two cherubim were identical in shape and size; each was 15 feet tall. He placed them side by side in the inner sanctuary of the Temple. Their outspread wings reached from wall to wall, while their inner wings touched at the center of the room. He overlaid the two cherubim with gold.

He decorated all the walls of the inner sanctuary and the main room with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. He overlaid the floor in both rooms with gold.

For the entrance to the inner sanctuary, he made double doors of wild olive wood with five-sided doorposts. These double doors were decorated with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. The doors, including the decorations of cherubim and palm trees, were overlaid with gold.

Then he made four-sided doorposts of wild olive wood for the entrance to the Temple. There were two folding doors of cypress wood, and each door was hinged to fold back upon itself. These doors were decorated with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers—all overlaid evenly with gold.

The walls of the inner courtyard were built so that there was one layer of cedar beams between every three layers of finished stone.

The foundation of the Lord’s Temple was laid in mid-spring, in the month of Ziv, during the fourth year of Solomon’s reign. The entire building was completed in every detail by mid-autumn, in the month of Bul, during the eleventh year of his reign. So it took seven years to build the Temple. I Kings 6:19-38 (NLT)

Wow! I love our church building and this auditorium is fantastic! BUT Solomon’s stuff…whoa! This is truly the “gold standard” of a temple! A true masterpiece, designed by God and decorated by Solomon!

Solomon then set out to build his own Palace, and it took him another 12 years to accomplish it!

His homes were palatial, and his lifestyle was like “sitting on a gold mine.” Solomon was far from perfect, but he lived in a time of a “golden opportunity” with God.

David was a man after God’s own heart, but he failed to keep God first in his life: chasing after Bathsheba, murdering her husband, and the wars…endless wars…David built his house first, THEN he wanted to do something for God. He had the right idea, but bad timing.

Solomon chose to build God a beautiful Temple FIRST…great timing…putting God first was an important principle Solomon learned from his father’s mistakes…he accomplished more by pursuing the presence of God in what was built.

Each year Solomon received about 25 tons of gold. This did not include the additional revenue he received from merchants and traders, all the kings of Arabia, and the governors of the land.

King Solomon made 200 large shields of hammered gold, each weighing more than fifteen pounds. He also made 300 smaller shields of hammered gold, each weighing nearly four pounds. The king placed these shields in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.

Then the king made a huge throne, decorated with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. The throne had six steps and a rounded back. There were armrests on both sides of the seat, and the figure of a lion stood on each side of the throne. There were also twelve other lions, one standing on each end of the six steps. No other throne in all the world could be compared with it!

All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were solid gold, as were all the utensils in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. They were not made of silver, for silver was considered worthless in Solomon’s day! I Kings 10:14-21 (NLT)

Could you imagine being a Levite or a Priest during the time of Solomon? What an incredible work environment! Their lives were “as good as gold!” Nearly everything they touched was solid gold or overlain with gold! Wow!

The priests of the Tabernacle did not need gold…they lived in it! What they needed from the people were the living things sacrificed for their sustenance. When the people would make their sacrifice to the Lord, the priests would also be sustained. They wore Gold, worked in gold, and managed the treasuries filled with treasures and gifts. What they needed to truly live was fellowship…those were the offerings that allowed them to live/day by day in the presence of God and His people. 

Now, let’s see how this all culminates with Jesus and the Magi:

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men[a] from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”

King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”

“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:

‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
    are not least among the ruling cities[c] of Judah,
for a ruler will come from you
    who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’”

Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”

After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod. Matthew 2:1-12 (NLT)

The Magi brought Jesus gifts that affirmed His royalty, but it was the shepherds that reminded us of the lamb. It was the lamb of sin offering and fellowship that Jesus would be…He is the greatest treasure! That day, Mary, Joseph, and these men all struck gold!

We don’t need more opulence in our lives today…we need more intimacy with God. We need a heart after gold GOD!

1. Keep God First (Do not get distracted by the gold)
2. Spend Time with God in Worship (Do not give other gods more time/gold)
3. Travel a New Route (Living as man-pleasers attempts to kill your relationship with God)