1 Kings 10, verse 14, we read
of great riches and glory of King Solomon, Queen of Sheba,
having visited Solomon to prove him and to test him and to see
whether the rumours that she had heard of him were true, having
been astonished at his greatness and his wisdom. We read then
of the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year, that
it was 600 free scoring six talents of gold. We read of the merchants
and what they brought to Solomon. We read of his making of targets
of gold. And 300 shields of beaten gold. And then in verse 18 we read
of his throne. Moreover the king made a great
throne of ivory and overlaid it with the best gold. The throne
had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind,
and there were stays on either side of the place of the seat,
and two lions stood beside the stays, and twelve lions stood
there on the one side, and on the other upon the six steps.
There was not the like made in any kingdom. And all King Solomon's
drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house
of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of silver,
it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon. For the
king had at sea a navy of Farshish with the navy of Hiram. Once
in three years came the navy of Farshish bringing gold and
silver, ivory and apes and peacocks. So King Solomon exceeded all
the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom. And all the earth
sought to Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had put in his
heart. And they brought every man his
present, vessels of silver and vessels of gold and garments
and armor and spices, horses and mules, arrayed year by year. And all the earth sought to Solomon
to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. It's the Queen of Sheba having
Thoroughly proved Solomon, having come to him with her hard questions,
having come unto him full of her own glory, full of her own
importance, and finding that that was nothing in comparison
to Solomon. Finding that he had an answer
for all her questions, that his wisdom exceeded all. She was brought to the point
where it is said there was no more spirit in her this was a
king like no king his kingdom was like no kingdom and his wisdom
and his riches exceeded all and we see that displayed unto us
here in the latter part of the chapter the weight of the gold
that he had brought in The wonderful things he made. The great throne
of ivory overlaid with the best gold. What a picture this is. And all the earth sought to Solomon
to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. Solomon
himself was raised up by God as a mighty
king. He ruled over a peaceful kingdom. He built the temple, the house
of the Lord, and God granted him this great wisdom. In all
of this, Solomon, as we have seen, is a picture, a glorious
picture, of the Lord Jesus Christ. His riches are a picture of the
riches in Christ. His glory is a picture of the
glory of Christ. His wisdom is a picture of the
wisdom of Christ. All that God gave to Solomon
was not for Solomon, but to present unto us in type and figure the
glory, the riches, the wisdom of God's own Son, the King of
kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ. We read now, the weight of gold
that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and three score
and six talents of gold. Beside that, he had of the merchantmen
and of the traffic of the spice merchants and of all the kings
of Arabia and of the governors of the country. And King Solomon
made two hundred targets of beaten gold. Six hundred shekels of
gold went to one target. and he made 300 shields of beaten
gold. Three pounds of gold went to
one shield and the king put them in the house of the forest of
Lebanon. What gold he had, the best gold,
the finest brought in by his navy, shipped in. And what a quantity and what
he made with this gold. What a wonder this was. But God
would have us see, in spite of the wonder, and though God uses
Solomon to picture his own son, God would ever remind us that
Solomon is but a man. And he is a picture. The latter
days of Solomon remind us of Solomon's frailty as a man that
ultimately, like all others, he was a sinner. Solomon fell
in his latter days. He took under himself many wives
of strange nations. He went and served their gods.
His fall from such a height was so great But also, in the riches
he had, God would remind us that this is but the man, set forth
as a figure of the true. He would have us look not to
Solomon, or not to any king upon the earth, or any man upon the
earth, but to look unto Christ and Christ alone. We read that
the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six
hundred and three score and six talents of gold. Six hundred
and sixty six talents of gold. A number and a figure which we
know of from the book of Revelation as being the number of the beast. and the number of man. For all
Solomon's glory and riches, the Holy Spirit here reminds us that
he is but the picture, the type. He is a man. And the weight of
all his gold is the number of a man. Revelation 13, 18 tells
us, here is wisdom. Let him that have understanding
count the number of the beast for it is the number of a man
and his number is six hundred, three score and six. Here is wisdom. Well all the
world came to hear the wisdom of Solomon and in hearing his
wisdom They had a glimpse of the wisdom to be found in Jesus
Christ, a wisdom like none other. But John is reminded in Revelation
that here is wisdom too, that the number of man is 600, three
score and six. And Solomon's great glory was
given unto him to picture Christ, but he Solomon is but a man. Set forth as a picture of the
king of kings. Solomon is of the earth, earthy,
but Christ is of heaven, heavenly. Solomon is mortal, but Christ
is immortal. Solomon reigned over Israel for
40 years. Christ's reign is everlasting. Solomon is but a man, a sinner,
who in his latter days fell greatly. But Christ is God divine, made
man, everlastingly righteous, one without beginning and without
end, the Alpha and the Omega. the one true and living God.
How careful we should be not to worship men, but Christ alone. Not to look to the types and
the figures, but to look only to the reality, Jesus Christ. Not to rest in the forms of worship
here below, but to see in them what they depict of the truth. Not to look to that which is
earthly, to our works, to the outward, but to look to that
which is spiritual, which can be apprehended by faith and faith
alone. Salvation is not of man. It is not of works. It was not
brought to Israel by King Solomon. It was not found in the earthly
temple or in the sacrifices offered in that temple. They all pointed
to one who was to come. They pointed to Christ alone. Israel's king did not sit upon
an ivory throne overlaid in gold. In Jerusalem their king as a
man Solomon did, but he was a picture of their true king Jesus Christ. Salvation is of the Lord, not
of works. not of the law, not through earthly
sacrifices, not through earthly rituals and forms, not by going
to the temple, not by going to a church, not by going to a chapel,
not by sitting in the right denomination, or listening to the right preachers,
or singing the right hymns, or using the right version of the
scriptures, all of which may be good. We may take our King
James Bible We may sing the right hymns, we may go to the right place,
but none of this will save us except Christ reveals himself
unto us. Except he gives us faith to see
him, except the Spirit of God quickens us unto life. Solomon,
the temple he built, the kingdom he reigned over, the gold he
brought up, is a reminder that all of this is a picture of Christ. But if all we have is the picture,
if all we have is the form, then all we have is the number of the beast here
below. If all we seek is that which
can be seen with the natural eye, here below, then we have
none of the wisdom which God granted unto Solomon. All the
earth sought to Solomon to hear his wisdom which God had put
in his heart. And if we came to Solomon and
heard his wisdom, it would be, don't look unto me. Don't look
to this temple. Don't look to this throne. Don't
look to my kingdom. But look unto God. Look unto
the king that sits on a throne above. Look unto his temple. Look unto his kingdom. Look unto
Christ. Here is wisdom. Let him that
have understanding count the number of the beast for it is
the number of a man and his number is six hundred, three score and
six. Don't look to man. Don't look
to that which is here below. Don't look unto your own works
and your own righteousness. Don't look to your own wisdom.
Don't look unto the law. but look unto Christ and his
grace and his mercy, his abounding love unto sinners. Look up. Look up. Oh, how we need to be given faith
to look to one who sits on a throne in glory. On a throne in glory. We read in Revelation chapter
1, And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being
turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks. And in the midst of the seven
candlesticks, one like unto the Son of Man, clothed with a garment
down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle,
His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow,
and his eyes were as a flame of fire, and his feet like undefined
brass, as if they burned in a furnace, and his voice as the sound of
many waters. And he had in his right hand
seven stars, and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword,
and his countenance was as the sun shining in his strength.
when i saw him i fell at his feet as dead and he laid his
right hand upon me saying unto me fear not i am the first and
the last i am he that liveth and was dead and behold i am
alive forevermore amen and have the keys of hell and of death
Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are,
and the things which shall be hereafter. The mystery of the
seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven
golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels
of the seven churches, and the seven candlesticks which thou
sawest are the seven churches. Yes, here is the king of which
Solomon was a picture. A king in the midst of seven
gold and candlesticks. The gold of Solomon was a faint
reminder of the purity, the riches, the gold of Jesus Christ and
of his kingdom. A kingdom that lasts forever.
A kingdom which is glorious. A kingdom which John had a glimpse
of in chapter 21 of Revelation, where he saw twelve gates, twelve
pearls, and every gate was of one pearl, and the street of
the city was pure gold, as it were, transparent glass. And I saw no temple therein,
for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the
sun, neither of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God did
lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations
of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it, and
the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not
be shut at all by day, for there shall be no night there, and
they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
Solomon's kingdom was a great kingdom but it's just a faint
picture of that which is to come for the people of God. of that site of the kingdom of
the Lord Jesus Christ, which John was given a view of. We
read further in 1 Kings 10 of the throne. that Solomon made. Moreover, the king made a great
throne of ivory and overlaid it with the best gold. The throne
had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind,
and there were stays on either side and the place of the seat. And two lions stood beside the
stays, and twelve lions stood there on the one side, and on
the other upon the six steps. There was not the like made in
any kingdom. what a throne Solomon made surrounded
by lions a depiction of the power and the authority of the king
in Israel a depiction of the power and authority of the king
of kings the lord of lords and his throne of the lion of the
tribe of Judah, of the one who rules over all things, who rules
over all time and eternity. What a throne Solomon's throne
was, but what a throne it depicts. The throne of God. The throne of the Lord Jesus
Christ. A throne which is forever and
ever. Hebrews. That epistle written
to the Hebrews, written to those who knew all about Solomon, all
about the temple, all about the worship in Jerusalem, all about
the priesthood and the sacrifices and the altar. An epistle written
to the Hebrews who knew these pictures, who knew of Solomon,
who knew of the temple. to point them unto Christ, to
show to the Hebrews and to us who read that epistle that all
these things were but pictures and figures of Christ, of his
priesthood, of his sacrifice, of his temple, of his altar,
of his kingdom and of his throne. Hebrews 1.8 reads, But unto the
Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is
the scepter of thy kingdom. Solomon's throne was great, but
where is it now? Christ's throne, the Son's. God's throne is forever and ever. And it is a throne of grace unto
which sinners are bid to come on blood-sprinkled ground because
the Son of God who sits upon this throne is one who came as
a priest to offer himself as a sacrifice upon a bloody altar
of which that altar that Solomon made before the temple was but
a picture. He came into the darkness of
this world. Christ came as the great high
priest and he brought himself as the offering, as the sacrifice
for his people and he laid his hand upon the sacrifice and God
laid the sins of all his people upon his own son. And God took
up the sword and thrust it through the sacrifice. He slew his own
son upon the tree, upon the cross, upon the altar of God, before
his people as they looked on. His blood was shed. And that
high priest took that blood and entered into the temple, entered
into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled the blood upon the mercy seat
and made intercession for his people, he made propitiation
for their sin, he brought peace where once there was warfare,
where once there was enmity, where their sins divided them
from God, he took that blood that washed those sins away and
he sprinkled it upon the mercy seat. and brought him peace for
his people. And he went on blood-sprinkled
ground unto the throne of God, where he sits, a throne of grace,
where that people may enter in, where their high priest has entered
for them boldly unto the throne of grace, that they may obtain
mercy, that they may be forgiven of their sins, because their
high priest took their sins and slew them. He took their sins,
laid them upon the sacrifice, slew the sacrifice and blotted
out their sins. Therefore the writer to the Hebrews
says in chapter 4, let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of
grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time
of need. Where are you looking for help? Where are you looking to be delivered
from your sins? Where are you looking for mercy
and peace? God give us faith to see Christ
entered into the Holy of Holies for his people, to see his sacrifice,
to see his blood. to come boldly by faith unto
the throne of grace. Oh, what a throne Christ sits
upon. Chapter 8 of Hebrews, we read,
Now of the things which we have spoken, this is the psalm. We
have such an high priest who is set on the right hand of the
throne of the majesty in the heavens. He finished the work
of salvation. He sat down upon this throne
on the right hand in the heavens. And from there he preaches his
gospel unto a people who come unto him to hear of his wisdom. And all the earth sought to Solomon
to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. If God has caused you to hear
a little of this wisdom, you will hear that when Christ offered
himself upon the cross, he cried out, it is finished. He finished the work of salvation
on the part of his people. He sat down upon the throne of
glory, having done all that is necessary to save his people. He said it's finished, there's
no more to be done. There's no need for you to work. There's no need for you to bring
forth a righteousness. He's brought forth a righteousness. We can bring nothing forth but
sin. All our so-called righteousnesses
that we may strive to do to appeal unto God are but sin, are but
pride, are self-righteousnesses. They're of nothing worth in God's
sight. But this Saviour has finished
the work He sat down. This man after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins forever sat down on the right hand of
God from henceforth expect until his enemies be made his footstool
for by one offering he have perfected forever them that are sanctified. Wherefore the Holy Ghost also
is a witness to us. For after that he had said before,
this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days,
saith the Lord. I will put my laws into their
hearts and in their minds will I write them. And their sins
and iniquities will I remember no more. Oh has God, the Spirit
written in your heart? that Christ has blotted your
sins out, that he will remember them no more. Has he written
his laws, his word, his righteousness, his gospel in your heart? Has he given you faith to look
up unto a throne above, unto Christ sat on that throne, to
look unto him by faith alone? looking unto Jesus the author
and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before
him endured the cross despising the shame and is set down at
the right hand of the throne of God. Oh God give us that faith
to look unto Jesus upon his throne. John says in Revelation 4, immediately
I was in the Spirit and behold a throne was set in heaven and
one sat on the throne. It is finished. Solomon's throne
was great. Solomon's wisdom that God had
given him was such that all the earth sought to hear it. But
he's just a picture of this man. Jesus Christ and His wisdom and
His reign and His throne upon which He sits. We read on in
verse 21 of 1 Kings. And all King Solomon's drinking
vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the
forest of Lebanon were of pure gold, none were of silver. It
was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon. For the king
had at sea a navy of Farshish with the navy of Hiram. Once
in three years came the navy of Farshish bringing gold and
silver, ivory and apes and peacocks. So King Solomon exceeded all
the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom. Solomon exceeded
all. He exceeded all the kings of
the earth for riches and for wisdom. There was nothing like his kingdom,
nothing like his reign, nothing like his riches and nothing like
his wisdom. So glorious was Solomon's kingdom
So bountiful was the gold, so bountiful were the riches in
his kingdom that we read that silver was counted of nothing
worth. All the vessels of the house
of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold, none were of silver,
it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon. So rich
was he, so glorious was he, only the finest counted. Silver was
nothing. But oh, the riches that were
brought into his kingdom by his navy, gold, silver, ivory, apes
and peacocks. Exotic animals, the finest. All brought into his kingdom.
All brought under Solomon. A king who exceeded all the kings
of the earth. for riches and for wisdom. Why? Why did Solomon's wisdom
exceed all others? Why did his riches exceed all
others? Because Christ exceeds all others. Solomon, as a picture of Christ,
shows the magnificence of Christ's glory. All riches are Christ's. Christ is the King of Kings,
the Lord of Lords. He is the Creator of heaven and
earth. All things are His. He rules
over all. His kingdom has no end. He's before all and after all. He has no beginning, no end.
He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the ending.
He is everlasting. He is glorious. He is high above
all. His righteousness without spot
or blemish. He is right and good in all he
does and all he says. His rule is without end. We're reading Colossians 2. Beware,
lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit after
the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not
after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and ye are complete in him, which is
the head of all principality and power. Oh Israel, had a wonderful
king in Solomon. who ruled over a wonderful kingdom,
with great wisdom, but all just pointed unto Christ. There is
none like Him. There is none like Christ. There
is no wisdom like Him. The wisest of men in this earth
is nothing. It's just a vile sinner, blind,
without knowledge. The greatest of men in this earth
are nothing before him. Has God given you a glimpse of
the glory of Christ? The glory of Christ in his gospel. Has he given you a desire to
go unto this king to hear of his wisdom? All the earth sought
to Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.
They all went to hear his wisdom. But has God given you a desire
to go under his son, under his king, the king of kings, to hear
his wisdom, to hear him speak? to hear his gospel. Has he given
you a heart to seek after him? Has he given you a hunger and
a thirst after righteousness? God will bring all his people
to hear his song. All the earth sought to Solomon
to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. And God
will cause all his people in his earth, in his kingdom, to
come unto his Solomon, his Son, Jesus Christ, to hear his wisdom,
which God hath put in his heart, as he brought you, as he brought
you. He will bring events to pass
that will cause all his people, whoever they are, wherever they
are, to come and to hear his son speak in the gospel, to come
and to hear the preaching of Christ in the gospel, to come
and to hear his son. He will bring that to pass and
if you are one of that people, no matter what you may do, no
matter where you may go, No matter where your heart may wander,
no matter how far fallen into sin you may be, if you're one
of God's, He'll bring circumstances to pass. He'll bring you low. He'll bring you to an end of
yourselves. He'll bring you to an end of
your own wisdom. He'll bring your riches to an
end. He'll bring your health to an end. He'll do whatever
it takes to bring you to the point where you must come to
the feet of Jesus Christ. as a poor blind sinner, as a
beggar, as a lame man, that you must come unto him and cry out,
have mercy upon me, thou son of David. Yes, he'll bring us
to hear him. He'll bring us to hear his son. In Mark 9, we read of that day
when the disciples came in the mount with Christ and saw him
transfigured before them. and how the Lord spake out of
heaven concerning his son. And there was a cloud that overshadowed
them and a voice out of the cloud saying, this is my beloved son,
hear him. A voice came out of the cloud
saying, this is my beloved son, hear him. God will bring his
children to a place and a time when they will hear a voice,
as it were, out of the cloud, out of the darkness around them,
out of the midst. They'll hear a voice saying of
Christ, this is my beloved son. Hear him. Hear his gospel. See what he has done. see who
he is look under his throne hear his cry it is finished upon the
cross see his blood hear the one that loved you when you hated
him this is my beloved son hear him have you been brought to
hear not just here with the outward ear but to hear Christ's voice
within. Or are you coming like the Queen
of Sheba, full of your own glory, full of your own importance,
full of your own wisdom, full of your own hard questions, your
own doubts, your own mockery, your own scoffing? Oh well, if
you're the Son of God, come down from the cross. If you're the
Son of God, call for a legion of angels to save you. If you're
the Son of God, do this, do that. Prove yourself. Or has he brought
you to an end of your spirit? Brought you to an end of self?
An end of your own wisdom? brought you to Solomon to hear
his wisdom which God have put in his heart as God brought you
to Christ to hear his wisdom to hear God's son to hear God's
son We read on. They brought every man his present,
vessels of silver and vessels of gold and garments and armor
and spices, horses and mules, a rate year by year. And Solomon
gathered together chariots and horsemen and he had a thousand
and four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen whom
he bestowed in the cities for chariots and with the king at
Jerusalem. They all brought something. They
all brought something to this king. What do you bring unto
God? What do we bring? By nature in
our sin, we flee from God, we have no time for Him. But should
we begin to hear something of the truth, we will try to come
unto God, bringing something of our own doing, our own works,
to make a trade with Him as it were. to make merchandise of
salvation. We'll come and we'll bring our
own works, our own righteousness, thinking that God will be pleased
with us and God will save us because of what we have done.
Like Cain of old, we grow our own crops and we bring them as
a sacrifice for God, expecting that God will be pleased with
us, when really we are but sinners.
That can bring nothing but our sin. and cry out for nothing
but mercy. What can we give to the king
of kings? What can we bring? Nothing but
our sin, nothing but unbelief, nothing but our own self-righteousness. But when God calls his people
under him, a people who have heard his song, a people who
have heard his wisdom, He gives unto them grace. He gives unto
them faith to look unto His Son upon His throne. He sets His
love upon them, a love that is eternal, without beginning, without
end. He sets His everlasting love
upon them. And they love Him who first loved
them. They love Him who forgave them
from all their sins. We have nothing we can bring,
but God will give us faith. God will put love in our hearts
to look unto Him and to love Him. We love Him because He first
loved us. Verse 27 reads, The king made
silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to
be as the sycamore trees that are in the vale for abundance.
What riches were in Solomon's kingdom? Silver were as stones,
commonplace. Commonplace. We think of stones
as being nothing, as worthless. They are in such abundance, there's
gravel, there's stones all over the place. Well, the silver in
his kingdom was like that. It was as if it was nothing because
of its abundance. And the cedars, the precious
cedar trees were like a sycamore trees, common, they were in multitudes
in the veil. Oh, what an abundance there was
in Solomon's kingdom. An abundance of riches. And what
an abundance there is in Christ's kingdom. an abundance of riches,
an abundance of grace, an abundance of mercy, an abundance of love
for his people. Where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound. Where we hated God, he loved
his own. For if by one man's offence death
reigned by one, much more they which receive abundance of grace
and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus
Christ. There's an abundance in Christ
as God brought you to hear him. Finally we read that Solomon
had horses brought out of Egypt and linen yarn. The king's merchants
received the linen yarn at a price. And a chariot came up and went
out of Egypt for 600 shekels of silver and a horse for 150.
And so for all the kings of the Hittites and for the kings of
Syria did they bring them out by their means. It's the king's
merchants did trade for the king to bring in all his riches. There
was a buying and a selling in Solomon's kingdom. But the king
of kings, of whom Solomon's a picture, rewards those who have nothing. Rewards those who have nothing
to trade but their sin. We come unto Him full of our
sin, our unbelief, full of unrighteousness. We come unto Him as vile, wicked
beggars, blind, deaf, lame, lepers. We come unto Him as vile, wretched
sinners. We've got nothing. We've got
nothing to trade, what merchants are we? We've got nothing to
give unto him in reward. And yet he bids us come. He bids
us come. And he washes his people, he
washes us, he clothes us, he makes us clean. He sets his love
upon us. He sets his grace upon us abundantly,
freely. He has riches in abundance to
give unto his people. He has silver, gold, bread, wine,
all the riches of God in Christ. And he bids his people come.
He that has no money, come buy and eat. All the earth sought to Solomon
to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. If you're
brought to Christ to hear his wisdom, to hear God's Son, to
hear his gospel, you will hear this call to you a needy sinner. Ho everyone that firsteth, come
ye to the waters. And he that hath no money, come
ye, buy and eat. Yea, come. Buy wine and milk
without money and without price. You say, I've got nothing to
give. Oh Lord, have mercy upon me, a sinner. Would God receive
a wretch such as I? Yes. How everyone that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters. He that hath no money, come ye
buy and eat. They come by wine and milk without
money and without price. Come unto the Son. Come to hear
His wisdom in the Gospel. That wisdom that God has put
in His heart. Come unto Him. Come unto Him. This is my beloved Son. Here
ye him. Amen.