Read 2 Chronicles 9
The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon
9 When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. Arriving with a very great caravan—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all she had on her mind.2 Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for him to explain to her. 3 When the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon, as well as the palace he had built, 4 the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, the cupbearers in their robes and the burnt offerings he made at the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.
5 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. 6 But I did not believe what they said until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half the greatness of your wisdom was told me; you have far exceeded the report I heard.7 How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 8 Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne as king to rule for the Lord your God. Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever, he has made you king over them, to maintain justice and righteousness.”
9 Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. There had never been such spices as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
10 (The servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon brought gold from Ophir; they also brought algumwood and precious stones. 11 The king used the algumwood to make steps for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. Nothing like them had ever been seen in Judah.)
12 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for; he gave her more than she had brought to him. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.
Solomon’s Splendor
13 The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,14 not including the revenues brought in by merchants and traders. Also all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the territories brought gold and silver to Solomon.
15 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of hammered gold went into each shield. 16 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three hundred shekelsof gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.
17 Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with pure gold. 18 The throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold was attached to it. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. 19 Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. 20 All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s day. 21 The king had a fleet of trading ships manned by Hiram’s servants. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.
22 King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. 23 All the kings of the earth sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. 24 Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift—articles of silver and gold, and robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.
25 Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horses, which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 26 He ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills. 28 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and from all other countries.
Solomon’s Death
29 As for the other events of Solomon’s reign, from beginning to end, are they not written in the records of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboamson of Nebat? 30 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.31 Then he rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king.
Go Deeper
As we read about the glory, fame, honor, and power of King Solomon, we must recall how all of this came about. A few chapters prior to this, in 2 Chronicles 1, the author wrote about how God came to Solomon in a way we have never seen God approach any other man in the scriptures. We’ve all heard of the statement “God is not a genie in the sky,” but this part of the story is an instance where it seems like He was willing to be genie-like. One night, as the king was worshiping God, God came to Solomon and said, “Ask of me and I will give it to you.” Whoa! Think about it: what would you ask for?
Solomon, without hesitation, asks for wisdom and knowledge to govern God’s people of Israel. God not only gave him enough wisdom to be the wisest man on earth, but also all of the material possessions and wealth one could ever want. With this context in mind, we can now understand with greater understanding truly how great and magnificent God allowed his servant Solomon to be.
The truth is, God is the giver of all gifts (James 1:17). We have all been entrusted with different gifts. Why? To bring God glory. We have been created in the image of God which means we have been created to reflect Him. As image bearers, we are ultimately glory spreaders. We are created to reflect God’s glory unto the world for all to see His goodness and majesty. As Solomon’s gifts of wisdom, power, wealth, and fame brought the pagan Queen of Sheba to come and see for herself, it says she was “overwhelmed” and began praising the God of Israel. She says in verse 8, “Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne as king to rule for the LORD your God. Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever, he has made you king over them, to maintain justice and righteousness.”
Our job is usually not in choosing the gifts God gives us, rather in stewarding them. Your gift could be hospitality, your intelligence, your leadership, your communication ability, your wealth, your passion, the ability to serve others with supernatural joy, or even fame. Whatever it may be, He has entrusted it to you. Whether you work at a restaurant, a factory, in corporate America, ministry, or any other field, God has given you specific gifts to use for His glory. And our job is to steward them for His name. As we see Solomon in this chapter steward what God has given Him for His glory, we must use our gifts to draw others to see the God behind the gift!
Jesus said in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good deeds and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Let your light shine! Don’t be afraid or ashamed of your gift; rather let it shine. In that, people will see and give glory to your heavenly Father. As Solomon’s story continues, we see sad moments Solomon’s heart drifts from what God intended. We are just as prone to stray. We must never allow the gifts of God to become greater than the Giver. We did nothing to receive the gift, so we must use it freely for any and every occasion to bring glory to God. Be encouraged, you never know when your “Queen of Sheba” may come to see if what they have heard is true. Hopefully it will result in them praising God and giving Him ultimate glory!
Questions
- If God came to you and asked you to ask Him for anything, what would be your answer?
- When people see you using your gifts, does it usually point them to the glory of God or the glory of yourself?
- Are there times when you shy away from using your gifts out of fear of man’s opinion? Do you fear being misunderstood in using your gift?
Keep Digging
Solomon is a complicated figure in the Old Testament. While he was the wisest man to ever live, he also drifted far from the heart of God. Check out this article “Was Solomon Saved?” from GotQuestions.org!
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11 responses to “2 Chronicles 9”
4 “she was overwhelmed.“
It is easy to understand how a commoner would be impressed by Solomon and all of his wealth. But it is telling that a fellow royal would be so smitten.
Obviously, Solomon had it all going on . . . but still he wanted more. Tragic!
It’s easy to get distracted when reading of Solomon’s vast wealth, fame, and wisdom given by God. Solomon’s notoriety brought kings and queens from all over the region to seek an audience with him. We must not forget the favor on Solomon’s life was granted by God, The Queen of Sheba summed it up this way after her visit, “Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne as king to rule for the Lord your God. Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever, he has made you king over them, to maintain justice and righteousness” (v8).
Yes!
The question above is If God came to you and asked you to ask Him for anything, what would be your answer?
We really should not have to ask God for anything due. to the fact we have Holy Spirit.
Eph 3:19 and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].
https://www.gotquestions.org/fullness-of-God.html
My answer is/was willpower. I do what I dont want to do even knowing that it is not beneficial while doing it. (my ditch is eating) My body is God’s temple and I need to be doing all I can to make it the best, I believe. I fall short.
God I believe help me in my unbelief. I know I fall short and I do desire to be who You have called me to be and to do what You have called me to do. God give me the wisdom and understanding. God when I am doing the things I do not want to, continue to convict me, please. I have head knowledge but give me power in this fleshly body to resist when I know it is not best. God You are so amazing and I am beyond words grateful. Thank You for showing me Yourself in Your Word. Thank You for making things evident for my walk with You. God today in these minutes of this day let Your Shenika glory radiate out of my soul. BUT GOD You are the my all in all, I give You praise honor and glory in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Only two chapters earlier, Solomon completes this epic task: the building and dedication of the temple — the vision and effort of multiple generations.
Well holy cow, what’s a guy supposed to do for a follow-up act? It would have been all downhill from there!
Solomon’s entire life had been building toward that one moment — and once you’ve reached the summit of something God has clearly orchestrated, you can’t help but feel disoriented afterward.
In Solomon’s case, the vacuum left by that success left lots of room for distraction. Without a new, divinely anchored mission in view, he filled the void with achievement, accumulation, and display — all the visible proofs of greatness, but disconnected from the original heart of worship.
Such drift can easily happen to any of us. When our identity has been so intertwined with a God-given assignment, we can confuse the project with the purpose, and once the project ends, we scramble to recreate the sense of divine momentum on our own terms.
There is nothing like completing a “kingdom assignment,” dedicating it to God’s glory, and then seeing how such things increase God’s renown, so that others may come to know and praise Him.
Such moments are great occasion for glorious celebration.
AND — they are momentary. While the glory of God is unchanging and everlasting, we mortals participate in it only fleetingly.
And the aftermath is sure to feel like quite a comedown. Understandably depleted, we may feel empty and especially vulnerable to temptation, seeking anything and everything to fill the void. Like Solomon, we’re driven to follow up with SOMETHING — only this time in our own strength, for our own glory.
I read Solomon’s story as a cautionary tale, reminding us that we need to take as much care coming down from our “mountaintop moments” as we did getting up there in the first place. “Descent” is a journey that requires its own particular grace. Especially when it follows something so spectacular.
Just as I was studying this chapter, I came across an interesting devotional from John Eldredge, in which he “just so happens” to write about this very thing. He describes descending as “learning to drop down into the presence of God within us and tap into His strength there.”
“Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord; Lord, hear my voice” (Psalm 130).
Up until now, I had always assumed that “depths” referred to sorrow or despair. But what if they also describe the “low points” we reach after descending from our mountaintop moments? More importantly, what if such moments are spiritually essential, purposely provided so we can rest, reflect and recover from our own “temple dedications”?
Perhaps instead of trying to rush on ahead toward the next big thing, we would pause, honor and fully inhabit our time in the “depths.” We would receive it as sacred space for quiet reconnection with God, listening attentively for what HE has next.
After researching this further, I came across the following:
A Biblical Prescription for a Wise and Thoughtful “Return to Earth”
There’s a pattern for this throughout Scripture:
1. Rest. After creation, God Himself rested (Genesis 2:2–3). Jesus modeled this rhythm too — withdrawing to quiet places after ministry peaks (Mark 1:35, Luke 5:16). The pattern isn’t withdrawal from purpose, but renewal within it.
2. Remember and Recount. Deuteronomy is basically a book of “after-the-mountaintop” reflection. God calls His people to remember what He’s done, rehearse His faithfulness, and teach it to the next generation. The act of storytelling becomes spiritual grounding.
3. Re-center on Relationship. After the temple was dedicated, God appeared to Solomon (2 Chronicles 7:12–22) and reminded him that obedience and humility mattered more than the building. It’s relationship, not results, that sustains us.
4. Release and Receive. Psalm 131 offers a posture: “I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother.” It’s the picture of a heart learning to rest without needing to perform or achieve.
Before rushing to the next “assignment,” we’re invited to simply dwell — to let God refill the inner reserves before re-entering the work.
Amazing wealth of knowledge and wisdom from God’s Word. Thank you for digging deeper for the benefit of my eyes to read and learn.
You are so welcome, Diane! I’m so glad it spoke to you.
Well written my sister!!! Very good information.
Rest, Remember, Re-center and Receive
May we all receive the particular grace each day’s journey requires. Woo hoo! 😘
“Where there is no guidance, a people fall, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.” Proverbs 11:14
Seek God’s guidance in your leadership and be a beacon of hope and direction for others.
In response to the questions above:
1. I truly think if I could as God anything, I would ask that everyone could be saved and the enemy to be gone today.
2. I still dont know what my gift is and dont know how to discover it.
3: same answer as 2