GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
2 CHRONICLES 9:13-16
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13 The weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 14 besides what the traders and merchants brought. And all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land brought gold and silver to Solomon.
A Christian must be careful not to panic over ordinary appearances of the numeral 666, or six hundred and sixty-six. It isn’t as if we need to remove it from the number line the way the foolish and the superstitious try to do with the perfectly ordinary and good number thirteen. It is true that in John’s vision the number 666 is held up as the number of the beast (Revelation 13:18), but there in Revelation it is a symbolic number, a symbol, I believe, for constant and unchanging sin. Why? “7” is a symbolic number for holiness, and therefore “6” as a symbolic number stands for falling short of holiness, and in “666” it is taken to a kind of superlative to show constant sin that will not ever change. The one designated by it will continue to sin, and add to his sin, and remain in hell forever with his sins on his head. His guilt remains (John 9:41).
Here, however, it is not a symbol at all, but a tally for a shipment that was four talents short of 670 talents of gold. Remember that a ship is only capable of hauling a limited amount of bulk and weight, and it could well be that the total of all of Solomon’s merchant fleet did not exceed 666 talents because the holds could only bring that total amount. Notice that our author carefully says that this was “besides what the other merchants and traders brought.” And in addition, when other kings and leaders came to visit Solomon, they brought gifts of gold as well. There is no reason to hesitate to take these things as foreshadowing the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh that were brought by the wise men to the infant Jesus as the one greater than Solomon (Luke 11:31).
15 King Solomon had 200 large shields of beaten gold made; more than seven pounds of beaten gold went into each shield. 16 And he made 300 shields of beaten gold; almost four pounds of gold went into each shield; and the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
Any child would not hesitate to ask: “What do you think he did with all that gold?” Solomon did not hoard it in a cave so that he was driven mad by his wealth. He used it. In one example (and there is every reason to believe that this only one of many such examples) he had a large amount of gold made into two hundred lage shields. This kind of large shield was the tsinna, a shield as tall as a man and which protected his whole body. The weight of this gold was 600 shekels or (as I have translated) more than seven pounds– close to seven and a half pounds.
These could not have been solid gold, since 600 shekels or seven pounds is the same weight as a gallon of milk for us. These shields must have been made from some kind of lightweight wood, and overlaid with gold. This is why we’re told that it was “beaten” or hammered gold; sheets would be nailed or riveted in place and then hammered to conform tightly to the wood. They were decorative, of course, but they must have looked spectacular. Imagine two hundred shields, each one five feet tall and two or two and a half feet wide at the center. That’s a lot of tall golden shields. Keep that thought tucked in the back of your mind– we’ll come back to it in a little bit.
There were also three hundred smaller shields. Each of these was the magen or “buckler.” There are more images or descriptions of these in later years, but still in the centuries before Christ. Later Greek shields in artwork and descriptions are small, often round (about 24 inches or less) used both for defense and sometimes as a weapon (like a blunt instrument). Some readers might remember a Star Trek Episode (Bread and Circuses) when Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy are fighting “Roman” soldiers using short swords and small shields– those small shields are bucklers.
Actor Leonard Nimoy with short sword and small shield or buckler.
The king built a kind of treasury and display arsenal for his military strength. He also kept drinking goblets in this treasury (1 Kings 10:21). Much of Solomon’s dinnerware, “all of the household articles” were made of gold (1 Kings 10:21). Perhaps in this observation alone we might pity the king, caught in his own luxurious trap. Gold does not stay warm the way that a tin or copper bowl would, or even a clay or wooden platter. Author C.S. Forester brought out this comment from one of his characters: “‘A gold service looks very well,’ said the Countess sadly, ‘but it allows the food to grow unfortunately cold. I never use mine in my house save when I entertain His Imperial Majesty. As that is the case in most houses I doubt if His Imperial Majesty ever has a hot meal’” (Commodore Hornblower, ch. 12).
This treasury and arsenal was known as “The House of the Forest of Lebanon,” on account of the many unadorned cedar beams that served as pillars throughout the structure (four rows of pillars), which was a hundred and fifty feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high.That is to say, it was just about as wide and high as Noah’s ark (Genesis 6:15) and nearly one-third its length (see 1 Kings 7:2). The inner wall space measured a little less than 150 x 75 x 150 x 75, not counting any room for a doorway. That’s a little under 450 feet. Remember the large, five-foot tall shields? If they were indeed 2½ feet wide, it would take five hundred feet of wall space to display them all if they were touching, shield-to-shield, edge-to-edge. Of course, there are many solutions to this, such as overlapping them, or having every other shield hanging a foot or two in the air next to the others which might have been almost touching the floor, and so on. But with three hundred small shields taking about 600 feet to display (also overlapping or in a staggered pattern), the shields alone must have been an awesome, glorious display. With even only a few torches, or windows letting in sunlight, the gold would have reflected light everywhere in the room, like a huge hall of mirrors. The “Hall of Mirrors” in the Palace of Versailles in France is 73 meters long (240 feet) and is famed as one of the most spectacular pieces of architecture in the modern world. It was built in the 17th century, more than 2,500 years later than Solomon’s masterpiece.
“I will display my glory among the nations,” God proclaimed (Ezekiel 39:21). And again: “I will send some of those who survive to the nations– to Tarshish, the Lybyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations” (Isaiah 66:19). Solomon displayed the glory of God in his achievements, in his building projects, in the fame of his wisdom throughout the world, and in the reports about the temple of the Lord that he built. All men and women fall into sin and fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23), and we know that Solomon was no exception to this. His great fame and success put him in a position to sin in larger ways, more terrible ways, than most of us are capable of doing. But we do not compare ourselves with Solomon’s sins. We compare ourselves with God’s holy will. That is the only measure of our faithfulness or unfaithfulness, and that comparison displays our need for a Savior. The point being made here in 2 Chronicles is that Solomon did everything he could to uphold God’s word, to follow God’s will, and to use the gifts he was given to support the work of the word of God in the world. Therefore this chapter is not a condemnation or a proclamation of the law against Solomon, but against me and against you. What have we done, what have I done, to proclaim Christ more today than I did yesterday? Let that be the measuring stick I use, and in the forgiveness that Christ has won, reconciling all mankind to God with his body on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:19), he has made you and me holy before God, able to serve, able to live as his servants in the world. Serve with joy! Dream big dreams! And recognize the fruit of those big dreams even in the very smallest things that you say, and that you do, and that you think. Your Forest of Lebanon might be as grand as a smile you give someone tomorrow.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
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Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota
God’s Word for You – 2 Chronicles 9:13-16 Solomon’s cold dinner