Fri, 9 December, 2005: Today’s Bible readings.

2 Chronicles 9:22-28

²² Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. ²³ And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. ²⁴ Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and of gold, garments, myrrh, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year. ²⁵ And Solomon had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots, and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. ²⁶ And he ruled over all the kings from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. ²⁷ And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah. ²⁸ And horses were imported for Solomon from Egypt and from all lands.

We are at the high point of the kings of Israel.

What do we learn from this?

The Chronicler tells us of Solomon’s vast wealth, power and influence. In this chapter, we see that kings and queens come from vast distances to have an audience with Solomon. He controls the land from the border or Egypt to the Euphrates river in the north. God has greatly blessed and prospered Solomon.

Where is Christ in this passage?

The people are looking for the Messiah, the Son of David who will sit upon the throne. In many ways, Solomon was a picture of the coming Messiah. In this chapter, the emphasis is on the power and wisdom of Solomon, making us think of the coming Messiah.

However, we know that Solomon was greatly flawed. He sinned greatly in marrying foreign wives and tolerating and encouraging their worship of idols. We know the kingdom is going to be split in two because of Solomon’s sin. But the Chronicler has chosen to not dwell on those sins, and instead points us to the high point of the kingdom, encouraging his readers to think of the glorious kingdom under the coming messiah.

Jesus Christ is the great Messiah, reigning as the Son of David. He is the one greater than Solomon. And He is today building His kingdom to the ends of the earth as the gospel goes out in power and converts people through the world.