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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Monday, 1 December 2025:
2 Chronicles 9:1 — Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with hard questions, having a very great retinue, and camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind.
The queen arrives not because of Solomon’s military strength or geopolitical reach, but because of his reputation for wisdom tied to the name of the LORD (1 Kings 10:1). God-centered wisdom has magnetic pull. She comes with honest questions, testing what she has heard. Authentic faith welcomes honest inquiry. Solomon’s kingdom operates as a showcase of God’s character, drawing nations to see the beauty of divine order, excellence, and wisdom. This moment previews the gospel: the nations streaming toward God’s wisdom embodied, not in a king of Israel’s throne, but in Christ, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3).
2 Chronicles 9:2 — And Solomon answered all her questions. There was nothing hidden from Solomon that he could not explain to her.
Solomon’s answers reveal the depth of God’s gift (1 Kings 3:12). His clarity, insight, and discernment demonstrate what happens when God equips a leader for His purposes. This anticipates a greater fulfillment in Christ, who never failed to answer the sincere seeker and who revealed the mysteries of the kingdom with divine authority (Mark 1:22). Solomon reflects wisdom; Jesus embodies it.
2 Chronicles 9:3-4 — And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, and their clothing, his cupbearers, and their clothing, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the LORD, there was no more breath in her.
She is overwhelmed not merely by wealth but by order. Everything she sees reflects excellence, intentionality, hierarchy, reverence, and worship. This is kingdom architecture, wisdom embedded in systems, operations, culture, and devotion. The burnt offerings mentioned at the end are not incidental; they anchor everything she has witnessed. Solomon’s visible success is downstream of covenant worship. When worship is central, everything else aligns. Jesus later teaches that the order still applies: Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and everything else will fall into place (Matthew 6:33). The queen’s reaction, breathless wonder, is exactly what the beauty of holiness should produce.
2 Chronicles 9:5-6 — And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, half the greatness of your wisdom was not told me; you surpass the report that I heard.”
Her confession affirms that God’s works exceed human testimony. What God does cannot be fully captured in words, it must be encountered. This foreshadows the incarnate Christ, whom people dismissed until they saw, heard, and touched (John 1:14; 1 John 1:1). God’s reality always surpasses human rumor. Faith begins with hearing, but matures through seeing the truth lived out.
2 Chronicles 9:7 — “Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!”
A kingdom aligned with God produces a culture of joy. These workers aren’t merely well paid; they are blessed because they stand near wisdom and learn from it. Spiritual proximity shapes spiritual condition. The early church embodied this same principle as the apostles taught daily, resulting in community-wide joy (Acts 2:42–47). Joy is the byproduct of dwelling where God’s wisdom governs.
2 Chronicles 9:8 — “Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and set you on his throne as king for the LORD your God! Because your God loved Israel and would establish them forever, he has made you king over them, that you may execute justice and righteousness.”
Her praise shifts appropriately, Solomon’s greatness is rooted in God’s love for His people. She recognizes divine appointment and covenant purpose: justice and righteousness. Leadership grounded in God’s love must produce God’s character. Solomon models righteousness at this stage, but Jesus fulfills it perfectly. The throne Solomon sits on is ultimately “the LORD’s throne,” pointing ahead to the Messiah whose reign is eternal (Luke 1:32-33).
2 Chronicles 9:9 — Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones; there were no spices such as those that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
She honors the king who reflects the glory of God. Generosity flows from awe. In the gospel, the Magi repeat this pattern, bringing costly gifts to a greater King who embodies divine wisdom and divine presence (Matthew 2:11). True worship yields sacrificial giving.
2 Chronicles 9:10-11 — And the servants of Huram and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, brought algum wood and precious stones. The king used the algum wood to make steps for the house of the LORD and for the king’s house, and lyres and harps for the singers. There never was seen the like of them before in the land of Judah.
Resources continue to support the temple and the worship system. Even foreign-sourced materials get repurposed for God’s glory. Solomon consistently channels wealth toward worship infrastructure — music, access, and physical elements that enhance corporate praise. This anticipates the church age, where Gentiles are grafted in and contribute to the praise of Christ (Romans 11:17-18).
2 Chronicles 9:12 — And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what she had brought to the king. So she turned and went back to her own land, with her servants.
A reciprocal generosity marks this exchange. Yet note the direction of blessing: she arrived testing, she left praising. She came curious, she left convinced. Her encounter with Solomon becomes a witness against unbelief in Jesus’ day — Jesus says the queen will rise in judgment because she responded to lesser wisdom, while they rejected the greater (Matthew 12:42). Her journey becomes a call to seek, listen, and respond.
2 Chronicles 9:13-14 — Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, besides that which the explorers and merchants brought. And all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land brought gold and silver to Solomon.
The staggering intake of wealth reveals Solomon’s geopolitical ascendancy. Yet the number itself (666) has long signaled an undercurrent of danger, excess, accumulation, and the potential seduction of power. What begins as blessing can become a snare if wisdom gives way to pride. Christ later warns, What will it profit a man to gain the world and lose his soul? (Mark 8:36). Wealth tests the heart as fiercely as hardship.
2 Chronicles 9:15-16 — King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels of beaten gold went into each shield. And he made 300 shields of beaten gold; 300 shekels of gold went into each shield; and the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
These gold shields symbolize military prestige rather than practical defense. They communicate stability, victory, and security, but they also show a drift toward opulence. Later, Rehoboam will lose these shields through folly (2 Chronicles 12:9-10), a vivid reminder that human glory is fragile when it is not anchored in obedience.
2 Chronicles 9:17-19 — The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold. The throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold attached to the throne, and on each side of the seat were armrests, and two lions standing beside the armrests. Twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step….
The throne embodies royal majesty, artistry, and symbolic power. The lions represent strength, authority, and dominion. Yet even at its most glorious, this throne points beyond itself. No earthly throne, no matter how splendid, matches the throne of the Lamb (Revelation 5:6). Solomon’s throne is extraordinary; Christ’s is ultimate.
2 Chronicles 9:20-21 — All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold…. For the king’s ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram… bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
We now reach the apex of extravagance. Everything gleams. Solomon’s environment is saturated with abundance, gold as the operational norm, silver treated as a non-factor. This isn’t just wealth; it’s a picture of unrestrained accumulation. The narrator is intentionally highlighting the extreme nature of the kingdom’s prosperity because abundance without guardrails, extravagance without devotion, leads to spiritual drift (Deuteronomy 8:11–14). The chapter is showcasing peak performance while simultaneously signaling risk exposure. The House of the Forest of Lebanon becomes a symbol: external strength and luxury can mask internal vulnerability. Jesus reinforces this principle in Matthew 6:19-21 — your investments reveal your loyalties, and Solomon’s scale of riches foreshadows the divided affections that later break his covenant faithfulness (1 Kings 11:1-8). Prosperity is never the problem; misplaced confidence is.
The seeds of Solomon’s decline are embedded in the very abundance God allowed. The New Testament counters with kingdom values — simplicity, stewardship, and eternal focus (1 Timothy 6:17-19).
2 Chronicles 9:22-24 — Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom…. And they brought every man his present… year after year.
His global dominance is complete. Nations seek him. Leaders honor him. His influence is unmatched. But the chapter is intentionally bittersweet. Wisdom and wealth converge, yet history shows one can outgrow the other. Solomon becomes a case study in what happens when blessing dilutes dependence on the One who gives it.
2 Chronicles 9:25-28 — And Solomon had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots and 12,000 horsemen….
These verses show a direct violation of Deuteronomy 17:16, where God commanded Israel’s king not to multiply horses. The drift is subtle but undeniable — Solomon’s power grows, but his obedience shrinks. The more he builds, the more he forgets the boundaries God set. Leadership misalignment always begins quietly.
2 Chronicles 9:29-31 — Now the rest of the acts of Solomon…. Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried… and Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.
The closing lines are sober. Solomon’s rise is unmatched, but his reign ends with cracks that will rupture under Rehoboam. His life becomes both inspiration and warning: wisdom without obedience will collapse; blessing without vigilance becomes burden. The final assessment shows that greatness apart from wholehearted devotion cannot sustain covenant faithfulness.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) — 1 December 2025: Identify one area where blessing has quietly drifted into self-assurance. Re-align it today by deliberately submitting it to Christ’s authority, thanking Him for it, and using it actively for His glory rather than your comfort.
Pray: “Father, anchor my heart in Your wisdom and not in my achievements. Keep me from drifting into self-reliance when You bless me, and guard me from pride when You expand my influence. Make my life a beacon of Your goodness that draws others to You. Align my leadership, my decisions, and my desires with the character of Christ, and teach me to steward every resource as a gift entrusted for Your glory. Keep my heart whole, my loyalty undivided, and my worship pure. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
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