Second Chronicles 9:10

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 9:10-16, “And the servants also of Huram, and the servants of Solomon, which brought gold from Ophir, brought algum trees and precious stones.[11] And the king made of the algum trees terraces to the house of the LORD, and to the king's palace, and harps and psalteries for singers: and there were none such seen before in the land of Judah.[12] And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which she had brought unto the king. So she turned, and went away to her own land, she and her servants.[13] Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and threescore and six talents of gold;[14] Beside that which chapmen and merchants brought. And all the kings of Arabia and governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.[15] And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of beaten gold went to one target.[16] And three hundred shields made he of beaten gold: three hundred shekels of gold went to one shield. And the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.” Solomon kept prospering and increasing in wealth. This reminds us that God is faithful to His promises and takes care of His children. It also demonstrates to us that there is nothing wrong with being rich. Solomon was extremely rich: gold was in abundance and Solomon had many things made of gold. You can be rich and serve God. One question will be, what does God want you to do with your riches? One of the things that Solomon did with his riches is that he built and embellished the temple, and Solomon did many other things to make sure that the worship of God in the place where believers gathered would be as fine and as wonderful and as great as it could be. If a work for God is going to be done in the best way possible, someone has to pay for it. Here is God’s will for finances in the New Testament: it says in Second Corinthians 9:7, “Every man according as he purposes in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 9:17-31, “Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold.[18] And there were six steps to the throne, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne, and stays on each side of the sitting place, and two lions standing by the stays:[19] 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.[20] And all the drinking vessels of king Solomon 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 not any thing accounted of in the days of Solomon.[21] For the king's ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram: every three years once came the ships of Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.
[22] And king Solomon passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.[23] And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, that God had put in his heart.[24] And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, harness, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.[25] And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.[26] And he reigned over all the kings from the river even unto the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt.[27] And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycomore trees that are in the low plains in abundance.[28] And they brought unto Solomon horses out of Egypt, and out of all lands.[29] Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?[30] And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.[31] And Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.” We see in these verses that Solomon was known for two things: great riches and wisdom from God. Guess which was most important. Solomon knew. He wrote in Proverbs 3:13-18, “Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.[14] For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.[15] She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.[16] Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.[17] Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.[18] She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.” Solomon gained his great wisdom by prayer. He asked God for wisdom instead of asking for money. God gave him both, but Solomon knew what was really valuable.

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 10:1-8, “And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for to Shechem were all Israel come to make him king.[2] And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was in Egypt, whither he had fled from the presence of Solomon the king, heard it, that Jeroboam returned out of Egypt.[3] And they sent and called him. So Jeroboam and all Israel came and spake to Rehoboam, saying,[4] Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee.[5] And he said unto them, Come again unto me after three days. And the people departed.[6] And king Rehoboam took counsel with the old men that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, What counsel give ye me to return answer to this people?[7] And they spake unto him, saying, If thou be kind to this people, and please them, and speak good words to them, they will be thy servants for ever.[8] But he forsook the counsel which the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men that were brought up with him, that stood before him.” Jeroboam is not afraid of Rehoboam. Obviously, Jeroboam knows that Rehoboam is weak and foolish. Jeroboam will outsmart Rehoboam. What a contrast between Solomon, and Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. Solomon prayed to God for wisdom, and Solomon became the wisest man on the earth. Evidently, Rehoboam did not pray such a prayer. He was very foolish. First, he was foolish because he let Jeroboam back into Israel. Solomon knew that Jeroboam wanted to be king and was therefore a threat to the nation. Secondly, Rehoboam was foolish because he listened to the younger counsellors, instead of the older ones. Older means wiser in many situations, and that certainly was the case here. Most young men have not lived long enough to have the answers. They think they do, but they do not. There are exceptions, such as David when he knew exactly how to handle Goliath, but there are not many David’s in the world. Many churches have been ruined by young preachers. It says in regards to choosing a pastor in First Timothy 3:6, “Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.” A novice is someone who does not know enough about spiritual things or about following the Lord. Once a person comes to know Christ, it usually takes time to grow in the Lord and in the knowledge of the Word to be ready for a responsibility like being a pastor.

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 10:9-19, “And he said unto them, What advice give ye that we may return answer to this people, which have spoken to me, saying, Ease somewhat the yoke that thy father did put upon us?[10] And the young men that were brought up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou answer the people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it somewhat lighter for us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins.[11] For whereas my father put a heavy yoke upon you, I will put more to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.[12] So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king bade, saying, Come again to me on the third day.[13] And the king answered them roughly; and king Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men,[14] And answered them after the advice of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add thereto: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.[15] So the king hearkened not unto the people: for the cause was of God, that the LORD might perform his word, which he spake by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.[16] And when all Israel saw that the king would not hearken unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? and we have none inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to your tents, O Israel: and now, David, see to thine own house. So all Israel went to their tents.[17] But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.[18] Then king Rehoboam sent Hadoram that was over the tribute; and the children of Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. But king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.[19] And Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.” Things moved very quickly. Once Rehoboam made the wrong decision and decided to be harsh with the people of Israel, the ten northern tribes rebelled, and never came back. Be careful about decisions that you make. Any decision can be life changing. That is why we need wisdom from God, and why we need to be led by Him. It is a good thing that as a believer in Jesus, we are promised in Psalms 23:2, “…he leads me beside the still waters;” and in Psalm 23:3, “…he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”

The Bible says in Second Chronicles 11:1-4, “And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he gathered of the house of Judah and Benjamin an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against Israel, that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam.[2] But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,[3] Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying,[4] Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren: return every man to his house: for this thing is done of me. And they obeyed the words of the LORD, and returned from going against Jeroboam.” When something happens, God allows it to happen. We can even say that God makes it happen. He is God and He is in charge of all things. Many worse things would happen if He did not stop them. He controls the demons. God keeps the antichrist from taking power on the earth. When God is ready the antichrist will be free to take power. That is why it says in Second Thessalonians 2:6-8, “And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.[7] For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.[8] And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:” The ten northern tribes broke away because God allowed them to break away. When something bad happens and you start praying that God would change things and take away the bad and undo the unpleasantness, remember that God allowed all of that to happen in the first place. You might want to find out what God’s will is before you over-react and take matters into your own hands.

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