Today’s passage: 1 Kings 10:14-29
Helpful thoughts:
- 666 talents of gold is about 25 tons. This was the annual income.
- Don’t read too much into that number…that there were 666 talents has nothing to do with the mark of the beast.
- The gold could have been brought in through trade, taxes from other lands, or probably both.
- Israel had so much gold, silver was no longer valuable. But, they could still use it to buy from other nations.
- God gave Solomon everything He had promised (1 Kings 3:10-13).
- This was the height of Israel as a nation. Yet, the appearance of Solomon’s wealth failed to compare with the lilies of the field in God’s creation (Matthew 6:28-30).
Questions to consider:
- Imagine being an exiled Jew during the captivity, or returning from captivity and seeing Jerusalem gutted and destroyed. Would hearing of all this wealth make you excited or saddened at what had become of it all?
- What did God call Solomon to do with all of this blessing (1 Kings 3:14)? Why does it seem harder to continue to rely on the Lord when we have so much earthly treasure and respect? (Proverbs 30:7-9)
- How does this passage contribute to Jesus’ teaching on anxiety in Matthew 6? What would all this wealth and power make you feel and think about yourself? How much power would you think you possess? How much control of your situation might you believe you have? How do those ideas contribute to anxiety? What then did Jesus say was the way out of anxiety?