1 Kings 10 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

1 Kings 10 Short Summary:

The Queen of Sheba visits Solomon and admires his wisdom and wealth in the first half of 1 Kings 10. The second half of the chapter describes Solomon’s incredible prosperity, his ivory throne, his annual gold income, and his expeditions to foreign lands to bring back treasures.

1 Kings 10 Extended Summary

WHEN:

• 1 Kings 10 records events that took place in the middle years of Solomon’s reign, after 20 years of building the Temple and the king’s house.

• Solomon was king for 40 years according to 1 Kings 11:42, from approximately 1015-975 B.C.

CHARACTERS:

• Solomon – The son of David and the 3rd king of Israel and Judah.

• Queen of Sheba – She visited Solomon with her entourage after hearing of his great wisdom.

• Hiram – King of Tyre. He provided Solomon with wood from the forests in Lebanon to build the Temple and the king’s house.

WHERE:

• Solomon’s house and the Temple of the Lord were in Jerusalem.

• The Kingdom of Sheba has not been located with certainty. Some believe it was on the Arabian Peninsula (near modern Yemen), while others hypothesize it was in Africa.

• Ophir (9:28) was likely the name of a region, rather than a city. Its location is unknown. Theories propose Arabia, India, Africa, the Philippines.

• Solomon had a fleet of ships from Tarshish, which was in modern day Spain.

OUTLINE:

• THE QUEEN OF SHEBA VISITS SOLOMON (10:1-13):

  • When the Queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s famed wisdom, she brought him all her hard questions to test him.

  • She travelled to Jerusalem with a large company, camels, spices, gold, and gems.

  • Solomon answered all her questions, there wasn’t one he couldn’t answer.

  • The queen concluded that Solomon was even wiser and more prosperous than the rumors said. 

  • She blessed the Lord who put Solomon on the throne.

  • She gave Solomon 120 talents of gold, gems, and more spices than had ever been seen in Israel.

  • Solomon gave the queen anything she asked for during her visit, afterwards, she returned home.

• THE PROSPERITY OF SOLOMON’S KINGDOM (10:14-29):

  • *Talent = 75 lbs or 34 kg.

  • *Shekel = 11 grams

  • *Mina = 1.25 lbs or 0.6 kg.

  • Hiram’s fleet of ships brought Solomon large quantities of Almug wood from Ophir (10:11).

  • Solomon received 666 talents of gold in one year. This was in addition to the money his explorers and merchants earned.

  • He made 200 shields of gold, each weighing 600 shekels of gold (around 14.5 lbs or 6.6kg). Additionally, he made 300 smaller gold shields, each weighing 3 minas.

  • He had an ivory throne overlayed with gold which was flanked by statues of lions.

  • Every drinking vessel in the king’s house was gold.

  • “Silver was not considered anything in the days of Solomon” (10:21).

  • Every three years, Solomon’s fleet of ships from Tarshish would bring gold, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

  • “The whole earth sought the presence of Solomon” (10:24), and everyone who visited him brought him even more riches.

  • He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen.

  • Solomon imported horses and chariots to resell them at a profit to the kings of the Hittites and the Syrians.

APPLICATION:

• Its easy to be awed and allured when talking about wealth like Solomon’s, but keep this in mind, Solomon was no longer awed and allured by his own wealth by the end of his life.

• Solomon wrote about his experiences in the Book of Ecclesiastes.

• Ecc 5:10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. 

• Solomon had all the money in the world, yet he concluded the pursuit of money ends in vanity.

• Before you dedicate your life to collecting money, consider the words of a man who was richer than you will ever be.

• Serving in God’s Kingdom, having a life motivated by eternal purpose, is way better, and way more fulfilling, than the vain pursuit of amassing money, just to lose it all when you die.