Theological Commentary: Click Here
2 Chronicles
9 is a mixed bag of scripture. For me,
it’s a bit like the story of the feeding of the 5,000 in the New
Testament. On the surface, it sounds
like such a good story. Under the
surface, though, it is an expression of more problem than positive.
The Queen of
Sheba comes. She tests his wisdom. She examines his wealth and adds to it. She blesses God – as if He needs blessing – and
talks about how great the Hebrew people are.
As said earlier, it sounds like a good story on the surface.
The problems
in this passage start small. First,
notice that the Queen of Sheba never herself worships God. Furthermore, notice that it isn’t God that
the Queen of Sheba notices. She notices
the grandeur and splendor of Solomon’s livelihood and determines the greatness
of God based on the splendor of the people.
In fact, this passage actually reads as though God is blessed because of
the prosperity of the people. This is
backwards. The people are blessed by the
splendor of God. God’s greatness impacts
us, not the other way around. While it
seems like a good visit from the Queen of Sheba, it is instead an indication of
just how easy it is for human beings to get life backwards.
Notice how
the passage talks about Solomon’s wealth.
As Solomon’s wealth increases, so does the splendor. His throne is made of gold. The had gold lions for armrests upon the
throne. He has gold shield to line the
throne room. Solomon’s tableware was
made of gold. The more wealth God
brought Solomon, the more opulent his life became. Where is the care for the orphans and the
widows? Where is the care for the
foreigner? Was Solomon’s wealth used
benevolently or was it used to show his own greatness?
The
questions raised yesterday still haunt this passage. Where is the faith of the people, and Solomon
specifically? Is it in the wealth, the
horses, and the political treaties? In
these words, if examined closely, the seeds of destruction can be seen. That’s the major problem with success and
prosperity. In each of those things, if
not careful treated, are the seeds to walking away from God and instead
worshipping the false gods of our success.
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