Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / January 13 - 1 Kings 10

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January 13 - 1 Kings 10 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean here. It's a new week.
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  It's Monday the 13th of January 2025 and it's great to have your
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  company because we are starting out on another week together as
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  we continue to work our way through God's Word.
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  Not from the beginning to the end, not from anyone place to
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  any other place in particular, but just going through 1 chapter
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  of one book at a time to set our lives to the rhythm of God's
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  Word. And at the moment we are
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  continuing to read through the Book of First Kings.
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  And today is one of those wonderful chapters where
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  everything is going well and God is just showing his hand as an
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  abundant blesser. And we see this through the eyes
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  of the Queen of Sheba who is blown away by his phenomenal
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  wealth and success and wisdom. So let us enjoy this peak, peak
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  peak moment of Israelite civilisation as we hear of the
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  splendour of King Solomon in First Kings chapter 10.
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  When the Queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame, which brought
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  honour to the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard
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  questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a
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  large group of attendants and a great caravan of camels loaded
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  with spices, large quantities of gold and precious jewels.
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  When she met with Solomon, she talked with him about everything
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  she had on her mind. Solomon had answers for all her
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  questions. Nothing was too hard for the
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  king to explain to her. When the Queen of Sheba realised
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  how very wise Solomon was and when she saw the palace he had
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  built, she was overwhelmed. She was also amazed at the food
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  on his tables, the organisation of his officials and their
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  splendid clothing, the cup bearers and the burnt offering
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  Solomon made at the Temple of the Lord.
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  She exclaimed to the king. Everything I heard in my country
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  about your achievements and wisdom is true.
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  I didn't believe what was said until I arrived here and saw it
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  with my own eyes. In fact, I had not heard the
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  half of it. Your wisdom and prosperity are
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  far beyond what I was told. How happy your people must be.
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  What a privilege for your officials to stand here day
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  after day listening to your wisdom.
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  Praise the Lord your God who delights in you and has placed
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  you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord's eternal
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  love for Israel, He has made you king so you can rule with
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  justice and righteousness. Then she gave the king a gift of
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  9000 lbs of gold, great quantities of spices and
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  precious jewels. Never again were so many spices
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  brought in as those the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
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  In addition, Haram's ships brought gold from OFA and also
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  brought rich cargoes of red sandalwood and precious jewels.
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  The king used the sandalwood to make railings for the Temple of
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  the Lord and the royal palace and to construct lyres and harps
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  for the musicians. Never before or since has there
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  been such a supply of sandalwood.
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  King Solomon gave the Queen of Sheba whatever she asked for,
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  besides all the customary gifts he had so generously given.
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  Then she and all her attendants returned to their own land.
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  Each year Solomon received about 25 tonnes of gold.
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  This did not include the additional revenue he received
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  from merchants and traders, all the kings of Arabia and the
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  governors of the land. King Solomon made 200 large
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  Shields of hammered gold, each weighing more than £15.
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  He also made 300 smaller Shields of hammered gold, each weighing
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  nearly 4 lbs. The king placed these Shields in
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  the palace of the Forest of Lebanon.
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  Then the king made a huge throne decorated with ivory and
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  overlaid with fine gold. The throne had 6 steps and a
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  rounded back. There were armrests on both
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  sides of the seat and the figure of a lion stood on each side of
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  the throne. There were also 12 other lines,
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  1 standing on each end of the six steps.
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  No other throne in all the world could be compared with it.
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  All of King Solomon's drinking cups were solid gold, as were
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  all the utensils in the palace of the Forest of Lebanon.
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  They were not made of silver, for silver was considered
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  worthless. In Solomon's day, the king had a
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  fleet of trading ships of Tarshish that sailed with
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  Hiram's fleet. Once every three years.
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  The ships returned loaded with gold, silver, ivory, apes and
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  Peacocks. So King Solomon became richer
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  and wiser than any other king on earth.
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  People from every nation came to consult him and to hear the
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  wisdom God had given him. Year after year, everyone who
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  visited brought him gifts of silver and gold, clothing,
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  weapons, spices, horses and mules.
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  Solomon built up a huge force of Chariots and horses.
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  He had 1400 Chariots and 12,000 horses.
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  He stationed some of them in the chariot cities and some near him
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  in Jerusalem. The king made silver as
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  plentiful in Jerusalem as stone and valuable.
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  Cedar timber was as common as the Sycamore fig trees that grew
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  in the foothills of Judah. Solomon's horses were imported
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  from Egypt and from Sicilia. The King's traders acquired them
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  from Cecilia at the standard price.
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  At that time, Chariots from Egypt could be purchased for 600
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  pieces of silver and the horses for 150 pieces of silver.
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  They were then exported to the kings of the Hittites and the
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  kings of Aram. Our Lord, Such opulence, such
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  splendour, like a blessed, well oiled machine.
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  This nation ran under the leadership of King Solomon.
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  And as we hear all about the incredible splendour of this
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  Kingdom, we know that that is just a fraction.
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  Just a brief glimpse into your Kingdom, Lord.
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  Your Kingdom which knows no bounds.
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  Your Kingdom with riches beyond anything that we can imagine
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  during our lives here on earth, and your wisdom and generosity
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  beyond anything that we can ever contemplate.
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  And what's more, we have Willy Wonka's golden ticket to come
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  and be a part of that with you forever and ever and ever.
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  Our Lord, your generosity is just beyond our ability to
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  comprehend. And that you would include us in
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  this is just the most incredible gift.
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  Thank you. Thank you for giving us
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  membership in your family and giving us your son Jesus, who
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  made this all possible. We are so grateful to you and to
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  Jesus for everything he has done for us.
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  So we just praise you and thank you.
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  We lift you up and we worship you and pray all of these things
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  in the most holy name of Jesus, Amen.