Immerse: Chronicles Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 73
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C hronicles – E Z R A – N E H E M I A H
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in praise and to assist the priests in their daily duties. And he assigned the
gatekeepers to their gates by their divisions, following the commands of
David, the man of God. Solomon did not deviate in any way from David’s
commands concerning the priests and Levites and the treasuries.
So Solomon made sure that all the work related to building the Temple
of the Lord was carried out, from the day its foundation was laid to the
day of its completion.
Later Solomon went to Ezion-geber and Elath, ports along the shore of
the Red Sea in the land of Edom. Hiram sent him ships commanded by
his own officers and manned by experienced crews of sailors. These ships
sailed to Ophir with Solomon’s men and brought back to Solomon almost
seventeen tons of gold.
When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, she came to Jerusalem
to test him with hard questions. She arrived with a large group of attendants and a great caravan of camels loaded with spices, large quantities of
gold, and precious jewels. When she met with Solomon, she talked with
him about everything she had on her mind. Solomon had answers for all
her questions; nothing was too hard for him to explain to her. When the
queen of Sheba realized how wise Solomon was, and when she saw the
palace he had built, she was overwhelmed. She was also amazed at the food
on his tables, the organization of his officials and their splendid clothing,
the cup-bearers and their robes, and the burnt offerings Solomon made at
the Temple of the Lord.
She exclaimed to the king, “Everything I heard in my country about
your achievements and wisdom is true! I didn’t believe what was said until
I arrived here and saw it with my own eyes. In fact, I had not heard the half
of your great wisdom! It is far beyond what I was told. How happy your
people must be! What a privilege for your officials to stand here day after
day, listening to your wisdom! Praise the Lord your God, who delights in
you and has placed you on the throne as king to rule for him. Because God
loves Israel and desires this kingdom to last forever, he has made you king
over them so you can rule with justice and righteousness.”
Then she gave the king a gift of 9,000 pounds of gold, great quantities
of spices, and precious jewels. Never before had there been spices as fine
as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
(In addition, the crews of Hiram and Solomon brought gold from
Ophir, and they also brought red sandalwood and precious jewels. The
king used the sandalwood to make steps for the Temple of the Lord and
the royal palace, and to construct lyres and harps for the musicians. Never
before had such beautiful things been seen in Judah.)
King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba whatever she asked for—gifts
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