How to live well with God’s generous gifts

Some years ago on holiday, I returned to a church that I had visited before. It drew a lot of young people who enjoyed the upbeat musical worship, which in the past was headed by a talented and humble music leader. Singing meaningful songs about the Lord where He was in the centre was uplifting as it reaffirmed what we believed about Him and helped us remember the God we serve. This time, however, there was a new person standing at the front who seemed full of himself. In fact, for most of the singing I had to look away from him as his whole body language said, ‘Look at me, aren’t I great!’. While this is an extreme example, it raises the question of what we do with and how we use the gifts and skills we were given by the Lord.

Solomon’s wisdom and wealth

As we continue Solomon’s story, we reach the height of the king’s fame, which has spread to distant lands. The queen of Sheba comes either from southern Arabia or Africa, but either way, she makes a long journey to test the wisdom of the king with riddles (ḥidah, NASB ‘difficult questions’, 1 Kings 10:1). She also observes Solomon’s wisdom in the building of the temple and the organisation of his court as well as his wealth, so that she is overwhelmed (1 Kings 10:4-5). Yet, her praise goes to Israel’s God who so generously gave the people a king endowed with everything to serve them by doing justice and righteousness (1 Kings 10:9). Solomon’s wealth is staggering from valuable wood, precious stones to gold and other luxury goods (1 Kings 10:11, 22). Those using trade routes within Israel’s jurisdiction probably paid tax and merchants would have had to pay after their wares, which further swelled the royal coffers (1 Kings 10:14-15). The summary statement underlines God’s overwhelming generosity to the king as He had promised (1 Kings 10:23; 3:12-13).

Question marks over the king’s attitude

The memory of such a king who had been internationally recognised and stood above all others in riches, honour and wisdom (v.23), must have been a balm to the Jewish exiles who were defeated, humiliated and deprived of all honour and whose God would have been seen by their enemies as too weak to save them. Yet, what we read about Solomon has again some disconcerting aspects. Sheba’s praise connecting wisdom with reigning with justice and righteousness (1 Kings 10:9) reminds us of the king’s original request for wisdom so that he might judge God’s people with discernment (1 Kings 3:9). Yet, we have not heard anything about this important royal function since Solomon judged the two prostitutes (1 Kings 3:27-28). While modern readers may feel that lavish ceremonial shields with gold overlay, an impressive throne and gold vessels (1 Kings 10:16-21) might be too ostentatious, a certain amount of pomp is necessary to reflect a king’s (and by extension, a people’s) prestige. This is true even today but was even more so in the ancient world. Nevertheless, the amassing of gold and the detailed description of chariots and horses imported from Egypt and Kue ring some alarm bells as contrary to what is required of a faithful Israelite king (Deut 17:16-17; Isa 31:1).

How to live well with God’s generous gifts

As we think about God’s blessings and gifts (in Solomon’s life and our own), we may wonder how much is too much? By the standards of most of the world, the majority of us in the West are rich. Nevertheless, it is not a sin to be rich, and we need not live in a state of guilt. Rather, we are to recognise that all we have is from the Lord’s generosity. Here, a comparison with King David is educational. When he finally became established as king, he realised that it was the Lord’s doing (2 Sam 5:12). Moreover, he recognised that God exalted him ‘for the sake of His people Israel’ (v.12). What we have in material possessions, skills and abilities should not be used solely for our own benefit, but for others’ as well. Some of these may assist the local church, others the workplace or the wider community. The point is that we are not our own but His, and what we have been given is not meant for our own aggrandisement but for the benefit of those to whom the Lord directs us.

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