King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth.

2 Chronicles 9:13-22

13 The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents,[d] 14 not including the revenues brought in by merchants and traders. Also all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the territories brought gold and silver to Solomon.

15 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels[e] of hammered gold went into each shield. 16 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three hundred shekels[f] of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. 17 Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with pure gold. 18 The throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold was attached to it. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. 19 Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. 20 All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s day. 21 The king had a fleet of trading ships[g] manned by Hiram’s[h] servants. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.

22 King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth.
.
Today’s title is “The Glory of Solomon”

People have a very dualistic attitude toward riches. They hate it when other people have it, especially when they boast about it. But people like it when they can enjoy it. In fact, everybody has a dream of great riches whether they admit it or not. I believe that is an essential part of human instinct. To deny it as in some socialist or communist regimes is amounts to denying their humanity itself. So such ideas or political systems are bound to fail. No wonder many socialist and communist countries end up in extreme corruption. No political system or idea cannot change the nature of humanity. We have to take it as it is. I am not saying this to promote capitalism against communism. Capitalism has its own problems. But at least it tries to acknowledge humanity as it is. But isn’t it a sin to desire worldly riches for a Christian? No, I don’t think so. It is true that Jesus spoke against people being obsessed with rich and famous and while in total disregard for spiritual reality. Jesus clearly warned against it. But He never discouraged people from pursuing riches by working hard and faithfully. Rather, the whole Bible seems to take such pursuit of riches and glories as a natural part of human life even though it should not the sole or primary purpose of life. More often than not, such worldly riches and glory are given as gifts or blessings of God. I believe that’s how the bible views the glories of Solomon as we see it in today’s passage. Solomon and Israelites in his time accumulated a great wealth that they have never seen before and after. And if you have carefully followed the stories of David and Solomon, you can see that it came as a gift of God for their love and faithfulness to God. And it is the shadow of heavenly glories that we will all enjoy by God’s grace. Of course, David and Solomon received greater spiritual blessings first. The earthly riches and glories came at the heel of such spiritual blessings. If you lose the spiritual blessings, the earthly riches and glories amount to nothing. I believe that’s what Jesus talks about when He compares the glory of a flower of the field with the glory of Solomon. To be realistic, not many of us will be able to enjoy the riches and glories like Solomon. I pray, however, that my beloved people including you would enjoy it on earth as much as possible with an unequivocal priority on God and His kingdom like Solomon. May God richly bless you all.