All King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of silver; silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon.
Solomon's wealth had reached the point where gold was ordinary and silver was not worth counting. Why does Scripture pile up all this gold? And why does it tell us that silver had lost its value?
Everything of Gold
Commentators read the whole scene as a preview of the reign of Christ. One of them sets it beside the prophets' pictures of a restored earth:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinWhat riches and glory the king had! Everything was of gold. All the drinking vessels were of gold. Silver lost its value in his days; it was worth next to nothing. Compare this with what will take place in the coming kingdom of our Lord. "Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle" (Isaiah 55:13). "Instead of bronze I will bring gold, and instead of iron I will bring silver, instead of wood, bronze, instead of stones, iron" (Isaiah 60:17).
Why Even the Cups Matter
Gold ran all the way down to what the king drank from. One writer reads that as a picture of Christ's kingdom:
Leslie M. GrantChrist's authority will be for God's glory. So will the provision He makes for the people in the kingdom, even in regard to what they drink.
Silver Set Aside
The same writer explains why silver was left out:
Leslie M. GrantSilver was not used because it was worth less than gold. Silver speaks of the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, putting emphasis on the great work He has accomplished for us. But Christ personally is greater than His work.
The House of the Forest of Lebanon
The verse names a second building. What it held, and what happened in it, shapes what those golden vessels mean:
W. W. FeredayNext to the temple, Solomon's most important building was the house of the forest of Lebanon. It stood in Jerusalem, but he built it with materials brought down from Lebanon. This house was much larger than the temple. It held Solomon's 300 shields of beaten gold. All the vessels there "were of pure gold; none were of silver; silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon." And "he made the Hall of the Throne where he was to pronounce judgment, even the Hall of Judgment" (1 Kings 7:7). This suggests the righteous administration of our Lord Jesus in the great kingdom age.
Its very name ties the hall to the nations that had come under Solomon's rule:
H. L. RossierWe can see in this name a beautiful image of this glorious reign. Lebanon faced Tyre and even belonged to it. So there was a relationship between this house and the nations in submission to the great king. It was there that Solomon sat as sovereign and judge of the nations as well as of his own people.
Gathered for Himself
One writer notices who all this treasure was for, and measures Solomon against his father:
F. B. HoleWe notice that all this magnificent store of gold and silver and ivory was collected for his own pleasure and enjoyment. He was the centre around which everything revolved. How different he was to his father in this. David did collect immense stores of gold from his victorious campaigns. But he gathered it all to the Lord as his Centre, the Lord identified with His temple. Solomon was on quite different lines. All that he got he heaped up for his own benefit.
Having everything gold could buy left Solomon with a question no one after him could answer:
C. E. StuartHe had wealth beyond any monarch the world has ever seen. "Silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon." All that wealth could buy, all that power could command, all that wisdom could search out, he could enjoy and understand. "What, then, can the man do who comes after the king?" (Ecclesiastes 2:12).
Riches Worth Asking For
The treasures of this chapter are still future. What Christ gives now is different in kind:
H. L. RossierAsk and you shall receive. Ask — you will never exhaust them, all the riches of His kingdom, those "unsearchable riches of Christ." His kingdom is not now of this world. So you will not carry out of His presence the earthly goods that were heaped on the queen. Those lesser treasures belong to the Messiah's coming reign on earth. Our goods, our treasures, are spiritual. The world despises them, but the Christian worthy of the name calls them the true riches.
Summary
- Gold — every vessel, down to the king's cups, was gold. It pictures a kingdom where even what people drink from glorifies God.
- Silver — left out because it was worth less, not because it was worthless. It speaks of redemption, the great work Christ has done; Christ Himself is greater than His work.
- Judgment — the golden vessels filled the hall where the king gave judgment. That points to the righteous rule of Christ over His own people and over the nations.
- Self — Solomon heaped his treasure around himself. David gathered his for God's house. And with everything gold could buy, the question still stands: what can the man do who comes after the king?
- Christ — that golden reign is still future. The riches on offer now are spiritual and unsearchable, and He gives them to those who ask.