And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah.
The summary of Solomon's reign ends with a note about prices. That one line measures a wealth no other city has matched — and readers ask what it pictures, and whether it was pure blessing.
Silver as Common as Stone
The comparison is not about how much silver Solomon owned. It is about what silver came to be worth in his reign. Cedar went the same way — as common as the lowly sycamore. One writer walks through a court where gold had taken over:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinAnd what riches and glory the king had! Everything was of gold. His throne was solid ivory overlaid with gold. Twelve wonderful lions stood on the one side and on the other. All the drinking vessels were of gold. Silver lost its value in his days; it was worth next to nothing.
Set beside the famous capitals of history, Jerusalem under Solomon still stands alone:
William KellyThere was the grandest witness of magnificence that was ever found in any city on earth. Not even Augustus finding Rome brick and leaving it marble could be compared with Solomon.
A Picture of a Greater Reign
Solomon's splendour points past itself. One writer treats those few decades in Jerusalem as a small-scale model of a greater reign still to come:
H. L. RossierSo far, even though we are dealing with a man and therefore with an imperfect being, we have been able to see a beautiful unity in Solomon's life. It was joined to the wisdom that lifted the king's name high among the nations, linked with the name of the Lord. The greatness, the majesty, the power, the wealth of his reign were only a faint image of what the Millennium will show under the reign of the true King of Glory.
But the model does not hold everywhere. The next verses list chariots and horsemen, and that detail shows where the picture breaks:
W. W. FeredayBut Solomon was no believer in disarmament. The record says twice that he gathered chariots and horsemen, and that he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen. Every such picture falls short! When He who is "greater than Solomon" reigns in Jerusalem, men "shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks." And "nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore."
The Warning Hidden in the Wealth
Verse 27 does not stand alone. It sits in a paragraph about trade, and that trade crossed a command the Lord had given the king:
Leslie M. GrantSilver became as common as stones in Jerusalem and cedar trees as plentiful as the lowly sycamores (v. 27). Solomon also imported chariots and horsemen from Egypt... He used these in Israel, but also exported them to the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria, making a profit. If he had read Deuteronomy 17:15-16, then he disobeyed on purpose. The Lord forbade a king to gather many horses or to have horses bought from Egypt. This was depending on the world (Egypt) for the protection of his kingdom, instead of on the Lord.
Wealth Gathered for Himself
What Solomon did with his riches is where the account turns. The contrast with his father is sharp:
F. B. HoleFirst, we notice one thing about this magnificent pile of gold, silver and ivory, of valuables and works of art, right down to apes and peacocks. He collected it all for his own pleasure and enjoyment. He was the centre around which everything revolved. How different he was from his father... David did receive large sums into his own purse. Even so, he kept the Lord's interests before him... Solomon was on quite different lines. All that he got he heaped up for his own benefit.
The Verdict of the Man Who Had It All
Solomon had wisdom, wealth and power together. One writer weighs what all of it finally gave him:
C. E. StuartGod gave him a measure of wisdom greater than anyone before him... He had wealth beyond any monarch the world has ever seen — in his days silver counted for nothing. 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?"
Summary
- Cheapened. Silver did not just pile up. It collapsed in value, worth next to nothing beside the gold of Solomon's court.
- Unmatched. No city in history, Rome included, matched the magnificence of Jerusalem in those years.
- Preview. That greatness is only a faint image of the greater reign still to come, never its equal.
- Cracked. The picture breaks at the chariots. The coming King ends war; Solomon stockpiled for it, buying horses from Egypt against a clear command.
- Hollow. Solomon heaped it up for himself, while David kept God's interests in view. The richest man alive ended by asking what anyone after him could add.