and three hundred shields of beaten gold, -- he applied three hundred [shekels] of gold to one shield; and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.
Gold came into Solomon's treasury in such amounts that he could beat it into shields and hang them in a hall named after a forest. Why make armour out of soft metal, and why store it in that building?
The House of the Forest of Lebanon
The name suggests a palace up in the mountains, but the building stood in the capital. It took its name from its materials.
The context shows that these passages do not refer to the forest at Lebanon. Solomon had a house at Jerusalem, built of the trees from Lebanon, and he called it "the house of the forest of Lebanon."
The name also points to more than the building material.
It was built of cedar wood. Inside and out it had rows of cedar columns, which may have given the house the look of an imposing forest. On the other hand, we can see in this name a beautiful image of this glorious reign. Lebanon faced Tyre and even belonged to it. Thus 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.
Why the Shields Hung There
The location is the point. This was not where the king slept.
This house was not a dwelling. It held the offices of administration for the kingdom. So the shields speak of defense in the place where the interests of the kingdom were maintained.
Gold Everywhere
The shields were gold. So was much else in Solomon's kingdom.
Verses 14 through 22 describe the riches and the splendor of the kingdom. Gold, the emblem of divine righteousness, stands out everywhere under Solomon's reign, from the temple to the throne. The throne was marvelous: "nothing like it was ever made for any kingdom." It was the throne of righteousness and of power, and it carried the emblems of both.
A Picture of a Greater King
Commentators see in Solomon's buildings a picture of a reign still to come. The hall of the golden shields also held the throne where the king gave his verdicts.
This great building held Solomon's 300 shields of beaten gold (spoil for the Egyptians in the days of Rehoboam). "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.
Another writer draws the same line from these palace buildings, and adds where the nations fit in.
Here we have prefigured the glorious administration of the kingdom, when our Lord judges in righteousness. The house of the forest of Lebanon is the type of His glory among the Gentiles.
Splendour That Did Not Hold
Commentators differ on what the shields were for. Some see defence and administration. Another traces them to Solomon's growing love of riches, and follows what became of them.
As we follow the history of his reign we find the love of riches growing on Solomon. He had fleets at sea which brought him gold and silver in abundance. Surely these were not for use in war; just ornaments. But Rehoboam lost these costly ornaments in war. In his vanity he made shields of brass in their place, and had them carried out on display when he went into the house of the Lord (1 Kings 14:25-28). Oh, the pitiful vanity of poor flesh; appearances must be kept up even after the reality has departed.
Solomon's son gave up the shields without a fight, and chose brass because it looked close enough.
He let the glory of the city go without protest. What did it matter? He could substitute brass for gold, and brass looks like gold, almost; peace seemed cheap at the price. And so when he went up to the house of the Lord, brass shields went up before him instead of shields of fine gold. When his religious duties were done, the guard took them into safe keeping as though they were the real thing.
Summary
- Gold: one metal ran from temple to throne to shield. It is the emblem of divine righteousness, on the kingdom's worship and on its defence.
- Place: the shields hung in the seat of government, not a bedroom. They stand for defence over the interests of the kingdom.
- Reach: the cedars of Lebanon gave the hall its name and linked the king's court to the nations under him. It sketches Christ's glory among the Gentiles.
- Loss: one generation later the gold was gone to Egypt, and Rehoboam let it go without protest.
- Brass: the copy kept the ceremony going after the reality was gone. That is the warning these shields leave.