God’s chosen nation - through which he would send the world’s Redeemer - had been brought to a pinnacle of earthly glory by King David. When his son, Solomon, assumed the throne, he consolidated David’s gains and led Israel to a power and a prominence, a prosperity and a prestige, unequalled in the world of his day.

The Queen of Sheba, who had been told of the wealth of Solomon’s court, could not believe it. She was not convinced. She came to see for herself. Her verdict: "The half has never yet been told" (1 Kings 10).

Even Jesus referred to Solomon’s splendor and luxury when he told us to "consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet, I say unto you that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these" (Matthew 6:28, 29…