Solomon and 666

As we have seen before Jesus gave us the prophecy of Deuteronomy 17:14-20 to warn the kings of Israel what they should be concerned about and what to avoid. We to can profit by these instructions especially when seen in the light that Solomon, and his experiences are for us upon who the ends of the world are come. I Corinthians 10:11

An area of God’s counsel, and Solomon’s experience, upon which we have not spent any time is the counsel "…neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold." Deuteronomy 17:17. We find in the Bible records that Solomon again violated, and ignored the counsel of his God. We are told in I Kings 10:23 "So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom." It is not surprising for this because God had promised Solomon in I Kings 3:13 "And I have also given the that which thou has not asked, both riches and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days." Yet we have the counsel that Solomon should not multiply silver and gold to himself. If so much money came in that silver was accounted as stones (I Kings 10:27) then what should have happened to all of this money?

In Prophets and Kings 55 we are told the following: "…The money which should have been held in sacred trust for the benefit of the worthy poor and for the extension of principles of holy living throughout the world, was selfishly absorbed in ambitious projects." So it would appear that God wanted lots of money to come into Israel but that money should not be for self-exaltation but for the glory of God in both ministry to needy people inside the kingdom and for evangelical projects throughout the world. Wouldn’t it be wonderful for Solomon to use the money God gave him in a manner that we could have learned from? What a wonderful testimony that would have been to the glory of God.

Yet there is more to the story. In I Kings 10:14 we find "Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold." That appears to be a lot of gold. Not only that but the number assigned to the amount of gold was unique. This number 666 is used only one other place in the Bible and that is in reference to the false worship assigned to the image to the beast in Revelation 13:17-18. Now it could be that this number, 666, is just a random number assigned to a literal, and unique amount of gold that came to Solomon. It is this writer’s belief that that is not the case. This writer believes that God is purposely connecting the two numbers to give an example of what rebellion against God looks like. God gave instruction to Solomon to not accumulate gold to himself. Solomon violated this commandment and did accumulate gold – 666 talents of gold.

Now another question comes up and that is what did Solomon do with the gold? Again God has blessed us with an answer to the question. In Prophets and Kings 54-55 we have the following information:
"The king's alliances and commercial relations with heathen nations brought him renown, honor, and the riches of this world. He was enabled to bring gold from Ophir and silver from Tarshish in great abundance. "The king made silver and gold at Jerusalem as plenteous as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycamore trees that are in the vale for abundance." 2 Chronicles 1:15. Wealth, with all its attendant temptations, came in Solomon's day to an increasingly large number of people; but the fine gold of character was dimmed and marred.

So gradual was Solomon's apostasy that before he was aware of it; he had wandered far from God. Almost imperceptibly he began to trust less and less in divine guidance and blessing, and to put confidence in his own strength. Little by little he withheld from God that unswerving obedience which was to make Israel a peculiar people, and he conformed more and more closely to the customs of the surrounding nations. Yielding to the temptations incident to his success and his honored position, he forgot the Source of his prosperity. An ambition to excel all other nations in power and grandeur led him to pervert for selfish purposes the heavenly gifts hitherto employed for the glory of God. The money, which should have been held in sacred trust for the benefit of the worthy poor and for the extension of principles of holy living throughout the world, was selfishly absorbed in ambitious projects.

Engrossed in an overmastering desire to surpass other nations in outward display, the king overlooked the need of acquiring beauty and perfection of character. In seeking to glorify himself before the world, he sold his honor and integrity. The enormous revenues acquired through commerce with many lands were supplemented by heavy taxes. Thus pride, ambition, prodigality, and indulgence bore fruit in cruelty and exaction. The conscientious, considerate spirit that had marked his dealings with the people during the early part of his reign, was now changed. From the wisest and most merciful of rulers, he degenerated into a tyrant. Once the compassionate, God-fearing guardian of the people, he became oppressive and despotic. Tax after tax was levied upon the people, that means might be forthcoming to support the luxurious court."

According to this counsel Solomon used the money from God to support his own person
al building projects and his desire to surpass other nations in outward display. This is very similar to what King Hezekiah did to Babylon in Isaiah 39 by showing off his gold to the Babylonian representatives but neglected to tell them about the love of Jesus.

So the issue of 666 tells a lot about the man. God blessed Solomon with an abundance of riches but Solomon focused on the money and forgot to obey the Giver of the money. Apparently Solomon had no love response to the gifts of Jesus and focused on a selfish response to the gifts and did not use the gifts to bring honor and glory to God.

So in conclusion, 666 symbolizes the spiritual state of an individual who has had the opportunity to know God and appreciate His generosity and benevolence. This individual takes the gifts of God but does not render an appropriate response to God. All of the responses generated by the individual who is in a 666 spiritual state is to turn people away from the true worship of God. Solomon, who should have known better, symbolizes this 666 state. He knew the counsel of God and chose to ignore it. He gathered the gifts of God but did not render the gift of loving obedience in response to the gifts. Solomon chose to use the gifts in specific acts of selfishness to influence others around him to turn away from God as well. Solomon also used the monies to build the temples of paganism to turn the worship of God’s people away from Him. All of these things show that Solomon, in his rebellious state was a type of the people who receive the number 666 in the Revelation 13:17-18.

I pray that we may learn from these truths and learn how to apply them to our lives that we may be protected from evil and have victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name. Revelation 15:2