Recently, I listened to an interview with a man discussing his gold investments with a gold expert. He asked, “Do you think the gold I have could contain any of the gold that was used to build God’s Temple?” The gold expert said, “Yes”, even if it was only a molecule of the Temple’s gold.”

There is no new gold being produced naturally on Earth. The amount of gold present from antiquity is what we have today. Only by discovering new gold deposits will there be any addition to the international supply. It was reading the description of the Queen of Sheba’s visit with Solomon that I began to realize the immensity of Solomon’s wealth.

The Queen Sheba said, “How happy your people must be! What a privilege for your officials to stand here day after day, listening to your wisdom! Praise the Lord your God, who delights in you and has placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king so you can rule with justice and righteousness” (I Kings 10:8-9).

The Queen of Sheba was so impressed by what she saw with Solomon’s leadership that she gave him 9,000 pounds of gold. Valued in today’s market, that 9,000-pound gift of gold equals $546,637,875.00.

Because of Solomon’s leadership, each year he received 25 tons of gold. At today’s prices, that is $3,036,877,083.00. That’s billions with a “B.” That amount only measured Solomon’s gold holdings, not the rest of Solomon’s wealth that was beyond imagination or calculation.

Solomon used gold to cover the Temple and its accessories, “All of King Solomon’s drinking cups were solid gold, as were all the utensils in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. They were not made of silver, for silver was considered worthless in Solomon’s day!” (vs.21).

All of Solomon’s gold cannot supersede the value of our salvation in Jesus. While it is interesting to find out the measurements of Solomon’s wealth, we possess something more valuable than all the gold that Solomon possessed, and what still remains on Earth today waiting to be discovered.

Paul wrote about the value of God’s gift to His people, “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!” (II Corinthians 9:15). The gift of our salvation is inexpressible and far exceeds any astounding measurement of earthly wealth like that of Solomon.

Because of what Christ did for us, all His followers are wealthy by spiritual measurement. Because we are already wealthy in Christ, that understanding will set the tone of our lives and how we choose to live. That happens to us because all other forms of natural wealth cannot measure up to the value of the transforming power of God’s love for His people.