“And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.”
My Notes
What Does 1 Kings 14:26 Mean?
This verse is one of the most devastating single sentences in the Old Testament. Shishak, pharaoh of Egypt, invades Jerusalem and takes everything — the treasures of the Temple, the treasures of the palace, and specifically "all the shields of gold which Solomon had made." These shields were purely ceremonial, symbols of Solomon's unmatched wealth and glory. Now they belong to Egypt.
The irony is crushing. Israel's story began with God liberating them from Egypt. The Exodus was the defining act of their national identity. Now, just five years after Solomon's death, Egypt walks into Jerusalem and carries away the symbols of Israel's greatness. It's a theological reversal — as if the Exodus is being undone.
Rehoboam will later replace the gold shields with bronze ones — cheaper imitations of what was lost. That detail, recorded in the next verse, captures the entire trajectory: what Solomon built in gold, his son maintains in bronze. The glory is fading, and everyone can see it.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Have you ever experienced a season where something you built was stripped away? What did you learn about what it was built on?
- 2.What does it mean to you that the nation God freed from Egypt is now being plundered by Egypt?
- 3.Where in your life might you be replacing 'gold with bronze' — maintaining appearances of something that's already lost?
- 4.How do you distinguish between glory built on solid foundation and glory built on something that won't last?
Devotional
In one verse, everything Solomon built is stripped away. The gold, the treasures, the shields — all of it carried off to Egypt. And the worst part isn't the material loss. It's what it represents: the nation that God freed from Egypt is now being plundered by Egypt. The story is running backward.
This happens in lives too. You build something — a career, a relationship, a sense of identity — and then circumstances strip it away, and you're left replacing gold with bronze, maintaining the appearance of what you used to have. Rehoboam's bronze shields are one of the saddest images in Scripture: he keeps the ceremony, keeps the guards carrying shields on display, but everyone knows they're not the real thing.
The question this verse asks is: what was the gold built on? Solomon's wealth came partly from faithful stewardship and partly from oppressive labor and political marriages that led him away from God. When glory is built on a compromised foundation, it doesn't last. The Pharaoh didn't create the cracks — he just walked through them.
What in your life looks golden on the surface but might be built on something that can't sustain it? And if something has already been taken from you, are you trying to replace it with bronze imitations — or are you willing to build something new on a stronger foundation?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And King Rehoboam made in their stead brazen shields,.... For the king of Egypt had so stripped him of his gold, that he…
The circumstances of Shishak’s invasion, related here with extreme brevity, are given with some fulness by the author of…
He took away the treasures - All the treasures which Solomon had amassed, both in the temple and in his own houses; a…
Judah's story and Israel's are intermixed in this book. Jeroboam out-lived Rehoboam, four or five years, yet his history…
he even took away all Instead of these words the LXX. gives: -and the golden shields which David took from the hands of…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture