Mysterious Ophir

Ophir. A place of mystery. Today, no one knows where it was located. In Africa? On the Arabian Peninsula? But it was well known in Bible times. A thousand years before Christ, ships were built that traveled hundreds of miles to this faraway land.

Ophir is mentioned in Genesis as an ancestor of Shem. In Job, it was associated with gold (Job 22:24). David himself gained riches from Ophir, providing 3,000 talents “of the gold of Ophir” to help build the temple (1 Chronicles 29:3-4).

Ophir became central to Solomon. He arranged for Hiram, king of Tyre, to provide ships for a journey to Ophir. Together with Solomon’s servants, they returned with an unbelievable amount of gold. In modern terms, about 16 metric tons!

Kings after Solomon continued to be attracted to the riches found in Ophir. We read, for example, how “Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold” (1 Kings 22:48). Ophir and its gold may have become an obsession for some, but their search did not bring lasting peace or happiness.

Many of us have places of our own like Ophir that become obsessions, objects that dominate our thoughts, experiences we crave. But, in the end, the Bible tells us that these things can be like chasing the wind (Ecclesiastes 1:14).

Don’t be obsessed with temporary things. Seek riches that will last – what you invest in God’s Kingdom.