Solomon had to wait 3-7 years to get a single shipment of gold(considering the departure and arrival of the ship).
He ruled for 40 years in Israel which meant he probably received 5 shipments before he died but in the long run they were worth it:
“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!”-1Kings 10:21
“So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.”-1Kings 10:23
If you only pick this last verse and refuse to consider the solid seven years of ’emotional torture’ Solomon would have gone through to get a single shipment,that won’t be fair!
To emphasize the risky nature of such voyage,Solomon’s great-great-grandson tried to embark on same journey to Ophir for gold,the following text shows the result:
“Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go, for the ships were wrecked at Ezion-geber.”-1 Kings 22:48(ESV)
It must have been really challenging for Solomon to wait for three to seven years to get returns from such a risky investment.
Do you think such long term investment is still feasible in this modern age?