1 Kings 14:28
And it was so, when the king went into the house of the LORD, that the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber. And it was so, when the king went into the house of the LORD, that the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber.
The verse falls within the history of the divided kingdoms of Judah and Israel, a period marked by the loss of treasures from the temple and royal palace as punishment for idolatry. It belongs to the account of Shishak's spoiling of the temple, whose fuller account is in 2 Chronicles 12. For that spoiling the inscription at the Karnak temple is presented as historical evidence.
The verse is cited with 1 Kings 14:14 as evidence of Solomon's gains and of precious metals becoming common in Jerusalem. That abundance compared with the enormous amount David says he prepared for the temple suggests the reported amount may involve an error in the numerals or a talent of lesser weight and value.
After Shishak of Egypt took Solomon's gold shields because of Rehoboam's sin, Rehoboam made copper shields to replace them. He placed them in the charge of the guard, and whenever the king went into the house of the LORD to worship the guard bore them there and brought them back into the guard chamber where they were carefully kept. Such special custody had not previously been given to the gold shields before their loss.
The careful guarding of the copper shields after the loss illustrates how people may neglect a true treasure until it is gone, then zealously protect an inferior substitute that cannot replace it. The guarded carrying of the shields to the temple and back for safekeeping gives a picture of how people may earnestly preserve what remains after losing something more valuable.