Makeda is coming
1 Kings 10: 1 – 14. Makeda is coming
Solomon and Solomon is a scriptural model of the Kingdom of God. The queen of Sheba is a model of the world and how God is about to bring Makeda to the Kingdom.
The queen of Sheba represents a breed of people and a generation of people that looks different than what we see in the average Christian Church. We have placed a slant on the gospel message that has made it appealing to the poor and needy but rejected by the wealthy and well to do.
Our pews are filled with people who are in need while those who have the resources to meet those needs have found greater solitude on golf courses and their weekend cottages.
We have made the areas of the poor our mission fields as if to say that what we have to offer is not needed by the rich.
This is not to imply that the church should neglect the poor but it is to say that God is not pleased with our rejection of the rich. We have equated wealth with righteousness and made the erroneous assumption that people who are wealthy have all they need.
One of the problems is that the Christian Church has such an overwhelming spirit of poverty that we cause the well-to-do to feel guilty for having reached that point of success in their life. We don’t just make the well-to-do feel guilty but we even make those who are trying to do better feel guilty for trying.
The spirit of poverty is often exemplified in the all familiar crab in the bucket illustration. Crab fishermen know that there is no need to bother putting a lid on the bucket they use while catching crab.
Once there are a few crabs in a bucket, the fisherman knows that any crab that tries to get out will be pulled back down by the other crabs. It’s not that the bucket is too small or the wall too slippery, the problem lies with the other crabs.
The wealthy are turned off from the Church because when they arrive they feel the crab claw grabbing at them trying to pull them back down. The ambitious are turned off from the Church because they are forced to feel like Joseph in the house with Judah, Issachar, Reuben, Dan, Asher, Napthali, Gad, Zebulon, Simeon and Levi. Dreams of the ambitious often become the nightmares of the crabs.
The good news is Makeda is coming. Makeda is a representative of a different class of people. Makeda is not coming to get a food box and clothes and rent payments. Makeda is not coming to Church to see it as an extension to her welfare and food stamp program. Makeda is an asset to the ministry.
If Makeda is coming, what is it that draws her? What is it that should draw people to the Kingdom?
What Makeda Sought. Let’s observe what she sought.
Verse one says: “And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions.”
The report that she heard about Solomon was concerning on connected to the name of the Lord. She heard what the Lord had done with Solomon and for Solomon. The Amplified Bible puts it this way: “When the queen of Sheba heard of the constant connection of the fame of Solomon with the name of the Lord.”
lf Solomon had disconnected from the name of the Lord would not have interested the queen at all. One of the things that has caused the Church to loose its interest is that we have disconnected the name of GOD.
The message of the contemporary church is good message but it has no power without the name. We must go back to exalting the name of the Lord.
Psalm 124: 8 Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”
Our help is not in Solomon. Our help is in the name of the Lord. Jesus made sure that we understood that. In Matthew 12: 42, Jesus said, “The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, behold the one greater than SOLOMON is here.
Prov. 18: 10 reminds us "The name of the Lord........
Makeda traveled 1400 miles, for 75 days, amd 2 1/2 months, she traveled. ,19 miles a days. She traveled across the desert sands of ARABIA.
She traveled along the coast of the RED sea and up into MOAB and then to JERUSALEM she has been magnetized by the name of the Lord.
The bible says that she came to TEST him with difficult questions. it was common in those day for people to test a PERSON's wisdom by giving them a riddle, or a SCENARIO and then see if the person had the ANSWER.
Jewish legend says the QUEEN would present some CONFUSED scenario and SOLOMON would respond.
She tested SOLOMON. She FILLED a ROOM with FLOWERS that had hand crafted to look REAL and then perfumed to SMELL real.
There was only ONE real flower in the whole bunch of thousands.
SOLOMON tell me how to find the real FLOWER. He SNIFFED them only to discover that they all smelled alike.
He stared at them only to see that they all looked alike. Finally. SOLOMON walked OVER to the WINDOW and opend it. A BEE flew into the window and CIRCLED the room.
Finally the BEE landed on one particular FLOWER . SOLOMON goes over to the flower and chases the bee away and presents the flower to MAKEDA. She responded, SOLOMON. Your wisdom AMAZES me.
* She presented another snenario. Solomom, what is the most powerful ORGAN of the BODY? Solomon responds, the TONGUE, for itcontains the power of both LIFE and DEATH. She gives him another riddle. SOLOMON, what am i describing to you?
SEVEN leaves and NINE enter. TWO pour out and only ONE drinks. What is that Solomon? SOLOMON says,MAKEDA, the SEVEN that left are the SEVEN on a WOMAN's cycle. the seven leave when the NINE enter and the NINe is the months of HER pregnancy .
The TWO that pour out are her Two BREASTS and the ONE that drinks is the new born BABY that sucks from the TWO that pour.
Queen of Sheba, you have presented a riddle of a pregnant and birthing woman.
MAKEDA again responded " SOLOMON, your wisdom amazes me. Legend says that for SIX months, Makeda would test Solomon only to find that his wisdom was amazing.
She came to test him with DIFFICULT questions. She came to SEE if he could figure out or give answers to CONFUSION and CHAOS.
The world wants to know if we have ANSWERS to this CHAOS and CONFUSION. Can we answer these hard questions?
Can we settle the RIDDLES they face in their HOMES and WORK places?
Can we answer the questions of crime, TEEN pregnancy, DRUGS, DIVORCE, POORVERTY, UNEMPLOYMENT, ALCOHOL, and IMMORALITY. Like Solomon, we must let the WORLD present their RIDDLES and scenarios and we give the ANSWER.
We only have ONE answer and that is JESUS. He is the answer to every question. For the suffering, he's the HEALER, For the CONFUSED, He the mind REGULATOR. For the FEARFUL, he's the protector. for WIDOW is the HUSBAND, for the FATHERLESS HE is the REAL FATHER,
For the ADDICTED, he's a DELIVERER. For the demon possessed, he's demon CHASER. He's Jehovah Jireh HE provides.
Vs 2 says. MAKEDA brought also a loft of FOOD, GIFTS, HELPERS. We need Food, we need gifts, we need HELPERS, we need the RICH in CHURCh.
We need helpers in the CHURCH, we need PEOPLE who READY to WORK.
Makeda is coming to work.
