The Queen of Sheba came to visit. She has heard of Solomon’s fame and his “relation to the Name of the Lord” (10:1). She came to see it for herself.
• She was in awe of what she saw. It was beyond her imagination.
• She asked him many questions and saw the WISDOM of Solomon. She looked around and was greatly impressed by his WEALTH.
We can tell the Queen herself is rich. Most believed she comes from South Arabian Kingdom of Saba.
• She came with “a very great caravan” of gifts (10:2). And the gifts that she gave to Solomon, 10:10 says “never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.”
• She comes from a prosperous nation, and yet she was clearly overwhelmed by Solomon’s wealth, which surpasses hers greatly.
God has indeed given Solomon great wisdom, great wealth, and great fame. Not just great, but without equal in his time.
• That was what God said to Solomon in 3:12 “…I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be.” (That’s what he asked for)
• 3:13 “I will give you… riches and honour, so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings…” (That’s what he did not ask for).
The Queen could now testify to this – she saw with her own eyes Solomon’s wisdom, wealth and honour. The author too wanted to affirm this.
• In the following passage, he talks about Solomon’s splendour – the revenues he receive from merchants, traders, kings and governors of the land.
• He shared his observations of the amount of gold he has – in the making of shields, the throne, goblets and all the household articles. ‘Gold’ was mentioned 9 times.
The author added this comment in 10:21 - nothing was made of silver because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s days. 10:27 - Solomon made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones.
• He testified in 10:23-25 “23King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. 24The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. 25Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift - articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.”
• This incompatibility in his wisdom, wealth and honour is the promise of God.
• What we are seeing in chapter 10 is the fulfilment of what God said in chapter 3.
They are the favours of God! They are the blessings of God. They are gifts, freely given, and not demanded.
• Solomon asked for wisdom and God was pleased.
• He did not ask for something for himself, but for the need of the Kingdom – the wisdom to lead God’s people Israel.
• God gave it to him. James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”
• This is what we can ask for – the wisdom and the abilities to do the work of God and to do it well.
Solomon did not ask for anything else. Not wealth. Not honour. These are God’s favours.
• Today many want these blessings but they don’t see them as God’s favours; they see them as their entitlements.
• But ask Solomon. He will tell you he did not ask after these. They were blessings freely given to him by God’s grace.
• And he did not ask for what HE WANTS, for his own pleasure and comfort, but for the NEED he saw in doing the work God has entrusted him.
Think for a moment. Nowhere in the Bible are we taught to seek for riches, fame, status or worldly success.
• Wisdom, yes. Clearly we can pray for wisdom. We can pray for healing (cf. James 5:14). But not what this world can offer us.
Instead, we have warnings against seeking after riches.
• 1 Tim 6:10 “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
• Heb 13:5 “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have…”
What about seeking after fame and glory?
• James 4:10 “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up.”
• Isaiah 66:2 “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my Word.”
• Phil 2 - Jesus humbled Himself and the Father “exalted Him to the highest place” (2:9).
We are called to SEEK God and do His will, which was Solomon’s concern back in chapter 3. “You’ve made me King but how am I going to lead Your people?”
There is nothing wrong with being rich. God made Solomon rich. He did it on purpose.
• Abraham too was very rich. His servant says in Gen 24:35 “The LORD has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, menservants and maidservants, and camels and donkeys.”
• Isaac was rich. Gen 26:12-13 “12Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him. 13The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy.”
We are to ACKNOWLEDGE THE FAVOURS OF GOD
• One, acknowledge that they are from God. And two, they are favours of God. Not our entitlements. God don’t owe you a living.
• Don’t idolise the gifts in place of God. Recognise always the SOURCE of our blessings and that they are God’s presents.
We are to SEEK GOD AND NOT THE GIFTS
There is nothing wrong with the gifts, but we are not called to SEEK after them.
• 1 Tim 6:17 “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”
How will God bless Israel with prosperity and success?
• Remember what Joshua said to the Israelites - Joshua 1:8 “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
• Psalm 1:1-3 “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.”
Do you see the same emphasis here? Seek God, meditates on His Word and understand His will.
• God will bless you, but leave the blessings to God. He knows how best to dispense His gifts.
• If we go after the blessings, we will likely “wander from the faith and pierce ourselves with many griefs”, Paul says (1 Tim 6:10).
• The problem is not with the riches, success, fame or glory. It has to do with the condition of our hearts.
Let me close with this thought. We see the BLESSINGS of God pointing people to Himself. They will recognise it as God’s works, and not of our own doing.
The Queen of Sheba ended with this amazing remark in 1 Kings 10:9
• “Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD's eternal love for Israel, he has made you king, to maintain justice and righteousness.”
• 10:2 says she heard of Solomon’s fame and his relation to the Name of the Lord. She knows Solomon has a relationship with God.
• She did not see just the blessings of Solomon, she saw the SOURCE of his blessings. And she praised Solomon’s God, and Israel’s God.
Did she eventually believe God? Most likely.
• Jesus made a remark about her in Matt 12:42 “The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.”
• Jesus was reprimanding the religious leaders for their great unbelief. He says at the judgment day, even the Queen of Sheba would condemn this unbelieving generation. For she saw the blessings in Solomon’s life and believed it was God.
• While the people in Jesus’ time – seeing the One who is greater than Solomon before them – refused to believe the wisdom and works of Jesus.
• The Queen – with less truth and less privilege – seeing only Solomon’s wisdom and being a Gentile, end up believing the works of God and giving praise to God.
• The Pharisees and teachers of the law – with greater truth and more privilege – seeing Jesus and yet refused to believe the works of God.
Can we see the hand of God in our blessings today?
Let’s acknowledge the favours of God.
• Learn to be content and happy with what God has given us.
• Be grateful. Give thanks in all circumstances. (1 Thess 5:18)
As we remember Jesus today in taking the Holy Communion, let us think of this:
Romans 8:32 “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will He not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”
God has already sacrificed Jesus – His most precious - to save us, why are we still thinking He is withholding something from us? Why are we asking for more?
• Whatever we need, trust God to GRACIOUSLY provide. We cannot even earn it nor can we demand for it.
• We trust Him to give us graciously what we need, just like the offering of Jesus for our salvation.
• He has proven that He will not withhold, if it is necessary to save us. What are we worrying about?
Just GIVE THANKS.
