SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). Her Mission (vs 1-3)
(2). Her Evaluation (vs 4-5)
(3). Her Declaration (vs 6-9)
(4). Her Presentation (vs 10-13)
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• Across the world, our ideas of what makes someone "beautiful" vary immensely.
• If you ever needed proof that beauty is in the eye of the beholder,
• Look no further than this one collection of photographs.
• e.g. Tajikistan
• Not a lot of countries consider Unibrows as the most attractive feature. But that is not the case with Tajikistan. In fact, unibrows is a huge deal in Tajikistan.
• e.g. Pale Skin
• Some parts of China are very high on Pale skin colour. People with pale skin are considered super pretty!
• e.g. Heart Shape Face
• Believe it or no but Korea has normalized the surgery culture. People there are super fond of heart shape face! People legit pay to get face structure like that!
• e.g. Long Forehead
• A tribe in Africa has a very strange definition of beauty according to global standards. Women with long forehead are considered super pretty compared to the ones with smaller ones.
• e.g. Crooked Teeth
• Japan is a super country and everything that happens there is different from other countries. According to a poll conducted by a local company in Japan, women with crooked teeth are considered prettier than the ones with straight teeth!
• e.g. Long Neck
• Myanmar women are often seen wearing this metal rings on their necks and they are known as giraffe women. Long neck is a fashion statement out there! In fact, there are ladies who wear it at a very early age and do not remove it to achieve long neck!
e.g. Timbuktu
• In his book ‘Fan The Flame’ by J. Stowell.
• He tells of when he was in West Africa - Timbuktu to be exact.
• He met some missionaries, and they were telling him.
• That in that culture the larger the women were,
• The more beautiful they were thought to be.
• A proverb in that part of Africa says that.
“If your wife is on a camel and the camel cannot stand up, your wife is truly beautiful”.
• TRANSITION: If you do not consider yourself beautiful,
• Then maybe you are just in the wrong country – lol!
Notice that there are three things that will characterize this woman:
• First:
• She is beautiful according to historical records.
• The Queen of Sheba is believed to be from either in Ethiopia or Yemen.
• And in her culture and in the eyes of King Solomon she was attractive.
• Second:
• She is very wealthy, and very successful.
• It appears that she ruled on her own and she ruled well.
• Her name is not revealed in Scripture just her title, “The Queen of Sheba.”
• Third:
• She has a kingdom of similar magnificence although it is not as great as Solomon.
(1). Her Mission (vs 1-3)
“When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to the Lord, she came to test Solomon with hard questions. 2 Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan—with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones—she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her.”
The Queen of Sheba is on a two-mission:
• First: to see for herself the wealth and wisdom of Solomon.
• Second: to challenge Solomon’s reputation for wisdom.
First: to see for herself the wealth and wisdom of Solomon.
Ill:
• John D. Rockefeller was the world's first billionaire.
• John D. Rockefeller’s three simple rules for anyone who wants to become rich:
• One: Go to work early.
• Two: Stay at work late.
• Three: Find oil.
• TRANSITION: most of us, if not all of us will never have wealth,
• Like John D. Rockefeller or the queen of Sheba.
• But we have seen the wealth of the rich and famous.
• Pop on a train and go see Buckingham Palace or visit a National Trust house etc.
• You will be impressed because they are impressive and wealthy buildings!
• The queen of Sheba was not content with just hearing about Solomon’s wealth.
• She wanted to check it out for herself, and she was not disappointed!
Ill:
• Last November I was on mission in Moldova.
• And a colleague and I went to a small town in thew middle of nowhere.
• When we arrived, the whole town had come out to meet us including the Mayor.
• She greeted us and gave us a bunch of flowers,
• She then said, “I am very excited as I have never met an Englishman before!”
• I replied (tongue-in-cheek, “Well at least you will not be disappointed!”
• As you can imagine it went over her head, lost in translation!
• TRANSITION: But the queen of Sheba was not disappointed with Solomon!
Second: to challenge Solomon’s reputation for wisdom.
• The questions she asked may well have been difficult diplomatic and ethical questions.
• The test was not an academic exercise,
• But rather to see if he would be a trustworthy business partner,
• Someone reliable an ally capable of giving help.
• But she also saw the worship in the temple and was impressed (vs 5).
• I am sure she asked theological and spiritual questions as well.
• And we will come back to that point at the end.
Application:
• For anyone wanting to check out Christianity,
• You would be hard pressed to do something better than The Queen of Sheba.
• First: see for yourself the person, the life, the deeds, the wisdom of Jesus Christ.
• Check out the gospel records.
• His life is unparalleled, unique, exceptional, a one-off!
• Second:
• Challenge the people of Gods as to what and why they believe what they do!
• Christianity is not walking on eggshells, if pressed it cracks and breaks.
• Christianity is built on a rock, test it, jump on it, kick it,
• But be careful you might bruise your toes!
Ill:
• Most Sunday afternoon/evenings,
• You will find me at Speakers Corner, Hyde Park. London.
• There we are both sharing and defending the faith.
• Sharing with those who want to know what Christianity all is about.
• Defending it from those who try to prove it is not true.
• God gave you a mind and you need to use it,
• God also gave you a heart and a will,
• And for many people these are often bigger obstacles to faith than the mind.
• Too many people don’t want to give up their sin or make Jesus Lord of the lives.
(2). Her Evaluation (vs 4-5)
“When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, 5 the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.”
• NIV: “Overwhelmed.”
• KJB: “There was no more spirit in her.” – it took her breath away!
• GNB: “It left her breathless and amazed.”
• To use a modern expression, “She was gobsmacked!”
The Queen of Sheba wowed by a number of factors:
FIRST: she is wowed by Solomon’s wealth.
• She is impressed with the organisation and the staff, the servants of Solomon.
• She is impressed with the visual look of everyone.
• She is impressed with the religious worship at the temple.
• Today, she would be on Trip Advisor giving it all top marks!
• This is royal pomp and ceremony at its grandest!
SECOND: she is wowed by Solomon’s wisdom (vs 6-7).
• I like the fact that she says, “I heard about it” (vs 6)
• And goes on to say, “I have seen it with my own eyes” (vs 7).
• And her conclusion is, “They only told me half of the story anyway!”
• This was twice as good as she imagined or expected.
Ill:
• Remined me of the story in John chapter 4.
• The Woman od Samaria.
• They believed in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony.
• But then they discovered Jesus for themselves.
• And he was much better than how the woman had said!
“Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” So, when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers.
They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
(3). Her Declaration (vs 6-9)
“How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 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.”
The Queen of Sheba is probably not declaring faith in Israel’s God.
• In her time each nation had ‘territorial gods.’
• i.e. God of Israel, god of Yemen, god of Ethiopia, god of Egypt.
• Israel was unique because their one God was the God of the whole world!
• In fact, the maker of heaven and earth!
• Once she returned home, she may well have worshipped the gods of her own land.
• Although it would be nice to think she discovered the one true God of the Bible.
Note:
• Jesus refers to The Queen of Sheba (Matthew chapter 12 verses 39-42).
• He did not commend her for her faith,
• But he did commend her desire to meet Solomon,
“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 something greater than Solomon is here.”
• Jesus commended her for her determination to make a long difficult journey,
• (1,500 miles) to hear the wisdom of Solomon.
• Jesus them made the point,
• One “greater than Solomon is here.” – but the Jewish people missed their opportunity!
• Makle sure you don’t make the same mistake!
(4). Her Presentation (vs 10-13)
Ill:
• The old joke,
• Question: what do you give to a man who has everything?
• Answer: Penicillin!
• Question: What could the Queen of Sheeba give to King Solomon.
• Who was the King who had everything!
• The Queen of Sheba She gives him the usual gold, and precious Stones,
• But she also gives him something unique – some unusual spices (vs 10).
“Never again did such abundance of spices come in as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon.”
• And in verse 13 Solomon reciprocates the Queen of Sheeba,
• By giving to her gifts.
“Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.”
Conclude:
• These verses finish with an exchange of gifts.
• The Queen gets what she asks for (vs 13)
• And Solomon receives gifts from his visitor.
• TRANSITION:
• We have just celebrated Easter in the UK.
• And for my Christian brothers and sisters in Moldova,
• They will celebrate Easter Sunday on the 5th of May (Orthodox Church calendar)
• On that first Good Friday at 3 o’clock in the afternoon,
• Jesus cried out, “It is finished.”
• And a transaction took place!
Quote: 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verses 21.
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
• To those who repent and believe, God takes our sin,
• (That is our gift to him)
• In return we get his gift of righteousness.
• (That is his gift to us!)
• What a gift:
• Forgive the past,
• Help us in the present (the indwelling Holy Spirit),
• And the promise of being with him forever!
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=4eq7CuGTS1WQNdXIgyIG5TpKqhw6ez7G
