So I hope you have a Bible in your hands.
I hope you'll pay attention. Because there's a lot of.
Ground to cover in this chapter and we are not going to complete
this chapter because in my estimation, I think it would do
a great injustice to this chapter and so we will cover the
1st 13 verses together. And so if you have your Bible
with you, meet me in First Kings chapter 10.
Let's begin in verse one and if you recall before Christmas
break, the last portion, the last few verses of Chapter 9 in
a way, prepare us for what we are about to discover in chapter
10. Let me remind you how Chapter 9
ends. We read here in verse 27 and
even before that but verse 27, verse 26 to 28 that Solomon now
is growing in his achievements concerning international.
Trade and international commerce, and through that.
We would assume that such accomplishments and achievements
and expansion would invite merchants to come and go, and
suppliers and traders to enter in and exit out of Jerusalem.
And as a result of that, the sight and the sounds of
Solomon's wisdom and success would be caught and they would
be broadcasted across the lands. It would spread from North,
East, West to South. And we are seeing an instance of
how that is the case as we get a glimpse, if we just scratched a
little bit of what Solomon has been doing in terms of his
economic success. Now we come to Chapter 10 and we
read of where this news has gone, how it is spread and it is
spread to a particular individual, namely the Queen of
Sheba, the Queen of Sheba. And this woman is going to be so
intrigued and moved by the reports that she hears of this
man Solomon, that she's going to make a great sacrifice to meet
him face to face. And if you recall at the
conference a few months ago, if you were at the conference, we'd
spent a whole message, a whole session on the Queen of Sheba.
And we learned in that session that this is not the only
instance, This is not the only place in Holy Scripture where
she is mentioned. She is not just mentioned here.
She's mentioned in the New Testament.
She is referred to by the Lord Jesus Christ himself and I I
find that to be an amazing thing.
Out of all the stories and narratives, examples and
portraits in the Old Testament, Christ alludes to a lot.
And one of the things that he does reference is this woman and
her experience with Solomon. And he uses this woman as an
illustration to rebuke a dangerous mindset that was
keeping so many in the state of unbelief concerning Christ and
who he was. And that alone should excite you
and I to explore this text further because Jesus Christ
himself saw spiritual value in this event.
And you and I should be encouraged even more because
there is more in this text, there's more to the story than
just an indictment concerning unbelief.
And that's what we're going to do today.
That's what we're going to explore today.
And if you were again at that conference, you don't have to be
nervous tonight. We're not going to do a copy
paste of what we heard then because there were verses that
we did not cover at the conference that we will look at
tonight. So there will be fresh insight
by the grace of God. So let's read the 1st 3 verses
together, pause and meditate and see what the Lord has to say to
us. And 1st Kings chapter 10, verse
one we read now when the Queen of Sheba heard of the fame of
Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him
with hard questions. She came to Jerusalem with a
very great retinue, with camels bearing spices and very much
gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon,
she told them all that was on her mind, and Solomon answered
all her questions. There was nothing behind,
nothing hidden rather from the king that he could not explain
to her. This queen was from Sheba.
There is debate about where Sheba was.
General consensus is that it was Yemen.
Others would say no, it was Ethiopia.
And though this is disputed, let us consider who she was.
That is not up for debate. That is plain and clear.
She was not just some random curious soul from a foreign land
that wanted to satisfy her imagination or some speculation
or some skepticism. She was royalty.
She had a throne, She had
incredible power, authority, resources at her disposal,
unlike very few. And so we see here that this was
an individual who had prestige, had power, had prosperity.
And yet the impression that we get from these first three
verses is that although she had subjects and servants, supplies
and success, there was something in her that was not satisfied.
There was something in her that was yearning for more.
And the essence of her curiosity again is not superficial.
It's not shallow. We are told what it was that
drew her heart towards Solomon. Read again with me here in verse
one. Now, when the Queen of Sheba
heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord,
it wasn't just Solomon's
accomplishments. It wasn't just his economic and
political advancements. There was something about
Solomon's knowledge of God. There was something about
Solomon's devotion to God, what he did in the name of God, that
awoke in a fresh wonder in this woman's life.
And so she wanted to inquire mainly about Yahweh, the God of
Israel. And already here you have a
spiritual truth that's tucked in.
The posture of this woman's heart, and it is this that you
and I, we were not made and we will not know satisfaction
ultimately in holding positions and attaining authority and
enjoying extravagant luxury in any kind of success, no matter
what that sphere is. You and I and our heart of
hearts were created to walk with our Maker, to know our God.
To worship him and to be intimate with him.
This is what she's showing, that no matter what she achieved, it
did not satisfy the deepest cries of her heart.
And scripture testifies that our hearts have been inscribed with
eternity. There's something even in our
DNA. Though we are fallen, yes, and
though we are depraved in so many ways, yet we were created
for God himself and this woman. Proves that proves that if our
conscious hasn't been so seared that we are in some way drawn to
something beyond what this life has to offer.
And here's this woman who is who is not just satisfied in hearing
about and. Just hearing about Solomon.
What do we read here? In.
Verse two She came to Jerusalem. She came to Jerusalem.
So she didn't want to just linger there and ruminate over
the report, she goes. I need to find this out for
myself. And so she decides to remove
herself from the throne and to make her way towards Jerusalem
and Jesus Christ himself. This is what he he brings out.
To. Emphasize in the New Testament
as we're going to get to in a moment, the great distance that
she made in order to uncover what could potentially be a life
changing truth and people believe and esteem and estimate
that her journey from Sheba was around 12 to 1500 miles
concerning Jerusalem. And so even with all the
assistance that she would have as a queen, you know what that
means. It would have taken just a one
way trip, several grueling weeks.
To accomplish. And yet that was something that
she was willing to do without hesitation.
Now, before we move on already here, if you're familiar with
the Old Testament, if you're familiar with the theme of the
Old Testament, especially and and prophecy, you will notice
here that this is a snapshot of something.
Because. Solomon's reign, if you consider
the whole Council of God is, is not just a historical account,
it's a picture. Of.
A future Kingdom to come, namely the millennial Kingdom.
And this is what This is what prophets alluded to.
The. Success of Solomon's reign as
something to anticipate in a greater way when Messiah
arrives. And what we see with the Queen
here in a relation to Solomon's reign at this juncture is also a
glimpse of what's going to take place during the millennial
reign, that there's going to be certain activity on a global
scale related to the city of Jerusalem and the Kingdom of
Christ will bring when he comes. To his throne.
And what is that that I'm Speaking of?
I'm Speaking of nations and peoples from all across the
world who will travel to Jerusalem to pay their tributes
to worship and honor and receive from the Son of David, namely
Jesus Christ of Nazareth. And perhaps that's a concept
you're not familiar with. So let me give you in rapid fire
fashion, a few references to. At least bring some kind of
confirmation to this SO. One of the well.
Known ones is Isaiah chapter 2. Write these down.
Isaiah chapter 2, verse two.
I don't want to read to verse 4, but we can read from verse two
to verse 3. This is a very common prophecy
concerning the latter days, a day that has not yet been
realized. So here's Isaiah 2.
Two it shall come to pass in the latter days at the mountain of
the House of the Lord shall be established as the highest of
the mountains and shall be lifted up above the hills.
And look at this. This is the point that I'm
referring to. And all the nations shall flow
to it, and many people shall come and say, come, let us go up
to the mountain of the Lord, to the House of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his
paths. Proud of Zion shall go out go
the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
Let's just read verse 4, just in case if there's any confusion
about what era this is. Speaking of verse four, please.
He Who is he? That's the Lord.
He shall judge between the nations and shall decide
disputes for many peoples, and they shall beat their swords at
the plowshares and their Spears at the pruning hooks.
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall
they learn war anymore. Can you imagine a day where
centuries upon centuries, there will be no war because the
Prince of Peace will rule and reign on the earth?
And. With perfect judgment he will
settle disputes between many peoples and many nations, many
kings and kingdoms. And they will not know what to
do with all the military equipment and just transform it
into farming equipment. What are we going to do with
this? And warfare will be a thing of
the past. Jeremiah 317.
Here's another reference. A quick.
Kind of point to make, I'm telling you, many of the
prophets. Spoke of this day.
At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord
and all nations shall gather to it.
All nations shall gather to Jerusalem, to the presence of
the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow
their own evil heart. In the context, they're Speaking
of a time where the people of Israel will not even consider
remember the Ark of the Covenant, because that symbol
now will be fulfilled and realized in the actual presence
of God. In their midst in Jerusalem,
here's one that's not too common to many people.
It's Zechariah. In Zechariah chapter 8 verse 22
again this. Is consistent among all the
prophets. Here's.
What Zechariah says concerning this day to come.
In. Zechariah 822 We read many
peoples, many peoples, and strong nations shall come to
seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the
favor of the Lord. You want to see something that
might make some people in the world today a little bit
uncomfortable? Look at the next part, verse 23.
Thus. Says the Lord of hosts in those
days. You're Speaking of a future day
in those days. 10. Men from the nations of every
tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, Let us go
with you, for we have heard that God is with you.
So what are we speaking about here?
All these prophecies? There's many more that we can.
Bring to your attention tonight. These prophecies are speaking
about a time when the people of Israel will know restoration.
Not just physical restoration, but spiritual restoration.
So we're not speaking about unbelieving Jews here.
We're speaking about the Jewish people who have realized.
And repented of their unbelief, and have now acknowledged Jesus
Christ as the Messiah. And this time?
Will bring about great change in the world, geographically,
politically, economically, and every sphere that you can think
of. It will bring great shift.
And here's an here's an idea of what kind of shift it will
bring. People will have a different
attitude and view of the Jewish people.
And. They will want to go to the
spiritual center and the headquarters of God's Kingdom
to, like the Queen of Sheba, receive from the Lord to pay
tribute to the Lord, honor the Lord and be blessed by the Lord
himself. That's a fascinating thought.
But again, coming back to the Queen of Sheba, as I mentioned
earlier, Jesus makes reference to her in Matthew 12.
Jesus makes reference to her in Matthew 12 verse 42 and what he
brings out, what he draws out out of everything.
Is the great? Sacrifice she made in journeying
towards Solomon. And you know this scripture, but
what's the main point of it? Well, let's read it.
The. Queen of the South will rise up
at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for
she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of
Solomon. And.
Behold, something greater than Solomon is here the.
Lord is driving at is the. Queen of Sheba was willing to
come from the ends of the earth to meet with Solomon.
And yet you are willing, or unwilling, rather, to come with
humility and holy curiosity to the one who is greater than
Solomon here. Here is someone inferior to me,
and yet here is somebody who is willing to do so much to be
blessed by heat. And here is one who gave the
very wisdom that Solomon enjoyed an exercise.
And yet you're willing not to cross the street to come to me.
This is what the Lord is getting AT.
And he says. With with great authority and
boldness on on Judgment Day, this woman will rise up and
condemn this generation I. Wonder what she will say.
I wonder what she will say. I have a hunch that First Kings
chapter 10 will be used against the generation that Christ is
Speaking of. I was willing to leave my throne
and risk so much and spend so much and pause on so much in
order to receive from the wisdom of this man.
Your king left his throne and. Came to you.
He didn't demand that you climb the heavens.
He. Demand that you jump through all
these hoops that you stand on your head.
That you bruise yourself. That you prove your worth to
him. He comes to you.
He takes on flesh. He walks among you.
He sits with you. He heals you.
He delivers you. He teaches you.
And yet with pride and arrogance and without even think about the
Pharisees, without a sliver of intention to discover if this
man is really the one that we've been waiting for.
And you think you're going to get away with that?
And so this is the Lord giving a strong word.
And if you think about it here, what he says in part proves how
he is greater than Solomon. Many, many reasons why he is
greater than Solomon. Here's one to consider.
Did Solomon give the Queen of Sheba personal invitation to
come to him? No.
You just heard reports about him.
Did this woman have assurance that if she was to come that she
would have her questions and anxious thoughts and riddles and
spiritual inquiry satisfied? No.
She's. Just going again based off
reports. She doesn't know who she's going
to meet. She doesn't know if this is
real. She doesn't know who this man
is, and she was willing to go. And yet Christ gives you and I
each a personal invitation. And Christ with each of you and
with me, gives us the assurance that when you come to him with
your heart and give him your heart, you will know.
Satisfaction guaranteed. Guaranteed.
This is why he is greater. He is greater.
And when we could look at this and we think to ourselves, how
is it that a woman's willing to go to great lengths for someone
who's inferior to Christ, and we think that this is just an
indictment against that generation?
Acts 17 tells us that God has created us, He has places across
this world determine the boundaries of our dwelling,
places that we should seek God. Why?
Because he is not far from each one of us.
So even now, if I can use the word dispensation, if I can use
the word this age even now, he's not far from us.
Yes, he's not flesh and blood, but he's omnipresent, and you
could call upon him at any moment, at any place, and he can
reveal himself to you. So let's not limit this judgment
to that generation, though it is a peculiar one.
It still applies in some regard to us.
Christ is still accessible. He's still available, very
available, no matter where you are.
So he is greater than Solomon in so many ways.
Notice what happens when she goes verse 3 and Solomon
answered all her questions. There was nothing hidden from
the king that he could not explain to her.
Isn't that fascinating? I mean, think about any
question. Think.
About any kind of enigma, any kind of puzzle in your mind that
you can't figure out, and you meet a man who can answer
absolutely everything, regardless of the category.
That's that's an amazing thing. No wonder she was so impressed.
But what Solomon here does is more significant than a surface
level reading. It's not just him flexing his
ability, it's not just improving that he has a God-given mind.
There's an underlying thing that's taking place here.
Israel was called to many things, promised many things.
But Israel had a responsibility, had a task concerning the
nations. You remember that?
Was Israel supposed to just be concerned about themselves and?
Kind of shelter themselves from the neighboring peoples.
No. They were to influence.
They were to live and act in a certain way that would draw
people to them and ultimately to the God that they serve.
And and this is something that's been clear, that's been made
obvious even from the earliest of books of the Bible.
And the one that I have in mind is Deuteronomy.
Let me remind you, one of the callings of the people of Israel
in the old covenant. This is so important because.
It shows us that Solomon in some ways fulfilling that calling
during his reign. Deuteronomy.
I told you there's gonna be a lot of references tonight.
Deuteronomy 4/6. What did Moses tell this people
urging them to obey to keeping the statutes of the Lord.
Because if you do Israel, look at what can happen.
Here's a potential outcome not just for you, but for the people
around you. And.
Deuteronomy 46 We read Keep them and do them, For that will be
your wisdom. That will be your wisdom and
your understanding in the sight of the peoples who when.
They hear all these statutes will say, surely this great
nation is a wise and understanding people.
See what he's saying here if you.
Walk in my ways. If you align yourself to my
commands, you will produce a wisdom in life that will cause
onlookers to say this. People are different, and they
can even lead them to the point where they inquire further and
want to investigate the wisdom that you have.
And that's when you give credit to me.
And. Do you see this kind of being
fulfilled in Solomon at this point?
Here's Solomon with God-given wisdom, and the fruit of that
wisdom is being noticed and recognized, and one woman in
particular is being drawn. To the God of this people
because she perceives the wisdom, and Solomon here is
really doing something significant concerning a greater
purpose than himself. Does that witness last long?
Does this influence last long? Any idea all you got?
To do is go to Chapter 11 and when you go to Chapter 11 you
realize that doesn't last very long because in Chapter 11 we
read the downfall of this man. So even though he has reached a
new height and he is in some way sustaining this, it's it's going
to come crashing down very soon. And they will fail.
And it will. Lead.
Into division in the land. His idolatry, his apostasy, will
cause a split in the nation. The split of that nation will
have generational effects, and one of the consequences of this
division of this idolatry, of this apostasy, is that they will
lose the strength of their light concerning the nations who are
in a dark place and the mandate for Israel and the Old Covenant.
Now becomes the mandate of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the New covenant. And so you read in in First
Peter 29 for example. Where Peter uses very familiar,
not just familiar but exclusive language that belonged to Israel
alone, now applies it to the Church of Jesus Christ.
You know this very well, OK? Let's pause here.
Let's take a deep breath. I've been talking very fast,
right? Let's just step back.
Can. I remind you tonight, with all
the information that's coming your way, what one of your
purposes are here on the earth As a Christian First, Peter 29
reminds us, you want to know why you exist here and why God has a
rapture you the moment you confess faith in Him.
Here is one of those reasons why.
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people for his own possession here.
It is. You ready?
That. You may proclaim the
excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his
marvelous light. You exist to proclaim the
excellencies of Christ, which means that you should discover,
learn, grow in your knowledge of His excellencies.
How are you going to proclaim it if you don't know it?
So your quest in life is to know Greater Beauty.
Greater Majesty's in the person of Christ because you have been
designated by God to proclaim them.
Wisdom has been given to Solomon, and surely he
proclaimed many excellencies and surely he answered a lot of
questions where we just read that are you And I called to
answer questions. Well, this is first Peter
tonight. Look at First Peter 315.
You know it, right? And first Peter 315.
Look what else we're supposed to do.
Not just proclaim the excellencies of him, but we're
also called to what in your hearts regard Christ the Lord is
holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who
asked you for a reason for the hope that is in you.
So I'm not just called to proclaim like Solomon in some
regard. I'm called to explain why you
Christian. Why is the Bible the word of
God? Tell me why.
Why is Christ the only way? Why salvation by faith?
And faith alone. Why?
Why do you gather on Sundays?
Why do you sing songs? Why?
Do you pray?
Prepare to make a defense. So we're called to proclaim the
excellencies of him. We are called to.
Bring a defense. To why we believe what we
believe and listen. The extent of that influence can
be so great that can even provoke the people who fail to
do that and what we know to be the Old Covenant, you know.
What? I mean by that I mean the church
is light. The Church who has been ordained
by God in Christ Jesus to be the light of the world can now even
influence the very people who fail to fulfill their global
purpose when they were in relationship with God.
Can I prove that to you? Here's Romans 11/11.
Here's. Romans 11/11 This is not
speaking about spiritual Israel. If it is speaking about
spiritual Israel, then you're going to come out with very
confusing conclusions out of Romans 1111.
But notice what he says here as he makes a distinction between
the physical descendants of Israel and the Gentiles.
Romans 11/11. So I asked, Did they stumble in
order that they might fall? By no means.
Rather, through their trespass, salvation has come to the
Gentiles. Now look at this part so asked
to make Israel jealous. I find that to be incredible.
So even in the denial of their Messiah, even in their ultimate
failure as a people, God now puts a temporary blindness on
Israel and through the rejection.
We have a. Permanent blessing to the
Gentiles where they can now receive this Messiah, accept
this Messiah, be grafted in among the special people.
Yes, it's no longer about a special people, but it's about a
new people. Ephesians Chapter 2 and look at
this. That's not an end in itself
though. That's a very important mission.
Through that also, as Israel looks at a people who are being
saved, who are acknowledging Christ as Messiah, they would be
provoked to jealousy and they also would come to salvation.
You. Know I heard a testimony of a a
Jew who has come to Christ and. I.
Always wondered how is it that the the Jewish people will be
jealous of Gentiles? They already have so many
negative ideas and thoughts concerning the Gentiles.
What is it about the Gentiles, especially Christian Gentiles,
that would cause them to feel envious in a good way and long
for what the Church has? And I heard a testimony once and
it gave me some light to what Paul is referring to.
One possible way that a Jewish person.
Can actually be provoked. This is what they said in their
testimony. I was stirred by seeing how
Christians knew the Torah better than me as a Jew.
That. That's where it all started for
this person. I saw how Christians can
interpret, understand prophecy and narrative.
And look at all these things. That was such a mystery to me
that that was not important to me even.
And that's what caused me to thirst and to inquire and
investigate more when I saw Christians know the Hebrew
Scriptures better than me and many of the Jews that I knew.
And that's significant and incredible.
And so now in the New Covenant, you and I have been called to
proclaim and display the wisdom of God, namely in the person of
Jesus Christ. And it can draw people, even the
people who have denied their Messiah.
What? A call we have as a church.
OK, we're only at verse three. We better hurry up, right?
Let's come back to First Kings 10 verse four and.
When the Queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the
house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating
of his officials and the attendants of his servants,
their clothing, his cup bearers, and his burnt offerings that he
offer at the House of the Lord, there was no more breath in her.
And she said to the king, The report was true, that I heard in
my own land of your words and of your wisdom.
But I did not believe the reports until I came, and my own
eyes had seen it, and behold, the half was not told me.
Your wisdom and prosperity surpassed the report that I
heard. Let's stay on verse 7 for a
moment. But I did not believe the
reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it.
So here you have an individual whose nobility is being proven
further by her honest response here to what she had just
experienced. Because, listen, Solomon, I got
to admit, when I heard all this, I didn't buy it.
I didn't buy into it. And you know, there are people
today, and maybe you're one of those people today.
So pay attention to this who are inundated, who are overwhelmed
by reports concerning the person of Jesus Christ.
You've. Heard the.
Gospel You've heard matters of the faith week after week after
week, and this might be week 8210.
For you. Week after week after week after
week after week. And guess what?
You still don't believe? You still don't believe you
still haven't surrendered to the what the report demands of you?
And you know what? At.
Some point this is what the woman was like.
She heard, and she didn't believe what she heard.
But here's the difference. She was not satisfied to remain
in her skepticism. The difference between her and
some others. Many others may add.
Is. That she questioned her unbelief
and she challenged it. And she was not content to say,
you know, it doesn't really matter this is true or not.
No, she thought herself. If this is true, I need to find
out. I need to know if this is true
because it has major implications.
And So what she does is that she makes it personal and she wants
to find a more concrete conclusion, and that's going to
require personal investigation. So she shuts herself on this
quest. And so many people who who are
in this world today, especially this generation, are so
distracted and careless with their soul that they don't even
think about maybe looking a little bit deeper into what
they've heard and. That's a tragic mistake to make.
But. This woman would not fall into
that. She wanted to know what this was
all about, and you'd be amazed to know where so many in the
Bible alone arrived to when they begin in the place of honest
examination. What came to mind when I looked
at this? And I thought about all these
different examples of searchers who are rewarded for their
searching. You know what came to mind?
Little we Zacchaeus. I love Zacchaeus for so many
reasons. And Luke 19 Three, There's a
there's an interesting phrase where he says and he sought to
see who Jesus was. He.
Was rich. He was a tax collector, and he
just wanted to know. He's heard so many things about
Jesus. Maybe Zacchaeus even heard this.
Jesus forgives tax collectors. He eats with them.
He becomes friends with them. Because maybe he'll become a
friend with me. And so he wanted to know who
Jesus was and what began as just a little curiosity.
How does the story end? He has Jesus over his house, and
Jesus proclaimed salvation to that house.
God honors searchers of the truth.
He rewards them. And this woman is no different.
She's willing to make a great sacrifice to meet with this
king, and she does. And she is rewarded in many
ways. And here's an encouragement from
her example. What she discovered about
Solomon in a limited way, is what any person who will seek to
know about Christ will discover in a greater way.
What was her main observation according to verse 4 to 6?
Read it again. We're told here that when.
She saw the house that he built, the food of his table, the
seating of the officials. And.
The attendants of his servants, their clothing, his cuppers and
his burnt offerings like she had no more breath in her.
In other words, every corner that she looked, she was blown
away by Solomon's influence. Let.
Me let me word it this way, everything that was under the
governance of Solomon. Was blessed and this moved her.
And in like manner when you investigate the Lordship of
Jesus Christ, what you will discover is that when Jesus
Christ becomes King of a life, he will gloriously influence
everything in that life. Everything.
And any person who is trying to see who Christ is and what he
can do in a person's life should see that clearly in the lives of
the subjects of this king. Yes, Yes.
Look what Christ does in a marriage when he becomes Lord of
that marriage. Look what he does to that
household. Look at what Christ offers in
terms of peace and joy in this life and the life to come.
Security for salvation. Look at the victory that this
king gives to his people over sin.
Look at how this king can bring people from different tribes and
tongues and nations. Put them in the same place
together and they can live in love and harmony.
Look at how Christ gives wisdom concerning what people would
deem mysteries with human psychology and sociology.
This king has answers. Every sphere, every aspect,
every facet of life is gloriously influenced when
Christ becomes king. That's true for the individual
life. That's true of the Church of
Jesus Christ in this corrupt world.
And it will be undeniable when Christ becomes king, whether
people want him to be king or not.
So this is what she observed everything.
This man touches is blessed. It's.
Unparalleled. There's nothing like this.
Shouldn't that be true of people who peek into the church?
Oh yes, we are falling. Oh yes, we make mistakes.
But there should be some distinction here.
There should be some evidence. Look at what Christ.
What did Christ say? They will know you from what
your love. Yes, we're supposed to proclaim
as excellencies. Yes, we're supposed to defend
our faith. But there's something about
love. It gets real.
This this theology stuff gets in your blood.
It's supposed to. At least some people doesn't get
past their brain. So get to your heart.
Supposed to spill over to your finances?
It's your dealings. It's your reactions.
It's. How you translate world events
into how you hear good news. How you hear bad news.
Everything is supposed to be touched.
When the king sits on the throne of a heart and.
So this lady makes this observation, and she made a very
good observation. But it wasn't just that.
She goes on to say in the latter part of verse 7, your wisdom and
prosperity surpass the report that I heard.
Not only did. This meet the reports that I
heard. It went above and beyond.
So it is with the. Person who has a personal
experience of the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ it.
Surpasses the greatest sermons you can ever hear when your
heart knows him. When it truly comes into contact
with His Grace, when you are born again, there is nothing
like it. And though that is true in this
life, surely what this woman experienced.
Will be true of us when we see our King and His Majesty.
All the reports, all the sermons I heard about heaven and about
eternal life, and about meeting you.
This surpasses it all. We.
See through glass dimly. That's what Paul tells us, and I
and I believe in part. Not only can our minds not
comprehended the details of what's to come, but in some
fashion there's an element of surprise that awaits us.
And even if you become an expert concerning these things about
eternity and the life hereafter, you will not be able to say
sufficiently. I can understand what's to come.
You will be blown away when it comes.
I can't wait for that day, so. This.
Is what she says. It surpasses what I heard.
Get ready for that reaction when we stand before him.
There won't be indifference in heaven, by the way.
Just to give you a heads up. There won't be verse. 8.
She goes on to say. Happy are your men, happy are
your servants. Who?
Continually stand before you. And hear your wisdom.
So she has this experience and she goes, Is this how your
people live? How do your people breathe?
Happy are your men. Happy are your servants.
And notice what she highlights. Happy are those who what?
Who enjoy the gold, who know national peace.
No, the thing that she underscores as happy are those
who what hear. Your wisdom.
And what's so fascinating about what she says is that.
She says who continually stand before.
You and hear your wisdom you. Know human nature very common
to. Be amazed by something and for
that amazement, to lose its sense of awe and we become
familiar. Yeah, we're we're very much
susceptible to becoming familiar with some that once took our
breath away. And unfortunately, that can
happen spiritually as well, which it shouldn't.
But in this woman's estimation, there is no way that someone,
even if they stand continually in the presence of this
otherworldly mind, can fail to be and remain happy.
And here's the thought that came to mind whenever this If this is
the estimation of this woman who looked at the service and says
there's no way that you can cease to be.
Glad when you are. Exposed to this kind of mind,
how much more us who serve and receive from a greater king?
Yeah. How much more?
How much more to the king who gave this mind to Solomon,
Should we, as his servants, who have access to his voice in his
word on a daily basis, should remain happy?
Can I tell you why some who claimed to be his servants
failed to remain happy in him? I can guarantee you one thing
happened at some point. You failed to hear from him, you
failed to stand in his presence, and you removed yourself from
his word. And that's where things started
to go downhill. But we are guaranteed in the
scriptures because there's. This inseparable link between
joy and the Word of God, Joy and the Word of God.
Like real joy. Not just theological joy, not
just OK joy. No real joy.
Like, actually effects you. Here's one of my favorite psalms
out of Psalm 119, Psalm 119, verse 162.
I rejoice at your word, like one who finds a great spoil.
I. Rejoice at your word like one.
Who can I translate that in modern language?
I. Rejoice at your word, like
someone who won the lottery. That's what he's saying there.
That's how exciting the word of God is to me.
When I discover something about it, when I eat of it, when I
taste it, when I see the blessings from it, I.
Rejoice, I get so excited. I get so moved.
I get. So if you talk to any person who
regularly. Preaches the word of God and
loves the word of God. There's.
A common experience that they have as they read and study and
explore. Maybe you've you've taught in
some level, maybe Bible study, and you've had this experience
where sometimes you discover something or something's brought
to your attention. Something is illuminated that
you're so overjoyed that you have to push yourself away from
your studies and just pace back and forth to do something else
because you can't handle the excitement that just come to
you. OK, so some people know what I'm
talking about. That can happen.
That's supernatural. That's what the Holy Spirit does
through His word. And here's this woman saying,
these people are exposed to the words of Solomon.
Surely they are happy, continually happy, as long as
they remain in the presence of this man's words.
How much more, you and I, as we understand that our Godness and
God is charged by the discoveries that we make in this
book. And if you're someone again,
who? Who says I don't know what
you're talking about? I know the Bible as a duty.
I read it because I know I'm supposed as a Christian.
I want my elders over my shoulder.
Tell me when I last read my Bible.
I'm not interested in having the awkward confrontation, so I just
do my daily devotions. How sad.
How sad that you do not see the joy that this word can produce
to a heart that is hungry for heavenly wisdom.
So it's not just for knowledge. No.
There is true satisfaction that is realized when it comes to
revelation, and this woman points to that in some regard.
Now knows what else she says. Verse 9.
Blessed be the Lord your God who has delighted in you and set you
on the throne of Israel. Because the Lord loved Israel
forever, He has made you king that you may execute justice and
righteousness. So she was able to discern that
Solomon being king is an act of God's sovereign choosing.
You're a king because your God made you king.
And that's true. That's an accurate assessment.
But that's not the only thing she says.
Does anything stand out to you by what she's saying?
This is why we have to read our Bibles carefully, slowly,
sometimes repetitively. Notice there's something that
stands out here concerning her statement.
Well, let me say this. Before we get to that point, we
can borrow this woman's words concerning our king.
Notice what she said? She said blessed, or rather
because the Lord loved Israel forever.
He has made you king because the Lord loved Israel.
He has made you Solomon King. You know what we can say?
Because God loved the world. He gave us his son.
That's what we can say in the New Covenant.
That's what we can say about our king.
He didn't just love Israel, He loved the world, and he gave one
who is greater than Solomon. But there's something else here.
There's another truth tucked in here.
Let me give you a hint. It gives us insight about how
one way, in many ways God can demonstrate His love toward us
in this life. He can demonstrate His love to
us practically. What do you see in here of how
God can show His love to a people?
Do you? See it?
Because the Lord loved Israel forever, what did He do?
So not only did God choose Solomon to become king, but
because of his love toward Israel, he raised up Solomon to
be their king. Here's one way God can show his
love to you and I. He raises up people in our
lives. He brings people into our lives.
He introduced people. What kind of people?
Well, notice the qualification here that you may execute
justice and righteousness. So not just Solomon being king,
Solomon being a certain type of king, a king that would reflect
and display the character of God and the will of God.
That kind of a king was not just the will of God, but the
expression of God's love toward another, namely, a nation.
So when God brings people into your life, notice also that
Satan can bring people into your life.
God has his evangelist, God has his people, Satan has his
evangelist, and Satan has his people.
Unfortunately, so many people can't discern between the two,
so. God can show his love and
bringing people. What kind of people?
People that reflect the character of God and enhance and
enrich your walk with God. Those kind of people don't just
see people as people because if you are able to identify people
in your life, say because of that brother, I'm a more
effective follower of Christ. Because of this, sister, my
heart remains more tender towards Christ, those people.
Are gifts from God. They are gifts from God.
Leaders in your life that. Reflect the character of God and
exercise the will of God. Those are gifts from God.
Parents, whatever that may be. Those are expressions of His
love. And perhaps in your mind, that's
a foreign concept. So let me confirm it to you with
another verse in the Old Testament that I would never
forget. It was when I was studying the
Book of Numbers, and we went through the Book of Numbers
together long time ago, a different setting.
There's a verse that stood out to me when the Lord spoke about
the Levites and it just again, solidifies what I'm trying to
articulate here, so. Here's another reference.
In Numbers 8, verse 19, when the Lord was speaking about the
Levites and the role of the Levites, He makes this
interesting note concerning the Levites in relation to the
people of Israel. Numbers 8/19.
He says this and I have given the Levites as.
What can you say those 3 words as a gift?
I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron, As a gift to
Aaron and his sons, from among the people of Israel to.
Do the service for the people of Israel at the tent of meeting
and to make atonement for the people of Israel, that there may
be no plague among the people of Israel.
When the people of Israel come near the sanctuary, these
Levites that I will raise up, that I will call this ministry
position, that I will ordain and the people that will fulfill it.
They are a gift to Aaron and by extension the people of Israel,
because what they will do in helping Aaron will preserve this
people from experiencing the wrath of God, the chastisement
of the Lord. Do you have people in your life
that you can look and say because God loves me?
This is a person in my life? This person, this brother, this
sister, this church is a gift to me because they want.
And they help me love God more, walk with God more closely,
develop that kind of mind, develop that kind of language.
This Gentile woman could recognize God's love for the
people by raising up Solomon to be a leader in their midst.
You and I have so many people that we can thank God for.
And here's the thing saying why is this important?
Why are you? Why are you getting at this?
Because the woman praised God, didn't she not?
She said what? Because the Lord loved Israel
forever And he said earlier, blessed be the Lord your God.
She recognized God's goodness through Solomon and it was a
reason for her to worship you. And I can enhance in our worship
when we see people as gifts from God.
So what did she do? Verse 10.
Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold and a very great
quantity of spices and precious stones.
Never again came such an abundance of spices as these
that the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
One would simply explain this away as a custom of that day.
Between royalty, they exchanged gifts.
But the flow of thought suggests A deeper truth.
Especially when you're aware that Solomon was in no need of
such gift. Right?
Did Solomon need this kind of an offering?
And he didn't need it? I'm sure the Queen of Sheba,
after a visit, realized that he also didn't need it.
So she's giving here from a different motive.
She's not making a contribution to a lack, is she?
No. This extravagant offering is a
result of the experience that she had.
Let me put it this way. It was a reflex to this
revelation that she received. Breath is taken away and she's
seeing all this and she see God's fingerprint all over.
And here's what she does. She she just gives and gives and
gives above and beyond. I'm sure she did it joyfully.
And it's a wonderful illustration of how our
awareness of the beauty and the glory and the majesty of God's
Kingdom, God's people, God himself, will bring you to a
place where you will give, you will give.
And some people are satisfied to give an empty confession of
their allegiance to Christ. But that's not the giving that
the Scripture speaks about. There's a deeper stirring that
occurs when you really see who God is, what His word is about,
what He has done, and what He will do, that will make you say
how I want to give. What do you give?
You give your time to the Lord, do you not.
You give your talents to the Lord, do you not.
You give your treasures to the Lord, do you not.
You are moved to give based on your understanding and your
insight of who he is, His goodness, His power, his wisdom,
his grace, ultimately His precious Son, Jesus Christ.
You give everything. If.
This woman was willing to give so much to someone who was
lesser than our king. How much more than the want to
the one who is greater than Solomon.
So this is what she does. And guess what?
Like Solomon, God doesn't need it.
Solomon. Didn't you think God needs your
stuff? Think God needs us to help him
advance his purposes? Think God needs us to sing
because he's lonely and he's entertained by us coming here on
Friday night? I think he he doesn't need
anything. And when we understand that, and
then we realize that our offerings are just simple
expressions of our desire to honor and be part of what the
Lord is doing on the earth. Like this woman, I just want to
honor this God. I want to honor what he's doing
here. And if I can play any part in
it, here it is in verse 11. Moreover, the fleet of Hiram
which brought gold from Ophir. Brought.
From Ophir. Very great amount of almond wood
and precious stones. And the king maid of the Al mug
wood supports for the House of the Lord and for the King's
house. Also liars and harps for the
singers. No such Al mug wood has come or
been seen to this day. It's an interesting insertion
here, seems to be out of place. But I think all it's doing, all
of the author is doing just to show again the great prosperity
of Solomon. It's not just coming from one
stream, but many streams. He was a very successful person.
And again, this growing prosperity, this growing power
is leading to something in the second portion of this chapter.
As he is growing and maturing in this area, he is declining in
the most important area, and that's in his walk with God.
But here's how this section in our Bible study ends tonight in
verse 13. And.
King Solomon gave the Queen of Sheba all that she desired,
whatever she asked, besides what was given her by the bounty of
the of King Solomon. So she turned and went back to
her own land with her servants. You know, there is a tradition
that comes out of this verse among the Ethiopian people,
actually. Is.
Anybody familiar with this legend?
This is just a footnote, something to throw at you if you
want to study a little bit of history on top of your Bible
study. There are many who believe that
when the queen received the opportunity to ask for whatever
she desired, that one of her requests was that she would have
a child with Solomon. And this has some to believe
that there is a Solomon dynasty among the Ethiopian people.
And so you can look into this and see, I'm not making this up.
There is that kind of a legend that when the queen returned to
her people, she came back with Solomon's Seed because she was
so impressed and she was so moved by Solomon.
She wanted what was with Solomon to be with her and her people.
And so she requested that. There is no evidence of that in
the Bible. I thought that would just be an
interesting thing to throw out there that you can investigate
for yourself, but notice more carefully again when you read
slowly if we look at this in light of our relationship with
our king. King.
Solomon gave to the Queen of Sheba all that she desired.
Whatever. She asked besides what was given
her by the bounty of King Solomon.
So Solomon already had prepared something to give to the Queen.
He had his own respective bounty here, his own reward and gift.
But. He didn't just give what he had
prepared for her, he was willing to give whatever she asked on
top of it. There.
Are many Christians who are willing to be content in their
whole life to just live with what they receive as an
inheritance by faith, which is a glorious inheritance.
But they never go beyond that for one simple reason.
They don't ask. You have not because you ask
not, James tells us. And our king.
Gives. Us so much already in himself,
gives us so much already. In the gospel.
But there is more that he's willing to give us that is
predicated and based upon your willingness to recognize his
goodness, recognize his unlimited resources and ability
to say, oh God, would you give this?
Thank you for what I have already, and I am so content and
joyful with what I have, but Lord, I'm also asking for this.
And the one who is greater than Solomon will do it with greater
joy and love toward his people. Not amazing how much we can
learn in 13 verses in the Old Testament.
Bless me had a few of those moments where I had to step away
and just face back and forth and think about the wisdom of God,
the Symphony of the Scriptures. The.
Harmony of the Holy Spirit's authorship in the word of God.
Surely we are a happy people because we stand in the presence
of this king and we hear from his wisdom day by day by day.
Let's pray, Father, we thank you from the
bottom of our hearts that we are indeed happy.
We are happy men, happy woman, happy servants, for one main
reason. We have access to your Word, and
we get to glean from not just the wisdom of God, but he
embodies the wisdom of God, your Son, Jesus Christ.
Lord, tonight, if our hearts are not happy in God and we find
greater joy and thrill and other things, Lord, would you rescue
us from such a pathetic place, from such a dangerous place And
Lord, perhaps there's even one in here who has heard the
reports of Christ, and they have memorized the reports of Christ.
They can even explain the reports of Christ.
But they have not for themselves seen what these reports invite
them to see. Lord, by your power and grace.
Would you in a holy way disturb that heart to not remain content
in their unbelief or in their self deceived condition?
May they instead place themselves on the path of
discovering what they have access to because of the one
who's made himself accessible and Lord for us in this new
year? Who perhaps have made no
resolution to reignite a passionate pursuit after you and
your word, Oh, Lord, may they understand that the fuel to
their joy is charged by this word.
We ask, Lord, that you would make us a people who are happy
again. Revive us again, Lord, and for
the person in here who has not yet sought you again.
May they never be able to remove from their minds the example of
this queen who made a great sacrifice to seek this king.
Lord, may tonight be the night for some who are here, maybe
some who are watching to say I will go to him who has summoned
me. I will go to him who promise I
will never cast out those who come to me.
This is our Passionate Prayer tonight.
So we thank you and rejoice in your courts because we are again
your people and we have a purpose to proclaim your
excellencies and to be a light to all men.
Help us fulfill that calling in Jesus name.
Amen. Amen.