1 Reis 10

1 Reis 10

Morgan - The fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord.—1 Kings 10.1 It is well to notice these words, as they reveal the real reason of the visit of the queen of Sheba. Her coming shows how far the fame of this king of Israel had spread, and these words teach us the nature of that fame. The reports of him had evidently accounted for his greatness and his wisdom, by his relationship to Jehovah. It was not the story of his magnificence which attracted this Arabian queen. but his fame concerning the name of Jehovah. Her visit revealed to her what the government of God really meant. Arriving, as she did, in the time of the nation's peace and prosperity, she was constrained to employ words which set forth her sense of the greatness of all she saw, as exceeding all reports concerning the prosperity of the kingdom and the happiness of the people. She saw clearly that the secret of everything was that of the reign of God, This she expressed in words which revealed the clearness with which this had been manifested : "Blessed be Jehovah thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel; because Jehovah loved Israel for ever, therefore made He thee king, to do judgment and justice." These were the great days in Solomon's reign. That is true fame for the servant of God, then people are attracted through him, not to him, but to the God whom he represents. It is an evil hour when, concerning the servants of God, men are attracted by them, and by what they are, rather than directed through them to God. Herbert Lockyer speaking of the Queen of Sheba says: We know nothing of her beauty, but it is certain she was all that could be desired in this respect....What She Came For What was the quest of this queen of the South? She did not take her long journey from vanity nor out of any feminine curiosity because she had heard of the much heralded greatness of Solomon. Hers was not a State visit to make a new treaty of some sort nor to behold the magnificence of the court of Solomon. No, she was a seeker after wisdom and so made the tedious journey from her own palace to that of Solomon’s to increase her knowledge. She was inspired to make the visit because the fame of Solomon as the wisest man in the East had reached her. The Bible distinctly says that “she came to prove Solomon with hard, or perplexing questions,” and her questions were both numerous and varied. This nameless queen had heard that Solomon knew all about “the name of the Lord,” and it was this particular aspect of his wisdom that attracted her to Jerusalem. She had not come to see the king’s material possessions and trappings of wealth, for as a queen of considerable importance she had plenty of these herself. She came to see and hear “the Wisdom of Solomon,” as Christ said of her. As, centuries later, wise men came from the East to Bethlehem to worship Him who appeared as, “the Wisdom of God,” so Sheba’s queen came to the Holy City in search of higher knowledge. She was not only a woman of enterprise and affluence but also of a penetrating mind. Cultured, she had a thirst for wider intellectual pursuits, and therefore represented the desire in the hearts of all princely characters for a deeper understanding of the true knowledge. Josephus the Jewish historian says of the queen that “she was inquisitive into philosophy and on that and on other accounts also was to be admired.” Word had reached her that it was Solomon’s God who had made him so remarkably wise, and as a worshiper of other gods she wanted to know about this Jehovah who had favored the king in an outstanding way. Thus, there was no mere sensation seeking in her visit. The renown of such unparalleled wisdom drew her to Solomon and in going to him she revealed how wise she was. Possibly she had read some of Solomon’s great proverbs, and the one affirming that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” gripped her and prompted her to seek out the king occupying the throne of Israel. She was seeking for a deeper knowledge of his God. While she gave utterance to religious expression such as “Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee, and set thee on the throne of Israel: because the Lord loved Israel for ever, therefore made thee king to do judgment and justice,” we have no Bible evidence that she was converted from her heathen gods to worship the God of Solomon. Her acknowledgment of God does not imply the acceptance of Him. “It expresses the belief that He, as the tutelary God of Israel, is to be held in reverence, proportionate to the extraordinary glory which He has given to His nation.” We can but trust that the spiritual truths Solomon enunciated found a lodgment in the queen’s heart and bore much fruit in her life after she returned to her own country. (BORROW ALL THE WOMEN IN THE BIBLE - PAGE 198) Loins Girded - Hard Questions 1Ki. 10:1 The Queen of Sheba, who had heard rumours of Solomon’s wisdom, belonged to the deeper natures who ponder about the often so fearful and incomprehensible things, with which the earthly life is filled. She was not counted amongst those who have no questions, but she was clearly pained by the difficult problems that presented themselves to her mind, but which she failed to find an answer for. Therefore she went to the wise Solomon to prove him with hard questions. She looked to him for a solution of the riddles of life that oppressed her, and she was not disappointed, because we read, that “Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king which he told her not.” “A greater than Solomon is here,”the Lord Jesus once declared. Indeed, His wisdom far surpasses the wisdom of the king of the Ancient. Whosoever seeks counsel with her, as she is freely available for all in the Gospel, hears as if out of His mouth the satisfying explanation of the dark secrets that can oppress the awakened heart. First of all, there is that great mystery of life. If we may call life a song, there sounds to every one whose soul’s ear has been opened, a shrill dissonant through it that painfully disturbs the beautiful harmony, namely the note of sin. There is sin, there is guilt,—that cannot be denied. However, where are the wise who can tell us how that sin can be covered and that guilt be paid? There is only One who can explain that riddle, Jesus Christ, who does not only just give us the solution of it, but who is the solution, when He presents Himself as the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Next, there is the great mystery of suffering. Why all this suffering that clouds the joy, the bitter cups of sorrow, all those cried-red eyes and heaving hearts? No thinker has been able to give an acceptable answer to this, but Jesus Christ does not leave us here either. His Gospel explains us that all suffering, to the measure that it is not a punishment, is meant for our preparation for eternity. Like the artist hits the marble with the chisel, so the Almighty One chisels away much from us to bring forth in us the image of God more clearly. Finally, there is the great mystery of death. To all the wise of the world eternity is a question mark; nobody knows what is awaiting us, nor whether there is even an eternity; but in the wisdom of Christ she is full of melodies on the harp and play on the cither, full of glory and praise, full of angels and redeemed, full of the glory of God! QUESTION - Who was the Queen of the South? ANSWER - The Queen of the South is mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 12:42 and its parallel passage, Luke 11:31. Jesus says the Queen of the South will bear witness on the Day of Judgment, condemning those Israelites who rejected Jesus as Lord. Jesus identifies the Queen of the South as a queen who visited King Solomon to benefit from his wisdom. From this, we can deduce that she is the Queen of Sheba who came to test Solomon with difficult questions (1 Kings 10:1). Most biblical scholars believe that Sheba was a city in modern-day Ethiopia or Yemen, and that the Queen of the South was the ruler of that city, a woman of amazing wealth and power. Having heard reports of King Solomon’s wisdom, the Queen of Sheba wanted to find out if what she had heard was true, if there really could be a king that wise. So she traveled to Jerusalem to quiz Solomon with riddles. She also brought a wealth of gifts and spices and jewels from her own land to give to him (1 Kings 10:10; 2 Chronicles 9:9). Solomon answered all her questions (1 Kings 10:3) and repaid her in gifts of equal value. The Queen of the South then returned home (2 Chronicles 9:12). The Queen of the South has been the subject of many artistic works and legends. Some people also speculate that the Queen of the South is the same woman as the Shulammite mentioned in the Song of Solomon, because of the reference to the Shulammite’s dark skin (Song of Solomon 1:5). However, there is stronger evidence to suggest that the Shulammite came from Shunem, a region near Israel. Jesus mentions the Queen of the South in the context of Israel’s rejection of their True King. Though she was a Gentile, she traveled a long distance to hear Solomon, and the treasures she brought showed her respect for him and the wisdom he possessed. In contrast, the Jews of Jesus’ time were unwilling to travel any distance to hear the King of kings. The Queen of Sheba’s lavish respect for Solomon stood in stark contrast to Israel’s flat-out rejection of Christ. Yet Christ is greater than Solomon (Matthew 12:42). Solomon was a son of David, but Jesus is the Son of David. Solomon was rich, but Jesus is the Creator of all riches. Solomon possessed the gift of wisdom, but Jesus is wisdom personified (1 Corinthians 1:30). GotQuestions.org C H