Chapter 160. 1 Kings 10, 2 Chron. 9. The Queen of Sheba.
SOLOMON’S great work of building a temple fit for God’s presence, was finished. God had come down to dwell in it, in the midst of His people.
True, He could only dwell in thick darkness, and only after sacrifices were offered, and the bloodshed, could even the high priest enter the holy of holies, and that but once a year. God’s holiness would have consumed the sinful Israelites had they come into His presence. The way had not been made yet; Christ had not yet died for them. How very different it is now. Through the death of Jesus the door of heaven is open wide, and whosoever has had his sins put away by His blood can stand with perfect assurance before the holy God. However, it was wonderful condescension on God’s part to come to dwell in His temple. It made His grace and interest in His people shine out, and they should have appreciated it, and sought to live in His fear. The Lord promised Solomon that if he walked in the ways of his father David, he should be blessed and should never want a son to sit on his throne, but if he or his children after him forsook the Lord their God, He also would forsake them, and allow them to be carried away captive to other countries.
With God’s blessing upon him, Solomon prospered and grew richer every year. He built a beautiful house for himself, and one for the queen. Also cities, and a navy of ships. The ships used to go every year to distant countries to bring back gold, silver, ivory, apes, peacocks, etc. People in those distant lands wondered very much, when they heard about Solomon’s riches and wisdom. Many kings were subject to him, and year by year brought him presents of gold, silver, garments, precious spices, horses and mules. He had fourteen hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. His throne was made of ivory, overlaid with gold. Six steps went up to it, and on each step at both ends were lions, twelve of them, and two more on each side of the throne. All the drinking vessels of the king were made of gold. There was so much silver in his kingdom that it was not considered very precious, rather like the stones in our day. No wonder the fame of Solomon spread abroad, and reached distant lands.
There was a queen who came to see Solomon from a very far country called Sheba. We have no country by that name today, but it is believed that it was the same as Arabia or Abyssinia. This queen heard a great deal in her own land about Solomon, and she wanted to see him. A long journey it was to Jerusalem, but she did not care for the trouble and difficulty. She brought with her a great many servants and camels who carried gold and the best spices to be found as presents to King Solomon. It was not only his riches she was anxious to see, but she had heard so much of his wisdom, she wished to prove him with hard questions. No doubt she wanted to know more of the true God and His ways with men. We do not know what her hard questions were, but Solomon, by the wisdom God had given him, could answer them all. When the Queen of Sheba had seen all the King’s wisdom and the house that he had built, the food of his table, his servants, the attendance of his ministers, and their dress, and his cup bearers, and the ascent by which he went up to the house of the Lord, she was overcome with a sense of the greatness of God and His love to His people. When she was in her own country she heard of his wisdom, and of his deeds; she could not believe it, it seemed untrue, but now that she had seen all, she found that his wisdom and his possessions were much greater than she thought. The half had not been told her. She said, “Happy are thy men, happy are thy servants who stand continually before thee and hear thy wisdom. Blessed be the Lord thy God, who delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel; because the Lord loved Israel for ever; therefore made He the king to do judgment and justice.”
The Queen of Sheba then offered Solomon the gifts she had brought for him—gold, spices and precious stones in abundance. Solomon also gave her anything she wanted—whatever she asked for she received—besides the presents he made her out of his royal bounty. Then she returned to her own country with all her servants. We hear nothing more of her, but we hope that what she learned of the true God, she never forgot and that she forsook her own idols to serve Him.
The Lord Jesus spoke of her when He was on earth, as one who had come a long way to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and yet He who was far greater than Solomon, the people would not hear. They would not come unto Him that they might have life.
Would He be made more welcome now? Ah, no; the heart of man is still the same, and would also cry “Away with Him, we will not have Him,” unless God in grace touches the heart, and opens the eyes to behold His beauty, and to receive Him as God’s “Unspeakable Gift.”
ML 07/16/1916