Saturday, December 23, 2023

1 Kings 10 :1

1 Kings10:1 says, And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions.  When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon's fame concerning the name of the Lord, she came to prove him asking him hard questions.   Matthew Henry says she mainly came to better understand the ways of God.  If people hear that we are Christians today, and come to us asking hard questions about God, will we prove to be wise in our understanding of salvation?  We need to always be ready to answer anyone who questions us about salvation.  Verse two adds, And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.  She didn't come empty-handed but came with many valuable gifts and communed with Solomon about all that was on her heart.  We can only come to God empty-handed when we come to seek salvation, but we also must share the concerns of our heart with Him.  We cannot just seek facts, but must seek faith.  Verse three continues, And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not.  Solomon answered all her questions under the leadership of the God, which is where his wisdom came from. If we are to answer all the questions people may ask us about becoming a Christian and living a Christian life today, we need to rely on the leadership of the Holy Spirit when we answer them.  Verse four states, And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built,  Verse five adds, And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the Lord; there was no more spirit in her.  When she saw all of Solomon's wisdom and all that God had blessed him with, there was no more spirit in her.  Of course, of all the things mentioned, the wisdom of Solomon was the first, and if people are going to respond to God's call to salvation today, it is not going to be because of our material wealth but because of our knowledge of and faith in Him.  Verse six continues, And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom.  She told Solomon that she had heard of his acts and wisdom in her own land.  As followers of Christ, we need to pray that people will hear of our wisdom and of our good acts for God.  True wisdom can only come from God, and this is the wisdom that we need to share with people of the world.  The question is, are they hearing about our wisdom of God?  Verse seven says, Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard.  She told Solomon that she did not believe what she had heard until she came and saw it for herself, and it was even greater than she had heard.  People are not going to believe the gospel until they accept it for themselves, and then it will be even greater than what they had heard.  Verse eight adds, Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom.  Shen said that Solomon's men and his servants were happy serving him.  If someone were to observe us as Christians in where we work today, especially if we are in a position of authority, they should see that those that we have authority over are happy in their work situation.  People of the world are going to be observing us as followers of Christ, not just in how we live on Sunday but in how we live our everyday life as well.  Verse nine continues, Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the Lord loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice.  The queen of Sheba then gave praise to God as the One Who had made Solomon so wise and powerful.  We need people to praise God for whatever we accomplish as Christians today and not to praise us.  Just as she said God had loved Israel forever, so does He love us as Christians forever today.  Verse ten concludes, And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.  She then gave Solomon gold and more spices than had ever been given to anyone.  She acknowledged that God was to be praised, and then gave gifts to Solomon, I would assume thinking that he would use them for God's glory and not his own.  The blessings that God gives us today as followers of Christ should be used for God's glory and not our own.  Verse eleven says, And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones.  Hiram's navy also brought gifts, which included almug trees, which were highly praised for their beauty and fragrance.  Verse twelve adds, And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the Lord, and for the king's house, harps also and psalteries for singers: there came no such almug trees, nor were seen unto this day.  Solomon used the almug trees in the Temple and his own house and to make instruments for the Temple.  We need to use the things God blesses us with today to do His work and not just use it for our own benefit.  Verse thirteen continues, And king Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.  Solomon also gave the Queen of Sheba whatever she asked for.  We may not be able to give people a lot of material possessions today, but we can give them the greatest gift of all, and that is sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with them.

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