Archive for 14. November 2008

The Queen of Sheba

14. November 2008 by Bernice Davis.

Good Morning: 

We are still studying the same text from yesterday.  Here it is again for your review.

 Matthew 12:38 “Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.” 39 He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. 42 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 one greater than Solomon is here. 43 ”When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”  

Yesterday, as we studied the text, the issue was that the Pharisees wanted Jesus to give them a miraculous sign and Jesus said none would be given except for the sign of Jonah.  We looked at the story of Jonah on yesterday and saw exactly what Jesus was referring.    Jesus also uses the story of Jonah to indicate that the Ninevehites (the people that Jonah preached to) at judgment would condemn this current generation because they repented at the preaching of Jonah and one is greater than Jonah is here (which was Jesus) and the current generation refused to repent. Our study today deals with the second example that he gives.  It is the story of the Queen of Sheba and Solomon.   Let’s look at the story from the Old Testament. 

I Kings 10: 1 “When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relation to the name of the Lord, she came to test him 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. 3 Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. 4 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. 6 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. 7 But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard. 8 How happy your men 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.” 10 And she gave the king 120 talents of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of

Sheba gave to King Solomon. 11 (Hiram’s ships brought gold from Ophir; and from there they brought great cargoes of almugwood and precious stones. 12 The king used the almugwood to make supports for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. So much almugwood has never been imported or seen since that day.) 13 King 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.”  

This particular story shows the determination of a Queen who left her throne and literally risk her life by taking a journey all the way from Ethiopia to Israel carrying a phenomenal amount of wealth to present to Solomon all because she wanted to hear about the God of Solomon. Jesus uses this story to say that this Queen’s testimony of her making  the sacrifice to travel to hear the wisdom of Solomon’s will condemn the current generation at judgment for one greater than Solomon is here (He was referring to himself).    These stories clearly show us the sacrifices that people made to discover the truth and we have the truth today written in a book and most Christians fail to study it consistently to discover its phenomenal truths and the liberty that it can bring.   

On Monday, we will put all of our research together and finish this passage. 

Have a great weekend!!! 

Stay encouraged. 

All is well, everything is safe, and everything is as it should be.

 Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

|