First Kings 10:1

The Bible says in First Kings 10:1-9, “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.[2] 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.[3] And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not.[4] And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built,[5] 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.[6] 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.[7] 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.[8] Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom.[9] 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.” This is a great passage of scripture about the queen of Sheba. She was a seeker of truth. She heard that Solomon had wisdom, so she came to hear his wisdom. Jesus is the wisest of all. He is the truth. More people would come to Jesus if they were seekers like the queen of Sheba. Jesus said, “Seek and ye shall find.” It says in verse two that the queen of Sheba communed with Solomon “of all that was in her heart.” In order to come to Christ, you must open up your heart to Him. Jesus said in Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

Notice that verse three says, “there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not.” That means that Solomon also told her about the Lord. We know from the book of Proverbs that Solomon’s wisdom was all interwoven with the knowledge of God as all true wisdom must be. At the end of verse five when it says about the queen, “there was no more spirit in her,” it means that she was touched deeply by what she heard and saw. That is what we are looking for as witnesses for Christ: people’s hearts being touched by the Spirit of God. It is all about precious souls and only God can touch a heart and bring it to Jesus.

Verse seven might be where the Queen of Sheba became a believer. Notice that she said, “the half was not told me.” That is the sentiment of everyone that believes in Jesus. We find out more about Him than we could have ever imagined, and it is all good. In verse nine the Queen of Sheba shows her faith by mentioning God’s name twice. She said, “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 Bible says in First Kings 10:10-23, “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.[11] And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14] Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold.[15] Beside that he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffick of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country.[16] And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target.[17] And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pound of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.[18] Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold.[19] The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays.[20] And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom.[21] And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none were of silver: it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon.[22] For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.[23] So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom.” Once again we are told of the great wealth of Solomon, and once again we are reminded that it is okay to be rich as long as you use your riches for the glory of God. That is exactly what Solomon did. Solomon had the wisdom of what to do with his riches. Solomon’s wisdom is how he acquired the riches in the first place. What a majestic throne he built: all the ivory and gold, the fourteen lions with one on each side of each step and two at the top. When people saw that majesty, they were reminded: this was not Solomon who did all of this, but it was God. Solomon was blessed by God. Solomon had wisdom from God.

The Bible says in First Kings 10:24-29, “And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.[25] And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.[26] And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem.[27] And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore trees that are in the vale, for abundance.[28] And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price.[29] And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, did they bring them out by their means.” Notice carefully verse twenty-four. It says, “And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.” If God reveals something to you, He wants you to tell others. He does not want you to keep it to yourself. That is one of the reasons to be a witness for Christ. If Jesus has saved your soul, then tell others.

The Bible says in First Kings 11:1-3, “But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites;[2] Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.[3] And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.” Up to this point there were many good things to say about King Solomon. But he failed terribly at least in one major way: women. It says in verse one, “But king Solomon loved many strange women…” Solomon was rich, and he was powerful, and he was king. Solomon could have whatever he wanted, and he knew it. That became too big of a temptation for him. Many men have fallen from what they could have been for the same reason. God’s standard is one man and one woman united in marriage for life. Most people who follow the Lord closely will end up living according to that pattern. God made Eve and brought her to the man. God did not make Eve and Sally, and bring two women or more to the man. God brought just one, and the man and the woman became one flesh. Not only did Solomon have all those women, but many of them were unbelievers. If you are a true believer in Jesus, then you need to marry God’s choice for you: someone else who is a true believer in Jesus and who walks consistently in fellowship with Him. God warned in verse two, “for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.”

The Bible says in First Kings 11:4-10, “For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.[5] For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.[6] And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father.[7] Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.[8] And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.[9] And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice,[10] And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded.” It says in verse four, “For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods…” Some things in life are predictable. This is one of those things. If a believer does not put the Lord first in his or her life, then that believer will go away from the Lord. If a believer does not do things God’s way, then that believer will go away from the Lord. It says about Solomon in verse six, “And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD…” That is a terrible thing to be said about anyone. The words “did evil” we can understand because we are all evil and we always rely upon Jesus’s mercy and forgiveness. But the words “not fully” are the worse words of this verses. The greatest commandment, according to Jesus, is to love the Lord with the whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. Therefore, the greatest sin is to not have such love for God. We all sin a lot. But in Solomon’s case we must remember what was given to him by the grace of God. To whom much is given is much required.

Verse nine has some very scary words, “And the LORD was angry with Solomon.” God is a jealous God. He loves and He is a jealous lover. God also chastises His children. That is why there are consequences even to believers. A wise believer learns to turn back to the Lord whenever his or her heart has strayed from loving Jesus the way that we ought. Jesus will always forgive. Just do not wait to turn back to Him. It says in First Corinthians 11:31-32, “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.[32] But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.”

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