When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's
fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. She arrived with a
large group of attendants and a great caravan of camels loaded with spices,
large quantities of gold, and precious jewels. When she met with Solomon, she
talked with him about everything she had on her mind. Solomon had answers for
all her questions; nothing was too hard for him to explain to her. When the
queen of Sheba realized how wise Solomon was, and when she saw the palace he had
built, she was overwhelmed. She was also amazed at the food on his tables, the
organization of his officials and their splendid clothing, the cup-bearers and
their robes, and the burnt offerings Solomon made at the Temple of the LORD.
She exclaimed to the king, "Everything I heard in my country about your
achievements and wisdom is true! I didn't believe what was said until I arrived
here and saw it with my own eyes. In fact, I had not heard the half of your
great wisdom! It is far beyond what I was told. How happy your people must
be! What a privilege for your officials to stand here day after day, listening
to your wisdom! Praise the LORD your God, who delights in you and has placed
you on the throne as king to rule for Him. Because God loves Israel and desires
this kingdom to last forever, He has made you king over them so you can rule
with justice and righteousness." 2 Chronicles 9:1-8
As the Queen of Sheba, from the southern
part of Arabia, testified to Solomon, she had not heard even half of Solomon’s
great wisdom. Queen Sheba made a trip on camels of about 1,200 miles to ascertain
if Solomon’s wisdom and riches were for real. When she saw and heard with her
own eyes and ears, she believed. She was amazed at him and at how blessed he
was. As a result of that she was even praising the Lord. How did she know the
Lord God? She had heard of Him since Solomon had built the Temple for God and
that Solomon and all his kingdom were blessed because of God’s generosity. That
was only half of Solomon’s wisdom—and now we are at the “half-way” point in the
calendar for this year of 2016. Do you think that you would have believed in
Solomon’s wealth and wisdom without seeing it for yourself? Like the Queen, we
need guidance and discernment—wisdom in action—to determine the depth of our
wisdom—and how to apply it to our spiritual lives. With God’s guidance and
discernment we’ll live to use all the wisdom that God gives us…not just half of
it.
Prayer
~ Dear God, Once again we ask for Spiritual Discernment—like the Queen of Sheba
must have had as she tested Solomon and found him to be worthy of Your attention. Please give us guidance as we apply Your wisdom in our lives.
© 2016 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT)
unless otherwise noted.
No comments:
Post a Comment