A couple came to me at their wit’s end because of the crisis they were facing. As I talked to them I understood she was pregnant with their second child and they were planning to abort the baby. Elders in the family also didn’t want the child. They had already fixed an appointment in a clinic. I tried to dissuade them. They kept saying, “You don’t understand.” I kept pointing to the Scriptures. After some days I was able to convince them. Finally with heavy hearts and swollen eyes they agreed to go through the pregnancy. Shortly they came out of the crisis. They were blessed with an unusually bright and beautiful boy. One by one other problems were solved. Today he is the apple of their eye and the heart-throb of the entire family. Though they were believers, in turbulent circumstances they were not able to discern between good and bad.
Do you remember a situation when you were confused, unable to take a decision not knowing what was the right thing to do? We all face crises in life and we need wisdom to tackle not only difficult situations but matters in our day to day life too. When things don’t go right we take decisions with considerable crankiness. Instead of kicking and screaming against God, if we use our head, God will guide us perfectly.
He who seeks wisdom is a wise man; he who thinks he has found it is mad— goes the adage. One woman was humble enough to acknowledge her lack of wisdom and was willing to take up an arduous long journey to go to a wise man and learn from him. She is none other than the Queen of Sheba who throws a beam of light in our dark passage to wisdom. We do not know her name but her designation has become her signature today.
We read in 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.” Solomon rode high on a vest of popular acclaim. All the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart (10:23,24). Solomon’s name was on everyone’s lips. Because one man sought wisdom all the earth came to know of a living God.
When we read the Bible report about Solomon, two things stand out. One is that though he was famous for many things, beyond question, it was his wisdom that stunned the whole world. Mind you, he was an inter-national figure in his generation. The second thing is that people not only heard of his wisdom, they also heard of his relationship to God (1 Ki 10:1,24; 2 Chro 9:23). The queen of Sheba was one of them.
Sheba was somewhere near today’s Yemen. It was a rich country. The Bible speaks of traders from Sheba (Isa 60:6). The visit of the queen was a prophetic fulfilment of David’s prayer for Solomon, may be on the occassion of his coronation (Psa 72:10,15,20). The estimated distance from Sheba to Jerusalem is about 2000 kms. Think of the yearning in her heart that made her take up such a hard journey through the deserts. What made her go for it? From I Kings 10:1 we understand that she not only heard about the fame of Solomon but that his fame was in some-way connected to the name of the Lord. The purpose of her visit was to know these two.
When I go to see my doctor I write down all the questions I need to ask him because I do not want to forget any important doubt I have. I imagine this queen doing the same. What would have been her questions? If I were in her shoes the following would have been my first questions: How did you get this wisdom? How can I get this wisdom? What is the name of your God which is so famous? Is this God for Israel alone? Is He superior to my gods? Plus so many other questions that were raging within her. If we let loose our imagination she might have asked about life after death and related questions which are hard questions for anyone.
Let’s try to imagine Solomon’s answers. How did Solomon get wisdom? When Solomon ascended the throne he was a lover of the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David (1 Ki 3:3). God had a special love for Solomon (2 Sam 12:24). So He appeared to him in a dream and asked what he wanted. Solomon’s answer was totally honest and unhypocritically frank: “I am a little child; I do not know how to carry out my duties” (1 Ki 3:7).
Solomon was not enamoured of ascending the throne rather he was intimidated by the titanic responsibility of governing a great nation. “Your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. Therefore give your servant an understanding heart to judge your people, that I may discern between good and evil” (3:7-9).
Solomon’s motive for acquiring wisdom was not name or fame, but that he may not make grave errors in governing the people. He wanted God’s wisdom that the people of God may be blessed. He was aware that the right or wrong decisions he made would affect the people of God. How much we need God’s wisdom that those around us may not be hurt by the decisions we take. God’s heart rejoiced at the way he humbled himself with a desire to serve His people and a pure motive to bless His people. There was nothing selfish about it (3:10). Solomon’s genius is no tantalizing mystery. He went straight to God with straight motives.
What took the back seat in Solomon’s caravan of desires? Long life, riches, life of enemies, honour and the like (3:10). One who zealously pursues wisdom should set his motives right and put such secondary longings behind his back, yes. That is God pleasing. Many who have run after wisdom have fallen by the wayside, sidetracked by other targets in life.
So God gave Solomon a wise and understanding heart (3:12). The Bible does not make a mistake by mentioning the seat of wisdom as the heart. We may think wisdom pertains to the brain. That’s the different kind of wisdom that James mentions as earthly, sensual and demonic. The wisdom from above dwells in the heart. The wise man has heart, feelings, tenderness and love. If foolish-ness proceeds from the heart (Mk 7:22), wisdom also proceeds from the same place. It is a matter of which supersedes what.
So God added to Solomon riches and honour he did not ask for. Truly, when we seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness first, all these things shall be added to us.
This is not the wisdom that we talk about today in terms of intellectual brilliance. It was the wisdom of God. “The wisdom of God was in him to administer justice” (3:28). That’s why Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt (4:29-3 1). East was known for wisemen (Mt 2:1). Solomon was head and shoulder above them. In this era of iPods and iPhones we should humbly bow our heads and accept that there were men wiser than us more than 2000 years ago.
Men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon (4:34). The Queen of Sheba and Hiram king of Tyre were some of them. Both magnified the Lord (2 Chr 9:8; 2:11,12). Who knows how many of these kings and queens became Jehovah worshippers!
The queen came not with the idea of snubbing or trapping Solomon but in utter sincerity to see the depth of his wisdom. Her good heart is seen in the gifts she brought for Solomon. A busy king like Solomon had time to answer “all her questions” and she saw “all the wisdom of Solomon” (1 Ki 10:3,4). Solomon had acquired a reputation as a hotshot who can answer any question. A woman travelling long distance to meet an awesome man, eating his every word—what would have been her response?
You can easily guess her next question. How can I become wise as you? Did Solomon give her a copy of his Proverbs? Atleast he would have told her, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is under-standing,” generating another round of discussion. What do you think they were discussing as Solomon led her to the temple by his entryway by which he went to the house of the Lord? (10:5). About the Holy One ofcourse.
What was Solomon’s longing when he prayed in the temple dedication prayer? “Concerning a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, but has come from a far country for your name’s sake (for they will hear of your great name and your strong hand and your outstretched arm) when he comes and prays toward this temple, hear in heaven Your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by Your name” (1 Ki 8:41-43). His longing was that God’s name should not be within the confines of Israel but reach every foreigner. He found one in the queen of Sheba and was more than eager to clear all the questions of her heart. Did he teach her how to fear God as he teaches us today?
The queen’s heart was leaning gradually towards the Living God from her own handmade gods and goddesses and she might have exclaimed like king Agrippa, “You almost persuade me to put my trust in your God.” Her journey through Solomon’s kingdom was one heart-stopper after another. The exhilarated queen exclaimed, “Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom” (10:8). In other words she was saying, “I wish I resign my job as queen and stand in your presence to hear your wisdom day in and day out.” Of all the exciting things she saw, it was Solomon’s wisdom that struck her dumb, because she had everything else. She could go home and build a palace like his and supply uniform to her servants. But what she wanted was his wisdom from which she was just a heart beat away. “I am not as happy as your servants who hear your wisdom every minute” was her heart cry. If we are honest wisdom-hunters we must start by fearing God and daily digging the Bible to know more about the Holy One. It is this knowledge that makes us wise.
Then she blessed God (10:9). She gave Solomon gold and spices and precious stones by the truck loads. Did his jaw drop? Far from it! “King Solomon gave the Queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, besides what Solomon had given her according to the royal generosity. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants” (10:13). May be she asked for a copy of the Pentateuch and a copy of his writings. All her desires satisfied, all her questions answered, plunged into a sea of joyful reveries she returned with a new revelation of a supreme God. Though many kings from all over the earth visited Solomon, why is it that this queen’s visit is elaborated? May be because of her genuine thirst to experience the wisdom of God.
Of the sons of David two were supersmart. One was Solomon the great and the other was the Greater than Solomon. Behold, a greater than Solomon is here. How much time and labour do we spend to sit at His feet and hear His wisdom? If He loved Solomon, He loves us all the same. If He chose him as a king He has chosen us kings too. If we in all earnestness like a little child confess to Him our inability to do our duties and ask for His wisdom like Solomon, will He deny us? What is God’s promise to us concerning wisdom? “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith with no doubting” (Js 1:4,5). Let’s ask boldly believingly, without a second thought. The best thing about God’s generosity is that He doesn’t find fault with us.
“The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment in this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here” (Mt 12:42).
If Solomon could give the queen according to his royal bounty how much more shall our heavenly Father give us lavishly, wisdom and all that we desire and much more! Do we take advantage of that offer?
“And when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart.” Solomon went beyond the call of duty to answer “all” her questions (10:2,3). All of us have lot of questions for which we don’t find the answer. We are tossed about in the sea of life when we reel like drunken men and are at our wit’s end (Psa 107:27). Our so called wisdom flies out of the window. Here’s someone greater and wiser than Solomon to whom we can speak about all that is in our heart. Let’s walk step for step in the tracks of this queen. Let’s talk, talk, talk to Him and unburden out hearts. He will make everything clear to us.
Have you ever thought, “Why am I so foolish? I wish there is a wisdom pill?” Well, the Queen of Sheba probably felt the same way. She went in search of it to Solomon and was blessed more than she could every think of. Come to the One, greater than Solomon, who is the source of all wisdom and ask Him. When we go to God in dead earnest interceding for wisdom, we may not become instant celebrities like Solomon but we’ll find God enabling us to discern between good and bad and take wise decisions in our personal, family and social life. In a world that is losing its conscience and no longer able to differentiate between right and wrong, it is time we Christians start praying for wisdom to discern between good and evil, right and wrong.
What is Solomon’s formula for getting wisdom? “If you cry out for discernment and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; THEN you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright” (Prov 2:3-7). Two things are implied here: One is—it is paramount that we cry to God. The second is labour. Solomon did both. The Queen of Sheba did both. Let us follow them in the search of wisdom.
“Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding” (Prov 3:13).
Dr. Lilian Stanley
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91 9843511943
lilianstanley@gmail.com
Blessing Youth Mission
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91-416-2242943, +91-416-2248943
hq@bymonline.org
www.bymonline.org
Click here for more options
To buy books written by Dr. Lilian Stanley, kindly reach to us in the follwing address
Blessing Literature Centre
21/11 West Coovam River Road,
Chintadripet,
Chennai 600 002, India.
+91-44-28450411, 8806270699
blc@bymonline.org
A couple came to me at their wit’s end because of the crisis they were facing. As I talked to them I understood she was pregnant with their second child and they were planning to abort the baby. Elders in the family also didn’t want the child. They had already fixed an appointment in a clinic. I tried to dissuade them. They kept saying, “You don’t understand.” I kept pointing to the Scriptures. After some days I was able to convince them. Finally with heavy hearts and swollen eyes they agreed to go through the pregnancy. Shortly they came out of the crisis. They were blessed with an unusually bright and beautiful boy. One by one other problems were solved. Today he is the apple of their eye and the heart-throb of the entire family. Though they were believers, in turbulent circumstances they were not able to discern between good and bad.
Do you remember a situation when you were confused, unable to take a decision not knowing what was the right thing to do? We all face crises in life and we need wisdom to tackle not only difficult situations but matters in our day to day life too. When things don’t go right we take decisions with considerable crankiness. Instead of kicking and screaming against God, if we use our head, God will guide us perfectly.
He who seeks wisdom is a wise man; he who thinks he has found it is mad— goes the adage. One woman was humble enough to acknowledge her lack of wisdom and was willing to take up an arduous long journey to go to a wise man and learn from him. She is none other than the Queen of Sheba who throws a beam of light in our dark passage to wisdom. We do not know her name but her designation has become her signature today.
We read in 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.” Solomon rode high on a vest of popular acclaim. All the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart (10:23,24). Solomon’s name was on everyone’s lips. Because one man sought wisdom all the earth came to know of a living God.
When we read the Bible report about Solomon, two things stand out. One is that though he was famous for many things, beyond question, it was his wisdom that stunned the whole world. Mind you, he was an inter-national figure in his generation. The second thing is that people not only heard of his wisdom, they also heard of his relationship to God (1 Ki 10:1,24; 2 Chro 9:23). The queen of Sheba was one of them.
Sheba was somewhere near today’s Yemen. It was a rich country. The Bible speaks of traders from Sheba (Isa 60:6). The visit of the queen was a prophetic fulfilment of David’s prayer for Solomon, may be on the occassion of his coronation (Psa 72:10,15,20). The estimated distance from Sheba to Jerusalem is about 2000 kms. Think of the yearning in her heart that made her take up such a hard journey through the deserts. What made her go for it? From I Kings 10:1 we understand that she not only heard about the fame of Solomon but that his fame was in some-way connected to the name of the Lord. The purpose of her visit was to know these two.
When I go to see my doctor I write down all the questions I need to ask him because I do not want to forget any important doubt I have. I imagine this queen doing the same. What would have been her questions? If I were in her shoes the following would have been my first questions: How did you get this wisdom? How can I get this wisdom? What is the name of your God which is so famous? Is this God for Israel alone? Is He superior to my gods? Plus so many other questions that were raging within her. If we let loose our imagination she might have asked about life after death and related questions which are hard questions for anyone.
Let’s try to imagine Solomon’s answers. How did Solomon get wisdom? When Solomon ascended the throne he was a lover of the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David (1 Ki 3:3). God had a special love for Solomon (2 Sam 12:24). So He appeared to him in a dream and asked what he wanted. Solomon’s answer was totally honest and unhypocritically frank: “I am a little child; I do not know how to carry out my duties” (1 Ki 3:7).
Solomon was not enamoured of ascending the throne rather he was intimidated by the titanic responsibility of governing a great nation. “Your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or counted. Therefore give your servant an understanding heart to judge your people, that I may discern between good and evil” (3:7-9).
Solomon’s motive for acquiring wisdom was not name or fame, but that he may not make grave errors in governing the people. He wanted God’s wisdom that the people of God may be blessed. He was aware that the right or wrong decisions he made would affect the people of God. How much we need God’s wisdom that those around us may not be hurt by the decisions we take. God’s heart rejoiced at the way he humbled himself with a desire to serve His people and a pure motive to bless His people. There was nothing selfish about it (3:10). Solomon’s genius is no tantalizing mystery. He went straight to God with straight motives.
What took the back seat in Solomon’s caravan of desires? Long life, riches, life of enemies, honour and the like (3:10). One who zealously pursues wisdom should set his motives right and put such secondary longings behind his back, yes. That is God pleasing. Many who have run after wisdom have fallen by the wayside, sidetracked by other targets in life.
So God gave Solomon a wise and understanding heart (3:12). The Bible does not make a mistake by mentioning the seat of wisdom as the heart. We may think wisdom pertains to the brain. That’s the different kind of wisdom that James mentions as earthly, sensual and demonic. The wisdom from above dwells in the heart. The wise man has heart, feelings, tenderness and love. If foolish-ness proceeds from the heart (Mk 7:22), wisdom also proceeds from the same place. It is a matter of which supersedes what.
So God added to Solomon riches and honour he did not ask for. Truly, when we seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness first, all these things shall be added to us.
This is not the wisdom that we talk about today in terms of intellectual brilliance. It was the wisdom of God. “The wisdom of God was in him to administer justice” (3:28). That’s why Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt (4:29-3 1). East was known for wisemen (Mt 2:1). Solomon was head and shoulder above them. In this era of iPods and iPhones we should humbly bow our heads and accept that there were men wiser than us more than 2000 years ago.
Men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon (4:34). The Queen of Sheba and Hiram king of Tyre were some of them. Both magnified the Lord (2 Chr 9:8; 2:11,12). Who knows how many of these kings and queens became Jehovah worshippers!
The queen came not with the idea of snubbing or trapping Solomon but in utter sincerity to see the depth of his wisdom. Her good heart is seen in the gifts she brought for Solomon. A busy king like Solomon had time to answer “all her questions” and she saw “all the wisdom of Solomon” (1 Ki 10:3,4). Solomon had acquired a reputation as a hotshot who can answer any question. A woman travelling long distance to meet an awesome man, eating his every word—what would have been her response?
You can easily guess her next question. How can I become wise as you? Did Solomon give her a copy of his Proverbs? Atleast he would have told her, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is under-standing,” generating another round of discussion. What do you think they were discussing as Solomon led her to the temple by his entryway by which he went to the house of the Lord? (10:5). About the Holy One ofcourse.
What was Solomon’s longing when he prayed in the temple dedication prayer? “Concerning a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, but has come from a far country for your name’s sake (for they will hear of your great name and your strong hand and your outstretched arm) when he comes and prays toward this temple, hear in heaven Your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by Your name” (1 Ki 8:41-43). His longing was that God’s name should not be within the confines of Israel but reach every foreigner. He found one in the queen of Sheba and was more than eager to clear all the questions of her heart. Did he teach her how to fear God as he teaches us today?
The queen’s heart was leaning gradually towards the Living God from her own handmade gods and goddesses and she might have exclaimed like king Agrippa, “You almost persuade me to put my trust in your God.” Her journey through Solomon’s kingdom was one heart-stopper after another. The exhilarated queen exclaimed, “Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom” (10:8). In other words she was saying, “I wish I resign my job as queen and stand in your presence to hear your wisdom day in and day out.” Of all the exciting things she saw, it was Solomon’s wisdom that struck her dumb, because she had everything else. She could go home and build a palace like his and supply uniform to her servants. But what she wanted was his wisdom from which she was just a heart beat away. “I am not as happy as your servants who hear your wisdom every minute” was her heart cry. If we are honest wisdom-hunters we must start by fearing God and daily digging the Bible to know more about the Holy One. It is this knowledge that makes us wise.
Then she blessed God (10:9). She gave Solomon gold and spices and precious stones by the truck loads. Did his jaw drop? Far from it! “King Solomon gave the Queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, besides what Solomon had given her according to the royal generosity. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants” (10:13). May be she asked for a copy of the Pentateuch and a copy of his writings. All her desires satisfied, all her questions answered, plunged into a sea of joyful reveries she returned with a new revelation of a supreme God. Though many kings from all over the earth visited Solomon, why is it that this queen’s visit is elaborated? May be because of her genuine thirst to experience the wisdom of God.
Of the sons of David two were supersmart. One was Solomon the great and the other was the Greater than Solomon. Behold, a greater than Solomon is here. How much time and labour do we spend to sit at His feet and hear His wisdom? If He loved Solomon, He loves us all the same. If He chose him as a king He has chosen us kings too. If we in all earnestness like a little child confess to Him our inability to do our duties and ask for His wisdom like Solomon, will He deny us? What is God’s promise to us concerning wisdom? “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith with no doubting” (Js 1:4,5). Let’s ask boldly believingly, without a second thought. The best thing about God’s generosity is that He doesn’t find fault with us.
“The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment in this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here” (Mt 12:42).
If Solomon could give the queen according to his royal bounty how much more shall our heavenly Father give us lavishly, wisdom and all that we desire and much more! Do we take advantage of that offer?
“And when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart.” Solomon went beyond the call of duty to answer “all” her questions (10:2,3). All of us have lot of questions for which we don’t find the answer. We are tossed about in the sea of life when we reel like drunken men and are at our wit’s end (Psa 107:27). Our so called wisdom flies out of the window. Here’s someone greater and wiser than Solomon to whom we can speak about all that is in our heart. Let’s walk step for step in the tracks of this queen. Let’s talk, talk, talk to Him and unburden out hearts. He will make everything clear to us.
Have you ever thought, “Why am I so foolish? I wish there is a wisdom pill?” Well, the Queen of Sheba probably felt the same way. She went in search of it to Solomon and was blessed more than she could every think of. Come to the One, greater than Solomon, who is the source of all wisdom and ask Him. When we go to God in dead earnest interceding for wisdom, we may not become instant celebrities like Solomon but we’ll find God enabling us to discern between good and bad and take wise decisions in our personal, family and social life. In a world that is losing its conscience and no longer able to differentiate between right and wrong, it is time we Christians start praying for wisdom to discern between good and evil, right and wrong.
What is Solomon’s formula for getting wisdom? “If you cry out for discernment and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; THEN you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright” (Prov 2:3-7). Two things are implied here: One is—it is paramount that we cry to God. The second is labour. Solomon did both. The Queen of Sheba did both. Let us follow them in the search of wisdom.
“Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding” (Prov 3:13).
Dr. Lilian Stanley
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91 9843511943
lilianstanley@gmail.com
Blessing Youth Mission
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91-416-2242943, +91-416-2248943
hq@bymonline.org
www.bymonline.org
Click here for more options
To buy books written by Dr. Lilian Stanley, kindly reach to us in the follwing address
Blessing Literature Centre
21/11 West Coovam River Road,
Chintadripet,
Chennai 600 002, India.
+91-44-28450411, Mob:8806270699
blc@bymonline.org
