THE QUEEN OF SHEBA

By Shirley Wiggins

“…, she was overwhelmed.” 2 Chronicles 9:4b (NIV).

Scripture references:  1 Kings 10:1-13;  2 Chronicles 9: 1-12; Matthew 12: 42 (vv38-45); Luke 11:31 (vv29-32; 24-26); and  2 Peter 2:20.

One day, as I was driving to a nearby town to meet my daughter for lunch, I heard Dr. Vernon McGee’s sermon on the radio.  He was speaking about the Queen of Sheba.

His words grabbed my attention, and I couldn’t wait to look into the Scriptures with the idea that this would make a good Bible study.  Two things immediately stuck in my mind then, and others have developed since, as later I hastily perused the Scriptures in anticipation of a deep and thorough study. 

1)       She had a lot of questions in her heart and mind, and when she asked them of him, King Solomon told her everything God revealed to him.  Neither God nor Solomon withheld truth:  God revealed ALL to Solomon, who, in turn, told ALL he’d been given to the Queen, withholding nothing;

 

2)      How far this woman traveled to get answers to her heart-questions;

3)      The Source to whom the Queen sought out at much time, trouble, and expense to herself; and the sources people of today look to for answers to our hearts’  issues;

4)      I can’t help but wonder:  how deep are our heart’s probing questions?  Are we only concerned with who wins next week’s American Idol contest, or are we genuinely concerned about the deep and life-altering events of today?

5)      Compare what it was that overwhelmed the Queen of Sheba with what overwhelms women (men, boys and girls) today.  Oh, Lord, may we be overwhelmed with those matters which overwhelmed the Queen of Sheba!  Amen.

Other considerations in my mind were, and are, how lax and lazy our generation seems to be concerning anything to do with God and His Word as compared with the Queen’s arduous trip, which Dr. McGee said could have taken several months. 

Even today, those who seek God seem to have as their priority a quick and easy answer – not willing to dig out what God has preserved in the Bible for our knowledge and for our good, and not willing to wait long even for the proverbial quick and easy answer.

I am thankful for all of the insight God has given to so many great men and women who devoted their lives to relationship with Him, and the study of His word.  Their books are filled with so much information about the Bible, and about the people of the Bible and the culture of the world. 

What a wealth of resources available to those who desire in-depth studies of God’s Word.   People like Matthew Henry, A. W. Tozer, Charles H. Spurgeon, Hannah Whitall Smith, Oswald Chambers, Andrew Murray, and many, many more.

I love to pull out their commentaries and books and glean from their God-given wisdom about Him and His word.  God’s great Wisdom is available to any person who will invest their time and energies in seeking His face through His Word!¹

I was intrigued that day when I ran across the statement in 2 Chronicles 9:4b (NIV), referring to the reaction of the Queen of Sheba when she met King Solomon and saw His way of life:    “… she was overwhelmed.”  :     “…there was no more spirit in her.”(Amplified Bible and NKJV.)  “… she was breathless.” (NASB.)   

The reason for my excitement at discovering her emotional response was two-fold:

1)      My recent journal writings entitled, Whelmed Over (Almost Overwhelmed) were about  my own personal feelings of having no spirit left within me; and my resulting forays into the dictionary and the Thesaurus to get a deeper and clearer understanding of just what the term “overwhelmed” is conveying about this human experience in today’s world ; and

2)      Learning that other women were feeling equally as “overwhelmed” as I.  During lunch that day, my daughter had shared with me that she felt “overwhelmed;”  my granddaughter, in a conversation earlier in the week , had used the word, “overwhelmed,” to express her feelings resulting from a current situation in her life; and, lastly, on my drive home that day, my neighbor had mentioned in a telephone conversation how  “overwhelmed”  her daughter was feeling as a result of a series of things taking place in her life.

It seemed then, and now, that it is not coincidental that so many women are feeling overwhelmed.  I also believe that just as many young girls and boys, and men, are likewise experiencing some of these same feelings of being “overwhelmed.”

 I was reminded again that when I am dealing with something that affects me so deeply as to distress me, very likely there are many others dealing with life issues which leave them feeling distressed and overwhelmed.

And, most importantly, I am reminded that whatever distresses people also distresses Jesus Himself.  Whenever any of us are overwhelmed with the distresses of life, Jesus Christ is the One to Whom we may turn for relief, and peace. 

He is the One who can and will lift us up and deliver us from all our distresses.  Psalm 107 is an interesting and revealing account of the wonders of God’s love and forgiveness and mercy toward people whose own sins brought them to reside at a place called, in one Bible translation, “Wits’ End.”

It is noteworthy that the Queen of Sheba was overwhelmed at King Solomon’s wisdom, wealth, and relationship with the Lord.  It was to the king’s God that she ultimately paid verbal tribute:

“Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on His throne as king to rule for the LORD your God.  Because of the love of your God for Israel and His desire to uphold them forever, He has made you king over them to maintain justice and righteousness.”  2 Chronicles 9:8.

When I researched the Scriptures referenced at the beginning of this piece, the things I read inspired me, motivated me, and caused me great concern.

The Queen had heard very great things about King Solomon concerning his wisdom, his wealth, and his relationship with the Lord.  She made that long and arduous trip for the purpose of ‘testing’ this king to see if all she had heard could possibly be true.

“She said to the king, ‘The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true.  But I did not believe what they said until I came and saw with my own eyes.  Indeed, not even half the greatness of your wisdom was told me; you have far exceeded the report I heard.”  2 Chronicles 9:5-6.

The account of the journey taken by this majestic queen to know the certainty of all she had heard is filled with meaning for people today.  Such great reports about King Solomon had reached her country, things so great that she was unable to believe them unless she saw them for herself.  Her desire for truth was so great that she was willing to journey "to the ends of the earth" to know the certainty of what she had been told by others.

 There is an important and timely warning for our generation today, as noted in the New Testament, of what Jesus said about this Queen:  “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 something greater than Solomon is here.”     Matthew 12:42.

One greater than Solomon has come!  The apostle Paul said we may have the very mind of Christ! 

Christ Jesus said His Holy Spirit will live in believers and will teach us all things. (See John chapters 14-17.)  Jesus promised that … “the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”   John 14:26-27.  See also 1 Corinthians 2:6-16.

Jesus died on the Cross, was resurrected from the dead, ascended back into heaven. He died and rose again that mankind could be reconciled to holy God through the forgiveness of their sins by placing their faith in Him.¹

What a fortunate people we are!  We may well be the generation still living when Jesus makes His triumphant return to earth to gather His people to Himself!

We need not be deceived by false teachings or teachers.  We must not rely on what we hear from others.  We must go to the true Source, no matter what it costs us in terms of time, expense, trouble or inconvenience, in order to know Truth for ourselves. 

We have the opportunity and the responsibility of seeking the Truth for ourselves, and encouraging others to do the same.  Truth matters.

Come and see for yourself, this great God and King of Kings and Lord of Lords! 

Open His treasure Book and go exploring in the study of His reliable and faithful Word.  Begin, or joyfully continue on in, your own Journey of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Jennifer Rothschild is a beautiful example of the grace and beauty of the Lord  Jesus Christ’s indwelling power in a human life.  One of her songs is entitled, “Hear the Journey Call.”  Let me leave you with the words to her song:

Hear the journey call, hear the journey plead;

It beckons me to live beyond belief, 
 

It calls me to a place, whispering His grace.

I will walk the path He leads me on,

‘cause I’ve heard the journey call…”

He’s calling your name!  Can you hear Him?  Open His Word and hear Him!

 

 

¹ Reconciliation to God requires that you must first have a relationship with Christ.

John 3:16 says:  “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord of your life, you are encouraged to pray a simple prayer confessing your sin and asking Jesus to cleanse you of that sin.  As you repent and turn from your sin to Christ, and “confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9.)

If you have just prayed to receive Christ, tell someone!  And, go to church this coming Sunday!