Sermon Tone Analysis

What does the Bible tell us about seeking wisdom?

How is the account of the queen of Sheba’s visit to Israel instructive in this regard?

1 Kings 10:1-9

Jesus says of the queen of Sheba that:

More on this later.

The point for now is the extent to which this woman sought after wisdom.

She was not content to kick back in her palace down south in Sheba, being fed grapes by her servants, surrounded by her vast quantities riches and enjoying every luxury an ancient Near East queen could dream of.

No, she was prompted to undertake this road trip because she had to have come to some sort of realization that life was more than the stuff she possessed, the status she enjoyed, the esteem of the people, the glittery-ness of the crown on her head.

I dare say that nothing short of a work of God’s Spirit can stir the human heart in this way.

Let her quest for wisdom be instructive to us.

Are we content to dwell in Sheba, with all of our luxuries and amusements?

Is wisdom something valuable enough to us to put the smartphone down for a little while to seek after it?

Are we willing to journey to the ends of the earth to discover treasure of immeasureable worth?

How about a journey to the bookshelf at the other end of the room?

Solomon himself writes in Proverbs:

As a parent, I can relate to the degree to which Solomon pleads with his son in the book of Proverbs to seek after wisdom.

Can’t you hear the urgency in his voice as he instructs the youth?

“Son, get wisdom!

It’s more valuable than anything else out there.

Listen to my words!

I’m trying to show you something important.

Take those Airpods out of your ears and listen closely.

Take your eyes off that screen and put them on the pages of this Book.”

He’ll understand one day, I pray.

She’ll make the faith her own, even if it doesn’t look like it right now.

So we cannot stop imparting wisdom.

But note this: not all fatherly advice qualifies as wisdom.

And mother doesn’t know best unless her knowledge is based on the word of God.

So let this encourage you to seek wisdom all the more.

As Charles Spurgeon once said playing off Proverbs 22:6:

“Train up a child in the way he should go, but be sure you go that way yourself.”

With that said, we return to our passage:

1 Kings 10:1

1 Kings 10:1 (CSB)

The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s fame connected with the name of the Lord and came to test him with difficult questions.

Solomon had become quite famous for his superlative wisdom and wealth.

The nations must have been abuzz with talk of this king of Israel, David’s son: “Have you heard about Solomon?

They say his wisdom is quite impressive.

Did you hear about that case brought before him?

Two women were arguing over a baby, and he said ‘Cut the baby in half!’ Can you believe that?

Cut the baby in half!? Well, the one lady says, ‘Go ahead and cut him’.

The other one tells him, ‘Let her have the baby; just don’t kill him!’

So Solomon gives the baby to the one that said not to kill the baby.

Pretty clever, huh?”

But also what must have been of interest to people is the all fancy stuff he had.

The size of his palace.

The number of servants in his employ.

All the silver and gold he had, Scrooge McDuck doggy-paddling through an ocean of money.

We get some of the details on that in the second half of 1 Kings 10:

Note especially verse 24.

“The whole world wanted an audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom that God had put in his heart.”

Sandwiched within the descriptions of wealth and prosperity is the real jewel: the wisdom in his heart, which was wisdom that came from his God.

Going back to the queen of Sheba, she was interested in Solomon’s fame as it pertained to the name of the LORD.

The thing about fame is that the attention usually goes to the famous person: the Oscar-winning actor, the viral Youtuber, the Super Bowl MVP.

Sure, the acceptance speech might include a vague reference to God or ‘the man upstairs’ (whatever that means), or the touchdown dance might be followed up with a solemn point skyward (as we anoint a new Christian sports hero).

But when it comes down to it, the people are buying the jerseys and not Bibles.

That’s what’s different about Solomon’s fame: it pointed people to God.

Who was this God who has made the king so ridiculously wealthy and wise?

The queen of Sheba wanted to find out about that God.

Now, Christian, your platform may never be as large as Solomon’s was.

I doubt I’ll have foreign royalty knocking on my door anytime soon.

However, God has given each one of us a sphere of influence.

For some, that sphere is a marble; for others, maybe it’s beachball-sized.

Regardless, the goal is to point these people to Christ.

The number of likes or follows or subscribers is tremendously less important than whether God receives the glory:

Matthew 5:16 (CSB)

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

So the queen of Sheba made the trek to Israel to hear from Solomon.

And she came equipped with ‘difficult questions’ aimed to test the wisdom of a wise king who has this obvious connection with a wise God.

Can he really be as wise as everyone is saying he is?

Is there really a God who is able to give such great wisdom to man?

It isn’t clear what type of questions were posed to Solomon.

Perhaps she had prepared a series of riddles designed to stump him.

Maybe she wanted answers regarding political or economical situations she dealt with, information which would no doubt be practical for a ruler such as she was.

Or could it be that she, knowing of his relationship with the LORD, had questions of the philosophical or theological nature?

You know, the big life questions.

The kind children ask… and adults avoid.

Because when you ponder this life ‘under the sun’ and have no concept of our God in heaven, you start to sound a little bit like, well, Solomon ironically:

Ecclesiastes 1:1–11 (CSB)

The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem.

“Absolute futility,” says the Teacher.

“Absolute futility.

Everything is futile.”

What does a person gain for all his efforts

that he labors at under the sun?

A generation goes and a generation comes,

but the earth remains forever.

The sun rises and the sun sets;

panting, it hurries back to the place

where it rises.

Gusting to the south,

turning to the north,

turning, turning, goes the wind,

and the wind returns in its cycles.

All the streams flow to the sea,

yet the sea is never full;

to the place where the streams flow,

there they flow again.

All things are wearisome,

more than anyone can say.