The Visit of Sheba
As
Solomon’s fame spreads, we hear a report that the Queen of Sheba came to visit
Solomon. We don’t know for certain where
Sheba was, but it is commonly assumed that Sheba relates to the Sabeans, who
were a people who lived in southern Arabia (modern day Yemen) and had colonies
on the eastern coast of the horn of Africa (modern day Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somolia
and Djibouti). It was from this area
that Israel had most of its access to gold, frankincense, and sweet cane.
The Queen
of Sheba comes with three agendas.
First, she comes with questions for him to answer because she had heard
of his wisdom. Second, she comes with a
host of goods so that she can convince Solomon to demonstrate his wealth to her. Third, we can assume that she came to
establish a trading route with the Hebrew people as Solomon gave to her what
she asked. The Queen’s visit was personal,
political, and economical. How often do
these circles relate with one another!
We know
that the visit is successful. Solomon’s
overall wealth increases – he is given about 4 ½ tons of gold among other
things. Solomon is able to answer all of
her questions. The Queen of Sheba is
taken with all that Solomon has created within Jerusalem. She tells Solomon that her visit has
surpassed what she had been told.
Of all
the success, though, I think that there are hints of coming trouble on the
horizon. We can read the Queen’s praise
of God. However, the queen’s praise
reads much like Hiram’s praise in 2 Chronicles 2. Certainly each of these leaders takes the
time to praise God and talk about how great God is for having blessed the
Hebrew people so greatly. But that is about
the extent of what happens. The Queen of
Sheba is impressed by God, but we have no indication that this state of being
impressed translated into any sort of life alteration.
I think
that this is a point that shouldn’t be overlooked. So often we want to impress other people with
“God stuff.” We build ornate structures. We get the highest quality web-sites and buy
the most up-to-date church programs. We
get flashy and think that our bling will impress. But the reality is that when this is where we
put our attention, we get results like we see here. We hear people talk about how great God must
be but don’t actually see any life transformation.
Instead,
we need to learn how to allow God to use our lives – not our stuff – to transform
those around us. It is not our trappings
that bring people into relationship with God.
Rather, it is our relationship with God that brings others into
relationship with Him. The things of
this world are fleeting. What people
truly want is that which cannot be lost once it is gained.
Trappings
We hear
that in one year Solomon made 666 talents – or about 25 tons – of gold. Now, I can’t help but pause at the number
that is listed here. Most people who are
familiar with God also know that the number 666 is a number that is usually
associated with Satan and his antichrists.
It is a number that is used to reference the imperfection next to God,
whose number is 777. Could the
chronicler be saying here that Solomon’s great wealth was part of why the
downfall of the kingdom occurred? Could the chronicler be indicating here that
while Solomon’s prosperity may have been from God that he did not use it in a
godly means?
Furthermore,
look at how Solomon uses the wealth. He
adorns his own homes. He makes himself a
golden throne. He makes it so that the
process of eating and drinking is done upon gold. In fact, gold is so common in Solomon’s
kingdom that silver became as though it was worthless. This is how splendid Solomon’s wealth
happened to be.
We also
hear about all of the horses, horsemen, and chariots that Solomon
acquired. I’ve been vocal about this
point since we started to talk about Solomon.
It isn’t that there isn’t anything wrong with horses – many of God’s
messengers in many Old and New Testament visions come riding horses. What God is saying here through the
chronicler is that Solomon began to depend upon his own strength and lean upon
his own power. As Solomon prospered, his
life became more and more about him and his possessions than it was about his
relationship with God.
I find it
interesting that among the record of Solomon’s deeds we don’t hear about the
care of orphans and widows. We don’t
hear about generosity. We don’t hear
hospitality, compassion, or any of the other attributes that God desires. The more the story of Solomon continues, the
more the story becomes about him, his reputation, his wealth, and his
achievements. The more we read the story
of Solomon, the more Solomon is pushed to be the central figure of the
story. I think that is worth noting.
Solomon’s Death
After
forty years of reign, Solomon died. Like
his father before him, who also reigned for forty years, Solomon was laid to
rest with his father. His son takes over
in Solomon’s place. All that had been built
under David and Solomon is now primed to be broken piece by piece as the people
fall away from God.
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