TODAYS BIBLE READING:
 

We read of the Queen of Sheba in 1 Kings 10. There are aspects of her that resemble the believer in Christ. We read in 10:1, "Now when the Queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions." We see a woman in pride with many questions to test King Solomon. In 10:5, after Solomon revealed his wisdom to her, it says , "there was no more spirit in her". She goes on to say in 10:7, "However I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard."

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In Matthew 12:42 when challenged by the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus says, "The queen of the south will rise up in the judgement with 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". Like the Queen of Sheba, who recognized her own poverty in light of Solomon and had no more spirit, we are told by Jesus in Matthew 5:3," Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs, is the kingdom of heaven". The starting point for our walk with Christ is to lose our pride and realize our poverty in light of Him. Lastly, the Queen of Sheba had to see with her own eyes. But Jesus tells us, in John 20:29, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." In fact, faith is defined for us in Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

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We live in a time and in a nation, like the times of Sodom and Gomorrah, where not only is sin rampant, but rather than feeling any shame for sin people are prideful about their sin, and the world is told to tolerate and accept it. Despite this, most people have no desire to seek Christ, because they feel they are pretty good. Solomon in his wisdom in his wonderful prayer in 1 Kings 8 primarily prayed for God to hear their prayers when they recognized their sin and repented. Likewise, may we all pray for our friends, family, etc. to repent and seek Christ. We trust in One much greater than Solomon.