Royal Inquirer, Royal Gifts

1 Kings 10:4-10 (Contemporary English Version) The Queen was amazed at Solomon's wisdom. She was breathless when she saw his palace, the food on his table, his officials, his servants in their uniforms, the people who served his food, and the sacrifices he offered at the LORD'S temple. ⁶She said: Solomon, in my own country I had heard about your wisdom and all you've done.

⁷But I didn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes! And there's so much I didn't hear about. You are wiser and richer than I was told. ⁸Your wives and officials are lucky to be here where they can listen to the wise things you say.

⁹I praise the LORD your God. He is pleased with you and has made you king of Israel. The LORD loves Israel, so he has given them a king who will rule fairly and honestly.

¹⁰The Queen of Sheba gave Solomon almost five tons of gold, many jewels, and more spices than anyone had ever brought into Israel.
The queen was from Sheba, a kingdom located in the Saudi Arabia and Yemen.¹ Sheba was a trading nation.² A modern comparison might be Hong Kong. The country profited from sea trade from India and Africa.³ Ancient authors speak of Seba’s wood, precious stones, silver and gold.⁴ Solomon’s ships might have threatened Sheba’s trade position.⁵ These factors give us the impression the queen’s visit was trade mission.

We do not know what questions the queen asked. The questions may have been riddles.⁶ There is some support for that interpretation in Hebrew. The Hebrew word used can mean riddles.⁷ These questions might have tested general like knowledge.⁸ Being able to solve riddles was considered to be the sign of a wise person.⁹

We see something interesting. The queen is impressed with Solomon’s wealth, his palace and wisdom. It is the queen who praises God, not Solomon.¹⁰ This was mega impressed, extreme impressed!

Solomon was blessed. No doubt about it. Unfortunately, he was not blessed with a grateful heart. There are times when the people of God take their blessings for granted. Visitors to our spiritual kingdom to see how blessed we are. But we are slow to see that. We act a wee bit spoiled. Not the first time Kings’ kids have acted spoiled. We can get so hung up on the frustrations of being part of a queer congregation that we lose sight of the wonderful blessings God has given us.

Verse 5. The King James Version reads, ”there was no more spirit in her.” The experience of seeing Solomon’s wealth and meeting him might have left the queen breathless.¹¹ That might mean the queen was at a loss for words.¹² The respected commentator Adam Clarke goes beyond that. He feels the queen was so astonished and overwhelmed she fainted.¹³ Another possible meaning is that she was won over. No longer was she a competitor, but an admirer.¹⁴ This is the way things can be in any grace-filled church. People walking in the door of a queer church can be astonished and overwhelmed by the grace they see God has given us!

Verse 10. Diplomatic protocol held that a visiting monarch would bring expensive gifts.¹⁵ And did the queen ever bring expensive gifts. The Word tells us she brought jewels, species and gold. Lots of gold. Five tons of gold. What a gift.

Anybody with five tons of gold for me does not need to wait until Christmas to give me the gift. Just any time is fine by me! No need to wait for a special occasion.

That brings us to the purpose behind selecting this text. The story about the Queen of Sheba and Solomon is at Christmas?

This is the season of gifts. Presents are on the minds of the kids - continually on their minds. Wondering what they will get. Enjoying what they got. Fighting over what they got. And gifts are on the minds of parents. Searching for the perfect present. Wondering how they will pay for the gifts. Wishing they had not purchased presents the kids will fight over.

The season of gifts is a good time to think about Royal Gifts.

Genesis 22:8 (Contemporary English Version) "My son," Abraham answered, "God will provide the lamb."

John 3:16-18 (King James Version) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Jesus crucified was the lamb God provided, not just for Abraham and Isaac’s sins, but for my sins, for your sins. He is the sacrificial lamb. Jesus is God’s gift to us. And through Jesus, we have eternal life. This gift is a special gift, because the gift was:

• Prepared and planned. Jesus was not a last minute purchase. Salvation was not the last gift in the store, the gift nobody else wants and you got, because its all that is left. The gift of eternal life, of salvation was planned from the beginning. Jesus Christ was a prepared gift.¹⁶

Ephesians 1:4 (Contemporary English Version) Before the world was created, God had Christ choose us to live with him and to be his holy and innocent and loving people.

Jesus was not an impulse gift, too expensive for the budget. Salvation was no accident. It was not a last minute sentimental purchase, a purchase later, after the credit card bill arrives, to be regretted.

Jesus is a special gift, because Jesus is:

• The Personal Gift.¹⁷ Jesus was sinless. He was literally perfect, free from flaw, free from sin and imperfection. That is what made Him the offering that makes right your sins, that brings you back into fellowship with God, just as if you had never made a mistake, had never fallen, had never sinned.

The gift was designed for you, for your needs, not for somebody else, for you. Salvation is a designer gift, not a generic gift. Because Jesus is the personal gift, just for you, He is the perfect gift.

You know what one size fits all clothing means? It means one size fits everybody but you. Jesus, salvation fits everybody, perfectly.¹⁸ There is no need to trade the Christ for a better gift, for something that is the right size, for something that is the right color.

The Messiah is a good gift, because:

• Salvation’s Practical. The Messiah was not a cute, useless trinket. He is a gift of lasting value!

There is a reason for the gift. The gift works. Eternal life, through Jesus is a gift you can use and enjoy every day. Jesus is the gift of life, a gift that brings joy, comfort, hope and peace. Salvation changes us, to the very core. It also changes those with whom we come in contact.

The story of the queen of Sheba and Solomon illustrates this. The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon. His fame attracted her. She came. She inquired.¹⁹ When she heard and saw the what the Lord did for Solomon and for the children of Isreal, she was humbled.²⁰ ”There was no more spirit in her.”²¹ She confessed what she had seen, testified of the happiness of Solomon's servants and praised the Lord. And she left satisfied.²² Verse 11. Solomon “gave her everything else she wanted.”

When God touches our lives, people hear about it. They come to see for themselves. They ask questions. The answers, the life we live humbles them. They testify of what they see, of the happiness, the peace in our lives and the lives of those around us. And when the Lord touches them, they leve with everything they wanted . The deepest, secret longings of their hearts are met, because the Lord touches their hearts.

Jesus is a precious gift, because He is a:

Royal Gift. Jesus is a monarch, a ruler, a king, the reigning Christ. And in royal tradition, this visiting king brought gifts with Him. The gifts of value the Christ brings to us are riches and wisdom. Those gifts go together.

The story of the queen of Sheba and Solomon illustrates this. E.W. Bullinger wrote a study Bible. In the study Bible, Bullinger identifies the literary structure of stories in the Bible. The literary pattern in this story and in the story that comes before it is - riches-wisdom, riches-wisdom.²³ Wisdom and riches are linked. Heavenly wisdom, the wisdom God gives us, is always linked to heavenly riches.

As a teacher, I hate to say this. When taking courses, it was a source of comfort to know that some of my professors had PhDs. That gave me a little hope. If they could be that stupid and have a PhD, there was hope for me. Perhaps, I could pass the course I was taking. Some very stupid people have a lot of education. I know idiots who have advanced degrees. But you are different. In the Christ, you are very different.

You are wise. God gave you wisdom you cannot get from high school, from an apprenticeship, from a trade school, from university, even from a Ph.D. He gave you His Word. And He gave you Jesus. That makes you wise beyond your years, wise beyond my years, wise beyond the years of Methuselah. That's wiser than 969 years of living!

The wisdom God gave you makes you rich. You have been given a gift worth far more than the five tons of God the queen of Sheba gave Solomon. The Lord gave you eternal life. You are rich beyond the greatest measure. The richest man in the world, on his death bed, would be happy to trade all of his wealth for what you have, life. You are rich, because of God.

Conclusion:

God made you rich. He gave you wisdom. And abilities. You are no longer repulsive, challenged, disabled, handicapped, retarded, slow, unable.

But God is not through with you. He is making you into an ambassador. An ambassador to your family, to your neighborhood, to the city, to the world. And He is bringing people to you. Every day, He leads people to you, people who He will help understand the source of your wealth and wisdom.

Prayer:

Blessed are You Lord. As you continue to do things in our lives, do things in the lives of those around us. Give us the courage to share Jesus with all of those you bring to us, for they are visitors waiting to be made into Heavenly Royalty, your sons and daughters. Amen.

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