Devotional Thoughts about 1 Kings 10:1-13 and Matthew 12:38-42
Many people don’t believe the Queen of Sheba was a real person, treating her and her journey to Israel as a myth (as the story does contain elements common to myths such as dizzying wealth and over-the-top generosity). Jesus obviously believed she existed and that her story was true.
Solomon, the many-gifted king at the height of Israel's glory, is one of many types of Christ in the Old Testament. Signifying God’s wisdom in the earth, he points toward Jesus, the ultimate embodiment of that wisdom.
And the Queen of Sheba, another head of state but one who doesn’t happen to be Jewish, is drawn from afar by Solomon’s reputation.
We find echoes of this in the wise men’s visit to Jesus as a child (Matthew 2,1-12) and the parable of the Pearl of Great Price (Matthew 13:45,46). To all of the seekers, the goal was well worth what it cost in travel and money.
Then there’s Jesus’ own commentary on the Queen of Sheba (Matthew 12:42): He held her up as someone who'd come from “the uttermost parts of the earth” in pursuit of wisdom. Then He announced that the "greater" person they'd awaited had come, but the Jews didn’t believe.
Lord, please give me faith to grasp the truths in your Word and to pass them on.
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