Journey To Wisdom

Journey to Wisdom

Queen Of Sheba

Read: 1 Kings 10:1-9

The queen of Sheba was hungry for wisdom. She had probably often heard that Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived. She had probably also heard that this king attributed his immense wisdom and wealth to his God, Yahweh. Although it meant a long, arduous journey, the queen determined to see for herself whether these reports were true. During the many weeks she spent on camelback, perhaps the queen of Sheba mentally prepared the questions she would ask King Solomon. Could his wisdom be as great as people said, or had the reports been exaggerated? She may have hoped rather than believed that she wouldn’t be disappointed. Either way, she would find out.

Arriving in Jerusalem, the queen put off examining the magnificent Temple and palace until she had first satisfied her curiosity about Solomon. What a conversation they must have had. The queen asked all the questions that were on her mind, and Solomon answered every one. To her amazement, she found that nothing was too hard for him to explain. The queen of Sheba realized that the reports about Solomon had minimized his wisdom rather than exaggerated it.

Centuries after this remarkable visit, Jesus commended the queen of Sheba for her willingness to travel so far to encounter Solomon’s wisdom (see Matthew 12:42). He contrasted her with the Pharisees and other Jews who refused to listen to him even though he was right there with them. Too often, we go searching for wisdom in some source other than God even though we have access to his written Word. God wants us to share all the questions on our minds with him and then prayerfully study his Word to gain understanding and insight. We may not immediately find all the answers we want, but the search will lead us to the wisdom that we need.

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

James 1:5