Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

Seeking Sheba

“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.”

Do you like tongue twisters?  I’ve made tongue twisters out of my thoughts, from one of the most enduring and endearing stories in the Bible – Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. 

I thought and thought about why God tells us this brief story from the life of Solomon in 1 Kings 10:1-13.  Out of the 31,103 verses in the Bible, why is this story here?  What can the Queen of Sheba teach the Christian today?

Her name may have been Makada, which is a variation of the Sabeian name for queen.  I’m going to call her Sheba.  She ruled the Kingdom of Saba, which today is much of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and across the Red Sea to Ethiopia.  Her kingdom was a southern neighbor to the Kingdom of Israel.  In the NT she is called – Matt. 12:42 and Luke 11:31 – the Queen of the South. 

Sheba was a seeker.  What was she seeking for? 

Read the 1 Kings text and enjoy some major tongue twisters to go along with your reading:

Sheba Sought Solomon’s Soundness vs. 1-3

Sheba Saw Solomon’s Success vs. 4-9

And Sheba Secured Solomon’s Solidarity vs. 10-13

Seekers, like Sheba, are everywhere.  We as Christians, like Solomon, must be prepared to give them what they are looking for.  There are approximately 168,000 copies of the Bible sold or given away every day.   It’s very likely that we’ll run into someone who has just read the Bible, is reading the Bible or is about to read the Bible. 

So many seekers just don’t know the truth.  But they seek.  Sheba was a seeker.  Jesus says something very telling about her and His generation and our generation.  Jesus points out, Luke 11:31 (NKJV)  “The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.”

Why do we have the 13 verses in 1 Kings?  To judge us here today.  Sheba was a seeker, she found what she was looking for, and her actions condemn those of our generation who have someone better than Solomon to get their answers from – Jesus.  Sometimes lives get twisted, but understand, Jesus and the good news of His death, burial & resurrection can be obeyed.

There are lots of Sheba’s.  Lots of seekers. Maybe someone you know. Maybe one of them is you?  Don’t get twisted.

Chad Loveless