When the queen of
She said to the king, “The report
I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. But
I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed,
not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the
report I heard. How happy your men must be! How happy your officials, who
continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! Praise be to the LORD your
God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of
When I
traveled to
The Queen of Sheba was also willing to make a very long journey of over 1000 miles one way in order to meet Solomon. She didn’t know if it would be worth the trip or not when she went. She did when she returned. What impresses us on this Epiphany Sunday is how the LORD used Solomon’s wisdom to draw this Gentile from miles away to come and learn of the LORD. We celebrate that God doesn’t just want Jews to be saved; He wants all people to be saved. The Queen of Sheba shows us this very clearly.
The LORD Is Purposely Attractive
I. He attracts through a variety of things
In some ways this story of the
Queen of Sheba is a precursor for what would happen to the Wise Men when Jesus
was born. Isaiah predicted in Isaiah 60:6 Herds of camels will cover your land, young
camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and
incense and proclaiming the praise of the LORD. So it is thought that the Wise Men may have
come from Sheba; the same place that the Queen came from. They both were drawn to Israel, but by
different things. The wise men were
attracted by a peculiar star that temporarily appeared in the sky combined with
some predictions they somehow heard about; perhaps even from Daniel. Somehow they connected it to the birth of the
Christ child. The Queen was attracted by
word of mouth; fantastic things which people were telling her about Solomon’s
wealth and wisdom. In both cases the
LORD used different things to draw them to His wisdom.
Most of us have heard the story of how Solomon received his wisdom. The LORD appeared to him at night in a dream and offered to give him anything he asked for. Solomon asked for wisdom. The LORD approved of his request, and decided to give him riches as well. All people who heard about Solomon; whether believers or not; would have heard about this man with a God-like wisdom; who was average before but in the blink of an eye and the sleep of a night became wiser than any man on earth. The stories spread throughout the world. The Queen of Sheba was tired of hearing the stories; she wanted to find out for herself whether the stories were true. Indeed, she was probably tired of everyone bragging on the magnificence of Solomon in comparison with her. The LORD used these stories to draw her to the Promised Land and the throne of Solomon. This is how the LORD often times brought people into His kingdom; by attracting them through the Word and practice of the Israelites.
The New Testament seems to make a shift, where Jesus says to His disciples in Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” If you are like me, we tend to feel guilty because we don’t seem to be going anywhere or doing anything in order to make disciples of anyone; to let them know who the LORD really is. The only place we go is to work and school and home; and we don’t feel like we can say anything there. We don’t have an aggressive outreach program. We know some of our own friends and neighbors are surely without Christ and therefore headed for hell; but we aren’t doing anything to reach out to them. We know that Jesus died for them and paid for their salvation; yet we do nothing to tell them about their sin and their need for salvation. We feel as if we are attributing to their damnation; and in some senses we are. Like the priest and the Levite who passed by on the other side of the street; we ignore their dreadful situation. Just this past week I had a gentleman who told me how he was, “trying to do his best.” I wanted to tell him that his best wasn’t enough, how he can earn nothing with his best. The best I gave was a quick reference to Christ five minutes later. I hope you do better.
We may try to console ourselves
with the fact that we are giving our money to missions; one goal of our budget
at church is to send ten percent of our income to missions in the
Our fear and our sin doesn’t keep
God from doing His job though. If God
could draw the Queen of Sheba to go over a thousand miles to meet Solomon, then
perhaps He can reach through to our neighbors in spite of us as well. God’s Word talks about what He does in spite
of us: Acts 17:26-27 From one man he made every nation of men, that they
should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and
the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek
him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each
one of us. God has uniquely designed
each person’s life so that he or she would know that God lives and search for
Him; those who live right next to you and even those who grow up in
Think about this also. . . What was
it that attracted the Queen of Sheba to
It is the same LORD who calls on
you to do the same with what you have within your own little kingdom in life.
In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount He said in Matthew 5:14-16, “You are the light
of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp
and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light
to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men,
that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” You aren’t wanting to attract people to you
and have everyone say, “look at you”; but you are wanting to attract people to
your Father in heaven who gave you your light.
Paul told the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians
Knocking on someone’s door for a survey or to invite them to church might absolutely terrify you. You might be terrible at confronting people with their sins and their need for a Savior. But that doesn’t mean that you don’t have something positive to show people; something positive to offer them. I never knock on our neighbors’ doors and invite them to church. I should. Yet ironically I find it interesting what happened one day. In spite of my lack of efforts, one of my neighbors came to church here to talk about the problems she was having because her mother died. I had never talked to her before. Yet she saw how I played with my children in the yard and it attracted her because of the way I conducted myself as a father in her eyes. (Thankfully, she didn’t see me in my lesser moments!) I didn’t go out to the lot to put on a show for her. I did it to be with my kids. Nonetheless, I can see how the LORD drew her here through as simple of an activity as playing football in an open lot. People notice you. This has happened with several neighbors. They see how you live even in the simplest of circumstances and with the most basic of things. You want to let your light shine in them. Think about whether you are being attractive to Jesus or not.
One man on the radio especially has impressed me with his ability to work with finances. He has used his gift to work with millions of people and get them out of debt. While working with his gifts he openly confesses Christ as His Prince of Peace. You know his name? Dave Ramsey. He has used his skills to reach out to people in financial trouble; which includes a huge group and a wide variety of people. There is something to be said for this. It is like the shoemaker who was asked what he did for a living. He told people something like, “I am a Christian. I make shoes in order to make some income.” Paul told Titus in Titus 2:9-10, “Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.” You want your classmates to see the way you act at school and say, “Wow, she sure is happy and confident in her life. How does she keep such an attitude?” Solomon had no idea that his good stewardship within his kingdom would attract the Queen of Sheba; but it did.
II. He attracts through the Word
The Queen of Sheba didn’t just
believe everything she heard. She wanted
to see it for herself. When the queen
of
First of all, we must commend the thirst of the Queen for wisdom. Jesus Himself said, Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Solomon also writes in Proverbs 2:1-6
My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying
your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for
understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for
hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the
knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge
and understanding.
This is why quite frankly it disappoints me to see some of you continually missing the Bible classes that are offered. The Queen of Sheba was willing to travel over a thousand miles to find answers; answers that we have written in God’s Word! Solomon who was given wisdom from God tells us to look for it as for silver and to seek for it as for hidden treasure. Seek for it from the mouth of the LORD; from the Word of the LORD. You have called me to be your teacher and your guide into God’s Word. This Word is to be worth far more than silver or gold. It gives eternity, holiness, and forgiveness to you in Christ. What effort are you making to grow in it?
Second of all, look at yourself
from Solomon’s point of view. You have
been taught the hidden mysteries of life and salvation. You know that the world is born under the
condemnation of sin. You know where to
find God; in the manger and at the cross.
You know what God did for the world; He died and rose from the
dead. You know that salvation is not
something you have to earn by improving your life; you know that Jesus lived the
perfect life for you and died for your failures. Your eyes have been opened to see who Jesus
is and what He has done for the world. But
the world doesn’t know Him! Many
professing Christians don’t really even seem to know Him! But you have freedom on the tip of your
tongue. 1 Peter
The queen couldn’t help but be
impressed with Solomon’s answers and his life.
When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace
he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the
attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he
made at the temple of the LORD, she was overwhelmed. (literally it took her breath away!) She
said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements
and your wisdom is true. But I did not believe these things until I came and
saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth
you have far exceeded the report I heard. How happy your men must be! How happy
your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! Praise
be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne
of
Note that final statement. Do not forget it. One greater than Solomon is here. If Solomon was thought of as wise; Jesus is
wiser. If Solomon’s ability to manage and
make his kingdom rich and beautiful was great; Jesus’ ability is greater. But think of the contrast between the
two. The Queen of the South comes to
find Solomon in all of his splendor; with all of his answers; and all of his
gold; and all of his servants. Who
couldn’t but be impressed? But the Wise
Men come and what do they find? A baby
in a little home on the back streets of an unknown and unimpressive town. He has no riches. He has no palace. He has nothing attractive about him. But the WISE MEN WORSHIP Him still! They offer Him gold, frankincense and
myrrh. They are attracted by the words
and promise of God; which tell them that in spite of the lowly circumstances,
this is the Christ! This is the
Messiah! This is the source of wisdom
and salvation.
Even as Jesus grows older, we still
have a hard time seeing the glory of God.
His teachings are amazing; so amazing that people try to throw him off a
cliff and the greatest teachers of Jesus’ time plot to kill Him. His palace is amazing, as the stars are His
roof and the grass is His bed. In the
eyes of the world He has no kingdom; but in the eyes of faith He runs the
Kingdom. It is in His greatest loss that
we have our greatest gain; when the King is dead we are made alive. When He is punished we are pardoned for all
of our sins; even our failures as evangelists.
All of our silence is covered
with that one Word spoken by Jesus, “It is finished.”
Jesus outshines Solomon as He is able to bring us into an eternal kingdom
with heavenly splendor. He is able to
rule over us even today with justice and righteousness; the righteousness of
His bloody justice on the cross. He
gives us a much more beautiful gown of righteousness to wear. As of
now we can’t feel this kingdom or see this robe; but we believe it is all ours
in the cross through the eyes of faith. This
is where we see the wisdom of God and the glory of God; all hidden under the
One greater than Solomon; whose glory is in His shame. This is why we cherish our baptisms; and this
is why we love the Lord's Supper. The
Holy Spirit has drawn us from our homes and our families to worship this Man
and God; this Lord; Jesus Christ. Some
of us were drawn from baptism as infants.
Some of us were drawn through instruction from our parents. Some of us were brought here from the deepest
depths of drug abuse and addiction. All
of us were brought here by God’s grace.
God has put you in this world and
you are still here for a reason. You may
not have a very impressive skill set that sets you out from the crowd. But if Paul said that slaves; people in the
seemingly worst conditions a human can know; could attract people to Christ;
then so can you. If God could draw the
Wise Men to an infant living thousands of miles away through a star; and if God
could draw a Queen from Sheba to travel over a thousand miles to Jerusalem
through a rumor; then God could certainly draw your neighbor, your friend, and even your enemy to Christ
through you. If you have the wisdom and
wealth of Solomon, then use it attractively.
Be smart and generous with it. If
you are nothing but a mother with a child in a small town; then be a God
pleasing mother; be an attractive mother in the way you raise your child. Enjoy your mothering; do your best at it;
show other women what mothers can be like.
But ultimately, rich or poor, mother or king; make sure to point people
to Christ and tell them about Jesus. He
is the center of attention. He is the
draw. He is the attraction. No matter what the house; no matter who the
person; no matter what the distance; the Holy Spirit uses Jesus as the One who
makes the impression to draw the sinner to the Father.
Often times we like to dog on rich
people because Jesus had many warning about riches. Those warnings are true. We see how Solomon’s riches led him to do
some pretty bad things as well. Yet
today’s story shows how God used Solomon’s wisdom and wealth in a positive
way. He used it to draw the Queen of
Sheba to Himself. God wants all people
to be saved throughout the world. He can
use wealthy and wise people also.
In comparison will all other people
of the world; aren’t we the most wealthy and wise of all? Materially, we are better off than most kings
of all other previous ages. But spiritually,
we have the greatest wealth of all in Christ.
We have the most attractive Person in the universe as our brother, our
Savior, our Lord and our friend; Jesus Christ.
This is not something to be apologetic about or ashamed over. It is something to glory in and talk about;
for as Epiphany shows us; God truly does want all men to be saved and to come
to a knowledge of the truth. Amen.