1 Kings 10:1-9 - "Coming to Christ"

1 Kings 10:1-9

"And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions. And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built, And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the Lord; there was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard. Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom. Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the Lord loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice."

Here we see Solomon as a type of the LORD Jesus Christ, the King and Ruler over His people. In this particular incident, the Queen of Sheba, having heard of Solomon, came to see for herself if these things were so. This is a picture of coming to Christ, showing how sinners are drawn to the LORD Jesus Christ by the report of His Wisdom. She had heard of Solomon’s renown concerning the Name of the LORD and came to test him with hard questions. The LORD had placed within her a desire to seek him out—just as the Spirit of God humbles the heart, strips away all boasting, and reveals that we were nothing but illiterate, rebellious, and wretched until Christ is exalted before our eyes. As she poured out the questions of her heart, Solomon answered them all, a type of our LORD Jesus Christ, Who is all-knowing and omniscient, in Whom dwell all the treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge (Colossians 2:3). The LORD opens the understanding of the heart, showing that nothing is hidden from Christ and that He, the Wisdom of God, graciously reveals Himself to needy sinners (1 Corinthians 2:13-16).

As the LORD reveals Christ in the heart, we begin to learn of Him. Even after many years, the Scriptures continue to reveal the glories and beauties of the LORD Jesus Christ, as pictured in Solomon. When the queen beheld all Solomon’s wisdom, the house he had built, and all the things that were types of the LORD Jesus Christ, there was no more spirit in her. Anything we once presumed to be of value or significance in ourselves dissipates in the Light of the Sun. Whatever little candle we carried is now extinguished. We stand still and behold the greatness of the true King, Whose glory leaves no room for pride or confidence in the flesh.

She acknowledged that the report she had heard was true, just as the Gospel is the record God has given of His Son (1 John 5:11). She did not fully believe the words until she came and her eyes had seen, and even then she realized that the half had not been told her: “Thy wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame which I heard.” So it is when the LORD draws sinners—He causes them to hear not merely with the physical ear, but Spiritually—to find the report true, and to see that the half has not been told. The discovery of Christ always surpasses the expectation of the sinner, for His mercy, His Righteousness, and His finished work exceed anything we could have imagined.

The LORD Jesus Christ uses this example in Matthew 12:38–42: “Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee...As Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth...The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here." In Jonah 1:17, “Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights." The men of Nineveh repented at Jonah’s preaching, yet this generation rejected the One of Whom Solomon was only a type.

Solomon’s wisdom came from the LORD, as 1 Kings 3:5–14 declares: “In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.… Behold, I have done according to thy words.… And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour.” This is a picture of Christ, Who learned obedience and in Whom the Spirit was given without measure, that every act might be true to the law and justice of the Father, in Hebrews 5:8 --“Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered." And as Hebrews 1:3 declares: “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

This is the fame concerning the Name of the LORD, the report written of Him, the treasures of Christ in both Old and New Testaments. In all these things, we see that the greater than Solomon is here. Therefore, the queen of Sheba stands as a living witness to every sinner whom the LORD draws by His sovereign grace. She heard a report of Solomon, yet she did not rest upon the report; she came, compelled by a God-given desire to see for herself. And when she stood before the king, all her doubts were swallowed up in the overwhelming glory of his wisdom and the riches of his kingdom.

But behold, a greater than Solomon is here. Christ Jesus, the true King, calls weary sinners to come and see that the half has not been told. In Him are hid all the treasures of Wisdom and Knowledge; in Him is Righteousness, Peace, and Life everlasting. As the Queen was left without breath in the presence of Solomon, so the believing sinner is silenced by the surpassing Grace revealed in Christ. And all who come to Him, drawn by the Father’s hand, will confess with joy that His glory far exceeds every report they ever heard, and that blessed indeed are they who stand continually before this greater King and hear His Wisdom.