Day 162 – Solomon & the Queen of Sheba

After yesterday’s mammoth chapter, this is a breezy 15 verses, so take the extra time to think through the points steadily.

• You may have heard about the Queen of Sheba. There is a famous piece of music by Handel (which I’ve included below) about her. It’s actually taken from a larger piece of music about the story of 1 Kings. Enjoy the music!
• Sheba was probably around the area currently known as Yemen, to give you an indication of how far the queen would have travelled. Take a look at a map to find out where that was in relation to Israel.
• What reasons does the passage give for the queen to travel to meet with Solomon?
• The queen brought with her many “hard questions”, all of which Solomon answered or explained. How did Solomon have the knowledge to answer them? If you could ask any person in the world a question, who would it be, and what?
• What sort of things do you think the queen asked Solomon?
• What was it about Solomon that took the queen’s breath away? Was it just his wisdom?
• What did the queen give Solomon? Use your study bible, if you have one, or the internet to find out the value of her gifts. Despite the grandeur of the materials she brought to Egypt, it was a drop in the ocean compared to Solomon’s outrageous wealth. Notice in 1 Kings 10:13 that she returns with many things too.
• What does this passage tell us about God?
• The world travelled to meet Solomon, but who does Matthew say was greater than he? Remember that the queen marvelled at how lucky Solomon’s attendants were to hear his wisdom. How much more blessed are we then, as we have in our hands the words of Christ!
• 1 Peter 3:15 is one of those verses you should have written in the front of your bible, or underlined, or whatever you do. Do so if you haven’t! Solomon had the answers that the queen sought. Could you explain your reasons for your hope in the gospel to someone else too?

Like Solomon’s words, the words of 1 Peter 3:15 contains real wisdom. It should lead you to question the hope you have in Jesus and the resurrection, so that you are believing it because you understand the truth of the gospel, rather than “what you’ve always been told”. Once you have considered that, you should then be always prepared to explain that to others, as well as to be able to answer questions and defend the message of Christ’s redeeming work on the cross.

It’s my prayer that this bible study will continue to prepare and equip you to do just that.