"Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel; because the Lord loved Israel forever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice." 1 Kings 10:9
When the Queen of Sheba had seen Solomon's splendor and heard his wisdom, she made quite a speech to him about her impressions. Our verse today is from her speech. In our verse the Queen of Sheba honors God and evidences a surprising amount of knowledge and wisdom. Solomon may have excelled her in wisdom, but she was extremely wise. In our verse she spoke of praise for God, position from God, passion of God, promise from God, and purpose from God.
Praise for God. "Blessed be the Lord thy God." Wisdom will praise Jehovah God. And Solomon lived in such a way that he encouraged praise for God. Solomon later did not live in a way that brought honor to God. But here he did. May we always live in a way that will bring honor to God.
Position from God. "The Lord thy God . . . set thee on the throne of Israel." Solomon was put on the throne by God. Position is from God. If we are honorably promoted, we owe it to God. Too often, however, we in pride attribute our successes to our own efforts.
Passion of God. "The Lord thy God, which delighted in thee . . . the Lord loved Israel." Scripture says, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). God does not love us because of what we are but because of what He is. His love far exceeds our love. The greatest exhibition of His love is Calvary. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).
Promise from God. "The Lord loved Israel forever." God promised Israel His care and affection. And it will never cease. Israel has the greatest future of any nation because God keeps His promises.
Purpose from God. "To do judgment and justice." This was the purpose of God in putting Solomon on the throne. It is a most noble purpose. It is what God wants all rulers to do.
Let us pray today, that we will be as wise and perceptive concerning the people we have to deal with, as was the Queen of Sheba!
adapted from Daily Bible Reading Sermonettes by John Butler.
Tomorrow
A new article in this series is available every day!
See you tomorrow, God willing.
Until then, trust in the Lord with your whole being
and be blessed in all you do today!
SolWise.Net
