The Queen of Sheba, Solomon's Pupil

The Queen of Sheba, Solomon's Pupil

Queens have many cares, multitudes of occupations and engagements, but the Queen of Sheba neither considered it beneath her dignity to search into the wisdom of Solomon, nor a waste of valuable time to journey to his dominions. How many offer the vain excuse that they cannot give due attention to the religion of Jesus Christ for want of time; they have a large family, or a very difficult business to manage. This woman rebukes such, for she left her kingdom, and threw off the cares of state to take a long journey, that she might listen to the royal sage. Her royal court was, doubtless, already stored with wisdom. The princes of the Eastern realms were always careful to gather to themselves a band of wise men, who found in their patronage both subsistence and honour. In the court of so great a lover of learning as was the Queen of Sheba, there would certainly be a little congress of magi and wise men; but yet she was not content with what she knew already, she was determined to search after this Divine wisdom, of which she had heard the fame. In this she rebukes those of you who think you know enough; who suppose that your own home-spun intelligence will suffice, without sitting at the feet of Jesus. If you dream that human wisdom can be a sufficient light without receiving the brighter beams of revelation; if you say, "These things are for the unintelligent and for the poor, we will not listen to them," this queen, whose court was full of wisdom, and yet who leaves it all to find the wisdom which God had given to Solomon, rebukes you. The wisdom of Jesus Christ as much surpasses all human knowledge as the sun outshines a candle. Comparison there can be none, contrast there is much. He who will not come to the fountain which brims with wisdom, but trusts to his own leaking cisterns, shall wake up too late to find himself a fool.

Consider, too, that the queen came from a very great distance to hear the wisdom of Solomon. The journey from Arabia Felix, or from Abyssinia, whichever the country may have been, was a long and dangerous one—a much more serious matter than it would be in these times; and performed by the slow process of the camel-back, the journey must have occupied a very long season. Coming, as Matthew says, "from the uttermost parts of the earth," there were doubtless mountains to be climbed, if not seas to be navigated, and deserts to be crossed; but none of these difficulties could keep her back. She hears of wisdom, and wisdom she will have. So she boldly ventures upon the journey with her numerous train, no matter how far she may have to travel. Very many have the gospel brought to their doors, and yet will not leave their chimney-corners to listen to it. The Queen of Sheba, toiling across the desert, of the weaker sex though she was, shall rise up in judgment against those who neglect the great salvation, and treat the Saviour as though it were nothing to them that Jesus should die. Do not forget, too, that this woman was a foreigner to Solomon, and that she had a religion already— probably one of the older forms of idolatry, perhaps the Sabean worship of the sun. Now, many persons argue in these times, "Would you have me change my religion?" Yes, that I would, if your religion is false. If your religion has not changed you, I would that you would change your religion, for a religion which does not renew a man's character and make him holy—which does not change his confidence, and make him rest upon Christ—a religion which does not make altogether a new man of him, from top to bottom, is a religion of no value, and the sooner he gives it up the better. Because my mother or my grandmother happened to be blind, why am I to be blind too, if there is sight to be had? Remember, to your own Master you stand or fall on your own account. Each soul enters through the gate of life alone; and through the iron gate of death it departs alone. Every man should search in solitary earnestness, apart from all the rest of the world, to know what the truth is, and knowing it, it is his to come out alone on the Lord's side. Yes, we would have you give attention to the things of God, even though you should have been brought up in other customs, and should have honestly espoused another form of religion. Prove the spirits whether they be of God. If your soul has been deceived, there is yet time to be set right. God help you, that you may find out the truth!

It is worthy of observation that this woman, coming from afar, made a journey which cost her very much expense. She came with a great train, with camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. She looked upon the treasures of her kingdom as only valuable, because they would admit her into the presence of the keeper of the storehouse of wisdom. Now, our Lord Jesus Christ asks nothing of men except their hearts. He doth not sell the truth to any of them, but gives it freely without money and without price. And what if men will not have it, if they refuse to lend their ears, and to give their thoughts to Divine things, shall they not be utterly inexcusable when this heathen queen shall rise up and shall declare that she gave her rubies and her pearls, her spices and her camels, to King Solomon, that she might learn his human wisdom? The gospel presents freely to every needy soul just that which he requires. It cries, "He that hath no money, let him come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." If you have refused the invitation of Christ's gospel, well may you tremble at the thought that the Queen of Sheba shall rise up in judgment against you.

Note that this queen had received no invitation; King Solomon never bade her come; she came unsought for, unexpected. You have been bidden to come—"The Spirit and the Bride say, Come." The Bible is God's written invitation, and ye may search it if you will. Therefore, if you, followed with invitations, and urged with line upon line and precept upon precept, will not come when God's providence brings the gospel to your very gates, if you will not seek King Jesus, then shall ye be condemned indeed by this Queen of Sheba. The object which she journeyed after was vastly inferior to that which is proposed to our enquiry. We bid the careless soul bethink himself of the Son of God; she went that distance to see a son of man. She journeyed all that way to see one who was wise himself, but who had power to impart but a very small portion of his wisdom; whereas we invite the sinner to come to One who is made of God unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption; we tell him that all Christ hath He is ready to bestow, that His abundance is only an abundance for others, and His fulness is that out of which all of us have received. She went to hear a man who had wisdom; we bid you come to One who is wisdom—wisdom itself consolidated. Talk ye of the royalty of Solomon?—we invite you to a greater King than he, who is Lord of Heaven, and earth, and hell. Speak ye of his riches?—we tell you of One who hath unspeakable riches of grace and glory. True, she might gain by the journey, it was but a probability, but whosoever cometh to Christ, becomes rich to all the intents of bliss. No soul ever trafficked with our Solomon without being at once enriched; if he came empty-handed, poor, feeble, naked, and sinful, to accept from our Jesus His great salvation, he was never sent away empty. Let us observe, to this queen's worthy commendation, how she conducted the enquiry.

Observe that she did it in person. She did not depute an ambassador to go and search into the matter, but personally, and on her own account, she set out to see Solomon himself. Was it not the Duke of Wellington who, on one occasion, rebuked one of his officers for railing against the Bible, by asking him if he had ever read it, and when the other frankly confessed he had not, showed him how base it was to find fault with that which he did not understand? Most persons who object to the religion of Christ have never investigated it. This I am sure of, no man has ever had an intelligent idea of the person of the Saviour, of the graciousness of His work, who ever could think or speak against Him afterwards. Watts is correct when he says:—

"His worth, if all the nations knew, Sure the whole world would love Him too."

The queen went first of all to Solomon. She went, and she went to Solomon. The way to learn the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, is to go to Him. "She told him all that was in her heart." This is the way to know the Lord; tell Him all that is in your heart—your doubts, your fears, your hardness of heart and impenitence; confess the whole. That man is near to knowing Christ who begins to know himself; and he who will tell out as much as he knoweth of his own corruption and depravity, and sinfulness and necessities, and inabilities, shall soon have a gracious answer of peace. Tarry not because thy heart is vile—it is viler than thou thinkest it is—but go with it just as it is, and tell Jesus all. Art thou like the woman with the issue of blood? I pray thee tell Him all the truth, and He will say, "Thy faith hath made thee whole." Why dost thou try to hide anything from Omniscience? He knows the corners of thy heart, the deep places and the dark places thereof are in His hands. If thou shouldest tell Him He will know no more, wherefore then dost thou hesitate? Tear off the veil from thy heart, and then thou shalt find mercy.

Moreover, she proposed to Solomon her hard questions. I do not know what they were, and I do not particularly care. The Jewish rabbis have invented a few very stupid ones, which they say were her hard questions. But I know if you come to our Solomon, to Christ, these will be your hard questions, "My Lord, how can mercy and justice kiss each other? How can God forgive sin and yet punish it?" Jesus will point you to His wounded hands and feet, He will tell you of His great atonement, how by a substitution God is dreadful in His justice and boundless in His love. Then you will put to Him the question, "How can a sinful creature be accepted in the sight of a holy God?" He will tell you of His righteousness, and you will see how, covered with the imputed righteousness of the Redeemer, a sinful soul is as acceptable before the Lord as though it had never offended. You will say to Him, "Canst thou tell me, Jesus, how it is that a weak soul with no power, shall yet be able to fight with the devil and overcome the world, the flesh and the devil?" And Jesus will answer, "My grace is sufficient for thee; My strength shall be perfect in thy weakness;" and so, all the knotty questions will be answered. This good woman, in pursuing her enquiry, listened carefully to what Solomon told her. It is said, he told her all her questions. Oh! there is a blessed communion between Christ and a trembling soul. If you will tell Him all your failings, He will tell you all His merit; if you will tell Him your weakness, He will tell you all His strength; if you will tell Him your distance from God, He will tell you His nearness to God; if you will show Him how hard your heart is, He will tell you how His heart was broken that you might live. Be not afraid, only make a clear revela-tion to Him and trust in Him, and He will make a sweet revelation to you.

She then did what was the best proof of her truthfulness, she gave to Solomon of her treasures:—"She gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon." And so souls that know the beauty of Christ give Him all they have. There are no such spices as those which come from newly-converted souls. Nothing gives Christ greater delight than the love of His people. We think our love to be a very poor and common thing, but He does not think so—He has set such a store by us that He gave His heart's blood to redeem us, and now He looks upon us as being worth the price He paid. He never will think that He had a bad bargain of it, and so He looks upon every grain of our love as being even choicer spices than archangels before the throne can render to Him in their songs. What are we doing for Christ? Are we bringing Him our talents of gold? Perhaps you have not one hundred and twenty, but if you have one bring that; you have not very many spices, but bring what you have—your silent, earnest prayers, your holy, consistent life, the words you sometimes speak for Christ, the training up of your children, the feeding of His poor, the clothing of the naked, the visitation of the sick, the comforting of His mourners, the winning of His wanderers, the restoring of His backsliders, the saving of His blood-bought souls—all these shall be like camels laden with spices, an acceptable gift to the Most High. When she had done this, Solomon made her a present of his royal bounty. She lost nothing; she gave all she had, and then Solomon gave her quite as much again, for I will be bound to say King Solomon would not be outdone in generosity, such a noble-hearted prince as he, and so rich. I tell you Jesus Christ will never be in your debt. Oh, it is a great gain to give to Christ; we give Him pence and He gives us pounds; we give Him years of labour and He gives us an eternity of rest; we give Him days of patient endurance and He gives us ages of joyous honour; we give Him a little suffering and He gives us great rewards. "I reckon that the sufferings of this present life are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Besides what He gives us in the covenant of grace, you note He does for us what Solomon did for her—He gives us all that is in our heart, all that we can desire. What a King is our Saviour, who will not let His people have one ungratified wish, if that wish is a good one! Knock and the gate shall open. "Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it," saith the Lord. "According to your faith so be it done unto you." "Whatsoever ye ask in prayer believe that ye have it, and ye shall have it." What precious promises, and all these are given to those who come with a humble enquiry, willing to get Christ first and then to get the rest afterwards.