Early in my Christian life I observed some things that according to scripture, the Queen of Sheba paid close attention to when she heard of and when she met with King Solomon.
I would like to take a look at those observations according to II Chronicles 9:1-12. The Queen of Sheba is also referenced as the Queen of the South in Matthew 12:42 and Luke 11:31. We read in our story that this queen "heard" of the fame of Solomon from afar. Because of what she had heard from afar about Solomon she had decided that she would leave her kingdom in the hands of a trusted leader while she journeyed to commune with Solomon. As the custom was, when you went before a king, you brought a gift. Sheba did just that. She brought with her as gifts such things as gold, precious stones, spices, and trees. This journey was not a short one. It is estimated that it took nearly six months to get to Solomon. That's one year of just travelling that she was away from her kingdom and the people that she ruled, not counting the time that she spent with Solomon. I don't know about you but that's a very long time to be travelling one way to get to your destination.
Once arriving to King Solomon, having heard of how he ruled and the wisdom that he had, I can picture that after the formalities were done with that she begins to ask questions. Solomon doesn't dodge one question but rather answers every question that she has. She is amazed that no question is left without an answer. Solomon in all of his wisdom is able to answer matter of factly. While they are talking Sheba watches everything that is going on. She watched how the food was prepared for the table. She watched how the servants sat in the presence of their king. She noticed the attire of those around him. She watched how they walked. She noticed their faithfulness. Sheba watched their service to their king. She listened to their knowledge. Because of all of these things she observed she was overwhelmed so much so that the Bible tells us "there was no more spirit in her".
Let's break all of these things down. First, Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon. Sheba is a lost queen who knows nothing about the God of Abraham, Isaac or Jacob let alone the God of Solomon's father David. But because of hearing how Solomon ruled with the Word of God she had to learn more of this God and was willing to make the long journey to find some answers.
Second, she had a list of questions. How do you do this? How do you do that? What about this? What about that? Can't you do it this way? Why not? We know how women are, don't we ladies? There is always a question on our lips. But every question that she had she received an answer that satisfied. Aren't we as Christians supposed to be instant in season and out of season always ready to give an answer? Solomon was. And Solomon did.
Thirdly, we have the table setting of food preparation. Although this is physical I can't help but think of the spiritual application. How do we prepare our daily food with the King of Kings? How do we prepare to read our Bible? Do we just slap if together like we sometimes do with sandwiches? Do we just open to a passage of scripture that we have read before, one that we are familiar with, and quickly read over it? No thought or preparation for the meal or how God might wish to speak to us or with us? Do we just go about our day thinking nothing of the importance of reading God's Holy Word? If we are not willing to take time out to read God's Word then we have not properly prepared our table (our mind and heart) for the world that we are about to spend the next twenty-four hours in.
Fourth, Sheba watched how Solomon's servants sat in his presence. Do we give much attention to how we sit before the presence of King Jesus? Do we confess our sins to Him regularly so that we can be clean from sin? When one goes before a king they go before him with the best of their best. Our vessel must be cleansed of sin which must be confessed for "if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness." (I John 1:8, 9) What about how we physically sit? Ladies, we are ladies! We should not sit like men! In the presence of a King one does not slouch but sits tall. Do you sit at home like you would in public? Do you sit in public like you would if you were sitting before a king?
Fifth, is the subject that many women, including Christian women, absolutely hate and that is attire. Modesty. This is a subject that many get defensive about and quite frankly, I believe it is only because they truly know that modest attire is not what they are wearing or what they do wear regularly. The Bible is clear that women should not wear that which pertaineth to a man and a man should not wear that which pertaineth to a woman. Women are to wear MODEST apparel. Modest is not wearing something that shows curves or cleavage. Cover it up, ladies!. Show it off to your "own" husband, not mine! If you are not married then keep it covered until you are. If you can see a small curve then others see a giant curve. If you can see a tiny bit of cleavage then others see much more cleavage. And let's face it, wearing pants shows the curves of your thighs and buttocks. Draw a mental picture here. When someone is wearing pants there is an arrow that points directly upward to an area that no one should be paying attention to. Oh, but you say that it's covered. Well, it might be covered but where is the arrow pointing to and where are you telling others to look? Too often women wear pants too tight anyway, or the material is such that there is nothing left to the shape of that personal area. What women are wearing today they surely would not wear before a King so why should they be wearing it at all? If if's not for sale, don't advertise it.
Next, we see that Sheba watched how the servants walked. Do we walk circumspectly? Do we pay attention to where we are walking to? Do we walk toward danger or away from it? Do we walk toward grace or away from it? Do we walk toward God or away from Him? Do we walk with our head held high as a child of the King or do we walk with a head bowed low because we are ashamed of Christ? Do we walk in the path of righteousness or in the way of the forward? Do we walk in Praise or in scorn? Do we walk with pep in our step or scoot in our boots?
Seventh, the Queen of Sheba watched the faithfulness of King Solomon's servants. When he called they came, immediately. When he needed something they were there to fill the need. When they were tired they continued to serve. When it looked like they were overwhelmed they encouraged themselves. They did not give up serving their king. They did not give in to temptations. They kept on keeping on, as the old saying goes. Can that be said of us in our service to King Jesus?
Eight, Sheba watched how they served. Was it service with a smile? Or was it service with an attitude? I'd like for others to see service with a smile when they see me. What's your service to the Lord with? What's your service for the Lord with?
Ninth, Sheba listened to the knowledge they had about the God Solomon served. One gains knowledge by asking question, by listening, and by doing. Do you suppose that Solomon's servants listened to the wisdom of Solomon when others asked him questions? Do you think that they practiced what they heard? Do you believe they were willing to ask Solomon what to do when they didn't know what to do? Or do you think that they knew better and just what they felt? I don't know about you, but I believe that if someone has more knowledge of an area than I do, I'm going to listen to their expertise. I don't know it all and neither does anyone else out there. We need to listen to those who have more experience than we do, especially when it can be backed up by God's Word. It's time that Christian women get back to obeying the Bible and fearing the Lord, again.
Tenth, Sheba saw that Solomon's servants were happy. They were happy in what so ever state they were in. They were happy because they gained wisdom. Where did they get their wisdom from? Wisdom comes from the word of God. And Solomon used the word of God to rule. Do e use the Word of God to rule over the things that we say and do our the places that e go?
Lastly, when the Queen of Sheba returned unto her homeland she implemented the things that she learned from King Solomon. I have read that she likely ruled in Ethiopia thus we have the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts chapter 8 who was reading the Bible. When the Queen of Sheba left King Solomon, she left trusting in the God that Solomon served. I have heard preachers say that Sheba died and went to hell but in Matthew 12:42 and Luke 11:31, the Bible tells us that the Queen of the South will rise up in judgment. Only the saved will judge. That is not two different queens but the same queen. Others will hear of our testimony and as a result will want to know more about our Saviour. I'm not saying lifestyle evangelism is what saves someone from hell but certainly my lifestyle can cause another to stop and ponder what makes me different from everyone else resulting in their asking questions.
I'm not perfect and still sin everyday but I do strive the best that I can to practice these Sheba observations.
It is well with my soul! Is it well with yours?
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