Solomon Is a Type and Shadow of Jesus in His Kingdom (1 Kings 10)

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Solomon is a type and shadow of Jesus Christ while he rules and reigns in 1 Kings 10. The splendor and majesty of King Solomon’s kingdom prefigures the splendor and majesty of Christ’s future Kingdom. After Jesus’s Second Coming He sets up His Kingdom on the earth and reveals Himself as the true and greater Solomon.

Sermon Lessons for Solomon Is a Type and Shadow of Jesus in His Kingdom

1. Lesson 1: ______ ________________ himself to the world through Israel’s obedience and disobedience (1 Kings 9:6-9, 10:1-9).
2. Lesson 2: Jesus is greater than Solomon in:
   NOTE: Parts 1 through 4 are from the previous sermon: Something Greater than Solomon.
   • (Part 1) his knowledge of people (1 Kings 10:1-3 cf. John 2:24, Hebrews 4:13).
   • (Part 2) the supper he prepares (1 Kings 10:4-5 cf. Revelation 19:9). (Part 3) his servants’ joy (1 Kings 10:6-8  cf. Genesis 2:15, 3:17-19, Revelation 22:3).
   • (Part 4) his execution of justice (1 Kings 10:9, 3:28 cf. Isaiah 11:3-4).
   • (Part 5) ____________________ God (1 Kings 10:9, 1 Corinthians 1:24, 30, Colossians 2:3, Proverbs 3:14-15, 8:19, 16:16, 2:4, 3:13, 4:7, 10:1, 15:20, 23:26 cf. Matthew 3:17).
   • (Part 6) the ___________ he ________ on (1 Kings 10:18-20 cf. Isaiah 6:1-4, John 12:41, Revelation 20:11).
   • (Part 7) that he is the ________ of __________ (1 Kings 10:23 cf. Revelation 19:16).
   • (Part 8) the ______________ he ________________ (1 Kings 10:24-25 cf. Psalm 86:9, Isaiah 60:3, Zechariah 14:16-17).
   • (Part 9) his __________________ (1 Kings 10:26-29).
3. Quiz: Pastor Scott described _______.

Family Worship Guide for Solomon Is a Type and Shadow of Jesus in His Kingdom

1. Day 1: Read 1 Kings 9:6-9, 10:1-9 and discuss: what is a conditional covenant? Can you give an example? What is an unconditional covenant? Can you give a few examples? What would God do if Israel was obedient? What about if they were disobedient? How would God reveal himself through the nation of Israel? Can you think of other examples in the Old Testament of God revealing himself when Israel was obedient and when they were disobedient?
2. Day 2: Read 1 Kings 10:9, 1 Corinthians 1:24, 30, Colossians 2:3, Proverbs 3:14-15, 8:19, 16:16, 2:4, 3:13, 4:7, 10:1, 15:20, 23:26 cf. Matthew 3:17, 1 Kings 10:18-20 cf. Isaiah 6:1-4, John 12:41, Revelation 20:11 and discuss: what does it mean that Jesus is the wisdom of God? What relationship does Jesus have to the book of Proverbs? What reveals the Father’s pleasure in the Son? How is Solomon a picture of the antichrist? How is Jesus’s throne greater than Solomon’s throne?
3. Day 3: Read 1 Kings 10:23 cf. Revelation 19:16, 1 Kings 10:24-29 cf. Psalm 86:9, Isaiah 60:3, Zechariah 14:16-17 and discuss: how is Jesus a greater king than Solomon? How does Jesus receive greater worship than Solomon? In what ways do verses twenty-four and twenty-five look forward to Jesus? In verses twenty-six through twenty-nine how does Jesus looked greater than Solomon?

Sermon Notes for Solomon Is a Type and Shadow of Jesus Christ in His Kingdom

We spent the last three weeks looking at how Jesus is greater than Solomon, and we’ll conclude this morning.

In our sermon last Sunday we started looking at how Jesus rules over a greater kingdom. To put it plainly…

The splendor and majesty of Solomon’s kingdom prefigures the splendor and majesty of Christ’s future Kingdom.

We will primarily be in 1 Kings 10, but first I want to show you some verses in 1 Kings 9.

I’ll go ahead and open with the lesson and then show it to you through the verses…

Lesson one: God revealed Himself to the world through Israel’s obedience and disobedience.

I would like us to understand God’s evangelistic plan in the Old Testament, and we’re in the middle of a great example of it.

Do you remember a few weeks ago when we studied the Davidic Covenant?

It’s in 2 Samuel 7, and in verses 9-15 I counted eleven times God said, “I will,” because it was an unconditional covenant…it was not conditional on man. God was going to fulfill the covenant which is to say the Messiah would be the Son of David regardless of what man did or didn’t do.

The Mosaic Covenant, on the other hand, was a conditional covenant because it was conditional on man. Instead of being filled with “I will” statements, it is filled with, “If you,” because if Israel was obedient, people would hear about how God had blessed them.

• Deuteronomy 28:1 “If you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will SET YOU HIGH ABOVE ALL THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH. All the nations of the earth would see how much God had blessed Israel and be drawn to God as a result.
• Deuteronomy 28:10 ALL THE PEOPLES OF THE EARTH SHALL SEE THAT YOU ARE CALLED BY THE NAME OF THE LORD, and they shall be afraid of you.

If Israel was disobedient, people would hear about how badly God had punished them.

• Deuteronomy 28:25 “The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them. And YOU SHALL BE A HORROR TO ALL THE KINGDOMS OF THE EARTH.
• Deuteronomy 28:37 You shall become a horror, a proverb, and a byword AMONG ALL THE PEOPLES where the Lord will lead you away.

But – and here’s the important part – either way :

• God was going to reveal himself
• He was going to be exalted

It was simply a question of whether Israel wanted to make that easy or hard on themselves.

Go ahead and look at 1 Kings 9:6. This is what it would look like if Israel was disobedient…

1 Kings 9:6 But IF (notice it begins with the word if because it’s conditional) you turn aside from following me, you or your children, and do not keep my commandments and my statutes that I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and the house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight, (so God would punish Israel and look what would happen…) and Israel will become a proverb and a byword AMONG ALL PEOPLES. 8 And this house will become a heap of ruins. EVERYONE PASSING BY IT WILL BE ASTONISHED AND WILL HISS, AND THEY WILL SAY, ‘WHY HAS THE LORD DONE THUS TO THIS LAND AND TO THIS HOUSE?’ 9 Then they (the surrounding nations) will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore the Lord has brought all this disaster on them.’”

So the surrounding nations would see how badly God punished Israel for their sins…and this would reveal God to them…they would come to fear Him.

What does this have to do with Solomon and the Queen of Sheba in 1 Kings 10?

1 Kings 10 is the opposite! We can see how God blessed the nation when they were obedient, and the surrounding nations were drawn to Him as a result.

Let me show you a few verses making this clear. Look at 1 Kings 10:1…

1 Kings 10:1 Now when the queen of Sheba HEARD OF THE FAME OF SOLOMON CONCERNING THE NAME OF THE LORD, she came to test him with hard questions.

Do you see God revealing himself through the way He blessed Israel?

The Queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame and it also says concerning the name of the Lord, so she heard about God too.

Look at verse six…

1 Kings 10:6 And she said to the king, “THE REPORT WAS TRUE THAT I HEARD IN MY OWN LAND of your words and of your wisdom,

She heard how blessed Solomon was in her own land…which was 1,500 miles away…and there was no television, radio, phones, text messaging, or social media. But the news was still reached her.

It sounded too good to be true, so she went to check it out for herself. Look at verse seven…

1 Kings 10:7 but I did not believe THE REPORTS until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass THE REPORT THAT I HEARD.

God blessed Solomon, and the nation of Israel, more than she even heard!

Notice the word report, or reports, occurred three times in two verses to emphasize how much God’s blessing of Israel spread.

So you say, “Well, was it really very evangelistic? Would this really bring people to faith in God?”

It worked for the Queen of Sheba! Look at verse nine…

1 Kings 10:9 BLESSED BE THE LORD YOUR GOD, WHO HAS DELIGHTED IN YOU AND SET YOU ON THE THRONE OF ISRAEL! Because the Lord loved Israel forever, he has made you king, that you may execute justice and righteousness.”

She came to faith, which is why she served as a rebuke to the Jews in Jesus’s day:

• She heard Solomon’s wisdom AND BELIEVED.
• The Jews heard Jesus’ wisdom, but didn’t believe.

Let me conclude this lesson by saying this…

One of the things that stands out to me is no matter what man does – whether he obeys or disobeys – God will be glorified.

Now we can move into the typology between Jesus and Solomon.

Look back at verse nine, and in particular the beginning of the verse where it says…

Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you

God delighted in Solomon, but he only serves as a type of Christ in whom the Father truly delights…and this brings us to Lesson 2…

Lesson two: Jesus is greater than Solomon in (part five) delighting God.

Let me get you to think about something…

Jesus didn’t say the Queen of Sheba came to hear the wisdom of Solomon and behold someone wiser than Solomon is here.

The reason he didn’t say that is it would be shortchanging himself!

It’s not that Solomon is wise, and Jesus is wiser. It’s that Solomon is wise, but Jesus is wisdom:

• 1 Corinthians 1:24 Christ [is] the power of God AND THE WISDOM OF GOD.
• 1 Corinthians 1:30 Christ Jesus became to us WISDOM FROM GOD.
• Colossians 2:3 In [Christ] are hidden ALL THE TREASURES OF WISDOM and knowledge.

Okay, now follow me for a moment…

Because Proverbs is the book of wisdom, and because Jesus is wisdom incarnate, all the wisdom of the proverbs point to him.

And this is why, to pursue wisdom is to pursue Christ. Let me say that one more time…

To pursue wisdom is to pursue Christ.

And this is why there are so many verses about wisdom’s value. Consider how easily the word wisdom could be substituted for Christ:

• Proverbs 3:14-15 [Wisdom’s] proceeds (or Christ’s proceeds) are far better than the profits of silver, and [wisdom’s] gain than fine gold. [Wisdom] is more precious than rubies.
• Proverbs 8:11 and 19 Wisdom is better than rubies, (or Christ is better than rubies) [its] fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold.
• Proverbs 16:16 How much better to get wisdom (or Christ) than gold.

Because wisdom, or because Christ, is so valuable, what should we do with it…or with him?

Pursue it! Seek it!

And Scripture tells us to do this:

• Proverbs 2:4 Seek [wisdom] (or seek Christ) as silver, and search for [wisdom] as for hidden treasures.
• Proverbs 3:13 Happy is the man who finds wisdom.
• Proverbs 4:7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.

Now keeping that in mind, think about this…

The Book of Proverbs is written as a father speaking to his son. Repeatedly you read something like…

My son, hear the instruction of your father.

One of the themes in the Book is the wise son makes the father glad:

• Proverbs 10:1 and 15:20 A wise son makes a glad father
• Proverbs 23:26 He who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.

Now let’s connect the dots…

• If Jesus is wisdom incarnate…
• And Proverbs is the Book of Wisdom…
• So all the proverbs point to Jesus…
• And a wise son makes his father glad…

Jesus is the perfectly wise Son who makes his Father glad.

Think of Jesus’ baptism…

Matthew 3:17 A voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

The point is this…

God delighted in Solomon, but think of how much more He delights in Jesus.

Verse 9 says…

Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel!

Sure she was talking about Solomon, but make sure you look past him to see Christ…the truly wise Son who makes His Father glad and will sit on the throne of Israel.

Look at verse ten…I’m going to read through these verses quickly…

1 Kings 10:10 Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones. Never again came such an abundance of spices as these that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. 11 Moreover, the fleet of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir a very great amount of almug wood and precious stones. 12 And the king made of the almug wood supports for the house of the Lord and for the king’s house, also lyres and harps for the singers. No such almug wood has come or been seen to this day. 13 And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what was given her by the bounty of King Solomon. So she turned and went back to her own land with her servants.

It seems like the Queen’s time with Solomon was wonderful. But notice there was a point she had to leave and return home…and this reveals one of the ways Jesus is greater.

The Queen of Sheba had access to the king’s throne room, but her access was limited. She returned and went back to her kingdom, and there’s no record of her having any further relationship with Solomon.

Unlike her we have continued access to Christ’s throne room…

Hebrews 4:16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

The Queen of Sheba visited Solomon and she had her questions answered. And that’s a wonderful thing.

But this verse tells us we can receive grace, mercy, and help in our time of need.

I don’t care how much you want to have your questions answered I will take what I can receive from Christ any day over what the Queen of Sheba received from Solomon.

1 Kings 10:14 Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold,

I know the number 666 probably stands out. You have to wonder why not 665 or 667.

We know from Revelation 13:18 the antichrist is associated with this number. Solomon is the only other individual associated with this number.

There are a few pictures or types of the antichrist in the Old Testament, such as:

• Cain murders Abel, who is a type of Christ, and in murdering Abel it looks as though he is trying to disrupt the messianic line
• Pharaoh as he persecutes the people of God and is defeated by Moses, a great deliverer, who serves as a type of Christ
• Saul tries to murder the true King and keep the throne from him

Solomon is one of the clearest pictures or types, not just of Christ, but of the antichrist as well. And there are different ways that he resembles Jesus, for example it will look as though he died and then came back to life…or had his own resurrection

Think about this…

If the antichrist resembles Christ, and Solomon resembles Christ, then it makes sense that the antichrist also resembles Solomon.

The prefix “anti” can mean “opposed to” but it can also mean “instead of.” This is important because we tend to think that:

• The way Jesus went around doing good, the antichrist will go around doing evil
• If Jesus is the supremely righteous Person, the antichrist is the supremely wicked person.

While the antichrist will commit many evil acts – such as murdering anyone who won’t receive his mark – it’s equally fitting to see him as the “instead of Christ,” who will be embraced as the world’s Savior instead of the real Savior.

Consider these similarities:

• The antichrist will have amazing wealth, power, fame, and charisma…like Solomon had.
• The antichrist will seem very wise and able to answer all the questions posed to him…like Solomon.
• The antichrist will live very lavishly and extravagantly…like Solomon.
• The antichrist will be steeped in idolatry and will lead people away from the worship of the true and living God…like Solomon did.
• The antichrist will rebuild the Jews temple…and Solomon is the one who built it in the first place.
• The antichrist will be famous and worshiped throughout the world…and nobody prefigures that more than Solomon…as we’ll see at the end of the chapter.
• And most obviously they are the two men in Scripture associated with the number 666.

Think about these verses…

2 Corinthians 11:14 Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.

If Satan, and his servants, don’t come looking evil, but instead disguise themselves to look good, then how do you think his greatest servant, the antichrist will come? Not looking evil, but looking good.

Listen to something Jesus said…

John 5:43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name (referring to the antichrist), you will receive him.”

Jesus said if people don’t receive him, they will receive the antichrist.

Listen to what else Jesus said about the end times and how strong the deception will be…

Matthew 24:24 False christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

Some people take this verse and put it on its head. They say the elect could be deceived, or could be led astray. But it says if it were possible, revealing that it’s not possible. But if it were possible to deception in the last days will be so strong that if the elect could be deceived, they would be.

Why would the deception be so strong?

Part of the reason is:

• The antichrist will not look like the devil
• He will look more like Solomon or Christ himself

I don’t want to be deceived. As our world gets worse and worse the deception will become even stronger.

But Jesus guarantees if I’m one of the elect, which is to say I am a Christian, I am safe.

Yes, knowledge of Scripture is beneficial, but it seems to me that the true safety against deception comes from being in Christ. That’s what I desire for myself, and that’s what I desire for each of you as the flock God has given me.

Let me finish this comparison by saying this…

When antichrist comes, he will look more like Solomon, then he will look like evil incarnate…even if that’s what he is.

Look at verse fifteen…

1 Kings 10:15 besides that which came from the explorers and from the business of the merchants, and from all the kings of the west and from the governors of the land. 16 King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold; 600 shekels of gold went into each shield. 17 And he made 300 shields of beaten gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon. 18 The king also made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with the finest gold. 19 The throne had six steps, and the throne had a round top, and on each side of the seat were armrests and two lions standing beside the armrests, 20 while twelve lions stood there, one on each end of a step on the six steps. The like of it was never made in any kingdom.

No doubt Solomon sat on an impressive throne. It says there was no other like it in any kingdom.

But this excludes Christ’s…and this brings us to the next part of lesson two…

Lesson two: Jesus is greater than Solomon in (part six) the throne he sits on.

Listen to these two descriptions and tell me Solomon doesn’t pale in comparison…

Isaiah 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.

This is one of the most famous visions in Scripture, and while people typically say Isaiah saw God, and that is true, John 12:41 tells us he specifically saw the second person of the triune nature of God, Jesus Christ, Himself.

Isaiah 6:2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”

4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.

Solomon’s throne was surrounded by statues of lions. I’m sure that looked magnificent.

But Jesus’ throne is surrounded by angels.

And the second description…

Revelation 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 

This is so terrifying everything in heaven and earth flees.

Solomon can’t compete with that.

I’m sure Solomon looked magnificent sitting on his throne, but it’s nothing compared to what it will be like when we see Christ sitting on his throne.

Look at verse 21…

1 Kings 10:21 All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None were of silver; silver was not considered as anything in the days of Solomon. 22 For the king had a fleet of ships of Tarshish at sea with the fleet of Hiram. Once every three years the fleet of ships of Tarshish used to come bringing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks. 23 Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom.

I believe Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in terms of riches and wisdom, but that’s only because Christ hadn’t yet come…and this brings us to the next part of lesson three.

Lesson two: Jesus is greater than Solomon in (part seven) that He is the King of Kings.

Solomon was the King of Kings and Lord of Lords…in his day.

But when Jesus returns…

Revelation 19:16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Jesus will be the true and greater King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Again, I think no matter how great Solomon seemed, it will be nothing compared to seeing Christ’s glory.

Look at verse 24…

1 Kings 10:24 And the whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. 25 Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and gold, garments, myrrh, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.

This is pretty unbelievable:

• The whole earth sought Solomon’s presence
• Everyone wanted to hear his wisdom
• Although he was already unimaginably wealthy, people still brought him extravagant gifts and offerings

It looks like the world is worshiping him.

But even though these verses are about Solomon, they prefigure the worship Jesus will receive…and this brings us to the next part of lesson two…

Lesson two: Jesus is greater than Solomon in (part eight) the worship he receives.

The way the Queen of Sheba, and all the people in these verses sought Solomon’s presence prefigures the way the nations of the earth will seek Christ’s presence.

When Jesus rules and reigns:

• The world will adore him
• Everyone will want to hear his wisdom

Listen to just three verses describing that day:

• Psalm 86:9 All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.
• Isaiah 60:3 Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
• Zechariah 14:16 Everyone…SHALL GO UP YEAR AFTER YEAR TO WORSHIP THE KING, THE LORD OF HOSTS, AND TO KEEP THE FEAST OF BOOTHS. 17 And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them. It will be so important for nations to worship Christ that if they don’t they will experience a drought.

As you read the Old Testament you see verses like these that prophesy the nations of the earth will come to worship the Lord. We know that didn’t happen in Christ’s first coming. If anything, with the exception of a small number of people, or a remnant, that’s the opposite of what happened.

But these prophecies must be fulfilled, and they will be…at Christ’s Second Coming…and many of these prophecies are prefigured through the world’s response to Solomon.

Look at our remaining verses…

1 Kings 10:26 And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 27 And the king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stone, and he made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah. 28 And Solomon’s import of horses was from Egypt and Kue, and the king’s traders received them from Kue at a price. 29 A chariot could be imported from Egypt for 600 shekels of silver and a horse for 150, and so through the king’s traders they were exported to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Syria.

These final verses begin to reveal the compromise that led to Solomon’s discipline including having ten of the twelve tribes ripped away from his son, Rehoboam.

God told kings not to multiply horses, wives, or wealth, and Solomon did all these things, as well as engage in terrible idolatry…this reveals one other way that Jesus is greater than Solomon…

Lesson two: Jesus is greater than Solomon in (part nine) his obedience.

Solomon was a compromising, sinful king. Jesus was – and is – the perfectly holy and obedient King.

I’m sure there were ways Solomon helped his people. We can tell he was loved and adored.

But he never helped his people in the greatest way, which is spiritual.

Someday I’ll stand before God, and even though I’ve done terrible things, God won’t see any of my sins. He’ll only see the perfect righteousness of His Son, which has been given to me.

I don’t know about you, but I am very thankful that Christ’s righteousness is imputed to me instead of Solomon’s.

That finishes our typology with Jesus and Solomon. I had more examples, but I wanted to finish with this sermon.

We’re going to take a quiz, but one question first to set you up for success…

Why couldn’t David build the temple?

He had been a man of war who shed blood. God wanted a man of peace to build his house. Listen to this…

1 Chronicles 22:8 [God told David], “You have shed much blood and have waged great wars. You shall not build a house to my name…9 Behold, a son shall be born to you who SHALL BE A MAN OF REST. His name shall be Solomon, and I will give PEACE AND QUIET TO ISRAEL IN HIS DAYS. 10 He shall build a house for my name.’ (NIV)

Solomon was able to build the temple, because he was a man of peace.

Now you’re ready for your quiz…do you see where you’re supposed to answer?

Quiz: Pastor Scott described: Jesus or Solomon?

When I’m finished, I want you to write down the name of the man I describe.

You can only put one name. No cheaters!

I’m going to give you some hints that make this very easy.

Here are the hints:

• He is the Son of David.
• God said He is His Father.
• He builds the house of God.
• He is a man of peace.
• He has divine wisdom from God.
• He rules over Israel during their Golden Years.
• He has a glorious, magnificent kingdom.
• He rules with justice and righteousness.
• The world adores him, comes to hear His wisdom, and brings him gifts and offerings .

Write your answer.

• Raise your hand if you said Solomon?
• Raise your hand if you said Jesus?

I want to conclude by sharing something with you that I think of when I read this account…

I see some of my own testimony as I read about the Queen of Sheba:

• She said she had heard of Solomon, but she didn’t know him yet
• Similarly, when I was growing up, I had heard of Jesus, but I didn’t know him yet
• When she came to see him for herself, she said the half was not even told her:
  • Solomon ended up being greater than she imagined.
  • She found herself overwhelmed by him.
• Similarly, when I came to see for myself the half had not even been told to me:
  • Jesus ended up being greater than I imagined.
  • Like her, I found myself overwhelmed by Jesus and what he had done for me, and what he was offering me.

If you have only heard the reports, but have not found out for yourself, my encouragement is to follow the Queen of Sheba’s example, and find out for yourself.

There is a reason Psalm 34:8 says …

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

The Queen of Sheba had to take the trip herself.

We must do the same. Nobody can find out for us.

Let’s pray.