A Greater Than Solomon Is Here Text: 2 Chronicles 9:1-12
Introduction: The Scandal of Indifference
We live in an age that is drowning in information and starving for wisdom. We have the sum total of human knowledge in our pockets, and yet we are, by and large, a generation of fools. We scroll past wonders that would have astonished kings and treat the profoundest truths with a contemptuous familiarity. We are spiritually bored, and our boredom is a damning indictment.
Into this sluggardly malaise comes the Queen of Sheba. She is not a tourist. She is not an idle browser. She is a serious woman on a serious quest. She heard a report, a rumor of a wisdom so profound that it had transformed an entire nation, and this report so seized her that she was willing to undertake a perilous, expensive, and lengthy journey from the ends of the earth just to see if the report was true. She came to test, to probe, to ask the hardest questions she could think of. She wanted to know if the foundation of Solomon's kingdom was solid rock or just glittering sand.
The Lord Jesus Christ Himself brings this pagan queen forward as a witness against His own generation. He says, "The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here" (Matthew 12:42). Her earnest pilgrimage is a standing rebuke to our lazy indifference. She traveled a thousand miles to investigate a type, while we will not walk across the room to worship the antitype. This story, then, is not just a quaint piece of history about a diplomatic visit. It is a picture of how the nations are to come to Christ. It is a portrait of true conversion, and it is a solemn warning to all who hear the report of the King and do nothing.
The Text
Now the queen of Sheba heard the report about Solomon. So she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with riddles. She had a very glorious retinue, with camels carrying spices and a large amount of gold and precious stones. And she came to Solomon and spoke with him about all that was in her heart. And Solomon declared to her the answer to all her matters; and not a matter was hidden from Solomon which he did not declare to her. Then the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon, the house which he had built, the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the disposition of his attendants and their attire, his cupbearers and their attire, and his stairway by which he went up to the house of Yahweh, so that there was no more spirit in her. Then she said to the king, “The word is true which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. Nevertheless I did not believe their words until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not declared to me. You exceed the report which I heard. How blessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom. Blessed be Yahweh your God who delighted in you, to set you on His throne as king for Yahweh your God; because your God loved Israel to cause them to stand forever, therefore He gave you as king over them, to do justice and righteousness.” Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold and a very great amount of spices and precious stones. There had never been spice like that which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. Also, the servants of Huram and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, brought algum trees and precious stones. And the king made of the algum trees steps for the house of Yahweh and for the king’s house, and lyres and harps for the singers; and none like that was seen before in the land of Judah. Thus King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire which she asked, besides a return for what she had brought to the king. Then she turned around and went to her own land together with her servants.
(2 Chronicles 9:1-12 LSB)
A Report and a Riddle (v. 1-2)
We begin with the catalyst for this entire encounter.
"Now the queen of Sheba heard the report about Solomon. So she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with riddles... And she came to Solomon and spoke with him about all that was in her heart. And Solomon declared to her the answer to all her matters; and not a matter was hidden from Solomon which he did not declare to her." (2 Chronicles 9:1-2)
Faith comes by hearing a report. The gospel is a report, a piece of news about a King and His kingdom. The Queen heard this report, and unlike the dullards of our age, she took it seriously. The report was not about Solomon's military might or his vast wealth in the abstract; it was about his wisdom. And she came to test it, to see if it was real. She came with riddles, with hard questions. This is not the sign of a cynical mind, but an honest one. She wanted to know if the whole glorious enterprise was built on a solid foundation.
And Solomon's wisdom was more than up to the task. He answered all her questions. Nothing was hidden from him. This is a beautiful type of the Lord Jesus Christ, "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:3). There is no riddle you can bring to Christ that He cannot solve. There is no tangled mess in your life, your family, or your soul that His wisdom cannot unravel. He invites us to come and test Him, to ask our hardest questions, to speak with Him about "all that was in our heart." The honest seeker who comes to Christ will find that He has a comprehensive answer for all of life.
Wisdom Made Visible (v. 3-6)
The Queen's examination moves from the auditory to the visual. She heard the answers, and now she sees the evidence. And what she sees leaves her breathless.
"Then the queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon, the house which he had built, the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the disposition of his attendants and their attire... and his stairway by which he went up to the house of Yahweh, so that there was no more spirit in her." (2 Chronicles 9:3-4)
This is a crucial point. Biblical wisdom is not an abstract philosophy. It is not a head trip. Wisdom builds things. Wisdom organizes things. Wisdom feeds people. It shows up in architecture, in supply chain management, in human resources, in uniforms, and most importantly, in the way it facilitates worship. The wisdom of God results in a visible, tangible, beautiful, and well-ordered culture. She saw the glory of the kingdom in its mundane details, the seating chart, the clothing, the food on the table. And it was the sheer, integrated weight of all this glory that crushed her. "There was no more spirit in her."
This is what the world is supposed to see when it looks at the Church. They should see marriages so well-ordered, children so well-behaved, businesses so honestly run, and worship so joyfully reverent that it takes their breath away. When our faith is just a set of doctrines we affirm instead of a wisdom that we build with, the world is right to yawn. It is the visible fruit of wisdom that leaves them speechless.
Her conclusion is therefore entirely predictable: "And behold, the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not declared to me. You exceed the report which I heard." This is the testimony of every true believer. The report we hear about Christ is glorious, but the experience of Christ is infinitely more glorious. The sermon can only point to the feast; it is not the feast itself. The reality of His grace, the sweetness of His fellowship, the security of His rule, always, always exceeds the report.
Blessing the Source (v. 7-8)
Overwhelmed by what she has seen and heard, the Queen does not just flatter Solomon. She blesses the people, and then she blesses the God who is the source of it all.
"How blessed are your men, how blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom. Blessed be Yahweh your God who delighted in you, to set you on His throne as king for Yahweh your God; because your God loved Israel... therefore He gave you as king over them, to do justice and righteousness." (2 Chronicles 9:7-8)
First, she notes how blessed the servants are. It is a good thing to live under wise and godly leadership. The blessings that flow from the head overflow to the whole body. This is true in a family, a church, and a nation. Second, and most importantly, she gets the theology exactly right. This pagan queen preaches a better sermon than many modern evangelicals.
She blesses Yahweh. She recognizes the true source of all this glory. She understands that Solomon is on the throne because God delighted in him. And she understands the covenantal purpose of it all. Why did God do this? "Because your God loved Israel." The king is a gift of God's love to His people. And what is the king's job? "To do justice and righteousness." This is theonomy in a nutshell. God establishes civil authority as an expression of His love, for the purpose of enforcing His standards of justice and righteousness in the land. This queen from the south understood that God's law is the foundation of national blessing. She saw the fruit of it on Solomon's table, and she rightly traced it back to the love of Yahweh for His people.
The Worship of Exchange (v. 9-12)
A genuine encounter with the glory of God always results in worship, and worship is never empty-handed.
"Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold and a very great amount of spices and precious stones... Thus King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire which she asked, besides a return for what she had brought to the king." (2 Chronicles 9:9, 12)
The Queen's giving is extravagant. It is a tangible expression of her awe and gratitude. She is not trying to buy wisdom; she is responding to the wisdom she has freely received. This is the logic of the gospel. We do not give in order to get; we give because we have already gotten so much. The nations will bring their glory and honor into the New Jerusalem, not as a bribe, but as tribute to the King of kings.
And notice that the king is no man's debtor. Solomon gives her "all her desire." He out-gives her. This is our God. You cannot out-give Him. As we bring our meager gifts to Him, our time, our talents, our treasure, He opens the windows of heaven and pours out a blessing that we cannot contain. He gives us all our desire, and then some. The economy of His kingdom is one of glorious, joyful, and overwhelming generosity.
Conclusion: Condemned by a Queen
This entire episode is a preview of the Great Commission. It is a picture of the Gentiles, drawn from the ends of the earth by the report of God's wisdom, coming to the King, and being overwhelmed by His glory. They come with hard questions and leave with joyful adoration. They come to see a kingdom and end up blessing the God of that kingdom.
But as Jesus said, it is also a warning. The Queen of Sheba will stand up at the final judgment and condemn every person who has heard the report of Jesus Christ and has shrugged. She will condemn every man who had a Bible on his shelf but preferred the flickering foolishness of his television. She will condemn every woman who knew the gospel story but was more interested in neighborhood gossip. She will condemn them because her quest for a shadow shames our apathy toward the substance.
A greater than Solomon is here. The report has gone out to the ends of the earth. The King is wiser, His riches are greater, His kingdom is more glorious, and His answers are more profound than anything the Queen of Sheba ever saw. The question is, what will you do with the report? Will you test it? Will you come and see? Or will you be condemned on the last day by the ghost of a pagan queen who was more serious about finding the truth than you ever were?