Peter Misselbrook's Blog

Jun 4 2019 - 1 Kings 10 – The Queen of Sheba

Solomon's fame as a man of exceptional wisdom had spread far and wide, particularly to those areas with which Solomon, along with Hiram (see verses 11-12), had established trade routes. We don't know exactly where Sheba may have been, it has variously been identified as being in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula, in modern day Yemen, or in Ethiopia. Whatever the case, it is clear that the queen of Sheba was keen to travel a long distance from her home to Jerusalem to meet with Solomon and check whether what she had heard about him could possibly be true.

But the queen came not only because of Solomon's wisdom, she came also because she had heard of his relationship with the Lord, with Yahweh, the God of Abraham and of Israel. She had heard that Solomon's wisdom was not due to his natural ability or his studies of nature but was a gift bestowed on him by God. In coming to see Solomon she wanted to learn more of the living God.

The queen came armed with a set of difficult questions to put to Solomon. These may have been riddles such as those mentioned in Proverbs 1:6 or the one posed by Samson in Judges 14:12–14. These were commonly used as tests of wisdom. In posing these to Solomon she was seeking to engage in more than a battle of wits, she is seeking spiritual insight from one famed for possessing the Lord’s wisdom. And she would seem to have been well satisfied with Solomon's responses, for he, "answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her" (v.3).

The queen of Sheba seems to have been deeply impressed by all that she heard from Solomon and saw in Jerusalem. In vv.6-9 we read that not only does she praise Solomon for his wisdom and wealth and the wise way he rules over his people but she also praises the Lord who has given Solomon such wisdom. She concludes by saying, "Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness" (v.9).

The latter half of this chapter lists the riches and extravagance which characterised Solomon's reign. He seems to have imported fabulous quantities of gold (we probably should not see anything sinister in the statement he received 666 talents of gold yearly). Gold and ivory were used to decorate his royal palace and impressive throne. He had such a surfeit of gold that, "Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s days" (v. 21, see also v. 27). He also built up a collection of, "fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem" (v.26).

All of this extravagance came at great cost; cost not to Solomon personally but to the people he governed. They were required to pay taxes and provide labour to support the king in the lifestyle he thought appropriate to a king of his day. Samuel had warned the people what their request for a king might cost them (see 1 Samuel 8:10-18). But the people had taken no notice of his warning insisting that they wanted a king like the nations around them. That is what they now have and they are learning the consequences the hard way. As we shall see, after Solomon's death the nation splits apart with revolt caused by such extravagant kingship.

We have in the Lord Jesus a King who is wiser and more glorious than Solomon. But the splendour and glory of King Jesus is not supported at our expense. On the contrary, he gave himself for us: "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9). His kingdom is secure for all eternity since he is the righteous one. We also are secure for all eternity in him.

Lord Jesus, we delight in your wisdom and glory, but we delight even more in the riches of your grace. As the Queen of the South came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, so we pray that all the world may hear of your fame and come to bow the knee to you.

Jun 4 2020 - Romans 3:9-31 – Amazing grace

Paul has now come to the conclusion of his survey of the human condition. When he spoke of the corrupt nature of Gentile society, his Jewish compatriots would nod their heads sadly, or perhaps proudly. But then he has turned his fire onto his fellow Jews. It is not only ‘those people’ whose lives have failed to match up to God’s standards, the same is true of ‘our own people’, those who were entrusted with the very oracles of God; “What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin” (Romans 3:9).

Paul now rounds off his argument with a string of Old Testament quotations that speak of how people have fallen short of God’s standards to which he adds the punch line, “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God” (3:19). These things, says Paul, were written to those who had received the law; these verses describe us. Both Jew and Gentile have fallen short of God’s standards and have nothing to say before him by way of mitigation. It’s a shocking and humbling picture.

But this is not the message Paul has to proclaim; it is only the context for his message. The hope of humankind is not humankind; it is God. “But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify” (3:21). Where humanity has messed up God has stepped in to clear up – to act in righteousness and to put things right. This is the message that has gripped the apostle Paul; the message he wants all to hear and understand.

Paul writes to a mixed church of Jewish and Gentile Christians who are arguing with one another. He wants them to see that the Gospel is a great leveller. It declares that we all fall desperately short of God’s standards, no matter who we may be. But it also declares that all who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ are justified by God – accepted by him and welcomed into his family – regardless of background, race or class. Jesus’ death and resurrection are the grounds of such acceptance, for by his sacrificial death he paid the price our sins deserved, and by his resurrection from the dead he has brought life and immortality to all who believe in him. Salvation – acceptance with God – is all of grace.

One of the implications Paul draws from this truth is that we are left with nothing to boast about (3:27) – unless, of course, we boast of God and the cross of Christ. Grace robs us of grounds for boasting but gives us much cause for praise, joy and thanksgiving, for confident hope in God, and for devotion to him made visible in loving service of God and of others. Amazing grace streaming to us from an amazing Saviour calls for amazing lives – lives that prompt questions and point to Jesus Christ; lives that bring the blessing of God to a broken world.

“Almighty and most merciful Father, we have erred and strayed from your ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against your holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done; and there is nothing good in us. O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare those, O God, who confess their faults. Restore those who are penitent; according to your promises declared unto men in Christ Jesus our Lord. Grant that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life; to the glory of His name. Amen”

Peter Misselbrook