The Queen of Sheba travels a thousand miles with hard questions, and Solomon answers all of them. She sees the palace, the table, the servants, the ascent to the temple — and “there was no more spirit in her.” Her verdict: the half was not told me. And she blesses not Solomon but the LORD, “which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne.” Then the chapter turns to the gold, and the reader begins to feel the weight of it.
A study in 1 Kings 10 · Arthur Baldwin · StandUp4Jesus.Org · 8 min read
She Came To Prove Him With Hard Questions
“And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions. And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train… And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not.”
1 Kings 10:1-3
She comes because of Solomon’s fame “concerning the name of the LORD” — the wisdom points past the man. He answers the hard questions by turning them toward God. This is what a wise believer’s influence is supposed to look like: a seeker leaves better acquainted with the Maker.
“She talked with him of the mysteries of nature; and Solomon taught her of the God of nature, the great Creator, who dwells in the highest heaven and rules over all.”
Ellen G. White · Prophets and Kings, p. 66
The Half Was Not Told Me
“And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard. Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom.”
1 Kings 10:6-8
The reports had undersold it. Jesus points back to this — “the queen of the south… came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here” (Matthew 12:42). If a pagan queen crossed a desert for Solomon’s wisdom, the people standing in front of Christ have less excuse for indifference than she had for the journey.
Blessed Be The LORD Thy God
“Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice.”
1 Kings 10:9
The visit ends where God wanted every such visit to end — not “how great is Solomon” but “blessed be the LORD thy God.” And she names the purpose of the throne correctly: “to do judgment and justice.” The queen has understood the reign better than Solomon soon will.
“By the time of the close of her visit the queen had been so fully taught by Solomon as to the source of his wisdom and prosperity that she was constrained, not to extol the human agent, but to exclaim, ‘Blessed be the Lord thy God…’ This is the impression that God designed should be made upon all peoples.”
Ellen G. White · Prophets and Kings, p. 67
Silver Was Nothing Accounted Of
“Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold… none were of silver: it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon… So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom.”
1 Kings 10:14-23
The chapter of praise ends by piling up gold, and the number is one Scripture readers notice: six hundred sixty-six talents a year. Moses had told Israel’s future king three things not to do — multiply horses (especially from Egypt), multiply wives, multiply silver and gold (Deuteronomy 17:16-17). Chapter 10 closes with Solomon importing horses from Egypt by the thousand. Chapter 11 opens with the wives. The gold is already here. He is breaking the king’s law point by point, in order.
