We think they have everything. We think they have no problems, concerns or
aggravations. We think the luxury,
money, trips, houses and “stuff” make a person satisfied. Fortunately, we are
wrong. Why did Jesus look intently at
the rich young man and command, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your
possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”? (Matthew 19:21). This “poor” young naïve man thought money would win
him to Christ. He had everything, saw
Jesus perform miracles and wanted to follow him. But, Jesus sees something inside his heart, the
love of money. “When the young man heard
this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.” (Matthew 19:22) This young man would depart with his wealth.
The Queen
of Sheba had wealth, power and prestige, but lacked something. She apparently was intelligent, inquisitive
and had heard the rumors of a King so wise her thoughts plagued her a night
thinking of him. Unable to restrain her
heart longer, the Queen of Sheba mounts an entourage to see King Solomon and
test his wisdom (1 Kings 10:1).
“Arriving
in Jerusalem
with a very great caravan – with camels, spices, large quantities of gold and
precious stones – she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she
had on her mind. Solomon answered all
her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. When the Queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of
Solomon and the palace he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his
officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt
offerings he made at the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.” (1 Kings 10:2-5).
Let us stop
right there for a moment. My heart desires
for “worldly” wealth to come and gaze upon the churches of God. If someone took a few minutes to sit and
ponder the workmanship of God’s churches, why a man would built a Temple to the
Lord and worship with all his heart; I pray that person would be the as the
queen, overwhelmed. Maybe the thought
would be along the lines of, “Something is bigger than me.” “Maybe there is more to life than money and
stuff.” The bible says after walking in the Temple and seeing the burnt offerings Solomon
gave to the Lord for sacrifice, then she was overwhelmed. I am sure the queen saw the “first fruit” and
“best” offerings, no Cain skimping here with Solomon. Her reply to the king is priceless.
“The report
I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. But I did not believe these things until I
came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed,
not even half was told to me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the
report I heard. How happy your men must
be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your
wisdom! Praise be to the Lord your God,
who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he has
made you king, to maintain justice and righteousness.” (1 Kings 10:6-9).
How I would
love for the “world” to look on the church as blessed for God’s wisdom and
righteousness. I would love to see more
Christians blessed with money and the world look on at our worship to the Lord
in thanksgiving. I do want to make one
point clear. God’s blessing of money is
not evil although many who quote, “Money is the root of all evil”, this referring
to 1 Timothy 6:10. Actually, the verse says this, “For the love of money is a root of all
kinds of evil. Some people, eager for
money have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
Proverbs 10:22 reads, “The blessing of
the Lord brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it.” I do not how the Queen
of Sheba would have responded to Christ’s direct confrontation as did the young
rich man, but I do know she was seeking after wisdom and something else. Her heart must have sought something more
than money for the Lord Jesus of Nazareth
mentions her in the book of Matthew, “The Queen of Sheba will rise at the
judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the
earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here.”
(Matthew 12:42). The Queen of Sheba sought wisdom, but was
enriched by knowing who provided Solomon’s money. I believe she returned to her country a
changed woman.
The desire
for “worldly pleasures”, including money can cloud our vision. My prayer to the Lord is to remove any and
all scales or hindrances from my life which would lead me astray from the Lord
and my plan. I have prayed, “Father, if
money will deceive me, if money will cause me to desire and quest after the
world, then I do not want it.” The queen had it all, but Romans 1:14-15 brings to mind what God writes on our hearts, “When
Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law,
they are a law for themselves, even thought they do not have the law, since
they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their
consciences also bearing witness, and their thought now accusing, now even
defending them.”
Woman, God
has placed a yearning in our hearts for him.
The Queen of Sheba, a gentile, did not have the Ten Commandments that
Solomon had. She knew not of “I am the
Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of slavery. You shall
have no other gods before me.” The Queen knew something of the God of Israel,
but maybe she was feeling Ecclesiastes
3:11, “God has made everything beautiful in its time, he has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot
fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” I am sure Solomon repeated
many Proverbs to the Queen and made the God of Israel very plain to her; a
changed woman she was indeed!
Solomon’s
reputation preceded him and I pray our reputations precede us as Christian women. I would love for a person to say, “I have
heard of your joy. I have heard of how
happy you are and want to know why?” or “I have heard you are on troubled
times, but you look so at peace. Why?” or maybe, “I have heard you are a woman
of prayer. Who do you talk to and what do you say?” I think if unbelievers saw
happy, joyous, generous, loving and caring Christians, more people would be in
our churches; more souls would be won to Christ.
I do
understand “first hand” experiences are what a heart needs to know Christ. Think of the Samaritan woman who told her
village about what Jesus had told her.
On her testimony many believed, but it was when he stayed with the
village two days their hearts were won (John
4:39-42). When we have a “first hand” encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ,
our lives are changed. I pray if someone
encounters you, as a Christian woman, their lives are touched and
inquisitive. If you know of someone who
needs a revelation of Christ, then pray for them; pray for the Lord to open
their heart and see Truth removing whatever hindrances stand in their way of
Truth. Be as the persistence widow continually knocking, seeking and asking for their acceptance of Jesus Christ
as Lord and Savior. A life changing
experience as the Queen of Sheba had with Solomon and his love for Yahweh.
Let us pray and
CONFESS the Word of the Living God;
Yahweh,
I have a
desire for Truth. If I have never had a
life changing encounter with Christ, then I open my heart to receive him as my
Lord and Savior. I do not want to perish
for lack of knowledge, but will continue knocking, seeking and asking for Truth
(Hosea 4:6)
I do not
want to be blinded by the world’s pleasures.
If money, power or prestige has been my focus, then I pray for
redirection, a redirection of my priorities, a revival of my spirit and
restoration, a transformation of my mind to know Christ and the power of the
resurrection (Romans 12:2). I do not
want to be as the rich young man, unable to let go of his wealth, treasures
stored up where moth and rust destroy (Matthew
6:19).
I know the
love of money is the root of all evil, leading some away from their faith and
causing my grief (1Timothy 6:10). My heart’s desire is to be content where ever
you place me, whether abasing or abounding (Philippians 4:12). If I need
time to spend with you, then lead me to green pastures and living water (Psalm 23). Help me as the Queen of Sheba, seek you out
and the Truth in which I desire to know.
For I know in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge (Colossians 2:3). I want
to know more for I do not want to be deceived by fine sounding arguments or
help captive by the hollow, deceptive philosophies of the world (Colossians 2:8).
As Solomon
instructed the queen, I know that fear of the Lord is beginning of knowledge
and wise men store up this knowledge (Proverbs
1:7, 10:14). It is written who ever loves discipline loves knowledge, I do
not want to be one who hates correction for the Lord disciplines those he loves
(Proverbs 12:1). Help me to sit,
study and listen to the Word. I have zeal
for the House of God, but it is written not to be zealous without knowledge,
nor to be hasty and miss the way (Proverbs
19:2).
Thank you
Lord for the Word. Thank you I can study
the women of the bible and learn from them.
Thank you Father I can come to you any time I desire for wisdom,
knowledge and correction. I praise you
Lord for your goodness! In the name of Jesus of Nazareth I pray. Amen.
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