Her kingdom sat at the bottom of the Arabian Peninsula. Ships headed for Ophir and the purchase of gold passed by her shores. Her people were consummate traders. People came to her for gold and precious stones (Ezek. 27:22), incense (Isa. 60:6; Jer. 6:20), and slaves (Joel 3:8). Her people hailed her as a woman of enterprise, affluence, and a penetrating mind. She ruled with wisdom and honor.
Legends have called her Balkis or Makeda. Josephus said she had an inquisitive mind, particularly in the area of philosophy. Wisdom, like economic trade, bridged the constraints of nation and ideology. She traded in goods, and she traded in wisdom. Wisdom is like that. It is valuable to all nations and can be recognized as true by all honest inquirers. It engages the whole man, teaching him both how to make a living and how to make a life. Wisdom was important. Sages traveled from one nation to another for learning, for testing, for increasing their knowledge of the world around them.
Those traveling past her kingdom brought her the wisdom of Egypt, of Israel, of Babylon. She sifted what she learned and applied the ideas to the perplexing questions of life. What is the nature of man? What is his purpose? Where did he come from and where is he going? What are reliable standards of good and evil and justice? Why does evil exist? What is the most responsible way to lead her people?
The people she ruled were descendants of Abraham through Keturah. They were the Sabeans who attacked Job's family (Job 1:15). Israel called them a nation "far off'- living at the southern edge of Israel's international field of vision. It was 1,200 miles from where she lived to the city of Jerusalem. The Arabian desert lay between.
The Queen of Sheba amassed great wealth, but wealth was not her primary concern. She sought wisdom wherever it could be found. Her eyes were open to her environment, her whole world. News came down the Red Sea from Ezion-Geber. The new king of Israel, David's son, was doing some amazing things.
When Solomon took the throne, the nation was at peace with the surrounding kings. Solomon handled possible internal divisions by dealing quickly with Adonijah, his brother and rival, and two of David's men who had supported Adonijah, Joab and Abiathar (I Ki. 2:13-35).
Solomon made an alliance with Hiram, King of Tyre (Phoenicia), for cedar and cypress wood. The alliance added Phoenicia's technical know-how to Israel's economic resources.
Phoenicia was at the beginning of her commercial and expansion in the Mediterranean world. The king of Tyre built two fleets of ships for Solomon. The Mediterranean fleet returned every three years with gold, silver, ivory, iron, tin, apes, and peacocks (Jer. 10:9; Ezek. 27:12) imported from Spain (The probable location for Tarshish). Another fleet sailed the Red Sea from its port in Ezion-Geber to Ophir to trade in gold. These ships passed right by Sheba. News from those ships and the wealth they carried may have piqued the Queen's interest.
The alliance between Tyre and Israel brought unprecedented wealth for both countries. Solomon was in control of the main trading routes between Arabia, Africa, and Asia. He taxed each caravan and traded for an incredible array of international wares. He traded for horses in the north (Kue) and bought chariots from Egypt (I Kings 10:28-29). His trade brought such wealth to Israel that silver was as valued as stone and cedar was as plentiful as the sycamore tree (I Kings 10:27). Israel was introduced to new kinds of harps and lyres for the musicians- "Nothing like them had ever been seen in Judah" (II Chronicles 9:11)!
Solomon secured his international position by taking Hamath and making its cities storage facilities for his wealth. He made political and commercial treaties with many nations by taking their princesses as his wives. So expansive was his power that he counted a daughter of Pharaoh among his wives (I Kings 3:l ; 9:16). In the Amarna Letters, the King of Babylon, asked for the hand of a Pharaoh's daughter and was rejected: "...From of old, a daughter of the King of Egypt has not been given to anyone." It is a testimony to the greatness of Solomon that a Pharaoh conceded. Solomon built the Pharaoh's daughter her own palace in Jerusalem. She could not live in the palace of David because the holy ark had been there (II Chronicles 8:1l).
Internally, he collected huge amounts in taxes for the temple and his building projects apart from taxes gleaned from trade (666 talents, see II Chronicles 9:13). He divided Israel into twelve administrative districts that blurred tribal lines and secured loyalty for the monarchy. Each district provided for Israel's governance for a month.
The Chronicler sums up the reign of Solomon like this:"King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. All the kings of the earth sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift- articles of silver and gold, and robes, weapons, and spices, and horses and mules " (11 Chronicles 9:22-24).
Of all the kings and dignitaries who visited Solomon, the Chronicler focuses on the Queen of Sheba. Most no doubt came to Israel because they were drawn by the wealth. One good deal with Israel's king and they were set for life. It was something different, however, that drew the Queen of Sheba, Rich in her own right, wisdom drew her through the Arabian desert to visit Solomon. She and a very great caravan made the 1,200-mile trek. Wisdom had led her to some perplexing questions, and she wanted to hear his answers.
Her caravan must have made quite a
stir when it arrived in Jerusalem. Camels carried large amounts of gold (120
talents), spices, and precious stones as a gift for Solomon. She received her
audience with Israel's king. She had come to test him with hard questions, but
when she heard the wisdom of his answers, she poured forth all her heart. He
answered everything so 
gently and so clearly that she stood amazed.
When she heard his words, saw the worship at the temple, and the way even his
servants were adorned, her heart was overwhelmed:
"The report I heard in my own country about your wisdom and your achievements is true. But I did not believe what they said until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half the greatness of your wisdom was told me; you have far exceeded the report I heard. How happy your men must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you to hear your wisdom! Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne as king to rule for the LORD your God Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever, he has made you king over them, to maintain justice and righteousness " (II Chronicles 9:50).
Her testimony may have been colored by a cultural desire to compliment the king. But I think it was something else altogether. Wisdom as it appeared in the surrounding nations was a
fractured thing. Common sense was gleaned from many sources, but there seemed no unifying principle, especially in the big issues of life. One poet lamented that even if you lived your life as wisely as you could, "Who knows whether the gods will be pleased?"
Read her testimony again. Solomon has pointed her to God. He has explained how all things begin and end with God. Solomon reigned under God's authority and his kingdom was a stewardship. Her pursuit of wisdom has ended in praise to the living God. He is source and Sustainer. One God rules and His revelation influences the wisdom of Solomon and becomes the lynchpin of her own understanding. Others had told her in fragments of the wisdom of Solomon. Now she has seen how everything hangs together. God is Creator and He rules with order, design, and wisdom. She has seen how wisdom provides for a nation through justice and wealth. Wisdom drew her to Jerusalem. She left with a deeper understanding of Solomon and Solomon's God. The aspect of wisdom that left her in awe was Israel's God.
Wisdom Has International Appeal
The visits of dignitaries to Israel picture for us an interesting characteristic of wisdom. Every culture seems to value its contribution. It doesn't seem, at first blush, to be religious at all. We can read wisdom from many cultures and even if they aren't distinctly Christian, we can profit:
"Build like a lord, go about like a slave;
Build like a slave, go about like a lord."
This proverb is Sumerian in origin, but we can still see its profit. It is like a flash of light that brings sudden, sometimes embarrassing, understanding. According to the proverb, we know that if we try to live beyond our means, we will wrestle with anxiety and fear, creditors and imminent loss. We will be imprisoned by our purchase. On the other hand, if we live well within our means and have a suitable margin for emergencies, then we are really free. You don't have to be Christian to see the wisdom in that. Proverbs can say clearly and quickly more than all the sermonic thunder of a Sunday message.
This is an important aspect of wisdom for our post-Christian culture. If we seek to live our lives by the principles of godly wisdom, then others will be drawn to our light. We may not have the drawing power of Solomon, but he is proof that wisdom works. Those disappointed with religion will still be drawn to a well-ordered life. Deep in the heart of every person is a need to find purpose, meaning, and a way to live life that matters. The Queen of Sheba is proof of that.
One Greater than Solomon is Here
The story of the Queen from Sheba and her visit to Solomon was not relegated to the dusty shelves of history by the time of Jesus. Children and adults were well-acquainted with the stories of the Old Testament. Jesus used her story to make an important point.
It didn't take long after Jesus began his ministry for resistance to build. People liked the bread he provided or the miracles of healing that came through him. What they didn't always appreciate were his words. For his words, they tried to stone him (Luke 4:29) and many walked away. Some stayed but only out of mercenary interests: "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you."
In one instance, Jesus refused and rebuked them with these words: "The Queen of the south 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).
Jesus commends the Queen of Sheba for her single-minded pursuit of wisdom. She sacrificed much to travel from "the ends of the earth" to hear what Solomon had to say. Then he reminds his listeners that one "greater than Solomon" is here. The Queen had the ability to recognize the wisdom in Solomon. We are in a position to recognize the superiority of Jesus. His greatness expands beyond his teaching to his life, death, and atonement for sin. His greatness reaches to Heaven itself where He ascended after His resurrection to pray for the ones He loves.
The Jews of Jesus' time were responsible for a great sin. They neglected the opportunity that men and women from all times in history would have like to have had. They heard the words and wisdom of Jesus but did not respond. What might the Queen of Sheba one day say about us?
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