2 Chronicles 9:1-12--The Queen of Sheba

2 Chronicles 9:1-12
English Standard Version

The Queen of Sheba
9 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions, having a very great retinue and camels bearing spices and very much gold and precious stones. And when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. 2 And Solomon answered all her questions. There was nothing hidden from Solomon that he could not explain to her. 3 And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 4 the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, and their clothing, his cupbearers, and their clothing, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the LORD, there was no more breath in her.

5 And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, 6 but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, half the greatness of your wisdom was not told me; you surpass the report that I heard. 7 Happy are your wives! Happy are these your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 8 Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and set you on his throne as king for the LORD your God! Because your God loved Israel and would establish them forever, he has made you king over them, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” 9 Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices, and precious stones. There were no spices such as those that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

10 Moreover, the servants of Hiram and the servants of Solomon, who brought gold from Ophir, brought algum wood and precious stones. 11 And the king made from the algum wood supports for the house of the LORD and for the king's house, lyres also and harps for the singers. There never was seen the like of them before in the land of Judah.

​12 And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what she had brought to the king. So she turned and went back to her own land with her servants.

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We spoke last time of the fame of Solomon and how it extended far beyond the borders of the kingdom of Israel.  One of the people from far away that heard of him was the Queen of Sheba.  We don't know much about her or her country outside of this passage of Scripture, but apparently it was a country that was ruled by a queen (unusual at that time in history) and she had great amounts of gold, precious stones, spices, and camels that she brought with her as a gift for Solomon.  She came mostly because she heard of Solomon's wisdom, and she wanted to hear the wisdom of the LORD for herself.  He was able to give good answers to all of her difficult questions, and she was impressed by the palace and how well even the servants were fed and taken care of.  She also got to see the house of the LORD (the Temple) and the burnt offerings and other sacrifices that were made to the LORD and that too impressed her and inspired even more questions.

She tells king Solomon that the reports she got where she lived far away seemed so unbelievable that she had to come and see the truth for herself, but that the reports didn't do the truth justice--things are even more wonderful in person that what she had heard.  God had surely blessed Solomon, his wives and children, his servants, and the people of Israel, especially by giving them the Davidic Covenant.  It's uncertain how she knows of this, but she knows that it is Solomon's job to execute the LORD's justice and live out His righteousness before the people so that they may follow and be blessed.  She then opened up her treasuries and gave all kinds of rare and expensive items to Solomon that she had brought with her. 

The passage for today finishes with Hiram king of bringing his ships back filled with gold from far-away lands--some of the finest gold known from a place called Ophir as well as algum wood and precious stones.  These materials were used in the house of the LORD to make supports (probably pillars) and to make harps and other instruments of worship for those who ministered in the house of the LORD.  No instruments of this quality had ever been seen before by the people of Judah.

Solomon engaged in mutual trade with the Queen of Sheba giving her whatever it was that she asked for in return (though she didn't take back anything she had given).  So it was that she returned to her people with not just stories of what it was like in Israel but with evidence of the material blessings that the LORD had given to Solomon and the people there, and her servants who had also seen and experienced everything were there to testify to what they had seen too.  It's quite likely that what she saw brought about some changes or reforms because she commented on how even the servants lived well under Solomon's reign and that had to do with the Law of the LORD and how he said we were to treat each other.  I can't say for sure, but if I were Solomon, I would make sure that one of the items exchanged in the cultural exchange was a copy of the book of the Law (and maybe the entire Torah) because this is the most valuable thing the nation had access to--the LORD and His Word--and it was the source of the peace, prosperity and blessing that the Queen of Sheba saw and was impressed by.  Why not give her a copy so that her heart and the hearts of her people might be changed?  We don't know if this happened for sure, but I would hope it did.