Reimar A. C. Schultze
Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue [entourage], with camels that bore spices, very much gold, and precious stones; and when she was come to Solomon, she spoke with him of all that was in her heart. So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so difficult for the king, that he could not explain it to her. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food on his table, the sitting of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers, and his entry way by which he went up to the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her. Then she said to the king: It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. However I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard (1 Kings 10:1-7).
King Solomon was unusual in that he had many riches and at the same time, he exceeded all other kings in wisdom (1 Kings 10:23). When a king has both fame and fortune while also being wise, you have a story that spreads quickly because people want to talk about it. Today’s gossip columns are filled with news about those who are rich and wise. Typical news topics include: where does ‘so and so’ live; what did ‘so and so’ buy; what did ‘so and so’ say; or who has ‘so and so’ been with?
The rich and the wise not only provide material for gossip, but they also produce material for doubters who will then say: “Now just wait a minute, don’t exaggerate and don’t get carried away. Can you be sure that someone in this generation is not richer and wiser than Solomon?” When you see greatness or when you see something tremendous, there is always something within you that says: “Now that may be nice, but it cannot all be completely true or absolutely believable,” so you then dismiss the report and go on your merry way. Your first natural response to a report of greatness is to doubt or disbelieve the report.
Children are believers and dreamers. They often cling to their fairy tale stories as if they were real, and they do not want their stories to die. Jesus said concerning little children: ...for of such is the kingdom of God (Mark 10:14). Oh, it is such a tragedy that skepticism and doubt eventually overcome many childlike hearts. This attitude of skepticism kills all dreams and soon causes many hearts to be filled with an almost hellish cynicism which says: “It is too good to be true” about any good report. Most adults today agree with this statement leading them to also have a negative attitude. If you are one of those with a positive attitude, you will say: “It is too good to be false,” and you will search for evidence to substantiate your beliefs.
Very few people will ever discover greatness in others during their own lifetime. Fewer yet will honor it, once they discover it. The queen of Sheba was an unusual woman who lived during the days of Solomon. By her actions to go and test Solomon, she was saying, “What I hear about Solomon is too good to be false.” The queen of Sheba did not go by the popular belief that the greatest and the wisest people lived in the past. She believed that the greatest, the richest and the wisest people could be living now! The queen of Sheba was not content to find great men in history books. She trusted, she hoped for, she longed for, she believed in the possibility that great men, even the greatest, may be living during her lifetime. She said, “If what I hear is true, I need to take action to check it out. If Solomon is the greatest, the wealthiest and the wisest man who ever lived on the face of the earth, I need to visit him so that I can also obtain wisdom and answers to questions that I have.” The queen of Sheba manifests one of the rare, wonderful characteristics found in only a few people during each generation. This key characteristic was an insatiable hunger and thirst to find someone who was real: having real godliness, real magnificence, real greatness and real wisdom. Oh, she had such a wonderful, childlike heart!
If you believe “It is too good to be true” that one greater than Solomon is on the earth today, you will never start searching or seeking for greatness. You will never be moved as the wise men were moved by a distant star. If your attitude is negative, your whole life will be negative because you will think and say: “It is too good to be true” that I will find a job; “It is too good to be true” that I will find a house; “It is too good to be true” that I will find the man or woman that God has for me; “It is too good to be true” that I can really walk with God while I live. Unfortunately, many decide to give up and settle for mediocrity, and then they only become benchwarmers in their local church. Or perhaps they may think: “It is too good to be true” for me to be a successful salesman; or “It is too good to be true” for me to be a successful lawyer; or “It is too good to be true” for me to be a successful doctor; or “It is too good to be true” for me to be a good father; or “It is too good to be true” for me to be a good mother; or “It is too good to be true” that God has forgiven me of all my sins because they are so heavy and so terrible. God has unlimited possibilities for your future and you should not entertain a negative attitude which states: “It is too good to be true that I would find a treasure during my lifetime like the queen of Sheba found in King Solomon.” You need to be cognizant that you are serving a mighty God who can do supernatural things through you as you wait on Him and put Him first!
Most people during King Solomon’s reign stayed home instead of going on a search for greatness. But the queen of Sheba suppressed any negative thoughts or doubts that may have entered into her mind when she heard the report about King Solomon. She was living on the positive side of life and her lifestyle moved her to make preparations to leave her country and go on a long journey to Jerusalem. She did not want to perish without having seen greatness with her own eyes during her own lifetime. She was not content to read about it in history books or in gossip columns. So, she assembled a large caravan of camels and other beasts of burden with hundreds of menservants and maidservants. She loaded the caravan with many spices, gold and precious stones, and also included many weeks’ supplies of food for everyone and the animals.
The Bible says the queen of Sheba brought 120 talents (4.5 tons) of gold to King Solomon. How many camels do you think it took just to carry that amount of gold? The Bible also says that she brought very many spices and precious stones from her country. She had just heard a report by word-of-mouth, by gossip, that King Solomon may be the richest and the wisest king who ever lived. That report thrilled her enough to make all the sacrifice and preparation to get on a journey because she believed that what she heard was “too good to be false.” Her desire, her search for greatness, her hope for greatness was so mighty in her life that the positive overcame the negative, the light overcame the darkness and faith overcame fear. She prepared herself to discover what she had heard to be true. Her long caravan on the desert trail proved that she traveled with hope and faith, and did not expect to be disappointed.
The queen of Sheba also came to King Solomon to prove him with hard questions. She tested him, not to find fault or expecting to be disappointed, but expecting and hoping to find that the report she had heard was true. It is very important what kind of attitude you have when you test someone. If you have a negative attitude to start with, it is very likely that everything you hear from the one you are testing will sound wrong or suspicious. A negative attitude in your heart will most likely produce negative analyzations and results in your mind which will cause you to miss some greatness. A negative attitude creates darkness in your soul and never leads you to the truth. Two persons can test the same man of God with the same questions, and one will be convinced that he is a true prophet while the other will be convinced that he is a false prophet. Watch out for what type of attitude you have!
The queen of Sheba went to Jerusalem with her heart full of love, her heart full of faith and her mind with a positive attitude. As you can see in the Scripture, her quest for truth turned out to be a wonderful experience. She was blessed to experience Solomon’s greatness! It says she came from afar and found not only what she heard to be true, but in fact, less than half had been told to her. The story of Solomon was greater than she had anticipated. Her hungry heart for greatness had been satisfied. She was thrilled! But not only was she thrilled, but she had also prepared herself to honor the greatness that she had discovered.
Dear one, when you suspect greatness to be present in others, be prepared to honor their greatness. Come with a trusting heart, come with a loving heart, come with a heart which says: “It is too good to be false.” Be prepared to confirm their greatness as you see it aligns with the Holy Spirit and Word of God. It could be that you are one of the few people during your lifetime who will not miss greatness in your day. It is unfortunate that most people will miss the opportunity to experience greatness in others during their lifetime. May God deliver you from any negative attitude which will prevent you from seeing the greatness in others. Instead, listen carefully with your heart to what you hear. Be willing to believe in the good report you hear from others and then start on your journey to find greatness.
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