Useful Bible Studies > 1 Kings Commentary > chapter 10
The Messiah is the future king from David’s family, who will rule the whole world. All his judgments will be good and right, because he will rule the world with God’s wisdom (Isaiah 11:1-9).
The queen of Sheba did not see the Messiah (Matthew 12:42). She only saw Solomon, an earlier king from David’s family to whom God had given great wisdom (3:7-12) Unlike the Messiah, Solomon was not a perfect king. There were limits to his wisdom, his power, and his authority. Still, what the queen of Sheba saw, completely astonished her (compare 1 Kings 10:5 with Joshua 2:11, Joshua 5:1 and Psalm 48:1-6).
The queen told Solomon about the report that convinced her to begin her long and difficult journey to see him. She was herself an extremely rich ruler who had great skills in the organisation of her country. (That is clear from her own careful plans for her journey – 1 Kings 10:2). However, the report was of such a great and wise king that she could hardly imagine it to be true. So, she decided not to believe the report until she had seen this king for herself.
Now, she had seen Solomon. She had tested him with hard questions. She had seen the great buildings that he had made. She had seen how he provided food for his great palace; she had watched his servants carefully. She declared that, in his wealth, his skill and his wisdom, the report about Solomon was really true. In fact, she now considered him to be a greater and better king than the original report had claimed.
Next part: The queen of Sheba gives honour to Israel's God (1 Kings 10:8-9)
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