1 Kings 10:1

His knowledge of God was so exceptional that the fame of it travelled far, for the queen of Sheba was attracted by it. She came to Solomon, not because she heard of his literary gifts or his vast knowledge of natural history, which we read about at the end of 1 Kings 4, but because of his fame "concerning the name of the Lord."

This queen's visit was the first answer to Solomon's prayer. In 1 Kings 8:41-43 he asked God to take notice of the stranger who was not of His people Israel. That stranger might come to His house from a far country for His name's sake. The Holy Spirit records that it was "concerning the name of Jehovah" that the queen of Sheba consulted king Solomon. Blessed be God, He has always had true sheep outside the fold... In that age His dealings were with Israel. But whatever His way of dealing, there has always been room in His great heart for those who wanted Him, wherever they were and whatever they were.

The Hebrew word is rendered dark speeches in Numbers 12:8; riddle in Judges 14:12-19; hard questions in 1 Kings 10:1; dark sentences in Daniel 8:23.

For her, wisdom meant admitting she had none and seeking it from someone else. She brought hard questions to him. She had no shortage of them: the world is full of riddles that man has never yet solved. Take the mysteries of creation, and the mysteries of life in the body. Take the mystery of the soul, and of good and evil in the world. Take the hidden world to come, and eternal life. All of it is mystery, a dark riddle. God must reveal its secrets. Without a clear and direct revelation from God, man's poor, limited spirit is stopped at the very first question. He stands before a wall he cannot climb.

She believed the word spoken to her. She believed in the excellence of Solomon, with only what she had been told to judge by. It is always so with faith. It is attracted by the Person and the perfections of Christ.

She had no advantages, as we say, from education, and was a complete stranger to the God of Israel. Her soul had, therefore, only a slender stock to trade with. She had simply, in her own land, heard of Solomon, his acts and his wisdom. This was all she had; but, with such small provisions, she was ready to take a long untried journey.

The queen of Sheba came a long way to hear the wisdom of a servant of God. The men standing around Christ as He spoke were unwilling to listen to the wisdom of the Son of God. They needed no hard journey at all. The Eternal Son had come from Heaven into their very streets.

In this notable Gentile we have a sample, or picture, of the nations in a day to come. She lived in the days of Solomon, the son of David, days that were a picture of the glory to come. She went up to Jerusalem, seeking the wisdom that was in the Lord's anointed. In the same way, in the age of the real glory, the thousand-year reign of the true Solomon, the nations will wait in that same city, with the same desire and purpose of heart.