1 Kings 10:13

The Queen of Sheba did not lose by giving so much to Solomon. His grace went beyond hers, just as the grace of the Lord Jesus overflows (1 Timothy 1:14). Solomon gave her all she desired of him, and much more (v. 13). How true are the words of Psalm 37:4, "Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart."

Solomon is not content to give her something in return for her gifts — he grants her "all that she desired, whatever she asked" (v. 13). Surely we have to do with Him who does not ask, but whose glory it is to be and to remain the sovereign Giver of all good. Ask and you shall receive. Ask — you will never exhaust all the riches of His kingdom, those "unsearchable riches of Christ." His kingdom is not of this world now. So you will not carry away from His presence the earthly goods that Solomon heaped on the queen. These lesser treasures are reserved for the millennial reign of the Messiah. Our goods, our treasures, are spiritual. The world despises them. The Christian worthy of the name calls them the true riches (Luke 16:11).

But Solomon gave the queen more than she desired. There was also what he gave her out of his royal bounty. She got all she asked for. Beyond that, out of his wisdom Solomon gave what would delight her heart, and what would give him pleasure in giving. So it is with the Lord! We get as much of Christ as we seek. He will satisfy every longing we have about Himself and His things. But from His own treasury He will give us what He desires — for His own pleasure, and for the delight of our hearts.

Under the influence of his magnificence she made her requests. We may be sure that her main request was that she might show her people how great he was, in whose presence she had been. In this we see the true condition of heart for prevailing prayer. First the heart is set free from all difficulties and from the burdens of self-occupation. Then it is Christ-centred and filled with the glory of His greatness. To have Him eclipse self and every other object is the highest point of Christian blessing; this will be the glory of our heaven.

The queen of Sheba returned to her own country with a satisfied heart, delighting in what came from Solomon's royal bounty. There she could confirm the report she had heard of his fame, and testify of all she had seen and heard. How richly has Christ endowed His own for their testimony of Him. All the riches of His treasury are at our disposal for His service.

It will be well to stress that the world is not the Christian's own country. We have exchanged self for Christ, and the world for heaven. Our citizenship is there, and from there we look for the Saviour.

In this notable foreign visitor we have a sample, an advance picture of the nations in a coming day. She went up to Jerusalem in the days of Solomon, the son of David — days that foreshadowed the coming glory. She was seeking the wisdom that was in the anointed of the Lord. In the age of the real glory, the millennial age of the true Solomon, the nations will wait in the same city, with the same desire and purpose of heart.