November 28, 2015
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Reputation Is Everything

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Opening Prayer

God of life and new beginnings, You are the Creator of all that is, the Sustainer of my life. I bow in worship before You.

Read 1 KINGS 10:1-25

[1] When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to the LORD, she came to test Solomon with hard questions. [2] Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan-with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones-she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. [3] Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. [4] When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, [5] the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at the temple of the LORD, she was overwhelmed. [6] She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. [7] But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard. [8] How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! [9] Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness.” [10] And she gave the king 120 talents of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. [11] (Hiram’s ships brought gold from Ophir; and from there they brought great cargoes of almugwood and precious stones. [12] The king used the almugwood to make supports for the temple of the LORD and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. So much almugwood has never been imported or seen since that day.) [13] King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country. [14] The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was 666 talents, [15] not including the revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the territories. [16] King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. [17] He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, with three minas of gold in each shield. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. [18] Then the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. [19] The throne had six steps, and its back had a rounded top. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them. [20] Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom. [21] All King Solomon’s goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s days. [22] The king had a fleet of trading ships at sea along with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons. [23] King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth. [24] The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. [25] Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift-articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflect

We need to keep our priorities in line with what God wants, not with what popular culture has to say!

How do we decide whether or not a life is successful? I would like to say that I judge it by whether someone has made good relationships, constantly demonstrated love, integrity, truth and justice, and generally lived in a way pleasing to God. However, like everyone else, I sometimes catch myself seeing money, fame and worldly achievements as the key measures.

There is no doubt at all that Solomon had all these latter things. His knowledge and ability to answer difficult questions were renowned throughout the world. The level of his wealth was also legendary–hence the visit of the Queen of Sheba, herself a renowned leader of the time. On the surface this is simply an example of the extent of Solomon’s reputation, but it is interesting to see how the story works out. Yes, Solomon was remarkably intelligent and remarkably rich, but when the Queen of Sheba gave her flattering speech to Solomon, talking of how happy his people must be to have him as ruler, she was almost certainly aware that, as the text later reveals, many of his people were far from happy. Solomon, however, in spite of his intelligence, was not immune to flattery. He had perhaps come to believe his own press. It is notable in this instance that although the Queen of Sheba brought many gifts, she was the one who went away better off (13)!

Verses 23 to 29 reinforce the picture of Solomon’s reputation, but the writer almost certainly also had Deuteronomy 17 in mind, given the many links between Kings and Deuteronomy: “The king, moreover, …must not acquire great numbers of horses… He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold” (Deut. 17:16-17). The account is saying, “Was Solomon successful? Judge for yourselves.”

Apply

Think about what it is in your life that you are most proud of and compare that with what it is that you think God is most pleased with.

Closing prayer

Lord, I have been blessed with so much. I want to keep my eyes on You and live courageously for You, despite all that I have.

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