The Queen of Sheba, Part 2

I Kings 10:4-5 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 seating of his servants, the service of his waiters and their apparel, his cupbearers, and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the Lord…there was no more spirit in her.

The implication of the wording here is that she was more than impressed. “There was no more spirit in her” means “she gave up.” She came with a huge posse and a great deal of personal power, but when she saw Solomon, she stopped competing, let go of her own sense of self, and let herself be properly overwhelmed.

V. 6-9 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. Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! Blessed be the LORD your God, who delighted in you, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because the LORD has loved Israel forever, therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness.”

Have you seen how amazing and wonderful and full of wisdom God is? God is dazzling! Have you gotten close enough to be dazzled? If this queen can let go of all she had, can we?

How aggressively do you pursue His wisdom? How many times after a few quick prayers do we fall back on “We’ll never know” or “Nobody’s perfect” or “Stuff happens” or some other kind of platitude? We need to make it to the court of the King, look around, and press in to see what He has to say. Go—pursue God until you get His answer. It may not be the one you thought you were looking for, and it may take some work for God to prepare you to receive it. But when you receive what He is saying, it will satisfy! When you really connect with God, you’ll respond like the Queen of Sheba, and will have no more spirit in you.

Anything that falls short of our proclaiming, “Blessed be the Lord MY God” (see v. 9) is falling short of His call to us.

Have you surrendered and let go in the face of His wisdom and perfection? Have you come to the end of yourself, where there is no more spirit in you—no more questioning, fighting, trying to keep it all together, or holding on to what you understand for dear life lest you somehow be proven wrong?

The Queen of Sheba let her world get rocked. Will we let God rock, and undermine, and shake—ours? When we give up and let go, as she did, the full glories of His court, His wisdom, His beauty, become ours to receive.

God wants to blow you away! He wants to knock your socks off and take your breath away! What Solomon provided for the Queen is what God wants to do for us. Let’s get close enough to let Him do that!

Prayer: Lord, I know You’re amazing and wondrous. Help me to seek You so closely that I get to see that for myself. Help me to let go of all that I bring to You so that I may fully know the wonders of Your ways and Your words.