How Blessed!
(1 Kings 10: 1ampsim13)
The queen of Sheba exclaimed to Solomon 'How blessed your men must be! after listening to him. We are also blessed if we are ready to listen to the Word in our humble situation in our land of Cabul. Lets see how we can enjoy our blessed life.
1. We need to seek the reputation due to the name of Jehovah. Solomons reputation even reached Sheba, one of the most fertile lands and a center of trade and transportation in the Ancient Near East. Along with it, the name of Jehovah also must have reached there. A Christians goal of life is to spread the name of Jehovah. When we seek first his kingdom and his righteousness by devoting ourselves to testifying to his name, God will surely give us all we need. (Mt 6: 33). The queen of Sheba visited Israel in order to test Solomon with hard questions and see if he is truly as wise as his reputation.
2. We need to have our spiritual confidantes. The queen of Sheba came to Jerusalem, which was 2,400km away from her country, with lots of gold and perfume. This reflects how much she expected of Solomon. The purpose of her visit might have been political. Yet she also might have been in search of quenching her spiritual thirst that her wealth couldnt resolve. She talked with Solomon about all that she had on her mind as she opened her mind while talking with him. We also need to open our mind and speak out all that we have on our mind in our small group in order to enjoy healing and truth. Opening our heart starts our healing.
3. We need to have our visible temple to show others. Solomons wisdom was far above a normal one. Its excellence covered almost all area of human knowledge. However, from chapter 11 on, it became a link to Solomons depravity. Therefore, all wisdom without God is useless. The queen of Sheba was overwhelmed at the sight of Solomon and his subjects in procession going up to the temple, and the huge number of burnt offerings. We Christians need to have enough provisions to share with others and a visible temple to show others. We also need to show them our palace as a mark of Gods wisdom, the presence of Jesus, and our cross. No matter how hard we try for others salvation, our effort may not seem to be our temple project to them. However, many people said that they were blessed to see Wooridle church members testimonies and prayers through which they revealed their shame. The fact that our church has grown despite its senior pastors absence because of her cancer is another amazing story. Wooridle Church, which started at Whimoon, is now blessed to have its Pangyo temple, which became a landmark to many people coming and going on Gyeongbu express way. Thus we are blessed to demonstrate our visible temple as well as our inner one.
4. We need to listen to Gods Wisdom. People say, 'Great boast and small roast.' However, the boast about God always provides a great roast. The queen of Sheba was fascinated at the sight of Solomons temple, the archetype of the church, which she had been able to imagine before actually seeing it. She couldnt stop uttering her exclamation. The word happy in verse 8 refers to the supreme bliss we enjoy in our heart. She was excited at the overflow of Gods blessing from Solomon to his people. Therefore, those allowed to listen to Gods wisdom are blessed. So it is with our small group community. In our Mokjang, we disclose our trials, interpret them for others, and share them with others resolving their trials. This is our channel of Gods blessing. Jesus said that his wisdom is much greater than Solomons, warning that those who dont seek his wisdom will be judged by the Queen of the South. Notice! Just perusing and listening to the Word will save us from judgment.
5. We need to praise Jehovah. The queen of Shebas praise of Solomon switched to her praise of Jehovah. Likewise we need to switch our praise of a person over to our praise of God. When our praise ends up praising a person, it perishes. Solomon informed the queen of Sheba of his God rather than himself and thus led her to the Lord. As a result, she, a gentile queen, admitted and proclaimed that a kings ability to bring justice and fairness to his or her country is totally up to God. Thus justice and fairness are the true scepter of a king. As a token of gratitude for the grace, the queen of Sheba gave Solomon 120 talents of gold, the same amount that Hiram, the king of Tyre offered to him. Our mind is bent to money. The queen of Sheba offered as much as the grace she enjoyed and returned to her kingdom with what she had pursued. God gives us what we want, when we ask him with our whole heart. He gives us in return as much as we offer to him. He never forgets his promise to us. He keeps it without fail and fulfills it even by using his resources we dont know.
Heres a testimony from our community. A young man sent an email the other day, confessing that he committed imaginary patricide against his father, an alcoholic who used to abuse him verbally. Later, after his father passed away, he repented of his sins of not having love for his father and not accepting Gods sovereignty. He accepted that a family is nothing but Gods device of our salvation. He hated his alcoholic father to death. Yet this drove him to church and made him share his trial with others in his small group and finally recognize that he failed to understand his father and made him an outcast of his family. What a testimony of a blessed life! May God bless us all to be a spiritual hero of his blessing in 2019!
How happy your men must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! (1kgs 10:9)
