The Queen and the Wisdom Seekers

How far would you travel to grow wise?

The Queen of Sheba

The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s fame connected with the name of the Lord and came to test him with difficult questions. She came to Jerusalem with a very large entourage, with camels bearing spices, gold in great abundance, and precious stones. She came to Solomon and spoke to him about everything that was on her mind.

So Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for the king to explain to her. When the queen of Sheba observed all of Solomon’s wisdom, the palace he had built, the food at his table, his servants’ residence, his attendants’ service and their attire, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he offered at the Lord’s temple, it took her breath away.

She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your words and about your wisdom is true. But I didn’t believe the reports until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, I was not even told half. Your wisdom and prosperity far exceed the report I heard. How happy are your men. How happy are these servants of yours, who always stand in your presence hearing your wisdom. Blessed be the Lord your God! He delighted in you and put you on the throne of Israel, because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel. He has made you king to carry out justice and righteousness.” (1 Kings 10:1–9)

Some archeologists say the Queen of Sheba ruled modern-day Yemen. The first-century historian Josephus suggests she ruled a kingdom inside of Egypt or Ethiopia.

We simply know her as “the Queen” whose wealth, reputation, curiosity, and knowledge were an even match for Solomon. Whether she traveled from Ethiopia or Yemen, this honeyed, raven-colored figure brought her entire retinue of hundreds at least 1,400 miles to Solomon’s land to test his wisdom—such was her hunger for this prized royal commodity.

To make the spiritual journey is to travel from being far off to being near.

And yet her journey to wisdom began with her first bejeweled step into her cortège. Royalty met royalty, power met power, and wisdom was exchanged. Perhaps Solomon told her that the source of all wisdom was available even to her, that all she need do was ask. That certainly would have been the wise thing to do, because she went seeking God’s wisdom, not Solomon’s. And Solomon knew it, and laid no claim on it for himself, but rather chose to give God the glory and let God’s people enjoy the blessings.

Like Solomon, she desired neither prosperity nor power. The size of her company was more than proof of her success as a ruler; the four and a half tons of gold, the precious stones, and the largest quantity of spices Israel had ever seen satisfied the people’s needs for a long time to come (1 Kings 10:10). She sought no geopolitical partnership, nor did she seek children like Hannah or Rachel. She didn’t want to make a name for herself like Judas. She came not seeking power as an invader, but wisdom that could be gained from cultural exchange, perhaps even an interfaith dialogue.

She blesses him immensely for providing the key: wisdom comes not from Solomon, but from Wisdom Himself, the One she observes them worshiping, the one whose presence in their worship takes her breath away.

When We Seek Wisdom

By seeking and desiring wisdom, this unnamed queen was already becoming wise; by acknowledging her lack, she found herself at Wisdom’s door with her ebony hand poised to knock.

We, too, have a similar distance to cross. It’s the spiritual distance be-tween one house and another, the exchange of dwellings and affections, from living under the world’s taskmaster to abiding in heaven’s ruler. To make the spiritual journey is to travel from being far off to being near.

Despite the distances for the queen and for us, Wisdom’s house is only a breath away . . . a prayer uttered, a breathless exclamation of wonder, or a life-giving, exhaled “yes” to follow Christ.

All new life in Christ begins with a breath—an utterance into the wisdom and hope of God.

Wisdom seekers constantly breathe this prayer, make the journey Home, and enter in.