I'm always looking for tales of strong women of the Bible. This is the story of a strong intelligent woman who lived in Old Testament times, sometime between 970 and 930 BC. The Queen of Sheba.

We read about the Queen of Sheba in the bible in 1 Kings Chapter 10.

It is suggested that kingdom of Sheba was a country of traders that flourished in southwest Arabia. References in Genesis 10:28. Sabeans are mentioned in Joel 3:8 and Job 1:15. They are thought to be south Arabians from Sheba.

This is a woman who was willing to leave the comfort of her kingdom, to travel more than a thousand miles through rough and dangerous territory-to find King Solomon. She wanted to see for herself, this king who was said to be the wisest man on earth and unbelievably rich. Scripture says she arrived at Jerusalem with a great caravan, including camels carrying large amounts of spices, gold, and precious stones. It would have been a difficult journey, even with servants. Possibly, as the queen of a wealthy nation, she felt threatened by the rise of Israel, and was brave enough to do her own investigating.

So she made the long and tiring journey with many hard questions to test Solomon's wisdom. When the queen heard him answer every question, saw his palace, the food at his table, his officials, servants, cupbearers, and his offerings to the Lord, she was overwhelmed. She told Solomon she hadn't believed all the reports about him until she saw it with her own eyes. He far exceeded her expectations.

The queen then said, "Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel." 1 Kings 10:9 NIV She recognized God's eternal love for Israel.

The Queen appears to be a strong, intelligent woman. Was she also successful? Was she to be admired? She had wealth, she was assertive, but eternal success would have been in accepting God as Lord of her life.
She recognized the truth about the source of Solomon's wisdom and Israel's wealth, but we aren't told that she became one of God's people. She said "the Lord your God." We aren't told that she made the Lord her God and began serving him to the exclusion of all others.

Lessons from the Queen of Sheba:
What do I do with my knowledge of Jesus Christ? Am I content to just hear about him? Or through my search of Scripture and through prayer, do I seek to know him for myself? Am I willing to take the time and effort to develop a personal relationship with Jesus?

Is my heart overwhelmed with God's goodness? If so, how do I show it?

If the queen did become a believer and servant of God, I think her life verse might be, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Jesus mentioned her in Matthew 12:42.



For your recreational reading.