Context No. 3521 of 4322 · 2 Chronicles

2 Chronicles 9:1-8: in context

1When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to test Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great caravan, including camels that bore spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones. When she had come to Solomon, she talked with him about all that was in her heart. 2Solomon answered all her questions. There wasn’t anything hidden from Solomon which he didn’t tell her. 3When the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 4the food of his table, the seating of his servants, the attendance of his ministers, their clothing, his cup bearers and their clothing, and his ascent by which he went up to the LORD’s house, there was no more spirit in her. 5She said to the king, “It was a true report that I heard in my own land of your acts and of your wisdom. 6However I didn’t believe their words until I came, and my eyes had seen it; and behold half of the greatness of your wisdom wasn’t told me. You exceed the fame that I heard! 7Happy are your men, and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom. 8Blessed be the LORD your God, who delighted in you and set you on his throne to be king for the LORD your God, because your God loved Israel, to establish them forever. Therefore he made you king over them, to do justice and righteousness.”

The queen of Sheba travels a great distance to test Solomon with hard questions, and she is left breathless. The half of your wisdom was not told me, she says; you surpass the report I heard. What she had heard, impressive as it was, fell far short of the reality before her eyes.

And notice where her wonder finally leads her. She does not merely praise Solomon; she blesses the LORD his God, who delighted in him and set him on the throne, and she names the purpose of it: to execute justice and righteousness. Solomon's God-given wisdom and splendor pointed her beyond the king to the God who gave them, and to the calling to rule justly. There is a pattern in this: the gifts God gives his servants are meant to lead others to praise God, not merely to admire the servant, and are meant to serve the ends of justice and righteousness. Of Solomon's greater son, Christ, it is even more true that the half has not been told.

Do the gifts and blessings in my life lead others to praise God rather than merely me, and are they used, as they should be, to serve justice and righteousness?

Sources

2 Chronicles 9:6: "Half of the greatness of your wisdom wasn't told me. You exceed the fame that I heard!"
2 Chronicles 9:8: "Blessed be the LORD your God... to be king for the LORD your God... to do justice and righteousness."
Matthew 12:42: "The queen of the south... came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, one greater than Solomon is here."