1 Kings 10: God First

Verse 1: 

The queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and came to test him with hard questions, all because of the name of the Lord.

◇ Chapter 10 gives us a detailed account of Solomon's wisdom and wealth. The Queen of Sheba came all the way to hear Solomon's wisdom. Sheba corresponds to the present-day Yemen, a place 2,400 km away from Jerusalem. Although there might have been other reasons related to trade or military, the queen travelled this long distance to hear and see Solomon's wisdom.

Also, Solomon's wealth was abundant, as evidenced by the phrase that silver was as common as stones and cedar as plentiful as sycamore. Solomon gathered horses and chariots and even had separate cities for the chariots. The horses were imported from Egypt, and some were even resold to neighboring countries.

Deuteronomy 17:16 instructs that the king of Israel should not accumulate a large number of horses, especially not return to Egypt to get them, and he should not take many wives.

However, Solomon was building a strong military nation by gathering horses, building cities for chariots, and even violating God's commands. In contrast, David had destroyed all but 100 of the 1,000 chariots he had captured (1 Chronicles 18:4).

♧ Lord, help us not to forget that it is because of Your name!! Holy Spirit, guide us in truth!