Today’s passage: 2 Chronicles 9:1-31
Helpful thoughts:
- Sheba was a nation located in the southwestern part of the Arabian peninsula. There has been speculation concerning Sheba being in parts of Africa around the areas of Sudan and Ethiopia.
- The queen’s comments were her perspective after being left breathless at all the wealth and wisdom God had given to Solomon.
- The state of the kingdom and the successes of Solomon are emphasized in this passage, perhaps for the benefit of those returning from the exile as they were reminded of who they had been as a nation. However, content such as 1 Kings 11:1-8, which had much to do with the beginnings of why the nation was later exiled, are not mentioned.
Questions to consider:
- How should we perceive the words of the Queen of Sheba? Was Solomon blessed of God and Israel to be established forever because the Queen of Sheba said so or was this simply an account of her kind words as she articulated all she saw? How does this help us to read narrative rightly in the Bible?
- How might an exiled Israelite think about the condition of their nation after reading this chapter in 2 Chronicles? How would the queen’s words have served as a caution concerning God’s promise to Solomon in 7:17-18? How might it also have served as a temptation, receiving plaudits from all of these foreign rulers?
- Knowing what was to come even in the next generation of the throne in Jerusalem (Which we will read tomorrow), how could the wealth Solomon and Israel possessed have served as a false sense of security for the people? Where are our true and greatest riches found (Philippians 3:8)?