1 Kings 10:1-13Make notes on the following:

Her character

Her sorrow/heartache

Her joy/redemption

Write a summary of her story __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Prayer Focus

Have you ever asked a trusted friend for advice but the advice they gave you seemed too hard to take so you brushed it off? Or maybe you’ve been sought out for advice and when you gave some good, solid, biblical advice, the seeker just made a bunch of excuses and continued on in their futile way. I’ve been in both posi-tions myself. It has become my prayer that my heart will be softened to receive godly wisdom from the few people I trust (note: not everyone offers godly wisdom. We need to be able to discern the difference!). And my prayer has also been to gain more godly wisdom so that when someone asks for my advice, I am ready with a solid response - but I also pray that I have the wisdom to release that person unto God. What they do with wisdom is between them and God. Not me. How can you include a similar prayer into your life?

Notes:__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Queen of Sheba

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The Queen of Sheba is a woman in the Old Testament I think is often overlooked. She was a woman of great means and wanted to see if Solomon is the ‘real deal’. She had the world at her fingertips and yet she under-stood that she still had much to learn. She humbly sought out the wisdom of Solomon. May we do the same - with Solomon, we can read the book of Proverbs - and with other godly people, we can heed their wisdom. Finally, and most importantly, he can hear the wisdom of God and humbly sit at His feet to hear His instruc-tion. Read 1 Kings 10:1-13. The Queen of Sheba 1. Why did the Queen of Sheba come to see Solomon? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The KJV uses the phrase ‘to prove’. Click over to Strong’s Lexicon to find out what is meant by this proving or testing. Take notes on what you learn. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This woman was serious in finding out if Solomon was as wise as she had been told. She traveled a great distance (about 1,500 miles) to talk to him. How far would you go for godly wisdom - both physically and spiritually? What would you do to receive godly wisdom? Would you be willing to listen? Or would you make excuses?_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What kinds of things did the Queen have with her?___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The NKJV says she had a ‘retinue’ with her. I’ve never even heard of that word. So, I looked it up here. Take notes on how her ‘entourage’ is defined._____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Queen of Sheba

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This must have been quite a spectacle. I saw the new version of Aladdin a couple of weeks ago and I’m re-minded of Prince Ali Ababwa’s grand entrance (or Aladdin’s). This woman was on a mission! She probably had the means to gain any kind of information she wished to have. And yet, she came to Solomon. She had heard that Solomon was wise and she was prepared to learn from him if he proved to be as wise as the tales told. 3. What kinds of questions do you think she asked him?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

She likely asked him questions about diplomacy and ethics, as well as matters of faith and philosophical questions. Whatever her questions were, Solomon was able to answer all of them - with great patience, too!

4. What do you think was meant by ‘no spirit left in her’? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I wonder if she was overwhelmed with Solomon’s wisdom - and she doesn’t seem like the kind of woman who’d be easily overwhelmed. She was used to royal luxuries. She was likely surrounded by very intelligent people. To gain a deeper understanding, look at Strong’s definition of this phrase. I wonder, too, if it meant she ran out of questions.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 5. What was her response to Solomon’s wisdom?______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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The Queen of Sheba

She admitted that everything she had heard about Solomon was true. In fact, it surpassed anything she had been told about him. Solomon was a great man. But Jesus is greater. What things have you been taught about Jesus? What has surpassed your understanding of Him? What kinds of things did you hear about Jesus that you realize just aren’t true? What things are true? Or beyond what you could ever fathom?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

For me, I learned that I got only one chance to ‘get it right’ in this life. And if I messed up too much, then I had a one-way ticket straight to hell. There was no grace. No redemption. No restoration. I believed the lie that since I was already going to hell, I might as well make the best of it and keep sinning. I was so young. So broken. In desperate need of a Savior. Of the truth. And then I learned about His unending grace and mercy. He restored and redeemed me. He washed me clean and gave me a new heart. And it was so much more than I had ever known.

Do you have anything else to add to your thoughts from above?_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 6. The Queen recognized how happy Solomon’s servants were. How they joyfully served him. Why do you think Solomon’s servants joyfully served him?______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

With Godly wisdom comes much grace and mercy. Solomon probably treated his servants with dignity and regard. It is unlikely that he abused or mistreated them. How can you apply this truth to your faith walk? Do you joyfully serve the Lord? If so, why? If not, what is stopping you from doing so?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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The Queen of Sheba

7. What gifts did the Queen give to Solomon?_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How did Solomon use some of these gifts? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ What was unique about these gifts?_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Although Solomon had great riches, he was still given gifts. Sometimes I think I have so little to offer Je-sus. He is God, after all. He created everything in the world. He has no need of anything. And yet, what He desires most is my heart, my devotion to Him. Can you relate to what I’m saying? If so, share in our journal (or in the AWOG FB discussion page)._______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. What gifts did Solomon give to the Queen?_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. What gifts did Solomon give to the Queen?_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Scripture says he gave to her according to the royal generosity. To give according to the royal generosity means to give a lot. He did not hold back. He gave her whatever she desired. How does God do the same for us?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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The Queen of Sheba

How might such truth be twisted to mean something it was never meant to mean? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I know some might say that God will give us the desires of our hearts meaning that I will get the Dodge Charger that I want. This is NOT what it means. The goal is for us to have our hearts so in line with God’s that our desires become His desires. And His desires are so much bigger than frivolous material things.

How can you apply this truth to your life?_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. The Queen came a long way to seek the things of the Lord. Whether she believed or not is not indicated. But we can still learn from her in this respect. How are you seeking after the Lord?___________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

What lengths are you willing to go to to find answers? What are willing to do in your search for truth?_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. Did the Queen come to faith in the God of Solomon?_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Scripture isn’t clear on this. She might have returned home not truly knowing the one true God. If that is the case, I would think that a seed was still planted and hopefully, the Holy Spirit moved her at some point as she reflected on her time with Solomon. Either way, I think this story shows us that we can’t make someone believe if they aren’t ready to. We can have respectful conversations with them, continually asking the Holy Spirit to guide our responses. We can live a life that reflects His glory. We can treat others with respect and dignity, showing the love of God. And we can certainly keep asking God for His wisdom. When a life is changed is not up to us. It’s up to God. But we can help plant that seed.

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The Queen of Sheba

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 1:7

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Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.

Proverbs 4:6-7

To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and

happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases

God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

Ecclesiastes 2:26

For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

1 Corinthians 1:25

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

James 3:17

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My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may

know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the

treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Colossians 2:2-3