Daily Devotional for Monday, March 17

Solomon’s Wisdom

“Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the Lord loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice,” 1 Kings 10:9.

A teenage boy was in trouble at home, at school and with the law. Several considered him as hopeless trouble. A few years passed, and he trusted Christ. He immediately changed, and a few months later, he surrendered to preach. God worked powerfully in his life. People who knew him as a teen heard he was preaching the gospel and said, “Yeah, right. I’ll have to see it to believe it.” The young man was preaching at a local church, so they went to hear him and were astonished by what they saw and heard. God was doing something amazing in that young man’s life.

Humanity is like that; we must see to believe. The Queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame and wisdom, and she wanted to see it for herself. However, it was not Solomon alone who gained fame. First Kings 10:1 tells us that “the Queen of Sheba heard the fame of Solomon.” She fired difficult questions at Solomon. But after testing and speaking with him, she shared her heart, and Solomon did not hold anything back. Their conversations and her observations of his wise management, exquisite building designs, palace provisions, and his faithful worship of the Lord left her breathless. She had heard rumors and reports, but she had to see it to believe it. Solomon’s fame, wisdom and prosperity greatly exceeded all she had heard. “Concerning the name of the Lord” (1 Kings 10:1), Solomon did his part to glorify God. Foreigners came to Jerusalem to pay homage!

“Keep therefore and do them [the Lord’s statutes and judgments]; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations” (Deuteronomy 4:6). Are we following the Lord in a way that makes our neighbors want to come see?

THOUGHT

We have a story to tell to the nations.

Kelli Reynolds