The Queen of Sheba glorified God for His seating Solomon on His throne, saying:
“Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king for the LORD thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore made he thee king over them, to do judgment and justice” (2 Chron. 9:8).
Her statement explains why she glorified God for His exalting Solomon in this manner.
First, Solomon was set on the Lord’s throne to be king because the Lord delighted in him. The Lord freely chose to delight in Solomon by exalting him as He did; Solomon did not do anything to merit the Lord’s delighting in him.
Second, he was set on that throne for the Lord’s sake. The Lord exalted Solomon so that His own name and kingdom would be magnified through him. As king, Solomon was to glorify God.
Third, the Lord enthroned Solomon on His throne because He loved Israel and purposed to establish them forever. Solomon’s reign was thus intended for the glory of God both through Solomon himself and through the unending good for His people that He intended to bring about through him.
Fourth, in order to secure His glory through that unending good for His people, the Lord made Solomon king over Israel to do judgment and justice. Through his acting righteously as the chief judicial agent of God over Israel, Solomon was to establish Israel forever to the glory of God.
The queen of Sheba thus gave glory to God for His seating Solomon on His throne to be His judicial agent. This analysis therefore shows that Solomon’s royal role as God’s judicial agent was not some minor aspect of his being king over Israel—it was for precisely that role that the queen of Sheba gave glory to God!
Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
