Scripture records twice at some length the visit of the queen of Sheba to Solomon (1 Kings 10:1-10; 13; 2 Chron. 9:1-9; 12). Beholding his wisdom and the glory of various aspects of his house (1 Kings 10:4-5; 2 Chron. 9:3-4), she ecstatically spoke of the marvels that she had beheld (1 Kings 10:6-9; 2 Chron. 9:5-8).
She climaxed her ecstatic speech by glorifying the LORD, the God of Solomon:
“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).
“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).
Close attention to these two records of her climactic statement reveals a striking difference that many readers likely have missed, a difference, in fact, that deserves close attention. Whereas the former passage records her as saying that the Lord set Solomon on the throne of Israel, the latter passage records her as saying that the Lord set Solomon on His throne!
Her statement thus closely parallels the striking statement from David that the Lord chose “Solomon [his] son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel” (1 Chron. 28:4; see my previous post for a treatment of the significance of this statement). Comparing her statement with David’s, we see that the queen of Sheba thus glorified God for setting Solomon on the throne of the kingdom of God!
From 1 Chronicles 28:4 and 2 Chronicles 9:8, we learn that two royal personages declared that God had put Solomon on the throne of His kingdom. Taken together, these passages show that the Spirit of God has highlighted that truth for our profit; we should glorify God for His setting Solomon on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord, even as the queen of Sheba did!
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