Bible Commentaries
1 Kings 10

Verses 1-29

The Queen of Sheba's visit to Solomon shows how far his fame was spread abroad. Moreover, reports had coupled Solomon's wisdom and greatness with the name of Jehovah. The Queen of Sheba saw what the government of God really meant.

Arriving as she did at the time of the nation's peace and prosperity, she was constrained to speak of Solomon's greatness as exceeding all reports of the prosperity of his kingdom and the happiness of his subjects.

But through all this she clearly saw that everything was due to the overruling of God. This she expressed in words which revealed the clearness with which this truth had been manifest to her. "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."

Then follows the story of Solomon's wealth, and, considering the times, it is an amazing amount. The story cannot be read, however, without a consciousness that the weaker, if not the baser, side of the king's nature is manifest in the abounding luxury with which he surrounded himself. Display seems to have meant more to him than government. Indeed, one is inclined to feel that as in the case of the de Medici in Florence long after, the subjugation of the people by the throne was maintained by this very lavishness of display. Alas for any people where this is the case.