The Queen of Sheba: seeking and testing wisdom

 Imagine the wildest stories you have heard about someone. Did you listen in disbelief and proclaim “no way!”? Or would you be intrigued at the fanciful details? The Queen of Sheba is a pagan queen from a wealthy southern country. She has been described as intelligent and wise as well. When she heard the stories of King Solomon of Israel, she wondered if the stories were real. Could a man so wise really exist? So the queen packs up, loaded with gifts, and heads north to Israel. What does she encounter there? How does she determine if the stories were true? What is the significance to gift giving? How do we gain wisdom as we seek God? 

The land of Sheba is said to have been a fragrant land, famous for its perfumes and spices. Modern day historians believe that Sheba was the South Arabian kingdom of Saba (present day Yemen). As part of the trade route, passing caravans would bring items from lands afar as while as stories. The Queen of Sheba heard the stories of King Solomon, the Israelite king who was the wisest man alive. She also heard about the magnificent temple and place the king had built in Jerusalem. The queen was determined to see for herself if the stories were true. She assembled a caravan of camels loaded with spices, gems and gold and made the trip fifteen hundred miles north. There, day after day, the Queen of Sheba was relentless with her questions, each one harder than the next. But nothing was too difficult for King Solomon. She concluded that the stories about his wisdom were true and presented him with the gifts she brought with her. The Queen of Sheba has risen to folkloric Jewish, Islamic and Christian traditions which suggest a sexually relationship between the queen and Solomon that produced a son: Menelik (Ethiopian Christian), Rehoboam (Islam) or Nebuchadnezzar (Jewish) (Fontaine, 1999). 

Many people think that gift giving is a modern phenomenon fueled by our society’s consumerism with societal pressures to give expensive and extravagant gifts. In reality it is not. Gift giving is as old as civilization. For the Purim feast, Jews are told to give a food gift, to ensure that everyone has a meal for the Purim feast (Esther 9:19). The mishloach manot is meant to unite and bring peace and harmony to an often divisive and fractured community (Herzfeld, no date). Even the Magi brought gifts to the child Jesus in Matthew 2:11. Psychologists have shown that the giver, not the recipient, reaps the psychological gains adding truth to the adage that “it is better to give than receive.” There are many psychological benefits such as a decrease in stress, anxiety and depression as well as physiological ones i.e. decrease in pain and blood pressure (Adams, 2021). And gift giving doesn’t have to be a grand gesture or expensive. It could be as simple as slipping your spouse’s favorite snack in their lunch as a surprise or bringing a co-worker their favorite coffee. It is the thought behind the gift, not the cost, that is important. A small gesture to say, “I was thinking of you,” can have a lasting impact. 

Despite her own wealth, prestige and intelligence, the Queen of Sheba sought the man rumored to have more. She came to test him and he did not disappoint. While scriptures do not give us the questions asked or the answers given, we are told that the queen was overwhelmed by Solomon’s wisdom. Even though she was a pagan queen, she knew that Solomon’s wisdom came from God and praises God for the wisdom he had bestowed on Solomon and made him king (1 Kings 10:9). Life often gives us questions that don’t have easy answers or even satisfying answers. When we seek God and his wisdom, he may provide answers to our questions or he may not. Some questions may be answered when we are with him in heaven and not for us to know now while on earth. However, what he will provide is peace and comfort that he is in control and all we need to do is lean on him. Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

In conclusion, the Queen of Sheba set out to visit the wisest man in the world in order to test him. What she discovered was overwhelming and she proclaimed that God had blessed Solomon with wisdom and it was no wonder he was on the throne of Israel. She gave King Solomon extravagant gifts. Gift giving is an old custom which allows us to honor another as well as provide needs for those who are without. Even the smallest gesture can do so much to boost morale and spirits of the recipient as well as the gift giver themselves. Wisdom isn’t always the grand lessons but the smallest pearl of knowledge that directs us through our days. God is a source of knowledge and wisdom. 

References

Adams, Renee (Mary 28, 2021). 5 Reasons Why Gift Giving is Important. Hoppy Poppie. 

https://hoppypoppie.com/5-reasons-why-gift-giving-is-important/. Retrieved February 15, 2022. 

Fontaine, Carol R (December 31, 1999). Queen of Sheba: Bible. Jewish Women’s Archives. 

https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/queen-of-sheba-bible. Retrieved February 14, 2022. 

Herzfeld, Rabbi Samuel (no date). Why Do Jews Send Mishloach Manot on Purim? My Jewish Learning. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/purim-gifts/. Retrieved February 15, 2022.