You’ve heard of Christmas in July. We’re going to have Christmas in January! That’s not too amazing, if you understand that even though Christmas Day is December 25th, Christmas is a season – twelve days to be exact. It is during this season that we celebrate the birth of Jesus. Technically December 25th is a celebration for the Jews. We celebrate the coming of the Wise Men to worship Jesus on the twelfth day of Christmas, January 6th.
That said, you might be wondering what our text from 1 Kings has to do with Christmas? Not much, but it is a delightful Epiphany text. Remember, Epiphany is a Greek word that means revealing. Just as the Messiah, the Christ, was revealed to the Wise Men through the shining of the Christmas Star in the East, the Queen of Sheba had the LORD revealed to her through the wisdom of Solomon.
It was Solomon who wrote by inspiration by the Holy Spirit that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Solomon was given wisdom by God and he used that gift to God’s glory. It wasn’t just the Queen of Sheba who heard about Solomon and his God. Israel became a world power.
To contrast this in Matthew 12 Jesus uses the Queen of Sheba as an example of someone who saw the wisdom of God for what it was. “The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.”
One day I look forward to meeting the Queen of Sheba in heaven. I’m sure she is a fascinating woman. Even though you don’t have the wisdom of Solomon, you do have the wisdom of the Gospel. Knowing that Jesus loves you and died for you in spite of your sin makes you wise for salvation, eternal life.
Want to hear more, including how you can use that wisdom to change in 2019? Watch this Sunday’s message taken from 1 Kings 10.
Topic(s): Epiphany
Book(s): 1 Kings
Tag(s): Epiphany
Speaker(s): Fred Guldberg