Read 2 Chronicles 9 and Revelation 6.
This devotional is about 2 Chronicles 9.
Solomon’s success as a king resulted in fame, according to verse 1. Fame resulted in visits from national leaders who wanted to learn what they could from Solomon’s great wisdom. Verse 23 says, “All the kings of the earth sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart.” But only one of Solomon’s visits is recorded at length and we read about that visit from the Queen of Sheba here in 2 Chronicles 9.
Verse 1 says that she came “to test him with hard questions”, though the large gift she brought him, described also in verse 1, shows her approach was one of respect. Solomon aced her test; verse 2 says, “Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for him to explain to her.” Then she got a tour of Solomon’s government (vv. 3-4d) and his devoted worship of God, according to the end of verse 4. At the very end of verse 4, we’re told “she was overwhelmed” and she went on to describe to Solomon how deeply impressive Solomon’s success and his wisdom was, according to verses 5-6.
At the end of the queen’s speech, she said this: “How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 8 Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne as king to rule for the Lord your God. Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever, he has made you king over them, to maintain justice and righteousness” (vv. 7-8).
It’s easy to understand why she was impressed with Solomon. After all, he answered all her hard questions as easily as a 6th grader can count to ten. But notice how she connected her impressive conclusions about Solomon to Solomon’s God. Again, in verse 8a the queen said, “Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you….” And later in verse 8 she said, “Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever, he has made you king over them….” So how did Solomon’s flex translate into praise for God?
The answer is that Solomon himself must have attributed his wisdom and success to God himself. In other words, she glorified God because Solomon glorified God for all the things the queen found impressive about him.
From time to time you may get recognition for your work by your employer or praise for your parenting skills by people who see how well your children are turning out. As you thank those who praise you, remember to give glory to God. Take the opportunity, when you receive positive praise about your life, to tell those praising you about the greatness and glory of God, how he gives wisdom to those who ask for it and how he redeemed you from your sins and taught you, in his word, to live a righteous and godly life.