Solomon’s Visitor

Solomon’s Visitor

Q: Who came to visit Solomon to see if all the stories about him were true?

• a. the queen of Sheba
• b. the king of Egypt
• c. the magi from the East

Have you ever gone on a trip that seemed endless? Perhaps you went to visit a relative or went on a vacation in another state. What if you had to travel by camel? A single-rider camel might cover 70 miles in a day, but a loaded-down camel caravan would probably only cover around 20 miles a day. You might find yourself asking, “Are we there yet?” for weeks before you reached your destination.

News about Solomon’s wisdom and wealth traveled by word of mouth. People far away heard stories about the rich and wise king. One person to hear about him was the queen of Sheba, but she didn’t believe the stories.

The queen of Sheba decided to see for herself if the stories about King Solomon were true. So she traveled about 1,200 miles in a caravan with camels, servants, supplies, and gifts of spices, gold, and precious jewels to visit him. It took months to make the journey, but the queen’s curiosity was great enough that she was willing to make the trip. Once there, the queen asked Solomon questions to test his wisdom. She was amazed at his answers and finally agreed that the things she’d heard about him were true. She presented him with expensive gifts.

The queen of Sheba was from a pagan land, but after meeting Solomon, she said, “Praise the LORD your God, who delights in you and has placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king so you can rule with justice and righteousness.”

For You

Does your curiosity cause you to check things out? Does your longing to know more about God cause you to dig deeper into your Bible? Think of one question you have about God and then search for the answer in your Bible.

Answer: a

When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, which brought honor to the name of the LORD, she came to test him with hard questions.   1 Kings 10:1

(The Whole Story: 1 Kings 10:1-13)