The Queen Of Sheba - Her Life And Times

The Queen of Sheba - Her Life And Times

GIFT GIVING

Four and a half tons of gold — and that was just part of the gift the Queen of Sheba gave to Solomon when she visited him in Jerusalem. She had probably heard of his riches as well as his wisdom and knew that no puny gift would do; something magnificent was in order. Imagine a caravan of camel after camel entering Jerusalem, bearing gifts for Solomon. A camel could carry about two hundred pounds when traveling through the desert (a staggering four hundred pounds plus its rider on shorter, less strenuous journeys). That means forty-five camels were required to carry just the gold!

Most personal meetings in ancient cultures included gift giving. A visit to someone’s home required bringing along a gift for the host or hostess. Even chance encounters in the desert included gift exchanges (Genesis 14:18 – 20). Gift giving in ancient cultures was also a way of expressing submission to someone who was in a superior position, whether in government, in the military, or in religious life. At times, a gift might be given to gain favor or even to bribe someone.

Some of the gifts mentioned in the Old Testament are staggering in scope. Check out the gifts of gold, silver, and clothing that Abraham’s servant gave to Rebekah and her family (Genesis 24:53). These sorts of gifts — the bride price, or the dowry — given by the groom’s family to the bride’s family formed a significant part of the traditions surrounding marriage. One of Solomon’s wives received an entire town from her father as a wedding gift (1 Kings 9:16). Jacob’s reconciliation gift to Esau consisted of a herd of 550 animals (Genesis 32:13 – 15). Besides the thousands of animals the Israelites gave as gifts to God after their victory over the Midianites, they gave gold and silver jewelry, which weighed a total of 420 pounds (Numbers 31:51 – 52).

The Queen of Sheba wasn’t the only one who brought gifts to Solomon; so many brought gifts of “silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules” that in Solomon’s time silver was “as common in Jerusalem as stones” (1 Kings 10:23 – 27). But the most famous gifts in the Bible were those given by the Magi to the child Jesus (Matthew 2:11).

The New Testament writers often talked about the gifts we give not to each other but to God. No gift, no matter how small, is displeasing to God if it is given with a generous and cheerful heart. In fact, Jesus praised the widow who gave only two small coins because she gave all she had out of a heart of love for God, contrasting her with others who gave a small amount of their wealth, often grudgingly (Luke 21:1 – 4). More important to God than the size of our gifts is the condition of our hearts when we give (2 Corinthians 9:7).

Greater and finer and more thrilling than any gift we can give to each other or to God are the gifts he gives to us. Solomon, in the midst of all his wealth and wisdom, thanked God for the gift of a good and simple life: satisfying work to do, peaceful rest at night, a bit of happiness (Ecclesiastes 3:13; 5:19). Matthew quotes Jesus telling his followers of God’s wonderful care of us and his willingness to give us good things: “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11).

But the crowning touch, the gift worth more than all the gold in the world, is the gift God so lovingly and willingly gave us of eternal life through his Son (Romans 6:23). No thank-you note required; just a life of gratitude to God. In the words of Paul, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15).