Learning Wisdom from the Wise. (1 Kings 10: 1-29)

If you want to increase your level of knowledge, there are plenty of things you can do. You can read a book, you can study, or you can listen to podcasts and watch videos. There are endless ways to gather information these days. But wisdom is different.  Wisdom is not the same as knowledge.

 So how do you gain wisdom?

 There are many answers to that question, but tucked away in 1 Kings 10 is a simple, practical, often‑overlooked key to becoming wise. It’s not complicated. It’s not mystical, and it’s not reserved for scholars..... And it’s something everyone of us can do.

In 1 Kings 10, the Queen of Sheba travels across the world to meet Solomon—and in the process, teaches us something profound about how to grow in wisdom….

Transcript

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Hi friends, welcome people, welcome podcasts, welcome to the Bible Project Daily Podcast, and today we're continuing our studies through the Book of One Kings, and we've reached chapter 10, and again we're going to try and do a whole chapter in one go. And in it, we're going to try and see what we can learn from the wise. Now, if you want to increase your knowledge, of course, there are plenty of things you can do. You could read a book, you could study, you could even listen to podcasts or watch videos. There are endless ways to gather information these days. But wisdom, well, that's something different, isn't it? Because wisdom is not the same as knowledge. So how do you gain wisdom? Well, there are many answers to that question, but tucked away here in 1 Kings chapter 10 is a simple, practical, but often overlooked key of how we can become wise. And it's not really complicated, it's not particularly mystical, and it's certainly not reserved for scholars, because it is something that every one of us can do. So today turn with me to 1 Kings chapter 10, where we see the Queen of Sheba travel across half the world to meet Solomon, and in the process that teaches us something, something really important about how one might grow in wisdom. Welcome to today's episode of the Bible Project Daily Podcast. Okay, my lovely friends, let's dive straight in and begin. Verse 1 says, When the Queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to the Lord, she came to test Solomon with hard questions. Now, let's get this out of the way straight away. This isn't a remarkable thing. This is in ancient times, this woman, the Queen of Sheba, travelling 1200 miles, most likely on camelback, to meet Solomon. Just to meet him. That's a long, difficult journey. So why did she come? Well, she came because she heard of Solomon's wisdom and because his fame has spread. Now likely it had spread that far, probably because of the navy he had established and built up. We heard about that in the previous chapter. And now, having heard about him, she wants to understand the source of his insights and she has some questions for him. And they're not going to be easy questions, they're not going to be just polite questions, in fact, they're going to be some hard questions. Some will no doubt be spiritual, some practical, some may be political or even economic. There's likely to be some trade agreements to be talked about here. But the key thing is all of these questions are serious. And Solomon, this guy described elsewhere as Scripture's wisest man, answers every one it says. But there's a simple observation here that I think sits at the heart of the passage. That being, it's almost so straightforward you can miss it. This is telling us that one of the easiest ways to gain wisdom is by asking questions. Now we often overlook this. We assume wisdom comes from age, don't we? We hear that all the time. That's true, experience is important, or reading and studying, but wisdom can also come from a God-given curiosity, from asking, probing, seeking, and wondering. And the Queen of Sheba asked, and she went to the right man, Solomon, and asked, and Solomon answered. You see, a question creates a teachable moment. It can reveal the questioner's heart as well. An appropriate question really opened the door to wisdom and insight. Francis Bacon once said, A prudent question is one half of wisdom. Malcolm Forbes said, one who never asks either knows everything or nothing. And Napoleon said, Why and how are words so important that they cannot be used too often. There is also an ancient proverb that says, He who asks a question may show his ignorance, but he who does not will remain ignorant. So the bottom line is, friends, ask questions. Ask about the Bible, ask about life, ask about the things of your heart. You know there's no such thing as a stupid question. Only a stupid answer. There's no such thing as a stupid question unless you're just trying to be a smart aleck. If you genuinely want to learn, then every question is potentially a doorway to insight and wisdom. And the Queen of Sheba came with her questions and with an open heart, it tells us, so she's ready to listen and learn. The text continues, verse 2 Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan, with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold and precious stones, she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. So she arrives with all this stuff. But the most important thing I think this tells us is not the gifts that she brings, it is the heart, the open heart, it says. She says she spoke to Solomon with all that was in her heart. That's the King James Version, a better translation, I think. So she's vulnerable here and she's honestly approaching him, and that of course takes some courage. And if there are things in your heart, I believe we're not really meant to hesitate to talk about it, providing we're talking to the right people. Ask questions you might be afraid to ask. Ask questions about the concerns that maybe you keep buried. Because if you want wisdom, you must be willing to ask, not just about facts, but about the things that matter to you most. But of course, you've got to choose wisely whom to ask. But of course, she chose wisely here. But do ask, friends. And when Solomon was asked, he answered all our questions. Nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her, it says in verse 3. Now he's more than just being a walking encyclopedia here. He is this biblically declared wise man, someone who could explain things, clarify and illuminate. And she didn't just listen. The next verse says, which I think is another key to gaining wisdom, as well as listening, it says, Well, listen, verse 4 and 5. When the Queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers and the burnt offerings he made at the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed. Okay. What does that mean? Well, it's telling us she listened and she watched. She observed, did you notice? She noticed the things like his house, his tables, the whole organization, the worship that had been established, and his administration of it. So Solomon's wisdom wasn't just in words, it was in his life. So she also learned by watching him. Have you ever learned something just by watching someone else do it? Of course you have. So that tells us that wisdom comes through asking questions, uh yeah, but through listening to the answer, but also through watching people. And the Queen of Sheba does all these things here. And verse five ends this opening section with a striking statement, it says she was overwhelmed. Now that's a little curious. What does that mean? Well, some suggest that it means that she was so astonished that she got to a point where she felt she couldn't really challenge him any further. There were no more questions to ask. Remember in the opening verse it actually says she came to test Solomon, but after asking all her questions, watching his life, seeing his kingdom, she realized that in terms of a test that she was not going to get the best of him. She had reached a limit of her own understanding, and she was just going to rest in this situation and take all that wisdom in. It continues verses six through eight. She said to the king, The report I heard in my own country about you, your achievements, and your wisdom is true. But I did not believe these things until I came and saw them with my eyes. Indeed, not even half was told to me in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded even the report I heard. How happy your people must be, how happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom. So what she's saying here is what I heard was true. I didn't believe it until I came and saw it with my own eyes, but here she is, she's come, she's listened, she's watched him, she's asked questions, and she has concluded that his wisdom is not only true, but it exceeds the stories and the rumours. His leadership and wisdom exceeds even her expectations. And notice something else she comments, happy are your people who stand before you and hear your wisdom. So that's key because she's saying and recognizing that Solomon's that Solomon's wisdom didn't just benefit him, it blesses the people around him. And of course she didn't learn that because he was bragging about it. She learned it because she saw it. You see, true wisdom should be visible, it should be observable, and true wisdom will actually leave a trail of blessing behind it. But that, my friend, I think raises a question for you and I. Are the people around us better off because they are around us? If you have wisdom, are you sharing it? Are you speaking it, and most importantly, are you living it in a way that people can see it? She recognized that Solomon's servants were blessed simply because they stood near him and listened. Okay, the Queen of Sheba speaks again. Verse 10 Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord's eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness. Now remember, this woman is not an Israelite. She's a pagan queen, and even she recognizes that Solomon's wisdom has come from God. And she also recognizes that his throne and his authority came from God. Solomon's success in every way came from God. Solomon's justice and righteousness that she's seeing expressed, his wisdom expressed in that way, she also recognises comes from a God with that same character. So this is testimony. This is sort of his life and his wisdom is sort of like evangelism without a sermon. This is actually means that the nations around Israel are seeing the greatness of God reflected through the life of this one's person. That's because Solomon's wisdom and his expression of it always pointed her and other people to the Lord. Okay, then there's a short passage about gifts, her gifts initially. Verses 10 to 14. And she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, large quantities of spices and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the Queen of Sheba gave to Solomon that day. Hiram's ships brought gold from Opir, and from there they brought great cargoes of Almogwood and precious stones. The king used the Almogwood to make supports for the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. So much Almogwood had never been imported or seen since that day. Then we see the return gesture in thirteen and fourteen. King Solomon gave the Queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country. The weight of gold that Solomon received yearly was six hundred and sixty six talents, not including revenue from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of the territories. So she arrives here and she gives Solomon gold, precious stones and spices in unprecedented abundance, it tells us. Now this amount quoted is four and a half tons, by the way. The text says no one had ever surpassed her generosity. Now, interestingly, historical records we find outside of biblical scripture confirm that such extravagant exchanges were common among ancient rulers in that area at that time. So this wasn't unusual for that time, but what is impressive here and is focused on is the amount involved and the fact we see Solomon respond in kind. Not only did he answer her questions, he gave her gifts back and sent her home enriched, better off than she came. Now one commentary I read said you need to note how the story parallels the earlier story, that of two prostitutes disputing over who is the mother of a child. Do you remember we covered that a few weeks ago? Well, both stories involve women, but of course they're from very different social backgrounds, yet both are recorded to demonstrate his wisdom to us and how it was available to everyone, regardless of their position in society. So Solomon was wise, Solomon was blessed, and all the people were blessed, and because of that, people of all types came from everywhere to learn from him and to witness what was going on here. And the lesson here for us, of course, is to try and ask the right questions. Yeah, we've covered that already, but also to write to ask the right people. The Queen of Sheba came to the declared wisest man on earth with her questions and she asked them, and I think there's a template and model here that if we want wisdom, we should do the same. Yes, we should ask questions and we should ask good and honest questions, questions about the things of our heart, indeed it's told us, but also we must ask the right people. Now practically that might mean if you want to learn about money, don't ask someone who's been bankrupt five times, unless they're telling you what not to do. Ask someone who has succeeded in life and has shown good stewardship of what they have. Ask someone who has done well and is doing well with their money. And if you want to learn about marriage, then I suggest you don't ask someone who's been divorced five times, unless they're planning to share their mistakes for you and the lessons they've learned. Ask someone who's built a strong, lasting marriage, one that has endured. And if you want to learn about faith, then ask someone who walks with God. Not just who declare who claims to know about God or know about the Bible, but someone whose life reflects that they're walking with that God they know about. And if you want to learn about scripture, ask someone who knows the Bible, not just in and of itself, but it's in its application. And if you want to learn about wisdom, then ask someone who has it and whose life reflects it. That's what the Queen of Sheba did here, and that I believe is the message, the template this passage is telling us that we should do also. But the story doesn't end with the Queen of Sheba's questions. The chapter then shifts a little from Solomon's wisdom to Solomon's wealth, and the scale of this is staggering. Verses sixteen and seventeen. King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold, six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield, and he also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold, and three miners of gold in each shield. The king put them in the palace of the forest of Lebanon. So what we have here is two hundred large shields of hammered gold, each containing six six hundred shekels. That's fifteen pounds per shield, and then along with three hundred smaller shields, each containing two and a half kilograms of gold, about five pounds of gold in each. Now these aren't military shields because the gold is too soft to be used in battle. Bible experts say they were probably decorative seal shields, in other words, they were hung in that huge vaulted room we heard about earlier, called the Forest of Lebanon, because of the trees from Lebanon that we used to create the pillars that supported it, and these shields are meant to be there as symbols of wealth, not weapons of war. Then there's a short description of Solomon's throne itself. It says then the king made a great throne covered with ivory and overlaid with fine gold. The throne had six steps, and at its back had a rounded top. On both sides of the seats were armrests with a lion standing beside each of them. Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one on either side of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any other kingdom. So this throne is ivory covered with pure gold, and six steps leading up to it, and armrests guarded by two lions, and twelve lions line those steps up towards it, representing many say the twelve tribes of Israel. And then Scripture adds the little phrase just so we realise just how amazing and ostentatious this wealth is. Nothing like it had been made in any other kingdom, it says. So this throne, even itself, is meant to be a statement. Gold is seen everywhere here. It goes on to describe it. All King Solomon's goblets were gold, and all his household articles in the palace of the forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver because silver was considered of little value in Solomon's day. This is the Bible's way of saying that this man is wealthy beyond imagination. Verse 22. The king also had a fleet of trading ships at sea along with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years they returned carrying gold, silver, ivory, and apes and baboons. Again, luxury imports, status symbols of the ancient world. Solomon's navy isn't just military, it's telling us it's commercial. He was now a global trader. But the next verse, verse 23, is probably the heart of the chapter, the key verse. It says King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all other kings of the earth. So that's the summary statement of this chapter. That's the headline, that's the main point. The first half of the chapter talked all about his wisdom, the second half has talked all about his wealth, but both are saying they all come from the same source. The fact the wisdom that he has, but it's a wisdom that God has put in his heart. That's verse twenty-four. God put wisdom in Solomon's heart, and people come from all over the world to hear him, and his fame is global. It continues Year after year everyone who came brought a gift, articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons, spices, horses and mules. Solomon accumulated chariots and horses. He had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore trees in the foothills. Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt and from Kew, and the royal merchants purchased them from Kew at the current price. So, don't miss the detail here. Fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses and horsemen stationed in fortified cities, cities specially designated to contain those people. Chariots were the tanks of the ancient world. They were fast, powerful, terrifying for enemies, and Solomon's military strength here is huge. And of course it will discourage invasion and protect Israel, people, and their prosperity. But what's the lesson behind all of this wealth and this power? Well, the point is this. Solomon's wealth is meant to reinforce the same lesson as Solomon's wisdom did, which is if you want wisdom, ask questions. If you want success, ask questions of people who have done it. Ask people who have walked the road, ask people who have succeeded, not just those with opinions. And boy has Solomon and the people been blessed and succeeded here. And like I said, that means if you've got decisions to make, seek wisdom and ask questions and ask them of the right person. If you're buying a house, talk to your father, grandfather, or a friend who's just bought a house. If you're dating seriously, then bring them home. Get in from your family and from the people who love you, and from your friends who are closest to you. Today it seems to me that many people think they know everything, and they don't ask anymore. They don't seek counsel, as they certainly not as in the way they used to in my day. If they do, they sometimes try and get it from strangers online, or these days just their favorite AI chat box. They don't learn from those who have gone before. But wisdom said, Ask and ask the wise and ask the experienced. You know, I heard a missionary was once asked what they needed most in the mission field, and they replied interestingly, more grandmothers. So ask. Ask questions of wise people and of mature people. Ask questions and listen to what they say and learn from what you see. And that's exactly what the Queen of Sheba did. And that's why this story I think is offered in this passage. This is why it exists. It's there for us. That's the point of the chapter. Solomon, of course, had extraordinary wisdom, and Solomon had enormous wealth. And because of that, we're being shown here that that caused people to travel from everywhere to hear him and see what he had accomplished. Now, interestingly, this very story of Solomon and Sheba appears in the New Testament, and wow, Jesus himself tells us what to make of it. So we need go no further, really, do we, in our understanding and interpretation of it? Because in Matthew twelve, we see a situation where the scribes and Pharisees come to Jesus and say, We want to see a sign from you. Now that is meant to be astonishing in itself. After all the miracles he's performed, after all the wisdom he has displayed, they still didn't believe, and they say, We want more proof, and Jesus responds in this way. He says, First of all, an evil and adulterous generation always seeks a sign. So that's strong words, that's a rebuke, because really they should have believed already. They had the scriptures, they had the evidence, and they had the before them, they had had seen the miracles. And Jesus says the only sign they'll get is the sign of Jonah, which is of course a re reference to his resurrection. But then Jesus says something quite remarkable. He says the men of Nineveh will rise up in judgment because they repented at Jonah's preaching, and indeed a far greater one than Jonah is here. So he uses the Jonah story as an example, but then he adds, listen, the Queen of Sheba will rise up in judgment, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and indeed a greater than Solomon is here. So Jesus' point is remarkable and unmistakable here. He's literally saying to him, Look, you know the story, the Queen of Sheba travelled twelve hundred miles to learn from Solomon. Then how much more should you learn from the one who is standing in front of you, from Jesus himself who's standing right in front of them, and who is greater than Solomon, he declares. So you want wisdom, you want success, you want insight. We need to do what those guys needed to do in that day, which was learn from Jesus. Not even from Paul, not from David, not from Solomon. There are opportunities when we approach the Word of God to learn from Jesus Himself. Now that led me to just pause for a moment when I was preparing this and think, what have I, what can I say I've learned specifically from Jesus in my life? Now I've learned a lot from the Bible, not what I've learned from the apostles or the prophets or the Old Testament teachings, but what specifically from Jesus itself? And I pondered that for a minute, and I thought, you know, for me the answer is quite a lot, really. And I want to give you very quickly just two examples in closing. I think Jesus has taught me, can teach all of us, to wait for the right moment. In John's account of Jesus' life in chapter 16, we hear Jesus say, I have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. Now when I read that and understood it for the first time properly, I think, I think that verse pretty much changed my ministry, my approach to ministry. One of the occupational hazards, if you like, of being a Christian or simply knowing the Bible is a temptation to try and upload and unload everything you know the moment someone asks you a question. But I don't see Jesus doing that, and I don't see Jesus recommending that here. He waited until people were ready, he waited for that teachable moment I talked about earlier. I am trying to learn and to try to do this all the time in my life. There are people right now in my life, in the orbit of my network and social friends, who I would love to speak to about spiritual things, but in reality I know they're not ready. I attend these philosophy, spirituality, psychology, and other study groups and reading groups, and often those people as a group are very ill disposed to my position, but regularly, on occasion, more often when they're struggling with an issue in life, they take me aside and individually and privately and say, What do you think? So I wait and I try more and more to wait till people are ready. I do pray and I pray for the right moment and I wait and I ask the Lord to create that right moment, and that is one thing I've definitely learned from Jesus. Now, another thing I've learned is in the same ilk, if you like, is I try when speaking to people, now I always try and start where people are. The story that illustrates that for me is one when Jesus met that rich young ruler, and this rich young ruler calls him good, and Jesus says, Why are you calling me good? Only God is good. So he begins where the young man is. But this is not the only time we see Jesus do this. The story of Nicodemus, that learned man coming to him at night, a Pharisee, someone who really knew the scriptures, and Jesus in that occasion starts where he was, so it was appropriate, and he started with scripture and he analyzed it and says, You must be born again. And then, of course, there was that Samaritan woman who he met by a well, and she's come out to draw water, and Jesus starts right where she is, both physically and in what she's doing, and he says, Give me a drink. He always begins with where people are. He met them in their world, he spoke their language, and he addressed their situation and their concerns. And I, well, hopefully, I've learned a little from Jesus to try and do the same thing, to start where people are, not try and drag them to where I wish they were right now. So, my friends, if you want wisdom, ask questions, ask the right questions of the right people, and then listen and watch. But above all, try and learn from Jesus, because he is a source declared here as being greater than Solomon. He is even wiser than Solomon. In fact, he is the source of all true wisdom the Bible tell us. And if the Queen of Sheba could travel twelve hundred miles to hear Solomon, surely we can learn to simply open our Bibles and read the Gospels and learn from what Jesus Christ Himself has said to us. And thanks be to God that He has come amongst us to do exactly that. Amen and amen. So we're excited one king ten, and we've just seen the Queen of Sheep her, travel across deserts just to sit at Solomon's seat. We've really seen wisdom on display. We've seen wealth beyond imagination and a kingdom so glorious that these people, rulers from around every corner of the known world in their time, came to listen and to learn and to marvel at what they saw there. And Jesus himself points back to this moment and says, Don't you realize a greater one than even Solomon is here right now for you? But this Old Testament story isn't finished because in the very next chapter we've reached a pivot point in this chapter, and the tone will change. This wisest man who has ever lived, the man who built the temple, wrote the Proverbs, dazzled the nations in the way we've just seen, and received wisdom straight from the heart of God. Well, sadly, we will notice him begin to drift. Gradually at first, quietly, but tragically. 1 Kings chapter 11, tomorrow's episode will show us what happens when even a great mind stops listening to the Lord, when a heart becomes divided, and how the smallest of compromises can lead long-term to devastating consequences. So join with me. Come back tomorrow as I step into our next chapter of 1 Kings and watch the rise of Solomon give way to the beginning of his fall. And learn, learn from it, friends, what it means to guard your heart, and particularly during the times when God is blessing you. And we leave it there. Thanks again for being with me. Do come back tomorrow, I trust. Make sure you don't miss a sim a single episode. And if you've not done so already, then consider subscribing to this podcast, just where you get all your other podcasts from, and that way you won't miss another single episode on our journey together through the whole Bible, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, on the Bible Project Daily Podcast. Bye bye for now.