SOLOMON AND THE QUEEN OF SHEBA
One of the
religious channels this past week presented a movie that I had never seen [I
know, I was just as surprised as you were]. The title was "Solomon and Sheba.
It was supposed to portray the relationship of Solomon [played by Yul Bryner]
and the Queen of Sheba [played by Gina Lolabridgida]. In the movie, it is
portrayed that Solomon has taken the Queen of Sheba as a wife, yet the Bible
does not make or suggest such a fact.
The biblical account of this story, informs us that the Queen of Sheba had heard
that a King named Solomon was wisest among all kings. She then decided that she
would make a journey to visit him and present him with many riddles to test his
wisdom [compare 1 Kings 10]. When Solomon answers all her riddles she is
astonished at his wisdom in solving them: " thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth
the fame which I heard." As a result, she recognizes the source of his wisdom
and praises the God of Solomon, "Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in
thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel
forever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice (1 Kings 10:9).
There is never any greater feeling, than in the process of teaching the Bible,
we begin to see the "light go off" in the students mind, signifying the
understanding of God's word. As the Apostle Paul said in Romans 1:16, "the
Gospel…" is God's power to save. I believe that when we teach God's words of
Wisdom, the hearers will understand, and like the Queen of Sheba, they will
praise our God.
—Paul