The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1889-12-06
SUNDAY SCHOOL.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOR
DECEMBER q.
Lesson Text: = solomon and the Queen
~ Sheba.' TKings, n, I-f3.-Golden
Il. xt: Matt. xiii, ,42-Commen-
tary on the Lesson. y

This lesson presents to u; Solomon at the
very summit of his prosperity; he had asked
for wisdom and God had given him wisdom
which eScelled tho wisdom of all the children
of the East and ell the wisdom Of Egypt, SO
that people came from all Kings of the earth
to hear his wisdom. Il Kings iv.. SO,S4) His
great wealth and some of the uses he made of
which follows our lesson and in Eccles. ii.
1. And when the Queen of Sbeba heard
OF the fame Of Solomon concerning the name
of tho Lord, she came to provo him with
hard questions" The fact that this visit is
fully recorded both here and in III Chrop, ix..
and that our Lord Jesus Himself referred to
it Matt. xii. 42) marks it as an event of more
than ordinary Importance; and our Saviour's
cameo yet future. Shcba was evidently
the uttermost part in one direction
of the then known world, country
lying around the extreme south of tho
ked Sea. 10 this remote land the fame
of Solomon concerning the name of Jehovah
had been carried. Observe here and
throughout the lesson that it was not Solo
mon, but Jehovah, whose name and glory
had thus spread abroad; Solomon being only
the human and visible channel of this great
glory.
2. ''She communed with him of all that was
i'm her heart" She came with q great train
OF camels bearing spices, very much gold and
precious stones; somewhat as the wise men
from the East came long afterward to the
King of the Jews, bearing gold, and frank
incense, aud myrrh Matt H., 1, 2, III: and
as :;l nation. win yet do when once the glory
of the Lord is risen upon Israel lisa. k, Isl.
8. And Solomon told her all her ques-
tions." the first verse says that she came to
prove him with hard questions, but now
that she sees aud hears him, every question
is answered. Seeing Jesus is the way out of
every difficulty; and the many things which
now seem to us SO hard, dark and mysterious
will all be cleared up when we see Him as
He is.
4, 5. "Aud when the Queen of Sheba had
seen = 3 there was no moro spirit i'm
her" She had seen the Wisdom of Jehovah
through him he answered all her hard
questions, and now she beholds with her eyes
his house, his table his servants their stand
ing, their apparel, his cupbearers aud his
ascent to the house of Jehovah and as she
looks upon this seven hued rainbow of glory,
all sense of her own Importance is gone with
out an effort A sight of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus will effectualIy blind ms
to the Importance of self and to the attrac.
tiveneSs of this present world.
d. 1t was true report that heard" So
must all those have said who, having heard
OF the fame of Jesus, came to prove Him;
every question was fully and wisely an
swered, every case of disease completely
cured.
Z. "Howbeit believed not the words.n Shs
must have believed something, or she would
not have come on this long journey; but she
did not believe all she heard, for it seemed
too grand to be true. Israers oppression by
the enemy was always because 'they believed
not In God and trusted not in His salvation
haChariaS was deaf and dumb for a season
because he did not believe God; and we are
warned to take heed lest there be in any of us
nm evil heart of unbelief, and lest we thus
Luke l.. 90, 62: Heb. ill.,, 12 iv.. 1-3l No
tice, on the other hand, the blessings OF faith
IS seen in Abram, Daniel, Mary and others
Gen: xv., g; Dan. vi, %; Luke l., As; Acts
xvii. 25l.
Behold the half was not told me: thy wis
dom and prosperity eXceedeth the fame which
! heard" 1t is impossible to tell the half of
the hundredth part of the goodness of God,
either OF that which has been manifested i'm
the gift of His dear Son or of that which is
laid up for those who fear Him Il John iv.,
o; rs. XXI, 19. Eye hath not seen, nor ear
heard. neither have entered into the heart of
for them that love Him, but God hath
vealed them unto us by His Spirit Il
IL, o, lN: and yet how few believed the thugs
which are revealed.
s. Happy thy men, happy these thy SER
wants which stand continually before thee
chat hear thy wisdom" This was her esti,
mate of the privileges which they enioyeJ
and we do not think she said too much; but
whether those who enjoyed these privileges
thought as much of them as she did is another
matter.
9. Blessed be the Lord thy God who de-
NSated IN thee, to set thee on the throne of
Israel" In III CEror. tx, g. the throne is
called the throne OF the Lord. and Solomon
is said TO be King for Him. Such is the state
mept elso concerning this most wonderful of
all the thrones of earth, in Chron. xviii,
3: xXix., 33, pointing us forward to Jer. ill.,,
IL; Zeph. i'll. "a, IS; Luke j., 80, 33.
Because the Lord loved Israel forever"
or, as in III Chron. tx, s. "To establish them
forever The unsearchable and unchange-
able love of God is the reason of all His deal
ings with Israel, or with the church, or with
nations.
10. "There came no more such abund
| ance OF spices as these which the Queen of
Sheba gave to King Solomon" Gold worth
three million of dollars, precious stones and
Of spices very great store; such was her Of
fering to the King because of the name of Je-
hovah. What life from the dead it shall be
when the kingdom is restored to Israel, and
the wealth OF tho nations is poured in upon
them because of the name of Jehovah.
lRom. XII, 10: lsa TX, II, r. w
ii, IL. mo such almug Tor algnm) trees
were seen unto this day" The navy of Hi
ram brought not only gold and precious
stones, but great plenty of these trees
which solomon seems to have used chiefly
Thus we have the Gentiles supplying the ma.
terals for prayer and praise inasmuch as
incense was a symbol of prayer FPS. cxli., q,
and the musical instruments were to praise
God with.
49, "And King Solomon gave unto the
Queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever
she asked" Besides that which he gave her
of his royal bounty he gratified her every
desire He gave as King, royalty and
cheerfully. Do we in any measure realize
that we are joint heirs with Christ, that He
will fulfill the desire of them that fear Him,
that Heis saying: IF ye shall ask anything
i'm My Name | will do it," and that we are
even now blessed with all spiritual blessings
in Him. while He eagerly longs to show na
all His glory? tPs. cxlv., 10: John xiv, IA;
xvii, ~; Eph. j., b.. A full surrender to
Him will cause us to enjoy all these things
and Himself as including them all; but there
is no other way.
$50 she turned and went to her own coun-
try, she and her servants" She came think
ing good deal of herself and laden with
presents for the far famed King; she returned
emptied OF self and laden with his favors.
Jesus will cheertully receive whatever so
willingly bring Him, but if we come with
any sense of our own Importance. and get
anything like glimpse of Him, we shall
wonderfully fall in our own estimation and
be glad to receive graciously from Him, in
stead Of thinking that we can give Him any.
thing. .-LcSSon Helper.