The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-12-04
SABBATH SCHOOL.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON FCR
DECEMBER 8.
Lesson Text: Solomon and the
Queen Of Sheba," Kings K, 1-1SL
Golden Text: Matt. xif., AZ
commentary.

great wealth and some Of the uses he made Of
it is described in the portion Of this chapter
which follows our lesson and Eccles. ii.
l: "And when the Queen Of Sheba heard
OF the fame Of Solomon concerning the name
Of the Lord, she came to prove him with
hard Questions" The fact that this visit Is
fully recorded both here and in II Chron. x,
and that our Lord Jesus Himself referred to
it Matt xii, ~ marks it as an event of more
than ordinary Importance; and our Saviour's
reference to 1t points to time and dgpih-
cance yet future. Sheba was evidently
Of the then known world, country
lying around the extreme south Of the
Red Sea. To 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
in her heart" She came with 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, and myrrh Matt. H., /, 2, 1D; and;
as all nations will yet do when once the glory.
of the Lord is risen upon Israel lisa. x, 1-6.!
8. ''And Solomon told her all her ques-
tions." The first verse says that she came to!
that she sees and 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, S. "And when the Queen Of Sheba had
seen ~ y there was no more spirit In
her" She had seen the Wisdom of Jehovah |,
through him as he answered all her hard
questions, and now she beholds with her Dyes
his house, his table, his servants, their stand
ing, their apparel, his cupbearers and 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 effectuslly blind us
to the Importance Of self and to tho attrac-
tiveness Of this present world. 3I.si
9. ut 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. r.- rsf 37a'
Z. "Howbeit believed not the words" She
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
the enemy was always because :they believed
not in God and trusted not in His salvation"
Zacharias was deaf and dumb for season,
because he did not believe God; and we arc
warned to take heed lest there be in any Of US
an evil heart Of unbelief, and lest we thus
come. short of our rest. (Ps. xviii, %;
Luke l., 20, 62; Heb. ILL.,, Il; w., 1-S) No
tice, on the other hand, the blessings of faith
as seen in Abram, Daniel, Mary and others.
tGen. ", g.; Dan. vi, %; Luke l., 45; Acts
xvii, 25). .r' -.''.sf q"
:'Behold, the half was not told me; thy wis
dom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which
Iheard" It is impossible to tell the half Of
the hundredth part Of the goodness of God,
either Of that which has been manifested in
the gift of His dear Son or Of that which is
laid up for those who fear Him Il John iy.,
9; Ps. xxi, 19. ''Eye hath not seen, nor ear
heard, neither have entered into the heart Of
man the things which God hath prepared
for them that love Him, but God hath re-
H., 9, 10y; and yet how few believed the things
which are revealed. ...#-...r. qiE.
8. Happy thy men, happy these thy ser
wants which stand continually before thee,
that hear thy wisdom" This was her esti-
mate Of the privileges which they enjoyed,
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. - uys}sd
9. "Blessed be the Lord thy God, who de-
lighted in thee, to set thee on the throne Of.
israel" In II Chron. X, 8, the throne Is
called the throne of the Lord, and Solomon
IS said to be King for Him. Such Is the state
ment also concerning this most wonderful Of
all the thrones of earth, in Chron. xviii,
5; xxx, 33, pointing us forward to Jer. iii,
II; Zeph. iii, IA, Is; Luke /, 50, 33. .sy.E
Because the Lord loved Israel forever.
or, as in II Chron. *, 8, ITO 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. 81, ~
10. ''There came no moro such abund-i
| 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 nameof Je-,
hovah. What life from the dead it shsHb
when the kingdom is restored to Israel, and,
the wealth of the nations is poured in uponl
| them because Of the name of Jehovah.
| Rom. XII, IS; Isa. k, II, r. w
I II, 10. mo such almug Tor algum) trees
were seen unto this day." The navy Of HI,
ram brought not only gold and precious
stones, but a great plenty Of these trees
| which Solomon seems to have used ch1eny
for musical instruments QI Chron. *, III.
| Thus we have the Gentiles supplying the ma
terials for prayer and praise, inasmuch as
| incense was symbol Of prayer (Ps. cxi., y,
and the musical instruments were to praise
| God with.
13. "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 gratif1ed her every
desire. He gave as King, royalty and
cheerfully. Do we in any measure rsalize
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
even now blessed with all spiritual blessings
in Him, while He eagerly longs to show US
ali His glory? FPS. cIlv., 19; John xiv, IA:
vii. "a: Eph. l., 81. A full surrender to
Him will cause us to enjoy all these things
and Himself as including thcm all; but there
is no other way.
$50 she turner and went to her own coun-
try, she and her servants," She came think
inp a good deal Of herself. and laden with
nresents for the far famed King; she returned
emptied of self and laden with his favors.
.Jesl1s will cheerfully receive whatever we
willingly bring Him, but If We come with
any sense of our own Importance, and get
ANYTHING like a glimpse of Him, we shall
! wonderfully fall in our own eStlmatlon ano
be glad to receive graciously from Him, In
stead Of thinking that we can give Him any
thing.-LrSSon ReLD'r.
THERE used to be singular custom
at Holland House. The late Lord
Holland shot himself. It was the ira
dition of the family that he had been
shot, and every night for years, pune