Where blessing is found - 1 Kings 10v1-29

1 Kings chapter 10 verses 1 to 15.

1 Kings 10:1–15

That's on page 348 of the Red Church Bible.

That's 1 Kings chapter 10 verses 1 to 15.

1 Kings 10:1–15

1 Kings chapter 10 verses 1 to 15.

1 Kings 10:1–15

1 Kings chapter 10 verses 1 to 15.

1 Kings 10:1–15

1 Kings chapter 10 verses 1 to 15.

1 Kings 10:1–15

1 Kings chapter 10 verses 1 to 15.

1 Kings 10:1–15

1 Kings chapter 10 verses 1 to 15.

1 Kings 10:1–15

1 Kings chapter 10 verses 1 to 15.

1 Kings 10:1–15

1 Kings chapter 10 verses 1 to 15.

1 Kings 10:1–15

1 Kings chapter 10 verses 1 to 15.

1 Kings 10:1–15

1 Kings chapter 10 verses 1 to 15.

1 Kings 10:1–15

1 Kings chapter 10.

1 Kings 10 · chapter mention

1 Kings chapter 10.

1 Kings 10 · chapter mention

1 Kings chapter 10.

1 Kings 10 · chapter mention

1 Kings chapter 10.

1 Kings 10 · chapter mention

1 Kings chapter 10.

1 Kings 10 · chapter mention

1 Kings chapter 11.

1 Kings 11 · chapter mention

1 Kings chapter 11.

1 Kings 11 · chapter mention

1 Kings chapter 11.

1 Kings 11 · chapter mention

2 Kings chapter 13.

2 Kings 13 · chapter mention

1 Kings chapter 11.

1 Kings 11 · chapter mention

1 Kings chapter 11.

1 Kings 11 · chapter mention

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 666 talents, not including the

revenues from merchants and traders and from all the Arabian kings and the governors of

the territories. Thank you Sam. Well this morning we're going to jump straight into the text

and let me just outline very briefly the three things we're going to see from this this morning.

Here they are, life under God's king, blessings from God's king and gifts for God's king.

So life under the king, blessings from the king and gifts for the king. So let's pray.

Father would you please through your written word and by your spirit and through what I have

to say, would you speak truth into our hearts, transform us and change us so that we can see

the wonderful blessings there are in Christ and that he is all that we need. Teach us today we pray. Amen.

So first, life under God's king. Well life under God's king could really not have been better.

Have a quick look back to chapter 4 verse 20.

We have a wonderful picture of what life was like under King Solomon. Chapter 4 verse 20.

The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They ate, they drank

and they were happy. These people had everything that they needed. Verse 25.

During Solomon's lifetime, Judah and Israel from Dan to Beersheba from north to south

lived in safety. Everyone under their own vine and under their own fig tree.

Nobody was in need or in need. Nobody was in need or in want. They are a blessed people. They are satisfied

and fulfilled. It's life of peace and prosperity. It's really a picture of the world that we all long for.

A picture of the true kingdom that God gives to all those who live under God's king.

Now here's the good news for us. God's king is to be a king for all nations and all peoples.

Remember Solomon's prayer? Have a look at chapter 8 verse 41. Just flick on a little bit. Chapter 8 verse 41.

This was part of Solomon's prayer.

Chapter 8 verse 41.

As for the foreigner.

The anticipation is that people from other nations would come.

That they wouldn't be excluded.

But that God would welcome and accept them.

That they could come and enjoy life under God's king.

Well it seems as if Solomon's prayer has been answered.

Let's go to 1 Kings chapter 10 verse 23.

1 Kings 10:23

1 Kings chapter 10 verse 23.

1 Kings 10:23

1 Kings Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth.

Where did they come from?

Verse 24.

2 Kings Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth.

3 Kings chapter 13.

The nations are coming to the king.

3 Kings.

3 Kings.

They are coming to live under the king.

Now this really shouldn't be a surprise to us.

Because remember God's promise to Abraham all the way back in Genesis chapter 12.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

I have it on the screen for you.

In chapter 12, verse 3, it reads this.

I will bless you, God says,

and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

You see, God had made this promise

that there would be blessing for all peoples,

no matter where you came from.

And that blessing would come through God's King.

You see, whoever we are today,

whatever our race or religion,

whatever our background or experience in life,

the invitation is to come,

for we are called to live our life under God's King.

You see, when we come to God's King,

all our deepest longings are fulfilled and satisfied.

So first, the call to live under God's King.

Second, blessings from God's King.

Now in chapter 10 of 1 Kings,

certainly the first half that we had read to us

gives us an example of the nations

or the kind of people that came to God's King.

We're introduced to her in verse 1,

Queen Sheba.

We don't know a lot about her

or the nation of Sheba,

wherever that was.

Some think it's in modern day Yemen

and it was about a thousand miles that she travelled.

We don't really know,

other than it was a long way away.

But she does teach us some things that we can learn.

First, look at her searching and longing.

The Queen of Sheba is a very, very wealthy woman.

If you look at verse 2,

arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan,

not the wheeled variety,

but a whole entourage of camels

carrying spices,

large quantities of gold

and precious stones.

And look down at verse 10.

And she gave the king

120 talents of gold.

That's the equivalent of 125 million euro

in today's money.

Worth of gold,

all for the king.

And large quantities of spices

and precious stones.

Never again were so many spices brought in

as those the Queen of Sheba gave

to King Solomon.

But yet, despite her vast wealth,

it seems she's not content.

She is unsettled.

Look at the end of verse 1.

We're told that she came to test Solomon

with hard questions.

Now, I don't think she's trying to catch him out.

No, this queen is seeking the truth

and she knows she does not have it.

Look at the end of verse 2.

She came to Solomon

and talked with him about

all that she had on her mind.

Well, what was on her mind?

What's troubling her?

Well, I think the clue comes for us

in verse 1.

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.

You see, news had spread

far and right,

right to the other nations of the world

that Solomon,

God's king,

was in a special relationship

with the Lord.

A God who not only spoke personally,

but a God who came to dwell

with his people intimately.

Those were the preceding verse chapters

about the temple

as God came to meet with his people.

Now, this queen has wealth.

She has everything she needs,

but she is longing

for something far greater

and more eternal

than just wealth.

She's longing to know

something of Solomon's God,

a God who has blessed the king

and has blessed all those

who live under the king.

Verse 3.

So Solomon answered

all her questions.

Nothing was too hard

for the king

to explain to her.

So in her searching

and longing,

she is satisfied

and fulfilled.

She's not disappointed

by what she hears

and sees.

Verse 4.

When the queen of Sheba

saw all the wisdom

of Solomon

and the palace

he had built,

look at all the food

on his table,

the servants

and the officials,

the attending servants

in their robes,

his cupbearers,

and the burnt offerings

he made at the temple

of the Lord,

she was overwhelmed.

She was staggering

in the amazement

of all that she could see.

It's far more

than she could have

possibly imagined.

It's beyond her wildest

expectations.

Verse 7.

But I did not believe

these things

until I came

and saw

with my own eyes.

Indeed,

not even half

was told me.

In wisdom

and wealth

you have far

exceeded the report

I heard.

And look at the people.

Verse 8.

How happy

your people must be.

How happy

your officials

who continually

stand before you

and hear

your wisdom.

You see,

this queen

has travelled

a long,

long distance

and here she is,

all her longing

and searching

and she is now

in the midst

of a blessed

people.

They are

wonderfully happy

people,

satisfied

and fulfilled,

content,

not lacking

anything,

wisdom and wealth

in abundance

all through

the king.

But what is

even more amazing,

Queen Sheba

gets to share

in the blessings

too.

We see this

in her confession

of verse 9.

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.

It's like

Queen Sheba

has burst

into song.

Praise God

from whom

all blessings

flow.

she's come

to see

and now

she tastes

that God

is good.

In God

we experience

blessing.

In God

we find

eternal love.

In God

we find

justice

and righteousness.

Now I don't

think it's too

much to say

that Queen

Sheba

has come

to see

that under

God's king

we find

far more

than we could

possibly dare

to ask

or imagine.

Look at

verse 13.

King Solomon

gave the

Queen of Sheba

all that

she desired

and asked

for

besides

what he

had given

her out

of his

royal bounty.

Then she

left and

returned with

her retinue

all that

she received

to her

own

country.

The point

is

the Queen

leaves

more

blessed

than she

did when

she arrived.

She gave

lots

but she

received

far more

than she

could ever

give.

You see

under

God's

king

means a

life of

blessing

from

God's

king.

So she

comes

searching and

longing

she's

satisfied

and

fulfilled.

Things

are

better

and

greater.

So let

us ask

the question

for

ourselves.

What can

we expect

under

God's

king?

Well life

under

Solomon

the material

blessings

that were

enjoyed

by the

people

well they

were a

foretaste

a picture

of the

spiritual

and eternal

blessings

that would

come through

God's

ultimate

king

Jesus

Christ.

You see

under

Solomon

all the

blessings

well they

were primarily

material

and partial

and as

we'll see

next week

they were

all dependent

on the

faithfulness

and obedience

of the

king.

If the

king

failed

then the

blessings

stopped.

so they

were

material

and they

were

partial

they

never

lasted

but in

Christ

the

blessings

we

receive

from the

true

king

they

are

spiritual

and

eternal.

Have a

look at

Ephesians

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

keep your

finger

if you

can

in 1

1 Kings 10 · chapter mention

Kings

chapter 10

we're

going to

come back

there

and have

a look

at

Ephesians

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

I know

you were

looking at

Ephesians

2

last week

well

let's

have a

look at

Ephesians

1

and

verse 3

as we

think

about

the

better

and

greater

blessings

we

receive

through

God's

king

Jesus

Christ

verse 3

praise

be to

the

God

and

father

of

our

Lord

Jesus

Christ

who

has

blessed

us

in

the

heavenly

realms

with

every

spiritual

blessing

in

Christ

not

some

of

the

blessings

not

just

a

little

bit

of

the

blessing

but

everything

all

the

spiritual

blessings

that are

available

are

ours

in

Christ

what are

those

blessings

well read

on

verse 4

for he

that is

God

chose us

in

Christ

before

the

creation

of the

world

to be

holy

and

blameless

in his

sight

if

you are

in

Christ

today

God

is

looking

at

you

today

as

holy

and

blameless

he

treats

you

as

he

does

his

very

own

son

let's

read

on

verse

5

in

love

he

predestined

us

to be

adopted

to

sonship

through

Jesus

Christ

we

are

now

no

longer

outsiders

but

we

can

talk

to

God

as

father

brothers

and

sisters

of

the

Lord

Jesus

verse

7

in

Christ

we

have

redemption

through

his

blood

the

forgiveness

of

his

sins

in

accordance

with

the

riches

of

God's

grace

that

he

lavished

on

us

this

is

all

ours

today

these

are

the

blessings

that

we

can

enjoy

chosen

loved

treasured

adopted

redeemed

forgiven

we're

not

short

changed

by

his

grace

he

has

poured

out

his

riches

upon

us

but

that's

not

all

look

at

what

is

to

come

down

at

verse

13

and

you

also

were

included

in

Christ

when

you

heard

the

message

of

truth

the

gospel

of

salvation

when

you

believed

when

you

trusted

in

Christ

you

were

marked

in

him

with

a

seal

the

promised

Holy

Spirit

who is

a

deposit

guaranteeing

our

inheritance

until the

redemption

of those

who are

God's

possession

to the

praise

of his

glory

we

we

now

have

the

presence

of the

Holy

Spirit

a

reminder

to

tell us

that

we

are

looking

forward

to

an

eternal

kingdom

that

is

guaranteed

that

is

ours

not

because

of

our

faithfulness

but

because

of

the

obedience

and

faithfulness

of

Jesus

Christ

one

day

we

will

experience

our

full

redemption

filled

with

joy

eternal

pleasures

to

enjoy

forever

and

forever

Jesus

is the

better

and

greater

king

he

will

not

fail

you

or

let

you

down

he

is

infinitely

wise

and

abundantly

wealthy

in

Jesus

all

our

longings

are

satisfied

and

fulfilled

he

is

God's

chosen

king

through

whom

all

nations

and

all

peoples

will

be

blessed

so

life

under

God's

king

blessings

from

God's

king

and

then

third

gifts

for

God's

king

let's

go

back

to

1

1 Kings 10 · chapter mention

kings

chapter

10

you

see

those

who

came

to

the

king

people

like

queen

sheba

received

wonderful

blessings

but

look at

how

the

nations

treated

the

king

look

at

their

response

to

the

king

verse

10

remind

ourselves

that as

the queen

came

she gave

the

king

120

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

king

Solomon

if

we

think

that's

a lot

well

look

at

verse

14

the

weight

of

gold

that

Solomon

received

yearly

was

666

talents

in

today's

money

that's

just

a little

under

a

billion

euro

worth

of

gold

verse

15

and it

doesn't

include

all the

revenues

from

merchants

and

traders

and

from

all

the

Arabian

kings

and the

governors

of the

territories

verse

25

year

after

year

this

doesn't

want

a

one

off

year

after

year

everyone

who

came

brought

a

gift

articles

of

silver

and

gold

and

robes

and

weapons

and

spices

and

horses

and

mules

and

everything

else

you

could

think

of

the

extravagance

of these

gifts

are just

mind

blowing

it's

wealth

beyond

comprehension

his

gifts

are so

great

verse

16

king

Solomon

made

200

large

shields

of

hammered

gold

600

shekels

of

gold

that's

about

7

kilograms

of

gold

in

each

shield

he

also

made

300

small

shields

about

one and a

half

kilos

of

gold

in

each

of

them

200

big

ones

and

300

small

ones

it's

like

us

decorating

our

house

in

500

euro

notes

just

because

we

have

it

and

making

your

foundation

full of

two

euro

coins

or

something

is this

not all

a bit

too

much

is this

not too

extravagant

like

come on

guys

would you

just hold

back on

all the

gifts

here

why do

those who

come

bring

such

extravagant

gifts

because

this is

God's

king

the

king

from whom

all

blessings

flow

for such

a king

no

gift

is too

much

his

fame

and his

wisdom

commands

it

how much

more

then

does

the

true

king

Jesus

Christ

who

didn't

come

seeking

any

gift

but

lavished

on us

the riches

of his

grace

who

has

blessed

us

with

eternal

blessings

who

satisfies

us

and

fulfills

us

who

sacrificed

his

life

so that

we

might

have

life

how

much

more

does

the

true

king

deserve

our

gifts

our

life

our

all

love

the

hymn

writer

poetically

put it

like

this

as he

calls

us

to

remember

and to

picture

the

cross

when I

survey

the

wondrous

cross

on which

the

prince

of glory

died

look

back to

the

cross

look

to

Jesus

see

from

his

head

his

hands

his

feet

sorrow

and love

flow

mingle

down

did

air

such

love

and sorrow

meet

or

thorns

compose

so rich

a crown

what's

our

response

were

the

whole

realm

of

nature

mine

that

were

an

offering

far

too

small

love

so

amazing

so

divine

demands

my

soul

my

life

my

all

even

if I

were

to

own

the

whole

of

the

universe

if I

were

to

be

owner

of

the

whole

world

that

is

an

offering

far

too

small

he

demands

my

soul

my

life

my

all

we

give

our

life

to

Jesus

not

to

earn

blessing

but

because

he

has

blessed

us

with

every

spiritual

blessing

so

I

should

have

had

that

title

up

a

bit

earlier

one

more

the

Queen's

warning

now

you

may

be

thinking

I'm

not

sure

if

I

can

do

this

can

I

give

my

whole

life

to

Jesus

I

don't

know

if

I

can

trust

him

with

all

that

I

have

if

I'm

to

believe

this

if

I'm

really

to

in

response

to

give

him

my

life

well

I

need

a

little

bit

more

than

a

story

about

a

queen

called

Sheba

and

a

visit

to

a

king

called

Solomon

what's

going

to

convince

me

that

God's

king

really

does

have

every

spiritual

blessing

and

that

he

is

worth

giving

my

whole

life

to

well

Jesus

has

something

to

say

to

us

have

a

look

at

Luke

Luke 11 · chapter mention

chapter

11

11

the

whole

context

of

chapter

11

Jesus

has

been

in

debate

with

the

people

and

religious

leaders

about

well

that

he

is

God's

king

but

the

people

and

the

religious

leaders

refuse

to

believe

him

so

Jesus

has

some

very

direct

words

to

say

verse

31

the

queen

of the

south

that's

a

reference

to

queen

sheba

will

rise

at

the

judgment

with

the

people

of

this

generation

and

condemn

them

for

she

came

from

the

ends

of

the

earth

to

listen

to

Solomon's

wisdom

and

now

something

greater

than

Solomon

is

here

something

greater

than

Solomon

has

come

we

now

have

Jesus

the

better

and

greater

king

why

would

we

not

trust

him

we

have

his

words

we

can

read

all

about

him

in

the

scriptures

we

can

see

the

miracles

that

he

did

his

resurrection

from

the

grave

how

much

more

do

we

need

what

more

evidence

do

we

need

to

be

able

to

believe

and

trust

him

you

see

there's

no

point

any

one

of

us

standing

before

God

on

judgment

day

and

saying

I

didn't

know

nobody

nobody

told

me

I

didn't

quite

understand

look

at

what

Jesus

says

verse

31

the

queen

of

the

south

will

rise

at

the

judgment

with

the

people

of

this

generation

and

condemn

them

the

picture

Jesus

is

painting

is

serious

it's

as if

we

are

standing

on

the

day

of

judgment

before

God

and

he

turns

and

he

says

look

can

you

see

her

queen

sheba

she's

here

she's

she's

received

the

inheritance

now

if

this

queen

who

had

far

less

truth

and

less

understanding

and

travelled

all

the

way

to

listen

to

Solomon

and

believed

and

trusted

God

and

was

blessed

how much

more

should we

believe

the true

king

who came

to us

and gave up

his life

for us

who is

abundantly

wise

and wealthy

beyond our

imagination

salvation

if

queen

sheba

believed

then

there

is

no

excuse

for

anyone

else

not

to

believe

we

have

everything

we need

in

Christ

will we

trust

him

later

in

Luke

Jesus

reassures

all those

who do

believe

this is

what he

says

in Luke

18

it's on

the screen

no one

who has

left

home

or wife

or brothers

or sisters

or parents

or children

for the sake

of the kingdom

he's saying

no one

who has

surrendered

to king

Jesus

no one

who has

submitted

their life

to the

true king

will fail

to receive

many times

as much

in this

age

and in

the age

to come

eternal

life

we will

not be

disappointed

when we

come to

king

Jesus

why do

we run

after other

things

and other

people

it is a

call to

turn our

hearts back

afresh

to the

true king

from whom

all blessings

flow

you see

one day

Jesus will

come

and for

one

it will

be a

time

of

blessing

filled

with joy

eternal

pleasures

at his

right hand

for

another

it will

be a

time of

judgment

the call

my friends

is for

all of us

to live

life

under

God's

king

and you

will discover

that you

are

blessed