God’s body on earth

1 Kings 10.

The Queen of Sheba visits Solomon.

Cue ‘The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba’ – one of my favourite pieces of music and the music I walked down the aisle to…..

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. 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. Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her. 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.

She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. 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. How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 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.”  1 Kings 10:1-9

She’d heard all about him. It all seemed too good to be true. She had to come and see for herself.

God had wanted his people to shine as a light in the darkness. To behave differently from all the peoples around them. To draw attention to themselves for all the right reasons.

How do we shine as a light in the darkness?

These people were in relationship with the one true God and that had to look different from the way everyone else was doing life. They were a holy people – set apart to do God’s will.

How are we doing it differently?

The Queen of Sheba needed to be convinced. She had a lot of questions.

How do we react when people have questions?

The Queen of Sheba is overwhelmed – with praise for God. The glory goes to Him. She does not big up Solomon – he is just a man, after all. She can see that God is at work in and through his people. She can see what God is trying to do. She can see that Solomon has been given this role for a reason – to maintain justice and righteousness (it doesn’t actually say that he is doing it, just that that is what his role should be!). She sees that God has given all this to Solomon for a reason – to put into practice all that he has taught his people about being there for the poor, the weak, the marginalised and those suffering from injustice.

Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.  1 Kings 10:13

The departure of the Queen of Sheba.

Things could not be better.

The wealth, the opulence, the extravagance….

A thriving import and export business – including apes and baboons!

And chariots – which is equivalent to arms trading today.

Greater riches and wisdom than all the other kings on the earth.

And Solomon accumulated….and accumulated…..and accumulated…….

Accumulated chariots and horses.

Accumulated gold and silver.

Accumulated foreign wives.

So is Solomon using all that God has given Him to reveal God, to bring heaven on earth, to extend God’s kingdom?

It doesn’t seem that way, does it?

He’s using forced labour.

He’s establishing military bases.

He’s dealing in arms,

He’s accumulating wealth and then amassing defences to protect it.

He’s taking foreign wives.

This is not establishing God’s kingdom.

This is establishing an anti-kingdom with his own needs and desires and glory at the heart of it.

So what is God going to do now?

What happens when His body on earth looks nothing like Him?

What happens when His people become the embodiment of everything God is against?

 

Just as God was looking for a body then, a nation who could show God to the rest of the world, He wants us to be his body now – to reveal Him to the people around us. To be there for the poor, the weak, the marginalised and those suffering from injustice.

God’s people on earth are God’s body on earth.

How much do we look like God, behave like God, love like God, think like God?

Quite a challenge for a wet Monday morning!