Queen Sheba visits Solomon

When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, (fame due to the name of the Lord), she came to test him with hard questions. She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her. When the queen of Sheba had observed all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his valets, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her. So she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your accomplishments and of your wisdom, but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. Not even half had been told me; your wisdom and prosperity far surpass the report that I had heard. Happy are your wives! Happy are these your servants, who continually attend you and hear your wisdom! Blessed be the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord loved Israel forever, he has made you king to execute justice and righteousness.” Then she gave the king one hundred twenty talents of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones; never again did spices come in such quantity as that which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. (1 Kings 10:1-10, NRSV)

Have you heard something and thought that can’t be right, and I won’t believe that until I see it for myself?

We want to see things with our own eyes before we will believe them.

Why is that?

The Queen of Sheba traveled a great distance to question Solomon and then brought him a great deal of money and spices, and stones. She could have saved herself some time and travel and expenses if she would have believed the reports. But then again is it better to test the waters?

God will make clear to us our ways. He has blessed each of us with a gift. Solomon was wisdom, and because of that, he got many things which he used in mission to God.

How do you use your gift?

Rejoice in the Lord

I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:2-9, NRSV)

Rejoice always in the Lord and do not worry about what will happen.

Know that in any and all circumstances that God will be with you and see you through.

That doesn’t mean there will not be strife or conflict or bad things that happen. But God will be with you and see you through.

So always rejoice in the fact that God is with you and you are named and claimed by Him because He loves you. Not of your own merit or anything you have done, only because He loves you.

Rejoice Always!

The Use of Wealth

As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. (1 Timothy 6:17, NRSV)

Don’t set your hopes in your riches. But remember it is all a blessing from God.

Put your trust in God alone and use the blessings you have received to help spread the love of God!

Desires for Delicacies

When you sit down to eat with a ruler, observe carefully what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you have a big appetite. Do not desire the ruler’s delicacies, for they are deceptive food. Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to desist. When your eyes light upon it, it is gone; for suddenly it takes wings to itself, flying like an eagle toward heaven. Do not eat the bread of the stingy; do not desire their delicacies; for like a hair in the throat, so are they. “Eat and drink!” they say to you; but they do not mean it. You will vomit up the little you have eaten, and you will waste your pleasant words. Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, who will only despise the wisdom of your words. Do not remove an ancient landmark or encroach on the fields of orphans, for their redeemer is strong; he will plead their cause against you. Apply your mind to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge. Do not withhold discipline from your children; if you beat them with a rod, they will not die. If you beat them with the rod, you will save their lives from Sheol. (Proverbs 23:1-14, NRSV)

Watch what you desire. For the things worth desiring are not what the world will tell you to desire.

Do not wear yourself out to be rich, for that will not get you a life that is worth living. Focus your life on God and the blessings He has already given you and you will be rich beyond all imaging.

What do you want more of?

Stewardship and Generosity

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear? ’For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today. (Matthew 6:19-34, NRSV)

It is really easy to say to not worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. But how many of us wonder if we will have enough tomorrow?

But then there are some of us who have more than enough, and shouldn’t we share what we have with others, but then if I share I won’t have as much anymore so when is enough enough in sharing?

Or when is enough enough for me to have and not have to worry?

If you show me your checkbook I can show you where your heart’s desire is. You see money and treasure is a tool and a blessing that God has given us. Now does that mean if we don’t have a lot of wealth we are not good followers of God? No, it doesn’t. It means God has given you what He has given you.

You see we are all blessed by God with what we have in our lives and it is our need to share what He has given us so He can continue to bless us.

I heard a quote that needs to be the way we live our lives. “I drink from the saucer because my cup overflows.” We should all drink from the saucer because of the blessings we have been given.

How can we align our lives so we are focused on what we can do for God with our abundance, rather than worrying about our lack of anything?

The Marriage of Ruth and Boaz

Now these are the descendants of Perez: Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron of Ram, Ram of Amminadab, Amminadab of Nahshon, Nahshon of Salmon, Salmon of Boaz, Boaz of Obed, Obed of Jesse, and Jesse of David. (Ruth 4:18-22, NRSV)

This is not the beginning of the descendants of Jesus or the end, but it is a part that needs to be known. Ruth is a direct descendant of Jesus and is important to our faith.

You are in the lineage of Jesus and Ruth’s story is part of your story.

How do you share the story of your faith with others so that might know how they are connected to Jesus?

The Marriage of Ruth and Boaz

So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When they came together, the Lord made her conceive, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without next-of-kin; and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has borne him.”Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom, and became his nurse. The women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, the father of David. (Ruth 4:13-17, NRSV)

The woman then blessed Naomi who didn’t see the blessing that Ruth was to her. Naomi told the women to call her Mara at the end of chapter 1 because she was bitter and that is how her life was, but she did not see Ruth who was standing right beside Naomi as she said this to the women. Naomi didn’t recognize the blessing that Ruth was to her. Ruth became more to Naomi than 7 sons would have been. Ruth gave her Obed, an offspring, who became the father of Jesse, who is the father of David who will be king of Israel!

You see sometimes we miss the blessings that are right in front of us.

How many times have you missed a blessing in front of you?

The Marriage of Ruth and Boaz

Then all the people who were at the gate, along with the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you produce children in Ephrathah and bestow a name in Bethlehem; and, through the children that the Lord will give you by this young woman, may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.” (Ruth 4:11-12, NRSV)

So Boaz acquired the land and Ruth as his wife and a blessing from the elders who witnessed the transaction.

That as they witnessed the deal, they blessed Ruth to be as a woman like Rachel and Leah who built the house of Israel, and like the house of Perez. A rich house filled with children.

And may Ruth be like Leah and Rachel who built the house of Israel…

Ruth is the great-grandmother of David, who is the forefather of Jesus the savior of the world!

This woman truly had a hand in the building of a nation!

How do we help spread the news of God in our lives?

The Marriage of Ruth and Boaz

Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one took off a sandal and gave it to the other; this was the manner of attesting in Israel. So when the next-of-kin said to Boaz, “Acquire it for yourself,” he took off his sandal. Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have acquired from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, to be my wife, to maintain the dead man’s name on his inheritance, in order that the name of the dead may not be cut off from his kindred and from the gate of his native place; today you are witnesses.” (Ruth 4:7-10, NRSV)

So Boaz removed his shoe and purchased the land and legally acquired Ruth as his wife.

Since the unnamed relative was not able or unwilling to marry Ruth and carry on Elimelech/Mahlon’s name Boaz was able to marry Ruth and provide for her and Naomi.

Would we be so bold as to do this for a relative?

How much are we willing to give to help others live?

The Marriage of Ruth and Boaz

Then Boaz said, “The day you acquire the field from the hand of Naomi, you are also acquiring Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead man, to maintain the dead man’s name on his inheritance.” At this, the next-of-kin said, “I cannot redeem it for myself without damaging my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.” (Ruth 4:5-6, NRSV)

But after the next of kin realized that he would have to marry Ruth to get the field, he could not do it. It would ruin his own inheritance so he was not willing to do that.

Are there things you are not willing to do?

Sometimes we are called to do things we are not ready to do. This was not something this man was willing to do, but Boaz was willing. He stepped in and filled the void.

When have you filled the void?