1 Kings 10:1-13
"10 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions.2 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. 3 And Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her. 4 And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, 5 the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his cupbearers, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more breath in her.
6 And she said to the king, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and of your wisdom, 7 but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard. 8 Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 9 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, that you may execute justice and righteousness.” 10 Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, and a very great quantity of spices and precious stones. Never again came such an abundance of spices as these that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
11 Moreover, the fleet of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, brought from Ophir a very great amount of almug wood and precious stones. 12 And the king made of the almug wood supports for the house of the Lord and for the king's house, also lyres and harps for the singers. No such almug wood has come or been seen to this day.
13 And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked besides what was given her by the bounty of King Solomon. So she turned and went back to her own land with her servants."
Two other 'typical' points we note in this story: the queen came to prove Solomon with hard questions, questions about life which had baffled and perplexed her, and she found that Solomon could answer them all. And when we in our frailty, burdened with many things, come to Christ, we find that He answers all our need, and bears all our burdens. There is no problem which He cannot solve for us. He is made unto us wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30). Then, in 13, we are told that Solomon gave her all her desire, and in like fashion, when the soul comes to Christ, it finds its deepest yearnings fulfilled out of the King's royal bounty. As Solomon points out in Ecclesiastes 3:11, 'God hath set eternity in man's heart', and only the eternal, infinite love of Christ can answer the deeps within the soul of man.
In face of all this, Christ's words in Matthew 12:42 take on a particularly solemn meaning. The queen came from afar at the fame of Solomon to hear his wisdom, but the men of Christ's generation were so indifferent to the One Who was greater than Solomon in their midst. And many today, like the queen, have received the true report concerning Christ and yet have not shown the wisdom that she did in coming to the king. This, says our Lord, will be a matter for judgment on the great Day. We may not neglect the example and admonition of the Scriptures with impunity. Well might the prophet lament, 'Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?' (Lamentations 1:12)