Solomon's Favor

00:00:00 Speaker 1: Previously on the chosen people. 00:00:03 Speaker 2: As for you, if you walk before me faithfully, with integrity of heart and uprightness, as your father David did, and if you keep my commands and observe my laws, I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever. But if you or your descendants turn away from me and do not observe my commands, if you serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them. Israel will become an object of scorn and ridicule among all the peoples. 00:00:42 Speaker 1: Everything a king could ever dream of with his. 00:00:46 Speaker 3: Then why does it feel like something's missing? 00:00:51 Speaker 4: There's an alarming number of foreign shrines around Jerusalem. Israel hasn't had such things here since the time of Judges. You fear offending your wives, better, I fear. 00:01:04 Speaker 3: For the hearts of these marriages. Keep the wealth of the nation bound with the others. 00:01:11 Speaker 4: I also bind their culture to ours, and their gods to our people. 00:01:17 Speaker 1: Jero Boham was taken aback an he sank to the pit of his stomach. 00:01:22 Speaker 5: Is the king subtly enslaving God's people. 00:01:34 Speaker 6: Some kingdoms collapse not from war, but from something else entirely Shelloh, my friends, from here in the holy land of Israel, I'm l Exstein with international fellowship of Christians and Jews, and welcome to the Chosen People. The palace is gleaming, the court is hushed, and a caravan from the ends of the earth approaches today. In One Kings, chapter ten, we find Solomon at the height of his power, his fame echoing across deserts and seas. The Queen of Sheba arrives not for spectacle, not for trade, but for truth. She brings questions, deep, difficult and daring. But here's the real question. What happens when power is tested not by war but by wisdom? What does it reveal? We followed Solomon from his humble request for understanding, through the building of the temple to the heights of international admiration. But here here's a queen with questions. 00:02:39 Speaker 1: Jeroboam was nearing the city of Shiloh, about forty miles from Meguido, on his journey out of Jerusalem. It was quiet that morning, and since breaking down his camp, he hadn't passed a single soul. Despite the nearness of the city, Jeroboam was once enthusiasm about his assignment to fortify the city of Megido, but his new role in the north had lost its luster. Jeroboam was met with nothing but resentment, fury, and grumblings of rebellion around every corner. King Hiram was right. The northern tribes were reaching their limit of what they would tolerate from their rich. Out of touch wise king from the tribe of Judah to them, Solomon was more obsessed with adding to the grandeur of his legacy in the South than he was with building the entire kingdom. Yes, Solomon had made Israel prosperous, but he also conscripted men from every tribe, pulling them away from their cities and families. It wasn't technically slavery, but it was dangerously close to becoming so. Tales of extravagant palaces, Solomon's vast haring of wives and concubines, and the lavish palace he built for his Egyptian wife didn't help his image. 00:04:08 Speaker 5: Emissaries and ambassadors give him reports from every corner of the world. He has access to every wise man and sage, and yet he fails to see trouble brewing under his fairy nulls. 00:04:22 Speaker 1: When Jeroboam brought news to Solomon and his council, it fell on deaf ears progress. Solomon was all about progress. However, there were those who did listen to Jeroboam. The elders of the northern tribes had grown fond of Jeroboam. They listened to him and yielded to his guidance. It felt good, but it also felt necessary, especially if Solomon continued to ignore their needs. There were those who whispered in his ear that he should lead them, that he should be their voice. Jeroboam's ego burn their admiration. 00:05:02 Speaker 5: And why why shouldn't I lead? King David was once a humble shepherd boy before he became king. Stranger things have happened. 00:05:14 Speaker 1: Jeroboam fought such fantasies out of respect for Solomon above his own ambition. Jeroboam held a deep love for the king who had given him everything. Jeroboam turned his thoughts to a compromise. Perhaps Solomon could promote him as an overseer in the northern tribes. They needed a leader who was in touch with their needs before a rebellion rose. As Jeroboam continued to ride, he noticed that a figure had not even since he had emerged onto the road, the man appeared to be waiting for him. He had no donkey or pack, just a simple cloak. The old man beckoned him over in a gruff, almost dismissing manner, like Jeroboam was an inconvenience to him. Before waiting to see if Jeroboam was following, he turned back toward the city and called over his shoulder. 00:06:12 Speaker 3: Come walk with me, Jeroboam, son of Nabad. 00:06:15 Speaker 1: Jeroboam's pulse quickened. He knew that voice. It was a Hyjah, the prophet, a man who had once walked the halls of Solomon's court but now moved outside its reach. Rumor had it he had made Shiloh his home. Jeroboam hesitated, but then he followed. The old prophet led him off the road and over to a clearing where a walking staff and a small pack were waiting on a rock in the shade of a twisted tree. 00:06:48 Speaker 3: I've been waiting for you. Come sit. 00:06:53 Speaker 1: The back of Jeroboam's neck prickled with intrigue and the weight of destiny. To be so sought out by a prophet was no common occurrence. A Hyjah plopped himself down on the rock with some difficulty and grasped his staff, wincing at the apparent stiffness in his joints. Without a word, the prophet shrugged his cloak off his shoulders and held it in his hands, holding it out before Jeroboam. The cloak was brand new, in contrast with the weathered man who wore it. Jeroboam wasn't sure if he should take it or not. 00:07:31 Speaker 3: Watch carefully, young man. 00:07:34 Speaker 1: The old man's thick, weathered hands tore the fabric in half from shoulder to knee. He then took another piece and tore that one, then another, tear after tear. Jeroboam watched as the man labored to pull apart the cloak's woven fabric until he had torn it into twelve jagged pieces, all neatly stacked on his knee. Wordlessly, A Hygia counted out ten of the strips and held them out to Jeroboam, keeping the other two in a bald fist. 00:08:09 Speaker 3: Take ten pieces for yourself. 00:08:13 Speaker 5: Why ten? 00:08:15 Speaker 3: Do not ask questions you already know the answer. 00:08:18 Speaker 5: To, Even so, I'd like to hear what the Lord says. 00:08:25 Speaker 7: Hm hm, This is what the Lord, God of Israel says, I'm about to tear the kingdom out of Solomon's hand. I'll give you ten tribes, but Judah and Benjamin will remain his for the sake of my servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I chose out of all the tribes of Israel. 00:08:45 Speaker 3: For they have abandoned me. They have bowed down to Ashtreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, to Shamash, the god of Moab, and to Milcom, the god of the Ammonites. They have not walked in my ways to do what is right in my sight, and to carry out my statutes and my judgments, as his father David did. I will humble David's descendants because of their unfaithfulness, but not forever. 00:09:10 Speaker 1: Jeroboam looked down at the tattered pieces of cloak in his hand and ran his fingers along the frayed edges. Yearning roared in his heart and in his ears. The meaning was clear. A torn cloak, a divided kingdom, a throne was being offered. It would be up to Jeroboam to unite the ones that were tearing away. As if reading his ravenously ambitious thoughts, a Hyjah held up a finger in warning. 00:09:42 Speaker 3: The Lord also says this, I will appoint you, and you will reign as king over Israel, but only if you obey, only if you walk in his ways as David did. 00:09:56 Speaker 1: Otherwise, a Hyjah tightened his grip on the final two strips of cloth. 00:10:03 Speaker 3: Otherwise you will fall as he will. I will build you a lasting dynasty, just as I built for David, and I will give you Israel. 00:10:12 Speaker 1: The prophet then pressed his hands into his knees to stand and took up his walking stick. He still held the two final strips in his hand, the remnant of David. 00:10:25 Speaker 3: Go on there. You receive your message and you're warning. Take what you've received. 00:10:31 Speaker 2: Go. 00:10:32 Speaker 1: Jeroboam's fingers twitched at his sides. He could feel his heart beating in his throat. A moment of caution and the fear of treason stayed Jeroboam's rising ambition before he found the flames of all out rebellion. He just wanted to be sure he understood the prophet's words. 00:10:55 Speaker 5: What does this mean from me? Now? 00:11:00 Speaker 3: The rod is tearing the kingdom from Solomon's hands. He has turned from the path of his father David and given himself to the gods of his wives, and built altars where none should stand. For David's sake, his son, rear Bomb will keep a remnant. But for Solomon's sin, you will lead the ten northern tribes of Israel, and the Lord is promising to be with you and build a great legacy through you if you walk in his ways. 00:11:31 Speaker 1: The heat of the late morning sun cast golden hues over Jerusalem's towering limestone walls. As a caravan unlike any other, wound its way toward the Royal Palace. Dust clouds rose from the hoofs of camels, laden with treasures, chests of gold, carved ivory, bolts of rare dyed fabric, and the unmistakable scent of frankincense and myrrh perfume in the air. At the head of it, all carried in a grand palanquin draped in embroidered silks, the Queen of Sheba sat in splendor. The stories of Solomon had reached her through merchants, sailors and emissaries. They had spoken of his unmatched wisdom, blessing, and a kingdom like no other on earth. But words were only words, and the queen did not trust easily. 00:12:31 Speaker 8: This journey, twelve hundred miles across burning desert and treacherous mountain passes, was a test if the king was truly as wise as they claimed, or she would see it for herself. Solomon sat on his ivory throne, its intricately inlaid golden designs, gleaming in the sunlight filtering through the latticed windows of the Hall of Judgment. At his side was Bathsheba, the queen, mother to the other side, Ria Boam, his son and heir to Ria Boem. This was yet another of the thousands of courtiers and nobles who had come to pay homage to his father. To Solomon, however, she was not merely a queen. She was yet another opponent in the endless game of wits. She was another answer to the hunger inside him that always clamored for more, more affirmation, more acknowledgment, proof that he was enough. The room stilled as the doors groaned open the queen was announced. She swept inside her garments, the deep red of desert sands. At sunset, her golden adornments glittering like Opha's riches. She was striking, not merely beauty, but commanding. The Queen's dark eyes swept the hall before settling on Solomon. She took him in the feigned king of Israel, and smirked. Solomon returned the smirk in kind. 00:14:16 Speaker 3: Your grace, Welcome to the city of David. You honor us all, your visitor. 00:14:23 Speaker 9: So the rumors were not exaggerated. You do sit on a throne of ivory and gold, and your kingdom does shine as if the sun itself dwells within your walls. 00:14:37 Speaker 1: She glanced at the chiseled cedar columns around her, the intricate carvings of lilies, pomegranates and palm trees, the lavish tapestries, the rare woods lining the floors. Her coy smile played at her lips. She began her gambit. 00:14:56 Speaker 9: But tell me, King Solomon, does wisdom shine as brightly as gold? Or is it merely another thing for a man to hoard? 00:15:08 Speaker 3: Gold glitters for the eyes of the simple. Wisdom burns within. It's not hoarded, my Queen, it consumes. 00:15:18 Speaker 1: The queen stepped forward one pace. 00:15:21 Speaker 9: Then you are a man on fire. 00:15:25 Speaker 3: I have known the heat of truth, yes, and I have the scars. 00:15:29 Speaker 5: To prove it. 00:15:31 Speaker 9: So the songs are true. The wise king, with answers on his tongue and riddles in his bones, tell me, if a man knows all, why do his eyes still hunger? 00:15:47 Speaker 1: Solomon hid the brief, sharp pain to his ego. The Queen of Sheba had only been there for me a moment, and it seemed as though she saw right through him. She saw the hollow core. 00:16:02 Speaker 3: The eye is never filled with seeing, nor the ear with hearing. The heart of a man is a deep pit. Even the wires fall in if they peer too long into its darkness. 00:16:13 Speaker 9: You speak as if you've. 00:16:15 Speaker 3: Fallen more than once. 00:16:19 Speaker 9: What did you find in there? 00:16:22 Speaker 5: Love? 00:16:23 Speaker 3: Lust, pride, a son's grief, a father's guilt, all lying in that pit, side by side, like bones the battlefield. 00:16:35 Speaker 9: I hear her father fell many on that of you, Yet no blood has stained your heads. Why is that you are the first king in this region to build a prosperous nation without the sword? 00:16:51 Speaker 1: Solomon smirked and stood from his throne. He gestured for the queen to take his arm. 00:16:58 Speaker 3: A nation may be one and by the sword, but it must be built through wisdom and diplomacy. Come, I will show. 00:17:07 Speaker 1: You the king of Israel and the Queen of Sheba walked shoulder to shoulder, surveying the great city of David. The queen was bewitched by the Shia grandeur, but she hadn't come just to see architecture and riches. 00:17:26 Speaker 9: I have palaces more splendid than this, King of Israel. I came for something rarer than stone and cedar. I came for wisdom. 00:17:39 Speaker 3: Then you came to drink from a deep well, though I warn you the water and may show you your reflection. 00:17:47 Speaker 1: She laughed at that. Her bracelets sang softly with each movement. 00:17:52 Speaker 9: If a man claims to be wise, is he not already a fool? 00:17:58 Speaker 3: Maybe so, especially if he speaks before listening. Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent. 00:18:06 Speaker 1: Her eyes sparkled like a viper's watching prey. 00:18:10 Speaker 9: And if he gains all the wisdom of the world, what then, what profit is there in it? If in the end death claims both the wise and the foolish alike. 00:18:24 Speaker 3: He who increases knowledge increases sorrow. Yes, I have seen the end of all men. It is but a vapor chasing the wind. But wisdom lights a man's path even under the grave. 00:18:41 Speaker 1: The Queen laughed, not mocking, but sharp and curious. 00:18:45 Speaker 9: You are not the child they say you are. You must be proud of all you've accomplished. 00:18:52 Speaker 3: In truth, I'm. 00:18:54 Speaker 9: Not happiness eludes you. 00:18:58 Speaker 3: Yes, ways, I've tasted every wine, em bedded hundreds of women, planted forests, and built towers of grandeur. All the wealth of men has been mine to squander, ivory towers and gold beneath my feet. I've written poems and hunted game. I've sought wisdom and found treasures beyond my wildest dreams. But it's not enough. It's all. It's all vanity, vapors, striving after the wind. 00:19:36 Speaker 1: The Queen stood silent, Then, without a word, she stepped forward and placed her hand upon his. 00:19:44 Speaker 3: So all is meaningless, yes er and no, all is temporary. Riches, glory, power. 00:19:57 Speaker 9: Eyes, power. What place does power have in. 00:20:03 Speaker 3: Your kingdom of vapor powers? A shadow cast by fear, It diseased the wielder, and chance the beholder. But it's not real. A dying man cannot command the wind. 00:20:18 Speaker 9: Yet here you sit above all Israel, the richest, wisest man on earth. You don't command the wind, but you command armies and servants. 00:20:31 Speaker 3: Yet I don't feel powerful. I have armies, chariots and alliances, But somehow, deep in my bones, I oh, my father felt even more powerful with its sling and shepherd staff. 00:20:47 Speaker 1: She looked at him now, not as a ruler to another ruler, but as a woman who had found a man who did not lie to himself. 00:20:57 Speaker 9: You wear your crown like a burden. 00:21:00 Speaker 3: You, dear Queen, no more than any one that it is. 00:21:05 Speaker 1: The Queen studied him, Then at last she nodded. Satisfied, the two re entered the palace courtyard, where courtiers from both Sheba and Israel were awaiting them. The Queen gave Solomon a regal nod, then raised her voice for all to hear. She spoke to Solomon, but it was really a show for the rest of them. 00:21:30 Speaker 10: The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. But I must admit I did not believe these things until I came and saw with. 00:21:43 Speaker 3: My own eyes your kind, good Queen. 00:21:48 Speaker 9: I am honest. How happy your people must be, How happy your officials who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom. Praise be eat the Lord, your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. May you reign in righteousness for many years. 00:22:11 Speaker 1: So Solomon smiled graciously and clapped his hands together to signify the end of their session. Cupbearers and attendants sprang forward and readied the hall for a great feast. But as the evening of celebration and feasting carried on a word she had used, nored in the back of his mind, righteousness. The weight of his father's name, of his legacy pressed against him. 00:22:43 Speaker 3: Have I built something that will lapsed? Or have I only built monuments to myself? 00:22:50 Speaker 1: He glanced toward his son, his own legacy. His heart sank Rhea Boham was certainly not concerned with righteousness. Solomon was not blind. He did not like to admit it, but he knew his son's heart had been turned to other gods, and he had long strayed from the righteous path of the Lord. His eyes then slid to his mother, the last remaining tie to David's reign, As if she knew the nature of her son's thoughts. She drifted over to him and sat at his side. She tracked Solomon's gaze toward Rha. 00:23:29 Speaker 4: Boham, I am now quite an old woman. I will retire and leave all this revelry to the young. But before I do, one last proverb for my brilliant scholar. To meditate on righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a disgrace to any people. Be careful, my son, I feel it in my bones. The peace in Israel balances on a knife's point. Be careful that you don't let all of this. 00:24:12 Speaker 1: She gestured around to the lavish room and excessive wine and food crowded the tables. 00:24:20 Speaker 4: Don't let all of this lavishness and spectacle blind you. Your wisdom is a gift, but it is not a shield against folly. The Lord gave you a kingdom. He can take it away. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. 00:24:46 Speaker 3: The Lord made a covenant with my father, and he's kept his word. Do you truly think he would take it all away? 00:24:55 Speaker 1: I worry he won't have to With that bath, She but gently squeezed her son's arm and kissed his forehead before retreating from the hall, leaving Solomon to mull over the heaviness of the warning. Solomon nursing a terrible hangover from the night before, was jolted awake by a pounding at his chamber door. He groaned, rolling onto his back as pain throbbed behind his temples. A perplexed but equally groggy concubine stirred beside him. Solomon cursed under his breath and sat up, pressing his palms to his eyes, before snapping at the messenger, What. 00:25:43 Speaker 3: Could you possibly want this early in the morning. 00:25:46 Speaker 11: My king, urgent reports from the north. Jerebaeum is raising arms up against you. Word is spreading. He's calling himself King. 00:25:56 Speaker 1: Solomon blinked away the last remnants of sleep, Jerrebone the foreman. 00:26:03 Speaker 3: There's more. 00:26:06 Speaker 11: The prophet of Hyda has prophesied against you. He's declaring that the northern tribes will break away from Israel, and the North is spreading the news like wildfire to rally their forces. The Spies believe in outright rebellion is imminent. 00:26:22 Speaker 1: Solomon's spine went rigid, the last traces of sleep burning away. 00:26:28 Speaker 3: Where is he now? Migdo? 00:26:32 Speaker 1: Solomon stood abruptly, his heart pounding fear rage, a prophecy of division. His eyes darkened as he turned to his gods, his voice like iron find him and kill him. 00:26:53 Speaker 6: Today, we have one of those mysterious stories we've seen time and time again in the Bible. We find King Solomon visited by a queen, the Queen of Sheba. She's regal, she's reverent, and she's curious. She is in Hebrew bah le nasut otto. She came to test him. That word nasut, it's the same root that's used when God tested Abraham all the way back in Genesis. Do you remember that? And why was she testing Solomon? Well, the Bible tells us that she had heard of Solomon's wisdom, and she, herself, being wise, wanted to test him with riddles to see if he would be able to get them. Solomon's brilliant answers actually overwhelmed the queen and inspired her to bless the God of Israel. I want to read these verses to you so that you can feel the queen's emotion. She said to the King. The report I heard in my country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my very own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me. In wisdom and wealth, you have far exceeded the report that I heard. How happier people must be, How happier 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. Those are her words directly, and aren't they beautiful. Now, there's a seemingly innocent verse at the very end of the story that I want to point out. Here's what it reads. Quote King Solomon gave the Queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. 00:28:43 Speaker 9: End quote. 00:28:44 Speaker 6: Jewish tradition teaches that in addition to all the material gifts which Solomon gave to the queen, he also gave her great amounts of wisdom. This somewhat strange Bible story is actually very important because it once again emphasizes the great value that the chosen people place upon wisdom, especially wisdom that originates with God and his word, the actual Bible that we're studying together each day, and the fact that Solomon was willing to share this biblical wisdom with the Queen of Sheba is a foreshadowing of our sharing of God's word and wisdom with all of the nations, exactly what we're doing right now. So what do we take from this? In a world obsessed with influence, The story of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba reminds us that the applause of others can drown out the whisper of God, which is actually where the real wisdom lives. This story pushes us to ask questions not just of leaders, but of ourselves. 00:29:47 Speaker 1: Do I seek. 00:29:48 Speaker 6: Truth or just confirmation? Do I pursue wisdom or validation? And perhaps most importantly, when was the last time that I let someone test me? Not to prove myself, but to glorify God? My friends, Today's Bible story is meant to bring us closer to God, to each other, and to the Godly person each of us was always meant to become. 00:30:12 Speaker 1: You can listen to the Chosen People with Isle Eckstein Ad free by downloading and subscribing to the prey dot com app today. This preydog comproduction is only made possible by our dedicated team of Creative Talents. Steve Katina, Max Bard, Zach Shellabarger and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein. Edited by Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvado, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwald, Sylvia Zaradoc, Thomas Copeland Junior, Rosanna Pilcher, and Mitch Leshinsky, and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore. Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Aaron Salvatore, Rosie and Chris Baig. Special thanks to Bishop Paulinier, Robin van Ettin, Kayleb Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller, Rabbi Edward Abramson, and the team at International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. You can hear more Prey dot Com productions on the Prey dot Com app, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. If you enjoyed The Chosen People with Yeile Eckstein, please rate and leave a review,