Has anything left you completely breathless? Totally speechless? Few things in my life I can say that about but what comes to mind is seeing my wife walk towards me down the aisle. I was breathless.
I want to share with you a moment in the bible when someone went breathless and my thoughts on how it is an exact representation of what our response should be to Jesus.
“When the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house which he had built, the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the attendance of his ministers and their attire, his cupbearers and their attire, and his stairway by which he went up to the house of the LORD, she was breathless.”
2 Chronicles 9:3-4 (NASB)
Now you must understand that at this time Solomon was at his prime. Kings all over the globe saw him as honorable, he was the wisest man on the planet, and his riches amounted to something we simply can’t imagine. The Queen of Sheba heard rumors about this “Solomon” and how prestigious, rich, wise, and bountiful his nation was. (2 Ch. 9:5) Yet she wanted to see it for herself (2 Ch. 9:6). And what you just read was her first experience taking in everything Solomon was. And it left her breathless.
Transition
Now at first reading of this passage you may think: “Wow, Solomon must have been super rich.” But I beg you: Look deeper. The whole point of the book of Chronicles is to give you character studies to point forward to someone who fulfills it all in perfection: Jesus. Solomon’s kingdom served only to point towards the true Kingdom of Heaven that was still yet to come. His riches were only a glimpse of the riches of Jesus. And the joy of his servants does not even compare to the joy of Christians today.
Now please think about this with me. If a Queen from Sheba was left completely breathless at the sight of Solomon and his kingdom how much more ought we to stand in awe of the currently reigning King Jesus? Does it ever leave you breathless? Look at the list of things which left her breathless:
- House which he had
- Food at his table
- Seating of his servants
- Attendance of his ministers and their attire
- Cupbearers and their attire
- His stairway
Now lets translate them to the Kingdom of Jesus:
- We are now the House of God containing His spirit (1 Cor. 6:19-20)
- Jesus is the bread of life (John 6:35)
- We are seated with Him in heavenly places (Eph 2:6)
- The privilege of ministers and their clothing in righteousness (Romans 10:15 & Isaiah 61:10)
- The privilege of servants and their clothing in righteousness (Romans 6:22 & Isaiah 61:10)
- The stairway is Jesus Himself and the work He finished! (John 1:51)
Happy Servants
If you made it this far I congratulate you. But there is even more to this! Notice what the Queen says to Solomon regarding his servants:
“Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom.”
2 Chronicles 9:7 (KJV)
I could write another post on that alone! Do I really need to explain this one? If Solomon, a wise and rich king but still an evil man, had happy servants who loved to hear his wisdom, how much more ought we to be abundantly happy and thrilled to sit at the Word of Jesus and take in all His wisdom.
Respond
Would you look to Jesus and all His glory, honor, and power and let Him leave you breathless? Would you take on the role of His chosen servant and be happy to sit at His Word and hear His wisdom? Oh I pray you would! How happy we should be! How it should leave kingdoms breathless at the sight of our King! If not today, then when He comes.
Action
- Praise Jesus for His glory, honor, and power
- Confess your neglect of His word and lack of happiness that is rightfully yours
- Ask Jesus to reveal to you more of Him and His Kingdom
- Thank Him for all He has finished and His promise to return