WHEN GENEROSITY ABOUNDS

IF YOU had the opportunity to present a gift to a king, what would you give him? What if he were the wealthiest and wisest ruler in the world? Could you think of any gift that would please him? Some three thousand years ago, the queen of Sheba had to ponder those questions while preparing to visit just such a ruler -King Solomon of Israel.

Her gift, the Bible tells us, included 120 talents of gold "and a very great deal of balsam oil and precious stones." At today's prices, the gold alone was worth about $40, 000,000. Balsam oil, an aromatic and medicinal oil, was ranked with gold as a precious commodity. While the Bible does not say how much oil the queen gave Solomon, it does tell us that her gift remained unequaled. -1 Kings 10:10.

The queen of Sheba was obviously a wealthy and generous woman. What is more, her generosity was returned to her. "King Solomon," the Bible says, "gave the queen of Sheba all her delight for which she had asked,besides the value of what she brought to the king." (2 Chronicles 9:12) True, it may have been the custom for royalty to exchange gifts; yet, the Bible specifically mentions Solomon's "openhandedness." ( 1Kings10:13) Solomon himself wrote: "The generous soul will itself be made fat, and the one freely watering others will himself also be freely watered." -Proverbs 11:25.

Of course,the queen of Sheba also made a big sacrifice in time and effort to visit Solomon. Apparently Sheba was in the area of the present-day Republic of Yemen; so the queen and her camel train traveled well over 1,000 miles to Jerusalem. As Jesus said, "she came from the ends of the earth." Why did the queen of Sheba go to so much trouble? She came primarily "to hear the wisdom of Solomon." -Luke 11:31. First Kings 10:1, 2 says that the queen of Sheba "came to test [Solomon] with perplexing questions . . . [she]began to speak to him all that happened to be close to her heart." How did Solomon respond? "Solomon, in turn, went on to tell her all her matters. There proved to be no matter hidden from the king that he did not tell her." -1 Kings 10:3

Astounded at what she heard and saw, the queen humbly replied: "Happy are these servants of yours who are standing before you constantly, listening to your wisdom!" (1 Kings 10:4-8) She did not pronounce Solomon's servants happy because they were surrounded by opulence-although they were. Rather, Solomon's servants were blessed because they could constantly listen to Solomon's God-given wisdom. What a fine example the queen of Sheba is for Jehovah's people today, who bask in the wisdom of the Creator himself and that of his Son, Jesus Christ!

Also noteworthy was the queen's next comment to Solomon: "May Jehovah your God come to be blessed." (1 Kings 10:9) Evidently,she saw Jehovah's hand in Solomon's wisdom and prosperity. This accords with what Jehovah earlier promised to Israel. 'Keeping my regulations,' he said, "is wisdom on your part and understanding on your part before the eyes of the peoples who will certainly say, "This great nation is undoubtedly a wise and understanding people.' " - Deuteronomy 4:5-7.

Next time:Coming to the Giver of Wisdom

Watchtower, 1999