Just the thing for the king?
The Queen of Sheba 1 Kings 10:1-13, 2 Chronicles 9:1-9. If you were the Australian prime minister, what gift would you present to the President of the United States? An artwork of an indigenous painter? What would you receive in return? State gifts smooth relationships between countries and create goodwill for the ensuing negotiations. Monarchs have relied on diplomacy since ancient times. King Solomon reigned in Israel between 970 B.C. and 931 B.C. As he ascended the throne, he asked God for wisdom rather than wealth and God, in his kindness, blessed him with both. Solomon built palaces and a temple to the God of his fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It had been King David’s lifelong ambition, but Solomon achieved it for his father. The fame of his kingdom spread as far as Sheba, some three thousand to four thousand kilometers south from Jerusalem due to his seafaring trade with Hiram, king of Tyre. Historians refer to Southern Arab...