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What happens when someone blessed with extraordinary wisdom slowly compromises their devotion to God?

In this episode of The Dwelling Place, we study 1 Kings 10–11 and 2 Chronicles 9, exploring the visit of the Queen of Sheba, Solomon's incredible wealth, and the heartbreaking decline of a king who knew God's commands yet chose a different path.

We examine why the Queen of Sheba traveled so far to see Solomon, how her response points beyond human wisdom to the glory of God, and why Jesus later used her as an example of genuine spiritual hunger.

As Solomon accumulates the very things God warned Israel's kings against—gold, horses, and wives—we see the devastating consequences of small compromises. His story serves as a sobering reminder that wisdom alone is not enough. We need hearts that remain wholly devoted to the Lord.

We'll also wrestle with an important question for parents: Is anger always sinful? Looking at God's response to Solomon's rebellion, we discover that anger is not necessarily the opposite of love. Often, righteous anger reveals how deeply we care about God's ways and the spiritual well-being of those we love.

Whether you're studying the Bible, raising children, or simply seeking to guard your own heart, this passage offers both warning and hope as it points us back to our faithful Savior.

In This Episode

• The Queen of Sheba's surprising reason for visiting Solomon
• Why Jesus commended the Queen of Sheba in the Gospels
• Solomon's accumulation of gold, horses, and wives
• God's warnings to Israel's kings in Deuteronomy 17
• The danger of gradual compromise
• Why Solomon's heart turned away from the Lord
• Understanding righteous anger versus sinful anger
• Jeroboam and the prophecy of the divided kingdom
• What Solomon's life teaches us about repentance and faithfulness
• How to guard your heart against spiritual drift

Key Scriptures

• 1 Kings 10–11
• 2 Chronicles 9
• Deuteronomy 17:16–20
• Matthew 12:42
• 2 Timothy 2:11–13
• Proverbs 4:23

Key Takeaway

Solomon's life reminds us that knowledge and wisdom are not enough to keep us faithful. The greatest dangers often come through small compromises that slowly pull our hearts away from God. Yet the Lord graciously calls us to guard our hearts, repent quickly, and remain wholly devoted to Him.

The Dwelling Place is a Bible reading podcast from Entrusted Ministries, helping busy moms and families delight in God's Word through daily Scripture reading, biblical encouragement, and prayer.

If this episode encouraged you, please leave a review and share it with a friend. Your support helps more women stay faithful in God's Word and discover that He alone is our true dwelling place.

#ChristianPodcast #BibleStudy #1Kings #Solomon #QueenOfSheba #ChristianMotherhood #BibleReadingPlan #FaithAndFamily #ChristianParenting #ScriptureReading #PrayerPodcast #EntrustedMinistries #TheDwellingPlace #OldTestamentStudy #BiblicalWisdom

Resources Mentioned

• Entrusted With a Child's Heart
• The Again Podcast episodes with Emily Schumann: Part 1 and Part 2

Commentaries Most Referenced: Moody Commentary, MacArthur Commentary, Spurgeon's Treasury of David

This is The Dwelling Place from Entrusted Ministries.

2

I'm Stephanie Hickox, and today

we'll study a visit from a queen.

3

We'll confirm that anger is not

necessarily the opposite of love, and

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we'll be cautioned against any compromise

that leads us away from our Savior.

5

We're studying First Kings chapters

10 and 11, and the corresponding

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narrative in Second Chronicles 9.

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this is an episode you may not want

to listen to with young ears around

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In 1 Kings 10, the Queen of

Sheba comes to visit Solomon

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And this time studying it, I became aware

of a detail regarding the intent of her

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visit that I'd never noticed before.

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The chapter begins, " Now when the Queen

of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon

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concerning the name of the Lord, she

came to test him with hard questions.

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She came to Jerusalem with a very great

retinue, with camels bearing spices,

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and very much gold and precious stones.

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And when she came to Solomon, She

told him all that was on her mind, and

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Solomon answered all her questions.

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There was nothing hidden from the

king that he could not explain to her.

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And when the Queen of Sheba had seen

all the wisdom of Solomon, the house

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that he had built, the food of his

table, the seating of his officials, and

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the attendance of his servants, their

clothing, His cupbearers and his burnt

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offerings that he offered at the house of

the Lord, there was no more breath in her

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Did you hear that she heard of the fame

of Solomon concerning the name of the

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Lord She's not just curious about Solomon.

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She's wondering about his God,

it seems Let's turn over to 2

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Chronicles 9 to hear what she says

after her inquisition of Solomon.

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The report was true that I heard in my

own land of your words and of your wisdom,

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but I did not believe the reports until

I came and my own eyes had seen it.

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And behold, half the greatness

of your wisdom was not told me.

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You surpassed the report that I heard.

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Happy are your wives.

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Happy are these, your servants,

who continually stand before

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you and hear your wisdom."

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" Blessed be the Lord your God, who has

delighted in you and set you on his

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throne as king for the Lord your God.

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Because your God loved Israel and

would establish them forever, he has

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made you king over them, that you may

execute justice and righteousness."

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The Queen of Sheba gives glory to

God and acknowledges that Solomon

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is sitting on God's throne to be a

blessing to the nation of Israel.

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She's so impressed with his

wealth that she gives him more

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of her wealth, A practice that

I just don't quite understand.

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Did you know that Jesus himself

referenced the Queen of Sheba?

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He calls her the Queen of the

South in Matthew chapter 12.

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The scribes and the Pharisees were

asking Jesus for a sign, and He rebuked

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their impure motives, The Queen of the

South will rise up at the judgment with

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this generation and condemn it, for

she came from the ends of the earth to

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hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold,

something greater than Solomon is here."

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Jesus commends the Queen of

Sheba's pursuit of wisdom

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But the Pharisees and scribes had the

source of wisdom and truth right before

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them, and they couldn't even see it

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After the queen's encounter with

Solomon, we read about his incredibly

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ornate ivory and gold throne.

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In fact, he continues to acquire gold,

silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks,

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and there I'm getting that flash

of Prince Ali from Aladdin again.

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Solomon's pursuit of gold is noted 11

times in this portion of scripture alone.

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And the next section talks about

his accumulation of horses from

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Egypt, a place the Lord had told

them to never return to again

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Chapter 11 tells us that Solomon loved

many foreign women from the nations God

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had commanded them not to marry, that

he had 700 wives and 300 concubines, and

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his wives turned away his heart Let's

go back to Deuteronomy seventeen so

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we can hear once again God's specific

laws concerning Israel's kings.

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Verse sixteen begins, " Only he must

not acquire many horses for himself

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or cause the people to return to

Egypt in order to acquire many horses,

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since the Lord has said to you, 'You

shall never return that way again.'

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and he shall not acquire many wives

for himself, lest his heart turn

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away, nor shall he acquire for

himself excessive silver or gold."

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And when he sits on the throne of his

kingdom, he shall write for himself in a

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book a copy of this law, approved by the

Levitical priests, and it shall be with

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him, and he shall read it all the days of

his life, that he may learn to fear the

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Lord his God, by keeping all the words

of this law and these statutes and doing

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them, that his heart may not be lifted

up above his brothers, and that he may

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not turn aside from the commandment,

either to the right hand or to the left,

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so that he may continue long in his

kingdom, he and his children in Israel

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Kings were to meditate on this command,

warning the accumulation of three

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things, gold, horses, and wives.

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And Solomon has been

seeking after all three

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First Kings 11:4 continues, " For when

Solomon was old, his wives turned away

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his heart after other gods, and his heart

was not wholly true to the Lord his God,

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as was the heart of David his father.

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For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the

goddess of the Sidonians, and after

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Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.

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So Solomon did what was evil in the sight

of the Lord, and did not wholly follow

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the Lord as David his father had done."

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Then Solomon built a high place For

Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for

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Molech the abomination of the Ammonites,

on the mountain east of Jerusalem.

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And so he did for all his

foreign wives, who made offerings

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and sacrificed to their gods

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Even in this heartbreaking passage,

God's words are so gracious

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David, was attributed with being

wholly true to the Lord his God.

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We're well aware of David's sins,

but he was repentant, and he

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didn't walk continually in them.

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in fact, David grieved deeply

that his sin had harmed his child,

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And he mourned over his infant son But

in a striking contrast, we have Solomon

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who builds altars for children to be

sacrificed upon to worship pagan gods.

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On the altars of these pagan gods,

children were regularly burned

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And while David sinned having

seven wives, Solomon had 700.

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The contrast is startling

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next, we have a confirmation that

anger is not necessarily the opposite

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of love, but in fact, it is often

an indicator of how much we love.

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We continue reading in 11:9.

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" And the Lord was angry with Solomon

because his heart had turned away

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from the Lord, the God of Israel,

who had appeared to him twice and had

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commanded him concerning this thing,

that he should not go after other gods.

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But he did not keep what

the Lord commanded."

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Therefore the Lord said to Solomon,

" Since this has been your practice and

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you have not kept my covenant and my

statutes that I have commanded you,

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I will surely tear the kingdom from

you and will give it to your servant.

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Yet for the sake of David your father, I

will not do it in your days, but I will

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tear it out of the hand of your son.

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And the Lord raised up an adversary

against Solomon I'm reminded of the

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moment that Samuel reported that God was

tearing the kingdom away from Saul as well

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God is angry because of

how much He loves Solomon.

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And it reminds me that when I feel anger

when my kids sin, and I'm grieved and

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think, "I taught you better than this.

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I've warned you, and I've trained

you for these circumstances."

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First of all, I have to acknowledge

how I myself fall into sin.

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And number two, I can remember that anger

in itself is not always unrighteous,

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but it can be an indicator that I

want something better for my kids.

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Of course, scripture tells

us in our anger, do not sin.

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But I wonder if this could be a freeing

thought for moms that are struggling

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to not get angry at their kids.

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We have to evaluate our hearts.

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Am I upset that they sinned

before a holy God, or am I upset

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that they've embarrassed me or

that this is an inconvenience

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that I have to deal with this?

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We can commit.

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To fear God more than man.

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And we need to walk in the Spirit to

be kind, loving, gentle, and patient.

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But it might release you to realize

that anger over sin can be a mark of

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how deeply you care about your kids

and how much you love the Lord's

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ways but don't misunderstand me.

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We're called to handle those

emotions in a righteous way

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Finally, we read that God

raises up multiple enemies.

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Even though Solomon's reign

has been marked by peace, the

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end of his days will not be so.

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Jeroboam, who's a manager and a

servant of Solomon, and guess what?

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The son of a widow.

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So all of you single moms out there

doing things alone, here's another

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indicator that God sees your kids.

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He elevates Jeroboam and confirms this

through the prophet Ahijah, who meets him

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on the road wearing a brand-new cloak.

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he tears this new garment into 11 pieces,

And don't miss this monumental moment

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that promises the divided kingdom.

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Ahijah says to Jeroboam, " Take for

yourself 10 pieces, for thus says the

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Lord, the God of Israel, ' Behold, I am

about to tear the kingdom from the hand

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of Solomon and will give you 10 tribes.

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But he shall have one tribe for the

sake of my servant David, and for the

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sake of Jerusalem, the city that I have

chosen, out of all the tribes of Israel,

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and if you will listen to all that I

command you and will walk in my ways, and

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do what is right in my eyes by keeping

my statutes and my commandments, as David

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my servant did, I will be with you and

will build you a sure house, as I built

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for David, and will give Israel to you

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And how does Solomon handle this news?

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He seeks to kill Jeroboam.

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But of course, God's ways and

plans will not be thwarted

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First Kings 11, closes

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Telling us that Solomon reigned over

Israel for 40 years and was buried

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in the city of David, and Rehoboam

his son reigned in his place.

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As we close, I'm reminded of a

passage that is one of the more

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misunderstood verses in scripture.

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2 Timothy two eleven through

thirteen tell us, " The saying is

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trustworthy: for if we have died

with Him, we will also live with Him.

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If we endure, we will also reign with Him.

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If we deny Him, He will also deny us.

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If we are faithless, He remains

faithful for He cannot deny Himself."

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There was a time that I thought this

meant that in all of my mistakes

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and my failings that God would

still be faithful, and that is true.

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But the context of this verse is saying

that if we deny God He is a just and a

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holy God, and he'll be faithful to deny us

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He couldn't dismiss Solomon's sins.

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He had to be true to his word and

this is where I am grateful for the

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Book of Ecclesiastes because we do

believe it's evidence that Solomon

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repented and turned back to the Lord.

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But I think we can still grieve over

all the years that he made compromise

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after compromise, not being the man

or the king God called him to be.

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And it's a strong caution for us

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because we are just as capable

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of sin as Solomon was.

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And I know at the end of our lives,

we want to hear, "Well done, good

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and faithful servant And that means

that as Proverbs warns us, we need to

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guard our hearts with all vigilance,

for it is a wellspring of life.

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Heavenly Father, we come to you

humbly acknowledging our capacity to

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compromise I pray we would delight

in our need to be reliant upon you

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And that when we see sin in our hearts, we

would run toward you, confess it, and ask

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for your Holy Spirit to help us to walk

in a way that honors and glorifies you.

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I particularly lift up the moms that

find themselves struggling with anger.

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Lord, please reveal the root, and where it

does have selfish motivation, purify us.

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But when anger is an indicator of

love for our kids and our heart for

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your ways and holiness, I pray you

would help us to move forward in

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the control of your Holy Spirit, in

gentleness and patience, lovingly

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pointing our kids to a better way.

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Show us how to be a model of your

justice, your mercy, and your grace.

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And we rejoice that these daily

decisions of parenting keep

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us on our knees before you.

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It's our delight to dwell with you, Jesus.

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In your name we pray, amen.