This is Spoken Gospel. We’re dedicated to seeing  Jesus in all of scripture. In each episode, we see what’s  happening in a Biblical text and how it sheds light on Jesus and his gospel. Let’s jump in. Solomon’s nation has been  established, his palace is complete,   the temple has been built, and God’s presence has descended into it. But Solomon is in danger; he is  misusing the wisdom God gave him. God warns that continued misuse of his gifts will lead to Israel’s destruction. So, to protect the kingdom, the wisest thing Solomon can do is obey. But cracks are starting to form. Hiram is the king of Tyre and helped fund  Solomon’s temple with over four tons of gold. But he is displeased because in return for Hiram’s role in his rise to power, Solomon gives Hiram 20 towns. But Hiram calls that gifted region “Kabul,''  which is a play on the word “worthless”. Solomon then repeats the failures of Israel  when they first entered the promised land. Instead of driving out God’s enemies, he marries   the Egyptian Pharaoh's daughter  and enslaves his own people. Ironically, Solomon’s Egyptian father-in-law ends up being the king who obeys God’s commands, making Solomon look more like the Pharaoh Israel escaped from, than the actual Pharaoh of Egypt. Solomon even builds “store cities” like the ones   Israel was forced to build and  imports Egyptian horses and chariots. These aren’t just concerning parallels that we're making here. In Deuteronomy, God specifically forbade  Israel’s kings from acquiring Egyptian horses. Israel was supposed to have nothing to do   with the trappings of that old empire,  including amassing silver and gold. This is yet another crack in Solomon’s obedience. Solomon is using his God-given wisdom to break God’s commands. But at the same time, God is also using  Solomon’s wisdom to bless the nations around him. A visiting queen from Sheba is left  breathless at Solomon’s wisdom and wealth. Significantly, this foreign  queen worships God as a result. Despite Solomon’s increasingly apparent foolishness, this  queen is converted by seeing God’s wisdom in the flesh. [music] There are no perfect characters  in the Bible apart from Jesus. But Solomon, so far, represents the closest Israel has been to restoring what was lost in the Garden of Eden. It’s devastating to realize the wisdom Solomon  asked for—to “know both good and evil”— will end the same way it did for Adam when he reached for fruit from the tree of the “knowledge of good and evil”. Adam’s sin destroyed the world, and Adam’s sons  built the oppressive empires that enslaved Israel. Solomon isn’t restoring the Garden, he’s reenacting the curse that comes with knowing both good and evil. He’s misusing God’s wisdom, refusing  to obey and leading Israel to death. But Jesus is a better King than Solomon. Jesus tells us so! He even says that we will all see the  Queen of Sheba when Jesus returns,   and she will judge those who do  not recognize Jesus’ kingly wisdom. Like the queen worshiped God when she saw Solomon’s flawed wisdom and wealth, we should worship God when we see Jesus’ flawless wisdom.  Jesus’ wisdom was not proved by  wealth, political alliances, or horses. Rather, Jesus' wisdom was shown in his weakness. That’s because weakness is  more powerful than wisdom. Yes, Solomon’s wisdom earned him a kingdom, but  Jesus’ weakness gained resurrection from the dead. Like the queen of Sheba,  we can look at Jesus’ cross   and see a greater spectacle of  wisdom than Solomon’s throne. And like the queen of Sheba, if we  worship God because of this wisdom,   we will be raised from the dead and  placed in a Kingdom that cannot end. Jesus' Kingdom is not built on the backs of  slaves, but by the wounds of his own back. In Jesus, the curse that Adam began, and  Solomon could not undo, is finally reversed. So, I pray that the Holy Spirit would open your eyes to see the God who is wise. And may you see Jesus as wisdom in the flesh, so  that you may experience the wealth of his Kingdom.