The Judgment of the Queen of the South - Matthew 12:42

Matthew the apostle wrote how Jesus said, “an evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here”, and in chapter twelve and verse forty-two of his book, Matthew shared how Jesus said, “the queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it” where we read:

The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

The verse reads, “The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it:” Matthew began with the words, “the queen” which means “the ruling female” “of the south” or “toward the southern quarter” “shall rise up” which means “will arouse from sleep, recall from the sleep of death, produce and appear” “in the judgment” or “within the separating, sundering, condemnation and damnatory judgment” “with this generation” which means “alongside several ranks of natural descent, a group of people who are very like each other in endowments, pursuits and character or successive members of a genealogy”, “and shall condemn it” or “and will give judgment against the people to whom Jesus was speaking”. Matthew shared how the “queen of the south” would “condemn” the “generation” of people surrounding Jesus.

The verse goes on to say, “for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.” Matthew continued with the word, “for” which means “because, since and on account that” “she came” or “the queen of the south appeared, arose, came forth and showed herself” “from the uttermost parts” which means “from the extremities, ends and remote lands” “of the earth” or “belonging to the arable land, territory, country or region”; “to hear” which means “to be endowed with the faculty of hearing, not deaf, understanding and perceiving” “the wisdom” or “the broad and full of intelligence, knowledge and skill in the management of affairs” “of Solomon” which refers to “the son of David who was the wisest and richest king that ever lived whose name means peaceful”; “and, behold” or “lo and see” “a greater” or “a more part in quality, excellence and superiority than” “Solomon” which refers to “the son of David who was the wisest and richest king that ever lived whose name means peaceful” “is here” or “is within this place”. Matthew shared how Jesus referred to the “queen of the South” who came to Solomon to discover His wisdom, and yet, Jesus was right their among the generation of whom He was speaking.

When we meditate upon Matthew's words in this verse, we see how Jesus gave another example of a person who made great efforts to hearken to the “wisdom” of another. Solomon was known to be the “wisest man who ever lived”, and the queen from Sheba came to hear and see his wisdom demonstrated. (See 1 Kings 10 and 2 Chronicles 9 for more information). She was so enamored and amazed by Solomon that she credited God for all he was given. Jesus was among the generation of people with whom He spoke, and yet, many of them refused to receive Him as the Messiah. God desires to have a relationship with every person through Jesus today, and while His word is among them, they should turn from their “evil ways” and believe in Him. Those who are wise will not only hear and see what Jesus has to say, but also yield their lives to Him as “Savior and Lord” today.

Next time Matthew shares how Jesus shares what happens, “when the unclean spirit is gone out of a man”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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