Luke the beloved physician wrote, “when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation”, and in chapter eleven and verse thirty-one of his book Luke shared how Jesus says, “the queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn it” where we read:
The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost 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 the men of this generation, and condemn them:” Luke began with the words, “the queen of the south” or “the female ruler, monarch and aristocrat belonging to the southern quarter” “shall rise up in the judgment” which means “will arise, appear and be aroused within the trial, tribunal and place of justice” “with the men of this generation” or “alongside the people both male and female of the current age, nation and multitude” “and condemn them” which means “and give judgment against and condemn the people in the current age, nation and multitude”. Luke shared how the “queen of the south” who came to see Solomon would “give judgment against and condemn” the current age and nation.
The verse continues, “for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.” Luke added the words, “for she came from the utmost parts of the earth” or “because, since and on account that the queen of the south approached and appeared away from the extremity, end, boundary and frontier belonging to the arable land, earth, territory and region” “to hear the wisdom” which means “to listen, attend to, consider, understand and perceive the broad and full intelligence, knowledge of diverse matters, act of interpreting dreams and always giving the sagest advice” “of Solomon” or “belonging to Solomon whose name means peaceful and was the son of David and the wisest and richest king that ever lived”; “and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here” which means “and lo, look and consider a superior, more excellent and further one than Solomon is among the people”. Luke shared how Jesus referred to how the “queen of the south” came to listen to King Solomon's “intelligence and knowledge” from the “extreme parts” “of the earth” and yet, Jesus was among them who was far “greater” than he.
When we think through Luke's words in this verse, we see how Jesus employed the example of how the “queen of the south” came to “hear” King Solomon (See 1 Kings 10:1 and 2 Chronicles 9:1), and she traveled a great distance to listen to his wisdom. Jesus was “among” the people in His “generation”, and people refused to “listen to” His message. God desires people to hear His Son Jesus and His message of “salvation” from sins. Those who are wise will “hear” what Jesus has to say, understand their advantage for being able to “listen to” Him and believe and trust in Him as their personal “Savior and Lord”.
Next time Luke shares how Jesus says, “the men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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