The Queen of Sheba Encounters a King of Kings
What is the R.G. Factor? It is a key weapon in the Christian's arsenal to defeat the many subtle attacks of the enemy. It is a key ingredient in the Christian's recipe for true and lasting success in life. It is a vital part of the Christian's ability to receive and give financial blessings. Without it we live defeated, substandard and unfulfilled lives.
The Queen of Sheba and Solomon clearly understood and embraced the R.G. Factor. Because of that they were mutually blessed and enjoyed increased wisdom, knowledge, understanding and prosperity. Both of them walked in dimensions that few others have experienced.
The story of the Queen of Sheba is told in both 1 Kings 10 and 2 Chronicles 9. Both records contain certain tidbits exclusive to them, but we will look mainly at 1 Kings 10.
"Now when the Queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, concerning the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions." 1 Kings 10:1
This African queen, like other national leaders in her time, had heard of Solomon's fame. But the writer here makes it clear that it was "concerning the name of the Lord." His fame was intrinsically connected with the name – the character, and authority of the Lord. God was given the glory throughout the world because of Solomon's achievements.
Kings Seek the Presence of a King of Kings
Notice these powerful verses in 2 Chronicles 9:
"So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart." 2 Chronicles 9:22-23
Again, God was given glory for what He had given Solomon by making him both rich and famous on the earth. Yes, there are times when God wants to make His people both rich and famous, so He can receive glory and people can learn about Him.
There are two main ways to get out the Gospel to the people of the world. The first way is to go into all the world and preach the Good News. The second way is to experience something so incredible that the whole world comes to see what is happening. We have seen several examples of this in my lifetime as well as in the Scriptures.
Recent revivals in Toronto, Ontario, and Brownsville and Lakeview, Florida, attracted leaders and seekers from all over the world. Many came and received an impartation, which they were able to carry back home with them. A different type of move of God is still going on and accelerating in Redding, California, and continues to attract people from around the world.
In Scripture, we know that people from many nations came to Joseph in Egypt and heard about the God that prepared them for famine. At Pentecost, when the miracles started to happen, crowds invariably gathered to get in on the excitement. But nowhere else, besides 2 Chronicles 9:22-23, do we read in Scripture that "all the kings of the earth sought the presence" of any one man.
No one else understood and embraced the R.G. factor like Solomon. He enjoyed the blessings and favor of God and lived an amazing life full of peace and prosperity, that is, until he turned back from following God with all his heart.
So what is this R.G. Factor?
The R.G. Factor
We find the R.G. Factor in 1 Kings 10:13:
"Now King Solomon gave the Queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, besides what Solomon had given her according to the ROYAL GENEROSITY..."
Yes, the R.G. Factor is the ROYAL GENEROSITY FACTOR. It's the mindset of someone who was raised in the palace. It's the attitude of a person who always has enough. It's the culture of kings and queens, who give gifts as a way of saying, Hello, how are you? It's nice to meet you. It's the royal protocol where kings bless everyone to whom they want to show honor and respect.
We see another example of the Royal Generosity in the book of Esther. When the king, Ahasuerus, who also was a great king of kings made a grand party for all his regional "kings", we read:
"And they served drinks in golden vessels, each vessel being different from the other, with royal wine in abundance, according to the GENEROSITY OF THE KING." Esther 1:7
Ahasuerus, the emperor, desired to show honor to his leaders. He did this through his own ROYAL GENEROSITY by serving wine in abundance, but also through serving it in hand-crafted, custom designed drinking vessels. This speaks of creativity and uniqueness, which made his giving more special and honorable.
We Relate!
In this amazing story, let us allow Solomon to represent Jesus, our King of kings. Solomon actually was a king of kings, like the emperors who were given that title by Daniel and others. Solomon reigned over the kings of many nations around him, thanks to the military exploits of David, his father.
The Queen of Sheba can represent us, the Bride of Christ. I don't know if she was a head of state or the wife of the King of Sheba, but she was certainly blessed with knowing the ways of royalty and she knew the value of learning from other royal leaders and establishing strong relationships with them. This wise queen sacrificed significant time and expense to make a long journey to come into the presence of Solomon, a king of kings.
We are now at a point in Church history where those whose hearts pump royal blood – those who know they were born to privilege and their destiny is not to live the life of a commoner – are hearing more and more about their King of kings and are longing to do whatever it takes to come into His presence to behold His majesty and listen to His words of wisdom.
Second hand information may be helpful and informational, but there is nothing like a personal one-on-one encounter with the One who exceeds all others in majesty, glory, wisdom, knowledge and understanding. The Bride of Christ is taking a cue from the Queen of Sheba and she is paying the price to have that face-to-face encounter with her King.
When the queen had personally encountered and witnessed the glory of Solomon, she was completely overwhelmed and expressed great amazement and awe of his majesty and greatness. The NKJV Bible says, "...there was no more spirit in her" (1 Kings 10: 5). This wise queen came based on the testimony of others, but she left with her own testimony and declared that those who had reported to her previously didn't even tell her the half of Solomon's glory.
Surely, those of us who have had our own personal encounters with the King of kings could say the same thing as the Queen of Sheba. God's glory is beyond all of our capacity to describe it. Those who have had literal visits to Heaven always report that it is totally impossible to relate the intensely positive experiences they have had there, looking into the eyes of Jesus or beholding His majesty in the Throne Room of Heaven.
At any rate, even before her personal encounter, the Queen of Sheba knew enough about the Royal Generosity Factor to prepare for her visit by gathering together an appropriate gift for this king of kings. Notice the details in the following verses.
"She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels that bore spices, very much gold and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart." 1 Kings 10:2
"Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, spices in great quantity, and precious stones. There never again came such abundance of spices as the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon." 1 Kings 10:10
Precious metals were considered a staple gift for kings, but this queen also brought something that distinguished her from other royal visitors, who could perhaps bring more gold, silver and jewels than she could. She brought Solomon an unprecedented assortment of spices. Undoubtedly, these spices were grown in her country or imported from other distant lands. Spices speak of creativity and worship. Cooks and chefs use spices to create unique gourmet dishes to delight the pallet. Spices can also be used to produce a special atmosphere, like incense, because of their unique aromas. We know that our worship and praise is a fragrance in the nostrils of the Lord.
Here clearly, the Queen of Sheba demonstrated the Royal Generosity Factor. She gave gifts that first of all recognized Solomon's royal status and secondly imparted a personal flavor that distinguished her gift from others.
But Solomon was not to be outdone by this foreign queen. Notice this passage from 2 Chronicles:
"Now King Solomon gave to the Queen of Sheba all she desired, whatever she asked, much more than she had brought to the king. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants." 2 Chronicles 9:12
This verse is such a powerful statement about the Royal Generosity Factor. No matter how much we give of our life to the King of kings, He will always far out give us. There is no way in Heaven or earth that we can out give our God. The King of kings always has more to give than any other king and He will not be put to shame by giving a lesser gift. We can count on this and in fact, we can "take it to the bank."
The Wise Men
The wise men, or Magi, in Matthew 2, also clearly demonstrated this R.G. Factor. The Magi were kings bringing gifts to the King of kings, and they were aware of the protocol. They brought gold, frankincense and myrrh. Jesus was just a baby, but they were bearing witness and prophetically proclaiming that a great King had been born. Like the Queen of Sheba, they sacrificed much to have that encounter with a King, whose majesty exceeded that of every other king who ever sat on a royal throne.
Of course, Baby Jesus had no ability to give something back to the Magi, like Solomon did for the Queen of Sheba, but He certainly made up for it when He became a man. Not only did He live and die for the whole world, but He instructed His disciples to go to the ends of the earth to bring the Good News to every nation, including the eastern countries, from where these Magi had come. It could certainly be stated that, like Solomon, Jesus gave back far more than they had given Him.
Saul
In 1 Samuel 9, when Saul was seeking the prophetic advice of Samuel, the Seer, about his lost donkeys, he was concerned that he had nothing to give to the man of God. Samuel was not only a prophet and priest, but he was also the judge – the political ruler in Israel.
Saul pointed out to his servant that it would be very inappropriate not to bring a gift of some kind when seeking the face of the ruler of the land. In 1 Samuel 9:8, Saul's servant found a silver coin, which became the gift to give to Samuel.
Of course, Samuel, being in the higher place, not only received the gift from Saul, but he gave Saul a greater gift. First, he fed him the finest cut of beef, which he had set aside for him and took the time to eat with him. Then he gave him the prophetic word he was looking for. Finally, he presented him with the crown to rule over Israel.
Thus, Samuel gave up part of his own governmental throne to Saul. In a similar way, when we offer ourselves to Jesus, He shares His throne with us, for we are seated with Him in Heavenly places and He has made us kings and priests unto Him.
Prophetic Application
There are undoubtedly countless other illustrations from Scripture and modern history, but let's quickly make the important prophetic applications. This revelation was not given just to make an interesting observation. It was given to us as a prophetic witness to what God is planning on doing in our day.
Many prophets witness to the fact that we are in a brand new season and the winds of the Spirit of God are blowing in a new direction. I would like to add this prophetic word to what has already been released:
The Lord declares that He has been building a glorious temple for His habitation on the earth. He has been fashioning every living stone and overlaying them with His Heavenly gold – the glory of His Presence.
God is divinely connecting and placing stone next to stone and strategically positioning each one for maximum usefulness and glory. This has caused significant discomfort in many and they have questioned whether they were still in His perfect will because of the trauma of transition and the stress of change.
But this glorious temple is being filled more and more with the presence of the King of kings and Lord of lords. And like Solomon, He is welcoming all the kings and queens of the earth to come and hear His wisdom and behold His majesty and glory.
He only asks that each king and queen remember the royal protocol and bring with them a gift fitting for a King of kings. In response, He will give them everything they ask for and anything they desire, in addition to what He has already prepared for them out of His heart of Royal Generosity.
This is not an offering message – although it would be a great one – it is simply a life principle and promise for those who are aware of their calling to greatness and royalty. So what kind of gift would be appropriate for our King of kings?
Gifts Appropriate for Our King of Kings
1. GOLD: Gold represents glory. We give all the glory He gave to us back to Him through praise and worship. We enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise (Psalm 100:4). This is the staple gift for all kings and queens to bring to any king of kings. Everyone would bow down when coming before a king, and all kings would bow before the king of kings.
God is pouring out His glory on the Church in ways unprecedented since Pentecost. And like the Apostles in those days, today's leaders will give all that glory back to God. They will come into His presence in humility and display the R.G. Factor by giving Him praise and honor to the very best of their ability.
2. SPICES: Spices represent our gifts, talents and creativity. Different combinations of spices create unique dishes and unique aromas. Each of us have unique combinations of gifts, talents and creative abilities.
I believe God is saying that the "spices" being brought to our King of kings in our day will far exceed the measure of spices brought by the Queen of Sheba to Solomon. For the creativity of the Church will rise up like resurrected bodies from the graveyards of religion and bring back to life the divine artistic abilities which have been given to the Church through the Royal Generosity of Jesus, the King of kings. This creativity will invade and conquer every mountain of society and replace an earthly and ungodly leadership which has become bankrupt of original creativity.
I do believe God is pouring out spiritual gifts and anointings like never before and that His kings and queens will respond by bringing to Him the gold and spices that He deserves.
I believe His people will begin to understand the Royal Generosity Factor and bring Jesus their best sacrifice and in turn receive much more than they gave to Him, including every desire of their heart.
When we understand how the Kingdom operates, we have so much to gain and nothing to lose. And because Jesus is the King of kings and has unlimited resources, it is all fine with Him. In fact there's nothing He wants more than for us to experience the blessings of His Royal Generosity.
Ben R. Peters
Kingdom Sending Center
Email: ohmint@gmail.com
Ben Peters is the Co-Founder of Open Heart Ministries and Kingdom Sending Center, along with his wife, Brenda. He has authored seventeen books to date, including Prophetic Ministry: Strategic Key to the Harvest and The Ultimate Convergence: An End Times Prophecy of the Greatest Shock and Awe Display Ever to Hit Planet Earth. He and Brenda have ministered in many nations, with a passion for equipping and sending abandoned lovers of Jesus into the harvest fields of the world, including the seven mountains of society. The Peters live in northern Illinois.
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