Would you describe yourself as more of an optimist or a pessimist seeing the glass half-full or half-empty? While being raised on Sage Creek Farms, I would frequently hear my father proclaim, “You don’t know the half of it!” According to Merriam-Webster, this phrase was used to say that a situation is even worse than one would think it is or than it seems to be.The example cited is, “Sales are down but that’s only the half of it.”1
Each morning, I state aloud when picking my Bible up, “I’m going to read the good news before starting my day.” That’s when I discovered in 1 Kings 10:6-8 an encouraging, positive, parallel verse to the one above,
“Then she [the Queen of Sheba] said to the king [Solomon]: ‘It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. However I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard. Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom!’” (Emphasis mine).
The Queen of Sheba.
When you’ve asked someone for help or to give you something, have they wittingly retorted, “Well, just who do you think you are, the Queen of Sheba?”
We know there was an actual woman known as the Queen of Sheba because she’s listed in the Bible in 1 Kings 10:1-13 and 2 Chronicles 9:1-12.
It was during the height of King Solomon’s reign that the queen paid her visit to the king of Israel. Apparently, there’s been a long-standing inquiry as to where she actually hailed from whether it was Africa, Ethiopia, or southern Arabia.
Human Nature Has Not Changed.
The purpose of the queen’s visit was primarily two-fold:
#1. To satisfy her curiosity.
Have you ever contemplated how many people God has created since Adam? Our finite minds can’t count that high! However, throughout all of human history, our nature has not changed.
Even as far back as the 10th century B.C., the rumor mill was still milling as one of the overarching purposes for the Queen of Sheba’s visit to Jerusalem was curiosity. This is such an intriguing human characteristic, is it not?
The queen had heard of King Solomon’s fame and God-given gift of wisdom. Her camels were heavily laden with a very great retinue prior to her departure. Suffice it to say, this was no $1.98 operation even in those days! She wanted to know who this character (Solomon) was and nothing would do except a personal visit to establish a first-hand account.
“However I (the Queen of Sheba) did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me.” (1 Kings 10:7).
#2. To ascertain instruction and wisdom from the king. It could well be that the queen of Sheba was pressing the king concerning the name of the LORD and the wisdom He had granted to Solomon. (1 Kings 10:1)
“He [King Solomon] spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five. Also, he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon.” (1 Kings 4:32-34)
The Way of Wisdom.
Perhaps during their visit, King Solomon read a portion of his proverbs to the Queen of Sheba,
“Wisdom has built her house,
She has hewn out her seven pillars;
She has slaughtered her meat,
She has mixed her wine,
She has also furnished her table.
She has sent out her maidens,
She cries out from the highest places of the city,
‘Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!’
As for him who lacks understanding, she says to him,
‘Come, eat of my bread
And drink of the wine I have mixed.
Forsake foolishness and live,
And go in the way of understanding.'” (Proverbs 9:1-6)
My January 13, 2021, prophetic blog post also speaks to the way of wisdom. https://sheilaeismann.com/heart-of-wisdom/
Accentuate The Positive & Eliminate The Negative.
Living in today’s world, a person could almost suffer emotional and spiritual whiplash if he or she chose to feed off a 24-hour news cycle.
Navigating the way of wisdom and daily reading God’s word can help to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative in our lives.
A Greater Than Solomon.
During Jesus’s earthly ministry, the Pharisees were constantly challenging Him in one form or another because they refused to accept Him for Who He truly was, i.e., the Son of God and God in the flesh. (John 1:34 and 11:27; Colossians 1:19).
On one particular occasion, the scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign.
“Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, ‘Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.’
“But He answered and said to them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.’” (Matthew 12:38-42)
The queen of the South stated in 1 Kings 10:8, “Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom.”
What a privilege it is to be able to own a Bible, whether printed or electronic, to hold in our hands and to hear God’s wisdom through what we read.
Please join me in continuing to pray for the Bible translators worldwide who are endeavoring to get God’s word translated into many more languages as quickly as possible.
Prophetic Insights For Daily Living.
#1. Do you view yourself as a half-full or half-empty type of person, and why?
#2. Have you experienced a negative situation the equivalent of, “You don’t know the half of it?” If so, how did you navigate this, and what or who helped you the most?
Conversely, have you had the opportunity to share a praise with someone as you exclaimed, “You don’t know the half of it?”
#3. Pray and ask God to open your eyes wider to see the other half (the spiritual, positive half), if necessary.
The Queen of Sheba’s illumination happened when she spent time in King Solomon’s presence, listened to him, and observed his life.
#4. Also, the queen stated in 1 Kings 10:8, “Happy are your men and happy are these your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom!”
If the men and servants were happy to hear Solomon’s wisdom, how much more so are we today?
Whether or not it’s our worst day, best day, or any day in between, have you discovered that it’s so instructive and comforting to spend time with Jesus Christ, one greater than Solomon, to read His words and wisdom in the New Testament?
Is there a particular area of your life where you are needing wisdom right now? James 1:5 instructs us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”
What are some of your favorite passages of scripture so that you can know the full of everything, not just the half of it?
#5. May our eyes be fully opened during this Thanksgiving holiday season to truly see and appreciate ALL that God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit have done for us and are doing for us as we have so much for which to be thankful.
Please plan to read the following psalms aloud for the next few days to encourage yourself in the Lord.
Psalms 8, 40, 65, 98, 145, 146, and 150.
And, while we may not be the Queen of Sheba or possess a very great retinue, God inhabits the praises of His people, so let’s just praise our Lord!
Jesus is still King whether we know the half of it or the whole of it (whatever it may be).
Until the next message,
SFE (Sheila, Fellow Encourager)
Sheila F. Eismann, Prophetic Seer, Blogger, & Author, publishes her blog posts endeavoring to encourage others through God’s word. Her writings include instructions on how to apply prophetic insights for daily living.
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Image via DSP.
1 https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20half%20of%20it#:~:text=noun%20phrase,company%20is%20closing%20several%20stores.