Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom.
The words were addressed to Solomon by the queen of Sheba after she had seen all his wisdom and the house that he had built, until there was no more spirit in her. This was in the early part of his reign, before his just rule changed. She acknowledged that the report she had heard in her own land concerning his acts and his wisdom was true, yet she had not believed it until she came and saw and heard for herself with her own eyes; the half had not been told her, for his wisdom and prosperity exceeded the fame she had heard.
The declaration means that his men, his servants, and his attendants are happy, favored, fortunate, and blessed because they stand continually before him in his presence and hear his wisdom and wise teaching, their happiness coming from living near a wise ruler and receiving his instruction. The wisdom they heard included knowledge of nature, which he used to teach visitors that the God of nature, the great Creator who dwells in the highest heaven and rules over all, is the source of his wisdom and prosperity, leading them to see the natural world as an instructor about God.
Her words followed such teaching about God and led her to bless the Lord rather than to extol the human agent. The happiness of those who served him and heard his wisdom belongs to the wider account of his influence, when seekers from heathen lands came to learn the truth, conversions took place, and God's church prospered.
The words were addressed to Solomon by the queen of Sheba after she had seen all his wisdom and the house that he had built, until there was no more spirit in her. This was in the early part of his reign, before his just rule changed. She acknowledged that the report she had heard in her own land concerning his acts and his wisdom was true, yet she had not believed it until she came and saw and heard for herself with her own eyes; the half had not been told her, for his wisdom and prosperity exceeded the fame she had heard.
The declaration means that his men, his servants, and his attendants are happy, favored, fortunate, and blessed because they stand continually before him in his presence and hear his wisdom and wise teaching, their happiness coming from living near a wise ruler and receiving his instruction. The wisdom they heard included knowledge of nature, which he used to teach visitors that the God of nature, the great Creator who dwells in the highest heaven and rules over all, is the source of his wisdom and prosperity, leading them to see the natural world as an instructor about God.
Her words followed such teaching about God and led her to bless the Lord rather than to extol the human agent. The happiness of those who served him and heard his wisdom belongs to the wider account of his influence, when seekers from heathen lands came to learn the truth, conversions took place, and God's church prospered.