Luke 12:22-34 to 1 Kings 10:4 · The Hyperlinked Bible

Luke 12:22-34 → 1 Kings 10:4

Allusion

Later text

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storehouse or barn; yet God feeds them. How much more valuable you are than the birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? So if you cannot do such a small thing, why do you worry about the rest? Consider how the lilies grow: They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not be concerned about what you will eat or drink. Do not worry about it. For the Gentiles of the world strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added unto you. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Earlier text

1 Kings 10:4BSB

When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon, the palace he had built,

+ 3 more earlier texts

Earlier text

1 Kings 7:8BSB

And the palace where Solomon would live, set further back, was of similar construction. He also made a palace like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.

Earlier text

1 Kings 3:13BSB

Moreover, I will give you what you did not request—both riches and honor—so that during all your days no man in any kingdom will be your equal.

Earlier text

1 Kings 3:11BSB

So God said to him, "Since you have asked for this instead of requesting long life or wealth for yourself or death for your enemies—but you have asked for discernment to administer justice—

Walk the Square · a single-voice walk of this pair around the Clowney square13:34

Significance

Jesus argues here from two Old Testament pictures, and both are in the sources listed. The first is Solomon: "Consider how the lilies grow: they do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these" (Luke 12:27). "Solomon in all his glory" is not a vague reputation but a specific scene - 1 Kings 10:4-5, where the queen of Sheba sees "all the wisdom of Solomon, the palace he had built, the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the service and attire of his attendants and cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he presented at the house of the LORD," and "it took her breath away." That splendour was itself a gift, granted precisely because he had not asked for it: "I will give you what you did not request - both riches and honor - so that during all your days no man in any kingdom will be your equal" (1 Kings 3:11-13). Jesus takes the highest instance of God-given human magnificence in Israel's memory and sets a roadside flower above it. The second picture is the raven: "Consider the ravens: they do not sow or reap, they have no storehouse or barn; yet God feeds them" (12:24) - which answers the LORD's own question to Job out of the whirlwind, "Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God as they wander about for lack of food?" (Job 38:41; cf. Psalm 147:9). The raven was an unclean bird (Leviticus 11:15) and proverbially a poor parent, and God feeds it anyway. (Of the remaining sources, 1 Kings 7:8 - the hall Solomon built for Pharaoh's daughter - belongs to the same building account but carries none of the argument.) The connection works by contrast and analogy at once: contrast, because a created lily out-dresses a crowned king, so the whole economy of anxious acquisition is exposed as aiming too low; analogy, because the God who fed Job's ravens is the Father who knows what you need. And note where Jesus lands - not on austerity but on desire redirected: "seek His kingdom, and these things will be added unto you... it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom" (12:31-32). The cure for anxiety is not lower expectations but a better treasure. Solomon's glory faded and his heart wandered after it; the kingdom the Father delights to give is Christ Himself, and He does not fade.

Found via

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Reference Type

Allusion

Connection Method(s)

Contrast + Analogy