1 Kings 10:5

The meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants.

At the king’s table

“To be carved for at table by a great prince would be counted as great a favour as the meal itself. To take outward blessings out of God’s hand, to see that He remembereth us, and sendeth in our provision at every turn; this endeareth the mercy, and increaseth our delight therein.” What, indeed, would most men give if they could say, “The queen herself carved for me, and was most anxious that I should be well supplied”? But each believer has the Lord Himself for his Provider. He loads our table, and fills our cup. Providence is no other than God providing. He measures out our joys, weighs our sorrows, appoints our labours, and selects our trials. There is no morsel on the saint’s plate which is not of the Lord’s cawing, unless he has been so foolish as to put forth his hand unto iniquity. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The king and his servants

Those who entertain a king reckon upon receiving his train. It is not fit that he should come alone. So those who receive Jesus by faith into their hearts, receive also His Church, His ministers, His Word, and His cause. They take the Saviour and all His belongings. As the old proverb hath it, “Love me, love my dog,” so they love all who belong to Jesus for their Lord’s sake. Where Jesus comes with pardon, He brings all the graces with Him and we are right glad to entertain them all: not only faith, but love, hope, patience, courage, zeal, and the whole band of virtues. It would be idle to say, “Christ is in me,” if none of the graces of His Spirit lodged within our souls. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

His ascent by which he went up into the house of the Lord.--

Ascent to worship

There are no such steps as these to be found anywhere in the world. A step to honour, a step to riches, a step to worldly glory, these are everywhere, but what are these to the steps by which men do ascend to the house of the Lord. He then that entereth into the house of the Lord is an ascending man; as it is said of Moses, he went up into the mount of God. It is ascending to go into the house of God. The world believes not this; they think it is going downward to go up to the house of God; but they are in a horrible mistake. The steps then by which men go up into the temple are, and ought to be, opposed to those which men take to their lusts and empty glories. Hence such steps are said not only to decline from God, but to take hold of the path to death and hell (Psalms 44:18; Proverbs 2:18; Proverbs 5:5; Proverbs 7:25). (John Bunyan.)