Seeking God, Luke 11:31-32

"The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. The men of Ninevah shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and, behold, a greater than Jonah is here."

     Jesus was no doubt dismayed by the lack of faith of the people to whom He spoke, thus He rebuked them harshly for their lack of belief. They had just witnessed Him cast a demon out of a man who was mute, and seen the mute man speak, yet they attributed His miracle to the work of Satan. In the hardness of their hearts and disbelief they pushed Him to give them a sign that He really was from God, yet Jesus would not, telling them that the only sign they would see would be His resurrection from the dead (the sign of Jonah the prophet).
     Jesus went on to say that the queen of Sheba (the queen of the south) travelled hundreds of miles to hear the wisdom of Solomon, which was far less glorious than the miracles of God incarnate. She was a Gentile, and thus Jesus was pointing out that even a Gentile woman would travel to great lengths to hear a man gifted by God, when God's own people, the Jews, would not accept their long-awaited Messiah. She, the queen of Sheba, would rise up in the judgment and condemn the people to whom Jesus was now speaking for their lack of belief and hardness of heart.
     So too, even the wicked Ninevites to whom Jonah was sent repented a the mere preaching of a prophet-- Jonah did no miraculous sign, but simply proclaimed (without even hoping for his message to be heard and obeyed for he despised the Ninevites) the message God had given him: In forty days God would destroy Ninevah for their corrupt and debase ways. This notoriously wicked and rotten people, these people who carried off captives with fish hooks in their lips and utterly desimated peoples of foreign lands whom they conquered-- They repented at preaching. How much more ought the religious, supposedly God-seeking people to whom Jesus spoke turn and believe in Jesus?

     God said to Jeremiah the prophet, "you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." The people to whom Jesus was speaking were obviously not seeking God with all their hearts, or they would have found Him. The queen of the south had sought God, and He revealed Himself to her through Solomon. The Ninevites sought God, and He relented in destroying their city and their people. Yet the generation of Jesus' day was so hardened and so far from seeking God that they couldn't see Him even when He was standing right in front of them casting out demons and healing the mute! In the gospel of John we read that they refused to recognize who He was even after seeing Him raise Lazarus from the dead-- Instead, they plotted how to kill Him.
     Have you sought God with all your heart? He will go to the ends of the earth to reveal Himself to you: He brought Philip to the Ethiopian in the middle of the desert would was reading the scroll of Isaiah. Would He, who died upon the cross for your sin, hide from you if you really wanted to know Him? No. If you are truly seeking God, you will find Him. James tells us, "draw near to God, and He will draw near to you." That's a promise. If you cannot see God in your life, it is because your heart is hardened and you are blind with unbelief: Open your eyes and call upon the Lord, for all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.