“And King Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.” I Kings 10:13
Legends of the Queen of Sheba are common throughout Arabia, Persia, Ethiopia and Israel. The more realistic portraits of the Queen of Sheba appear in the Bible and the Kebra Negast. According to Ethiopian legend, she was born in 1020 B.C. in Ophir, and educated in Ethiopia. Her mother was Queen Ismenie; her father, chief minister to Za Sebado, succeeded him as King. One story describes that as a child Sheba (called Makeda) was to be sacrificed to a serpent god, but was rescued by the stranger 'Angaboo. Later, her pet jackal bit her badly on one foot and leg, leaving lasting scars and deformity. When her father died in 1005 B.C., Sheba became Queen at the age of fifteen. Contradictory legends refer to her as ruling for forty years, and reigning as a virgin queen for six years. In most accounts, she never married.
Sheba was known to be beautiful (despite her ankle and leg), intelligent, understanding, resourceful, and adventurous. A gracious queen, she had a melodious voice and was an eloquent speaker. Excelling in public relations and international diplomacy, she was also a competent ruler.
Power and riches could not satisfy Sheba's soul, for she possessed an ardent hunger for truth and wisdom. Before her visit to Solomon, she says to her people:
"I desire wisdom and my heart seeketh to find understanding. I am smitten with the love of wisdom.... for wisdom is far better than treasure of gold and silver... It is sweeter than honey, and it maketh one to rejoice more than wine, and it illumineth more than the sun.... It is a source of joy for the heart, and a bright and shining light for the eyes, and a giver of speed to the feet, and a shield for the breast, and a helmet for the head... It makes the ears to hear and hearts to understand."
"...And as for a kingdom, it cannot stand without wisdom, and riches cannot be preserved without wisdom.... He who heapeth up gold and silver doeth so to no profit without wisdom, but he who heapeth up wisdom - no man can filch it from his heart... I will follow the footprints of wisdom and she shall protect me forever. I will seek asylum with her, and she shall be unto me power and strength."
"Let us seek her, and we shall find her; let us love her, and she will not withdraw herself from us, let us pursue her, and we shall overtake her; let us ask, and we shall receive; and let us turn our hearts to her so that we may never forget her.”
The Bible says, "And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions.
And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.
And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not." I Kings 10:1-3
Sheba traveled a great journey to see Solomon and it is recorded that in the time Sheba spent with Solomon, they conceived a son. The significance of this history for the Queen of Sheba ministry today is: We are like Sheba, hungering after the truth and wisdom found in Solomon (representing God), and the product of that union, their son, is likened unto the fulfillment or birthing of God’s purpose and promises for us. We are preparing Queens for the Kingdom of God!
WE ARE SHEBA:
Saved
Holy
Excellent
Born Again
Anointed
The historical information provided on this web page was found at www.viewzone.com. You can check out this site for additional study on the Queen of Sheba. The scriptural references are provided as recorded from the Holy Bible, King James Version. You can find more biblical information on the Queen of Sheba in the Old Testament in I Kings 10:1-13; and II Chronicles 9:1-12. Some of the other references found in the Bible of the Queen of Sheba are: Psalms 72:15, Isaiah 60:6, and in the New Testament, Matthew 12:42 and Luke 11:31.
