Emma Hart Willard founded the first permanent institution
of higher learning for women in America. None of the usual
courses for women were even offered. There were no cooking
or needle work classes. Instead, she offered zoology,
geometry, trigonometry, and other subjects thought to be
beyond the grasp of the female mind. She was convinced that
the female mind, if given a chance, could be equal to the male
mind.
She was number 16 of a family of 17 children. She was
born on a sheep farm in Conn. in 1787. Girls were not
allowed to get the same education as boys, but she studied her
brother's books at home and became self educated. She
became a teacher, and opened her own school. She gained
quite a reputation. After her marriage to Dr. John Willard
she opened a female seminary in her home. She went to the
New York legislature, and she became the first woman to
lobby in America. She pleaded for a state supported female
academy. President James Monroe and former presidents
Adams and Jefferson endorsed her proposal. It was approved
as the first state charter for women's education. She went on
to become the first woman to be admitted to the association
for the advancement of science. In the last 20 years of her life
she helped launch nearly 1000 schools for women. Women
have reached enormous heights in the world of the intellect.
We want to focus our attention on a woman of the Bible
who is probably the most brilliant of them all. We do not
know if the Queen of Sheba was beautiful or plain, but the
record is clear, she was a brain. No other woman is so
involved with the issues of knowledge, wisdom, and
understanding, as is this Queen. The only other woman in the
Bible who is portrayed as having such an eager mind to learn
would be Mary of Bethany who sat at the feet of Jesus
soaking in wisdom even greater than of Solomon. Had the
Queen of Sheba lived in the day of Jesus, you can count on it,
she would have been there at His feet as well. Jesus said as
much when he selected this Queen as a powerful example of a
wise light seeker. Jesus said to the Pharisees in Matt. 12:42,
"The Queen of the South will arise at the judgment with this
generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the
earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something
greater than Solomon is here." When Jesus is that impressed
with a woman, she deserves our careful attention, for such a
life as hers has an impact on time and eternity. Let's look
first at-
I. HER POSITION.
She was a Queen, and not one who is merely a figurehead,
but one who was actually the ruler of a people. In this sense,
a Queen is simply a female king, and history has been full of
women who have had the gifts to rule nations with wisdom
and power. The Queen of Sheba is one of the most honored
women of the Bible, for nothing negative is revealed about
her. All is positive, and even Jesus holds her up as a great
example.
You will find no basis in the Bible for denying women the
right to occupy any place of leadership they are capable of
handling. Someday there will, no doubt, be great debate as to
whether or not a woman should be President of the United
States. The record of the Bible and history would be on the
side of electing a woman if, in God's providence, a uniquely
qualified woman would seek the position. There is nothing I
am aware of in Scripture that would prohibit a woman from
any position of power.
Israel was ruled by Deborah very well in ancient times,
and by Golda Mier in modern times. Many Christian nations
have had superb female rulers who have demonstrated that
women can be superior in the wielding of great power. From
the lowliest to the loftiest there is no station in life that is not
sometimes held by a woman. This is a fact recognized by
men, even in ancient times. Nine hundred years before
Christ, Sabean women were given high positions. The
International Bible Encyclopedia states, "In almost all
respects women appeared to have been considered the equal
of men and to have discharged the same civil, religious and
even military functions."
Some feel it is possible that the Queen of Sheba was
motivated by this issue of equality to go and see Solomon for
herself. She was a very wise and wealthy monarch herself, and
she wondered if any king could be superior to her. We cannot
lay this kind of motive on her, but there is no doubt that she
brought with her very elaborate and extravagant gifts as an
exhibition of her own power and glory. Solomon was greatly
impressed with her, for he gave her a truly royal tour of his
kingdom, and he shared with her all of his wisdom. There is
not a hint of a prejudice bone in Solomon as if he was in any
way offended by a female ruler. She was graciously accepted,
and hosted on a level of equality.
A woman in a powerful position can be a blessing to all.
As God raised up Deborah to ruler Israel, so every once in a
while he raises up a woman so wise and effective as a ruler
that all men submit to her superior gifts. Believe it or not, it
even happened to the Vikings. Norwegian law forbid the wife
of the king to be called queen in 1363. But then came
Margaret who in her sons name took over the throne of
Denmark. She was a genius of a ruler, and so wise in her use
of power of wealth that all of Scandinavia profited by her
reign. Norway asked her to take over control of their foreign
affairs. She managed to get her son on the throne of Sweden,
and when she did she had become so indispensable that the
Danes, Swedes, and Norwegians, in 1388 made her the ruler
of their kingdoms. One nobleman of Sweden challenged this
act, and went to war, but Margaret conquered him, and
became the Queen of all three lands. For 434 years the union
she established bore witness to the power and wisdom of an
able Queen.
There are many such records of history where gifted
women have done everything that gifted men have done. The
lesson of the Bible and history is clear. When God endows a
woman with gifts, she should be free to use those gifts for the
benefit of man. Back in 1918 the king of Tonga, an Island in
the South Pacific, died, and he had no sons. His 17 year old
daughter was made Queen. She had become a Christian
through the Free Methodist missionaries who had gone to the
island. The result was a Christian Queen who established a
kingdom where Christian morality became the law of the
land. By her order alcohol was prohibited from the island.
She won the love of the people for her wisdom. This is
another example of how God has used women rulers for the
power of good when they are in positions of authority like the
Queen of Sheba. Next let's consider-
II. HER PERSISTENCE.
Jesus said that she came from the ends of the earth to hear
Solomon. Scholars tell us that Sheba was about the size of
Texas in far off Arabia, which at that time may also have
included part of Ethiopia. The journey was between a
thousand and 15 hundred miles. That may not sound like
much to us, but try it on a camel sometime, and you will know
why this woman should be known as the Queen of persistence.
It was a daily grind for about 2 months.
The legend is that she tested Solomon before she made the
trip to see him. She sent him a diamond with a crooked hole
through it asking him to thread it. No needle could penetrate
it, but Solomon put a small worm in one end, and let the
worm crawl through the hole pulling the thread. She also
sent a goblet that she desired him to fill with water taken
from neither the earth nor the sky. Solomon was up to the
challenge, and he had a horse gallop around until it was
exhausted and perspiring, and from this dripping horse he
filled the cup. When the Queen heard of how he met her
challenge, she just had to see the man for herself.
It was an enormous undertaking to prepare the large
caravan, and no one can know the obstacles she had to
overcome to reach her goal, but she did it. She never turned
back even though she had everything life could offer. She had
wealth, power, prestige, and position, yet she pressed on, for
the truly wise are those who know there is always more. Jesus
says that she will condemn the Pharisees, for she will willing
to pay the price to find that something more, but they were
not. The Queen of Sheba was a genuine optimist. An
optimist is one who says, "I must press on, for the best is
always yet to be." That was Paul's attitude, and that is the
attitude of all who, like Paul keep pressing on.
The optimist is always persistent because they know there
is always a goal out ahead worth seeking. Jesus said, "seek
and you shall find," confirming the wisdom of those who are
persistent. The Queen of Sheba could have sat in her kingdom
and waited for the truth to come to her, but she was too wise
and too hungry for the truth to not be a seeker.
In 1883 a distinguished group of scientists traveled to a
small coral reef in the Pacific with all kinds of photographic
equipment in order to get pictures of the total eclipse. Men
and women have paid a high price to get scientific knowledge,
and we can be grateful for their dedication and persistence.
The tragedy is that people will not maintain ;that same
persistence in seeking to know the Creator of the Sun, and the
Source of all light. The Queen of Sheba is honored by Christ
because she was persistent in her search for spiritual light as
well as the physical.
She was rich beyond the imagination of most people in
history, yet she knew that life did not consist in the
abundance of her possessions. She never stopped her search
when she found gold, but persisted on until she found God.
Centuries before the three wise men, or kings, journeyed far
to see the Christ child, this wise Queen journeyed far to the
promised land to know the God who sent the Christ child,
and when Jesus grew up and read of her, she became one of
the women who most impressed him as a courageous
adventurer for God. Persistence in the search for God is the
greatest of wisdom, and she had it. Next look at -
III. HER PERSUASION
She found even more than what she was seeking. She said
the half was not told her, and she could not believe the half
she had heard. This passage makes it clear that she came to
learn about the God of Israel, and not just about nature and
wealth. In 10:1 we see that she heard of the fame of Solomon
concerning the name of the Lord. She came asking questions
about God, and v.3 tells us Solomon answered all her
questions. We can only conclude that she responded to this
light with faith in God, or otherwise Jesus would not have
used her as a great example. What good is seeking if one does
not accept what is found? She did accept, and became a child
of God's kingdom. She will be one of the fascinating
personalities to know in heaven. Next look at-
IV. HER POSSESSIONS.
That she was wealthy there is no doubt. Many picture her
caravan winding its way across the Arabian Desert as possibly
the most spectacular in history. Bible scholars estimate the
value of her gifts to Solomon to be nearly 4 million dollars.
The wealth of this Queen, and that of Solomon was so great
that their exchange of gifts opened up a whole new world of
commerce, and the century following their visit was one of
commercial expansion. We are talking General Motors, and
AT&T here. This is no mere social call and friendly gift
exchange. It is a meeting of two world powers that can
change the course of history, and one of these powers is a
woman. She is a master of diplomacy, and one of the most
successful in history in international relations.
She possesses one of the most charming personalities of
the Bible. Jesus could not help but admire her, and the same
goes for people watchers. Artists depict her as an elegant
dignified woman. In Raphael's fresco in the Vatican she is
depicted in a girlish figure. In 1891 Sir Poynter portrayed her
as splendidly attired, and loaded with gorgeous jewels. The
Koran dwells on the legends that surround her.
She possessed a marvelous mind of her own. She had to be
very intelligent, for she came loaded with questions which
indicates she was a student of life, and a philosopher. She
also had to have considerable wisdom to be able to evaluate
the answers she received. One suspects that Solomon seldom
met with a female so able to converse on all subjects like this
noble lady. We do not know if she had inherent wisdom, or if
she was trained in order to possess such knowledge. All we
know is that when women get the same chance as men to
learn their minds can function on the same level. Dr. Harold
Ockenga, father of modern evangelicals said that she deserves
to rank with Socrates as a searcher for truth.
Show me a man with more degrees than a thermometer, and
I can show you a woman with the same list. Show me a
man who can speak many languages, and I can show you a
woman who can do the same. I have only scratched the
surface in reading the biographies of the women of history,
but I know enough to say with confidence, the female mind is
equal to that of the male. Jesus says the mind of this Queen
will set a standard for the final judgment of mankind. Jesus
picks out this woman and holds her up as an example of one
who responded in faith to the light that God gave her. She
followed that light and, therefore, she will be justified in the
resurrection, and her example will condemn the leaders of
Israel who had the light of Christ in their midst, and yet
refused to believe. This pagan woman will be saved, and
these Jewish men will be lost.
No wonder the Pharisees wanted to kill Jesus. These men
thank God everyday that they were not Gentiles or women.
But Jesus holds up a Gentile woman as their judge, and says,
she is superior to all of you. You can count on it that sexual
and racial prejudice were powerful causes of the cross. Jesus
exalts a woman to a level of spiritual dignity and authority
that was blasphemous to the Jews. Jesus knew that too, yet
He did it, making it clear beyond a shallow of a doubt that
Jesus is the liberator of women.
Jesus says that a woman will be the example by which men will
be judged. Her example is exalted to the highest level,
and so Jesus puts a woman's life and faith on the level of
equality with the greatest of men. Jesus is saying that the
lives of worthy people, and their response to God's light
become part of the standard by which the world is to be
judged. This pagan woman's persistent search for truth will
put to shame those who have the truth at their fingertips, but
who will not lift a finger to grasp it. She wanted life's best,
and never ceased to search until she found the living God of
Israel. She illustrates the very essence of wisdom that says,
the search is never over until we discover the best that God
has given to man, and that best for us in the New Testament
age is Jesus. Those who are truly wise will follow this Queen
until they come to know the King of Kings.
