The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1889-12-05
THE QUEEN or si4ssA.
International Sunday-Sphool Lesson 70
December 8, 1880.

DeConDer q, iooS.
Especially arrangoa FROM !;. S. Quarterly.]
LESSON TExr-I Kings 1913.
GOLDEN TExT-She cs ne from the utter
most parts Of the earth 20 hear the wisdom
of Solomon; and, betjld, q greater than
Solomon is here.--Msst. 1924.
CENTRAL Truth They are wisest who
most earnestly sceh Christ, of whose bless
ings the bs,i mas never been told.
TIME-B. G. 99s Ten years after the tenn
pie was iinished.
PLACE-n) Jerusalcm; (o) Sheba, l. O.,
Sabma, very wealthy region in Southern
Arabia, bordering on tho Red Sea. IL was
1900 miles froEi Jersusalem
PARALLEL ACcoUST-2 ChroD. 91-12.
SOLOMON, who was nearly 40 years old,
and had reigned 20 years.
INTRoDUCTIoN-A After the completion Of
the temple Solomon exercised his genius in
building palaces and public buildings, aque-
ducts and fortressos, extending his COM
merce and orgarizing splendid court. The
story Of his magnificence reached distant
nations through his fleets, and people came
from long distance to see and to hear.
Among them was the Queen of Sheba.
HELPS OVER HARD PLACEs-1. Concerning
the name of tho Lord: His naIno in connection
with the Lords temple, and the wisdom
try,) him ,cith hard questions: cnigmas, diff
cult problems, and also questions of re-
lgion and government. 2. Much gold see
V. 10. 4. So'omOn's tsi,d,rn: as shown In his
works, splendid palaces, ivory and gold
throne, commerce that extended from spain
to Egypt, the temple. etc. 8. The sitting Of
his scrpatts: the assembly Of his high off,
GERS. The attendance Tor service) Of h6
min sters: his servants, attendants. Hts
ascent: connecting his palace with the
temple court 10. One hundred aud tmcntv
Ia tents Of gold. each talent was worth $685..
$50 II. Navy Of Hiram: King Of Tyre, a
sca.faring nation, whose sailors manned
Solomon's ships. Ophtr: either part Of
Arabia, near Sheba, or part of India. 12
AlmuD tres: perhaps sandal-wood.
SOLoMoN's WIsDoM-UD In solving hard
questions, in unfolding tho mysteries Of
life and religion. (2) AS q judge. (See ex-
ample in Kings S:l5-2S.) (9 In knowledge
and literature Solomon wrote probably
three books of the Bible. We are told that
he spoke three thousand proverbs and one
thousand songs. He was versed IN the
natural science Of the day Il Kings 4:S0-S4).
az In art and architecture. Illustrations
are seen in the temple, in his palaces and
gardens aud in his Notifications. (5) In
commerce, which was very wide and
successful. (6 In organizing the army
and building fortresses throughout his
kingdom. (7) In his court splendors.
LESSON PoISTs-This time we have
royal visit to neighboring sovereign. Call
the attention Of the class to the cause Of the
visit. This was the widespread fame Of the
wisdom of King Solomon. Not so much Of
his riches, though these were very great,
nor Of his buildings, though they were very
''magnihcal," but Of his almost supernatur-
al wisdom in giving answers to hard ques-'
tions, whether theological ". ~ or practi-
cal Next speak Of the great earnestness
Of the Queen Of Sheba as shown by the dis
tance she travelled. Her journey must
have been about fifteen hundred miles, and
that, too, either on camels or in chariots
across the Arabian deserts. During her
visit to Jerusalem she must have had many
interviews with the King, and have asked
and received answers to many questions.
Solomon doubtless took great pleasure In
showing her as much Of the temple as q
Gentle woman might see, and In conduct
ing her through his palace, which 1t took
him thirteen years to build. His regalia
also was exhibited, snd his store of
vessels of gold (for gold was so
plentiful in Jerusalem that silver was moth
ing accounted of), and all the varied glories
of an Oriental court This array Of intel.
lectual wonders and material treasures
seems at last to have quite overcome the
Queen, who is said to have had no more spirit
left in her. In her enthusiasm she declares
Israel to be an especially-favored people,
and Solomon's servants to be peculiarly
privileged men, and she testifies by her
large gifts Of gold and spices her gratitude
for the royal reception she had been vouch-
safed.
Having thus brought out the narrative,
call for the Golden Text of the lesson.
These words were uttered by our Lord at
the time that the scribes and Pharisees
were wicIedly asking Him to work some
especial miracle In order that they
might know whether He was the Messiah.
Jesus had already performed scores OF
miracles, and they would not believe, and
| so He refused to accede to their request. He
merely warned them that with their spirit
ual rights and privileges that they enjoyed,
many would rise up In tho judgment to con-
demn them, because with fewer advantages
they had really done better. ''The Queen
Of the south shall rise up in the judgment
with this generation, and shall condemn it;
for she came from the uttermost parts OF
the earth to hear the wisdom Of Solomon,
and behold q greater than Solomon is here"
CoMMENTs-There are many to-day who
ore ready to hear what any ''wise man" has
20 say about science, or history, or inven-
tions, or politics, who never care to hear
any thing from the Word Of God. Nay,
there are thousands who will listen to what
any fool has to say about religion and the
world to come rather than to listen to what
Jesus Of Nazareth says on these topics.
Those people will not only not travel
great way for additional light in spiritual
things, but they win not even 60 around
the corner to church, or open the Word of
God in their own homes. They are in some
cases even worse than this. For, II any
missionaries come TO visit them In their
homes, they almost refuse to listen to the
words of Divine wisdom spoken to them for
nothing The Jews Of the Saviour's time
rejected Him and perished. So people in
our day reject Jesus and His Divine revela-
tion, and are laying up for themselves wrath
nOaipat tho NJ