The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-12-19
THE sUNDAY-sCHOOL LESSON.
Kings X, 1-IO-The Queen of Sheba
Visits Solomon.


The fame of Solomon spread to the ends of
the earth on the white wings OF his merchant
men. No need for his commercial travellers to
spin yarns about their kingly employer. The
very purchases they made spoke louder than
words of his imperial tastes and inexhaustible
treasury. His caravans aroused curiosity that
would not be silent until satisfied.
The fame of Solomon was singular in this.
that 1t was religious as distinguished from mill
tary or commercial renowns. His name
associated chiefly with temple which he ha6
built to Jehovah and with the worship there
maintained was matter of common report.
also. that he acknowledged his glory, wisdom
and power as the gift OF God. The fame of
Solomon could not be disassociated from the
name Of the Lord.
A thousand miles away. happy. jewel-strewn
Arabia lay, exhaling her aromatic breath, as
tradition says. far out upon the Red Such
a country would naturally be the Mecca OF Solo
mons purveyors. So he came to be known in
the palace as well as on Change.
The Queen was no dilettante. content with the
attentions of obsequious courtiers; mere
dummy to hang royal robes and regalia
She had physical stamina. A thousand miles
OF Bedouin and serpent-infested desert had
terrors for her. She had an alert mind. She
coveted the luxury of intellectual bout with
of questions ready. There great deal in
her heart about which she desired to commune
with this imperial oracle
That is a superficial view however, which af-
firms the Queens motive to be one Of mere
curiosity. No doubt she desired to improve her.
self by travel; to see temple, palace, city,
and court unrivaled-the wonder of the world.
No doubt she wanted quench her thirst at
intellectual fountain so copious and clear.
But in the final analysis the reason for the &C
ton OF the princess a religious one Here
was a pious pilgrimage. What impelled her was
the fame of Solomon, prince. builder
or merchant, but that which was associated
with the of Jehovah. 1t the glory of
the Lord, as manifested in the King of Zion,
which the Queen Of the East desired to see.
The approach of this ideal religious inquirer
a strong appeal Of Providence to the IA
vored monarch at a crucial hour of his career
At the moment when in the enjoyment of the
gift, he was forgetting the Giver, came this re-
rnnder that he the almoner of the knowl-
edge and grace of God to world that knew
him not. Solomon must needs recognize him.
self as torchbearer in the night of moral
ignorance He must see his great advantage,
because to him had been committed the oracles
os God He have felt himself the salt Of
the earth. the city set upon the hill.
The King met the kingly inquirer in a gracious
He allowed her to commune with him
Of all that was in her heart. He answered all
her questions With that frankness which is
always associated with moral earnestness, the
Queen admitted her skepticism concerning the
of his wisdom and achievements which
had reached her Ia the far-away land; but.
with inimitable naivete. she affirmed that what
she exceeded by more than half what she
had heard, and closed with an ascription Of
praise Solomon's God. which shows that her
religious quest not in vain.
THE TEACHERS LANTERN.
Clara Barton's journey to Armenia is. in some
respects. modern analogue to the Queen of
Sheba's visit to Jerusalem. II is splendid exam
pie of physical stamina in a Though
seventy years of age. she endured fatigues and
braved dangers that would have daunted a stout
masculine heart. Her motive humane. If
the Sultan would not let her wear the red cross
of her philanthropic order her arm, IL was
already in her heart. Her camel train laden
with the inestmable treasures of practical
Christian benefcence. richer by far than gold or
gems spices Of Yemen.
Nellie By's fantastic tour around the world
in eighty days made no such drafts upon physical
resources as the thousand-mile journey of the
Queen of Sheba. 1t illustrated well the pre-
csion of connections; the speed, safety and
luxury of modern travel But the Arabian prin-
cess travelled ship of the desert" Miss
Edwards, in her charming Thousand Miles up
the Nile" gives vivid and amusing descrip-
ton of the tortures of camel riding. After you
have apparently reached the limit OF endurance
In the racking gait, the hump-backed animal
unlimbers an additional joint and gives you