Today’s Scripture Reading (October
30, 2019): 2 Chronicles 9
His name was
Menelik I, the legendary king of Ethiopia. According to tradition, Menelik was
the son of Queen Makeda. And when Menelik took the throne after his mother’s
death, he began a dynasty that would rule over Ethiopia almost uninterrupted
for close to the next three millennia. The dynasty of Menelik finally ended in
1974 with the fall of Emperor Haile Selassie. Selassie died (or was
assassinated depending on you are listening to) a year later in prison.
For most, the
names are probably unknown - except that you do know them. Queen Makeda might
be better known to most of us by another title – she was the biblical Queen of
Sheba. And Menelik I, if he did exist, was the son of the Queen of Sheba and
King Solomon of Israel. And the dynasty that Menelik started was known as
Solomonic Dynasty of Ethiopia.
Credible
records from this period are scarce. History has become shrouded, but the
possibility of the legend actually being true is admittedly tantalizing. If
there was a union between Solomon and Makeda, the Bible says that Solomon had
700 wives and 300 concubines, so such a relationship is not out of the
question, then many questions would be answered – like why the Queen showered
Solomon with so many expensive gifts with little traded in return. These were
love gifts for her husband, or maybe, more importantly, these were gifts given
to the father of her child. And there is the suggestion that what Sheba wanted
the most from Solomon was to be the mother of his child. And “King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all
she desired and asked for.” But we also need to acknowledge that while
Solomon may have had a relationship with a thousand or more women, the only
named wife of Solomon in the Bible was Naamah the Ammonite, the mother of
Rehoboam, the son which would eventually succeed Solomon as King over Israel.
Thus, the actual status of the Queen of Sheba remains a mystery.
There are
even rumors that Solomon built a replica of the Ark of the Covenant and sent it
to his son in Ethiopia, along with some the crown princes to help with the
rule. It is a romantic idea – but maybe?
If Makeda is
numbered among the wives of Solomon, eventually the time came for her to return
home, and when she left she took her son with her. There was another kingdom to
rule, and her hope was that the son that she shared with Solomon would possess
the same wisdom as the King who was his father. Because, her Kingdom needed
that kind of wisdom if it was going to survive.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1
Kings 11
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