"Q" Is For Queen

The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts, all on a summer’s day…

Okay, my “Q” is not for that sort of queen.  It’s not for Dairy Queen, either.  Nor for Queen Anne’s Lace, pretty as it is.

Are you a queen?  Of course you are – Queen of your castle! 

However, I want to talk about three queens in the Bible and see what we can learn from them. 

Let’s see – there’s the Queen of Sheba who came to visit King Solomon.  Her story is found in I Kings 10:1-13.  It’s interesting to me that she came with a great entourage and many gifts because she had only heard about King Solomon’s fame; she didn’t believe it and wanted to see for herself.  She also heard of his great wisdom and his relationship to the Lord, and she came to test him with hard questions, to tell him all that was on her mind.

Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing he couldn’t explain.  When the Queen of Sheba saw all his wisdom, the elaborate palace he had built, the food on his table, how he seated his officials, the clothes even his servants wore, his cupbearers, and the enormous amount of burnt offerings he made at the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed.  She exclaimed to King Solomon that the half had not even been told her: “in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard.  How happy your people must be!  How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!  Praise be to the Lord your God…  And she gave Solomon the most gold, spices, precious stones ever! 

And “King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty.  Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country.”  She left the king, a very wise and wealthy queen.  Don’t you think her visit influenced the way she governed her own country from then on?  I do.

Then there’s Queen Jezebel.  Even her name has kind of an evil sizzle to it, don’t you think?  Like the buzzing of a stinging bald faced hornet.  I’ve never heard of any parent who wanted to name their daughter “Jezebel.”  Have you?

We read about her in I Kings 19:1, I Kings 21:1-17, and 2 Kings 1:25.  The wife of Israel’s king Ahab, she was a ruthless, scheming, controlling, manipulative, husband-belittling, murderous woman who connived to get her own way. She was loud and brash.  Jezebel “wore the pants” in her home, usurped her husband’s authority, forged his name to documents and arranged a kangaroo court to kill a man.  All to get a convenient vineyard next door for a vegetable garden for her husband.  She loved to conquer, to win, at any cost.

She intimidated people, including her husband, who cowered to her every whim and order.  She so greatly intimidated the bold Prophet Elijah that he ran for his life the very day after he won a great victory on Mount Carmel when he killed all her prophets of Baal.  She worshipped the Sidonian gods Baal and the Ashteroths, and led her husband, King Ahab, into idol worship too. 

Jezebel met a bitter end.  Her painted face and latest up-do couldn’t save her from being thrown out of a window and trampled to death by horses and then eaten by dogs.  Oh my.

Even Jesus metaphorically mentions “that woman Jezebel” who misleads His servants into sexual immorality and idol worship.  The reference to this evil spirit is in Revelation 2:20-21.

Last but not least, we have Queen Esther in the Bible.  What a lovely queen she was, trusting God and being submissive to those in authority over her.  Esther was discreet in what she said and did, and had a great banquet given in her honor when she was made queen.   Later, she risked her own life to save her people from extinction, and displayed humility and respect for her husband, the king.  Esther's life was spared, her enemy was hanged, and God used her to bring about a great deliverance for the Jewish people.  What a blessing Esther was.

We wives are the queens of our castles, ones who greatly influence our husbands.  Let’s seek excellence and wisdom like the Queen of Sheba, and have a serving, respectful attitude like Queen Esther’s.  Need I say anything about Queen Jezebel?  Yes, I do.  I see too much of her in our culture today. 

Copyright © 2013 Elaine Beachy