"I am the Queen of Sheba"

 

Several times in the last few days I ran across the name Sheba.  One of the occurrences was the History Channel.  A program on the Ark of the Covenant told how that King Solomon and Sheba were married, had a son, and Solomon gave the son the Ark and it is in Ethiopia today.  There is a Hebrew word for that, “Baloney”.

Actually, I thought Indiana Jones found it the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark and it is filed deep in the archives of the Smithsonian Institute.  Who knows?

I did have a conversation with the Queen of Sheba in New Orleans.  No, I am not fibbing.  Here is what happened.

One of the requirements for getting a Master of Divinity degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS) while attending its Extension in Birmingham was I had to spend 13 weeks on the New Orleans campus within the four year program.  I accomplished this having earned four years of vacation from the cement plant.  I spent my vacations in New Orleans in class taking tests.  One week was equivalent to a full term.

One of the breaks from this vigorous schedule was a trip to a steak and seafood restaurant named Jack Dempsey’s.  If you go to New Orleans be sure to go and order the steak and red fish platter for two.  It is wonderful and it is more than two can eat.

It was a trip to Jack Dempsey’s that I met the Queen of Sheba.  She was from the Marietta Extension of NOBTS in Georgia and she had been invited by some of the other female students that tagged along with several of us preachers.  New Orleans is not a very safe place for females at night.

Sitting around a large table we enjoyed the food and company of one another.  It was exciting to meet new people and share our experiences.  The Queen appeared older than most of us.  She dressed and acted sophisticated, maybe a tag snobbish.  I was cutting up and having a good time when she asked me, “How did you get into this program?”

Being simple minded, I told her that I had registered.  She then said, “I thought you had to have a college degree to register.”  I responded by telling her that I had a college degree from the University of Montevallo.

She said, “If you have a college degree, I am the Queen of Sheba.”

My preacher friends, the other ladies (wanting to be preachers) that knew me waited for my response.  I had two cards, wallet sized certificates, in my wallet from the Phi Alpha Theta and the Sigma Tau Delta.  Now I know that is Greek.  The Phi Alpha Theta is from the History Honor Society for having an “A” average.  The Sigma Tau Delta is from the English Honor Society, one of the top five in the nation, for having an “A” average in English.

I took the cards from my wallet, gave them to her, and said “Here, read this Queen of Sheba.”

It was a precious moment that I cherish even as I write this article.  My friends around the table erupted in laughter.  The Queen of Sheba was speechless.  She gathered her composure and asked, “Why don’t you talk like you have an education?”

I said, “Mam, I pastor a small rural church in Bibb County Alabama.  The people I serve are good old country people.  If I talk prim and proper I cannot communicate with them.  I know when to act educated and when to be me.  I am country, proud of it, and you will have to accept me for who I am.

I have often wondered what she said when she went back to Georgia.

And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions . . . And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom.  Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard (I Kings 10:1, 6-7 KJV)