Queen of the South
1998.
This degree, one of the series of the Adoptive Rite, is distinguished as a compliment to all worthy active members of a Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star.
The degree should be conferred within the Chapter room of the Eastern Star.
An organization of this degree is styled a Palace. It consists of fourteen officers, and as many members, ladies and gentlemen, as maybe convenient.
The officers and stations are:
1. King Solomon (Patron), in the East.
2. Queen Batsheba (Matron), on the right of Solomon.
3. Princess Hattipha (Associate Matron), in the West.
4. Princess Oziel (Conductress), in the South.
5. Princess Zorah (Associate Conductress), in the North.
6. Myra (Treasurer), in the Northeast.
7. Leah (Secretary), in the Southeast.
8. Princess Hagar (Adah).
9. Princess Orpah (Ruth).
10. Princess Syene (Esther).
11. Princess Tharah (Martha).
12. Princess Ellah (Electa).
13. Warder, at the door, inside.
14. Sentinel, at the door, outside.
Queen of Sheba (Candidate), in front of Solomon in the East.
At the appointed hour of meeting, King Solomon takes his station in the East, and calls the Palace to order *.
SOLOMON: Princess Oziel, proceed to satisfy yourself that all who are within the audience chamber are entitled to be present.
After taking an observation of all present to assure herself of the truth:
OZIEL: All who are now within the audience chamber of the Palace are entitled to be present, Most Excellent King Solomon.
SOLOMON: Princess Zorah, communicate with the Warder, and command her vigilance to guard this Palace, and preserve our deliberations from intrusion.
After obeying the order:
ZORAH: Your commands have been obeyed, Most Excellent King Solomon.
SOLOMON: Queen Bathsheba, what are the duties of your station?
BATHSHEBA: To intercede for the Queen of Sheba, and so secure to her a grant of your royal favor.
SOLOMON: Princess Hattipha, what are the duties of your station?
HATTIPHA: To assist in welcoming the Queen of Sheba, and to intercede in her behalf for your royal favor.
SOLOMON: Princess Oziel, what are the duties of your station?
OZIEL: To see that the Palace is in proper order for the reception of visitors; to receive and introduce the Queen of the South to the Most Excellent King Solomon.
SOLOMON: Princess Zorah, what are the duties of your Station?
ZORAH: To see that the Palace is in proper order for the reception of visitors; to assist in receiving and introducing the Queen of the South to the Most Excellent King Solomon.
SOLOMON: Princess Myra, what are the duties of’ your station?
MYRA: To receive and deposit in the royal treasury all gifts and offerings made to the Most Excellent King Solomon.
SOLOMON: Princess Leah, what are the duties of your station?
LEAH: To make up the records of the royal wisdom, and preserve them in the archives of the kingdom.
SOLOMON: This concourse of duties being performed, make up the system of this degree. In the spirit that should actuate every human being before entering upon any important undertaking, we will invoke a blessing from the Throne of Grace. With our respected Queen Bathsheba, let us pray. Calls up the Palace.
BATHSHEBA: Oh, Thou Who art ever ready to hear prayer, and unto Whom all must come in supplication, may we learn at this time to fulfill the royal law of love, and all things whatsoever we would that others should do unto us, may we do even so unto them, remembering that this is the law and the prophets.
Oh, Lord, our Heavenly Father! help us to dismiss all anxious thoughts for the morrow, and to be passive in Thy hands, whether Thou chasten or gladden us, whether prosperity or adversity be ours. Bring us nearer to Thee. Give anything but Thy displeasure, and when our earthly labors are ended, have us with Thyself in that glory which shall be our best and highest reward. Amen.
SOLOMON, *, seats the Palace: Sisters and Brothers, there are many thrilling incidents recorded in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, which are embodied in the Degrees of the Masonic Order, much to the pleasure and instruction of the Craft, and of the ladies who share in our privileges. This one concerning Sheba is one of that class, and as there are worthy applicants for the light and benefits of that degree waiting, I therefore declare this Palace duly open for the dispatch of such business as may regularly come before it. Sister Warder, you will so inform the Sentinel.
Warder does so, and says: Your order has been obeyed, Most Excellent King Solomon.
SOLOMON: With the help of the officers I will now proceed to confer the degree known as the Queen of the South.
It was the custom of the great and wise King Solomon to devote one day in the week to public audiences. The renown of this monarch had extended throughout the civilized world, and the greatest Kings and Rulers deemed themselves honored in the title of “Friends of Solomon.” Wise men, philosophers, artists, mathematicians, mechanics, all who were skilled in hand, or of bright intelligence, paid their court at the foot of Solomon’s throne. Ambassadors from foreign lands, distant and near, came with long and imposing retinues to do him honor. Questions in law, in science, and in religion were confidently propounded to him as to a man from whom nothing had been hidden, to whom nothing was too difficult; and the most intricate problems were solved by him with a readiness that showed the enlightenment he had received from Jehovah.
The degree commemorates one of those audience days, and the visit of the Queen of Sheba, as referred to in the Holy Scriptures.
King Solomon is supposed to be in his Royal palace, on Mount Zion, seated upon his great throne of ivory, overlaid with pure gold, surrounded with his officers and courtiers, and the kings of foreign nations, ambassadors, philosophers, and others who had come to gather wisdom from his lips.
Oziel, having obtained a list of the candidates, will say: Most Excellent King Solomon, there are in waiting certain lady relatives of Master Masons, members of the Order of the Eastern Star, accompanied by brethren who are known among us as Master Masons.
These crave the privilege of entering our Palace and receiving the divine precepts, that were anciently communicated to the Queen of the South, from the lips of King Solomon. They are willing to pledge their sacred honor to observe all the lawful rules and regulations of this degree, and I trust that you will grant them an entrance.
The list is handed to the Secretary, who reads it aloud.
SOLOMON: If there are no objections, Sister Warder, you will, at the proper time, instruct the Sentinel to admit the persons named in this list.
In strictness, but one lady candidate should receive this degree at a time. If however, Solomon so chooses, alll the lady candidates except Q. of S. can enter and take their seats, or all enter at the same time, and so receive the degree by communication. The gentlemen candidates invariably receive the degree without ceremony, and all at one inculcation.
SOLOMON: Princess Oziel, you will take a suitable escort, proceed to the outer portals of the Palace, where, I am informed, you will find in waiting the Queen of the South with her retinue. You will welcome and conduct them to our presence in the name of the King of Israel.
Princess Oziel, Zorah, Hagar, Orpah, Syene, Tharah, and Ellah retire to the ante-room. In the meantime, the lady who has been selected as the candidate - representing the Queen of the South, should be dressed in white, with a crown on her head, and a flowing veil attached thereto. A procession is formed and the Candidate placed in the center of the group, Oziel and Zorah leading. As they enter the room, the Palace is called up. All remain standing during the introduction; soft music playing.
OZIEL, with baton and scroll: Most Excellent King Solomon, we present before you a noble Princess, Sheba, the Queen of the South, who has entrusted to my hands this written petition.
SOLOMON: Let it be read by Leah, our Secretary.
The scroll is handed to Leah, who reads: Sheba, the Queen of the South, having heard of the fame of King Solomon, has come from the uttermost parts of the earth to Jerusalem to prove him with hard questions for her own ears must hear the man unto whom God has given the wise and understanding heart. She has brought, in her entourage, a large company with camels bearing spices and pure gold in abundance and precious stones. She beseeches the favor of King Solomon that she may approach the throne of the King of Israel and make known to him her wishes.
SOLOMON: Never, during the long reign of my father, King David, nor in my own reign, has such a request as this been made to me by a woman. Nevertheless, the Queen of Sheba shall not be denied. Let her make her wishes known.
ZORAH: Most Excellent King Solomon, I present to your royal favor a mighty Princess, Sheba, the Queen of the South, to whom you have granted this audience.
SOLOMON: Mighty Princess, we salute you. All salute. Be seated. *
The Queen sits directly in front of the King. The officers resume their stations. The Palace is called to order.
SOLOMON: Mighty Queen of Sheba, the Court of King Solomon is open as well to the humblest as to the mightiest. Welcome to the Royal Audience Chamber. Admitted agreeably to your request, I ask you, therefore, to what intent you have approached us this day.
HAGAR: Most Excellent King Solomon, by your gracious permission, I will address you as one of the proxies of the mighty Princess. From the uttermost parts of the earth, oh King Solomon, the Queen of the South has come to Jerusalem to hear thy wisdom and to prove thee with hard questions.
Thy fame concerning the name of the Lord has gone forth into every land. From that memorable night, when the Lord appeared unto thee on Gideon, and said, “Ask what I shall give thee,” it hath pleased the Most High to grant thee wisdom exceeding much the largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the seashore. Wiser than all the children of the Eastern country, and all the wisdom of Egypt, God hath made thee wiser than all men, and thy fame is in all nations round about. The representatives of all the people of the earth come to hear thy wisdom, oh Solomon, for all the Kings of the earth have heard thereof.
These things having been made known to me by my counselors, it hath seemed good to me, therefore, a woman called, like thyself, to reign over a great people, and feeling greatly the need of Divine wisdom to rule them aright, it hath seemed good unto me, I say, to entreat the King for a share of what God hath so freely dispensed to thee. Therefore, I have crossed lofty mountains, overwhelming rivers, and trackless deserts, by a journey of many, months, to seek from thy lips the wisdom granted by the Most High God, and concealed hitherto from the children of men. Let the prayer of my petition then, oh King; come before thee, and refuse me nothing of my request.
SOLOMON: Mighty Princess, while I admire the zeal which hath brought thee so far, and the great and commanding motives that have prompted thee to undertake so painful a pilgrimage, yet, for all that, thy request cannot be granted thee. For look! read in all the records of God’s dealings with men, and you will find no instance where it was given to a woman to enter into the counsels of the Most High God.
ORPAH: Most Excellent King Solomon, let me also speak as the proxy of this mighty Princess. Consider my request more seriously. When thy royal father, David, sat in his chamber, old and stricken in years, and a conspiracy was formed among his mighty men to make thy elder brother king, thy mother, Bathsheba, went wisely to King David, represented boldly the imminent danger of the occasion and, by her womanly tact and sound judgment, secured the crown of Israel for you. Is not this, then, a striking instance wherein it was given to a woman to penetrate the purposes of the Most High God?
Again, when the two Hebrew mothers stood up before thee, in this audience-chamber, the one with the living child, the other with the dead, they wrought upon thee to display that Divine Wisdom never before vouchsafed to man. Let the prayer of my petition then, oh King, come before thee, and refuse me nothing of my request.
OZIEL: Oh King, the woman hath spoken well. She is worthy, and that her petition be granted, I add my request to hers.
SOLOMON: Mighty Princess, and you, Princess Oziel, truly you have spoken well. Were there no other objection than the one I advanced, you have removed it. But it does not become me, the King of God’s chosen people, to establish a precedent in a matter so delicate as this. There is not an example in all history to justify me in granting your request, however strongly you may urge it.
SYENE: Most Excellent King Solomon, let me also speak in behalf of this mighty Queen. Consider her request. It has been proved already that the Most High God has more than once spoken by the mouth of woman in promulgating His decrees.
Let me further name to you Miriam, the sister of Moses, whose counsel was so useful to him both as lawgiver and ruler; and Deborah, the prophetess, who, from her dwelling place under the palm-tree, went forth to counsel and exhort Barak, Israel’s great captain, to the salvation of the people; and Jael, the wife of Heber, the Kenite, who, at one stroke, rid her country of its most despotic foe; and others of the brilliant galaxy among the women of Israel. In so many instances has Infinite Wisdom wrought at the hands of woman, that there is ample justification for the wisest of earthly monarchs to set the precedent in this matter and acknowledge her claims at last. Then, oh King, let the prayer of my petition come before thee, and refuse me nothing of my request.
ZORAH: Oh mighty King, the woman hath spoken wisely. She is worthy, and that her petition be granted, I add my request to hers.
SOLOMON: Mighty Princess, and you, Princess Zorah, there is another objection fatal to the gratification of your wishes. It is the want of needful prudence and reticence in your sex. The knowledge vouchsafed to me from the Most High was communicated secretly, in the watches of the night, even as Jehovah made known to Samuel the Divine Will at midnight in the Tabernacle at Shiloh. Shall I expose this hidden wisdom to become the subject of gossip, an idle tale to idle tongue? No; a woman cannot keep a secret.
THARAH: Most Excellent King Solomon, you entertain too low an estimate of our sex. Be it known to you that in my country, yea, in all countries of which history gives account, woman has ever proved faithful to every trust reposed in her. Treat her as a slave, and she may exhibit the infidelity of a slave; trust to her as your equal and your friend, and the adamantine rock is not more impenetrable to assault than is the sealed casket of a woman’s heart.
Is there a person in this royal audience-chamber who recalls the memory of a faithful mother, a devoted sister, a trusting wife or daughter, that can deny it? Perish, oh King, the foul assertion that you have uttered. Did not Jochebed, the mother of Moses, preserve the secret of his birth for three months, braving the wrath of Pharaoh, and so secured to Israel its greatest Prophet? Recall the fidelity with which your ancestress, Ruth, preserved the secret entrusted to her. Then, oh King, let the prayer of my petition come before thee, and refuse me nothing of my request.
SOLOMON: Mighty Princess, the Creator Himself, Whom we all recognize and adore, hath declared in His revealed law that the woman is the inferior of the man. It cannot be that knowledge of such infinite importance, that Jehovah condescends to communicate it orally to man, should be transferred to another, born in an inferior state.
ELLAH: Most Excellent King Solomon, read again the Inspired Word which your scribes have preserved from the days of Moses. See there that this want of equality to which you allude (and which is made so much the subject of oppression to woman) does not extend to the region of the mind and soul. God spoke as lovingly to woman as to man. Sinning together, together have they sorrowed, and His most gracious promises were made to the woman.
How can you declare, then, that she is less than your equal? Have I not been called to the throne of a mighty kingdom by the same voice that called you? Who hath made us, then, to differ, that I should not be allowed a measure of the needful wisdom? Is not the woman man’s equal in affections? Has she not even more than her share of life’s sorrows? Are not her sentiments more acute, her griefs even more keen than his? Then, oh King, let the prayer of my petition come before thee, and refuse me nothing of my request.
SOLOMON: Mighty Princess, every one in this audience-chamber must admire the logic, apt reply, knowledge of history, and the noble defense of woman evinced in your replies. You have plead the cause of your sex so well that the feelings of our hearers are warmly enlisted in your behalf. I candidly admit that you have answered and removed the objections thus far urged.
There is yet one more that I deem unanswerable. It is that, for a woman to participate in the counsels of the Most High, never yet entrusted to one of her sex, will not comport with the modesty, the delicacy, and the decorum that sanctify the intercourse between man and woman in all the walks of civilized life.
HATTIPHA: Most Excellent King Solomon, this is but trifling with my request. Have I not declared to you that the Most High has placed a crown upon my head, which I can in no wise wear, save by the grace of Him Who gave it to me. If it is not a breach of decorum that I should be the ruler over men, where the indelicacy of imparting to me the needful light? Hark ye, O, King Solomon, and all ye who hear me, are we not sojourners together in this evil world for a brief day, and then to pass into a common grave? Mother earth will make no inquiry concerning us, whether man or woman , but will resolve us equally into kindred dust. The trumpet of the archangel will be blown alike to summon us, and the right hand of the Omnipotent will alike raise us to stand before Him. It is but the fear of man, O, King, that prompts thee to these repeated denials. I accept them, and I will press my suit no further.
I will now go forth to traverse deserts, mountains, and rivers on my return home. And, as I go, I will make it known that King Solomon, the marvel of mankind for wisdom and Divine gift, has refused to enlighten the Queen of the South in the wisdom God has given him, lest he should set an example to the world.
Keep, then, O, King, the wisdom you have. Soon you must pass away as your fathers, and then all that you have, and all that you are, will be as a shadow that disappeareth. The Word of God abideth forever. To that I will direct me. In prayer, in charity, in deeds of mercy, I will seek the wisdom that I vainly hoped to secure at the Court of Solomon. My prayer and my request shall come before thee no more.
BATHSHEBA: Most Excellent King Solomon, I have listened to this remarkable debate from the beginning. As the Queen Mother, I am free to advise thee that her request be granted. It is the Divine finger that has directed her to your court. A Divine strength has upheld her in all her weary journeyings hither. A Divine wisdom has prompted her in the words she has uttered. Do not turn her away, then, to make known your refusal to the whole world, and thus cast a shadow upon the perfect wisdom GOD has given thee.
SOLOMON: Sister Secretary, look you into the law of Moses, and into the history of God’s people, recorded by the prophet Samuel, and see if there is anything in the treasuries of inspiration that will enlighten us upon the relation between man and woman.
SEC.: God created man in His own image; in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. The Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him an helpmeet for him.” In all the Divine commands in favor of the poor and distressed, no class of persons is so often and so kindly mentioned as the widow.
Most Excellent King Solomon, the law of Moses everywhere regards the woman equally worthy of God’s favor as man and if she is not so often mentioned in these it is because her lot is more retired. Whenever the writers of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, and Samuel speak of the part performed by woman in the great drama of our nation, it is in the most respectful and reverential terms. The history of the mother of Samson and the mother of Samuel, of Jephthah’s daughter, of your own noble ancestress, Ruth, and of many others, affords ample assurance that, in the favor and mercy of God, the woman shares a full portion with the man.
SOLOMON: Look you now, my respected Queen Mother, into the Psalms of my royal father, David, and see if there is anything in the treasuries of inspiration there that will enlighten us upon the relation between man and woman.
BATHSHEBA: Harken unto me, oh my son. Under the guise of a beautiful and virtuous woman, the royal Psalmist prefigures the glories of the Kingdom of Christ. In all the exhibitions of the sins of Israel, and they are many, he nowhere alludes to a dishonorable woman. The mourning for a mother he depicts as the most grievous of earthly sorrows. And so the Psalms of David, your noble father, everywhere regard the woman equally worthy of God’s favor with the man. And in almost every instance is man used in the generic sense to include both sexes.
SOLOMON: Mighty Princess, I can no longer forbear to grant your request. Truly, God has sent you here, and you shall now be enlightened. A faithful witness will not lie. Hope deferred maketh the heart sick. The lips of truth shall be established forever. Samson, when tempted by Delilah, revealed to her the secret of the Lord, and, as a punishment, the Lord sent upon him the prison-house, blindness, and death. Saul was stricken to the earth by the machinations of the Witch of Endor and he went forth from her cave to meet a bloody death.
But you, oh Mighty Princess, who have come so far, not influenced by vain curiosity or the purpose to do evil, or gain unlawful knowledge, you will receive this wisdom that you may apply it to the good of your people. Therefore, I will no longer delay to share it with you. Know then, oh Queen of the South, and you, Sisters and Brothers, who are around me, that the Lord God will do nothing but He revealeth His secrets unto His servants. The secret things belong unto the Lord our God, and there is a God that revealeth secrets. Job declared, “The secret of God was upon my tabernacle, in the days when God preserved me.” And David prophesied, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”
Do you ask to whom the secrets of the Lord shall be revealed? The law is open to our eyes, “the secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.” “His secret is with the righteous.” But what is this secret wisdom that the wisest have longed to know equally with the fool? Hear ye, oh my friends, and be profited thereby. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. THE FEAR OF THE LORD, THAT IS WISDOM, AND TO DEPART FROM EVIL IS UNDERSTANDING.
SOLOMON: Sisters and Brothers, in this beautiful allegory we have considered the objections urged against the admission of ladies into the knowledge of Masonic principles. Those objections advanced by King Solomon were so easily answered and refuted by the Queen of the South, that it was impossible even for the wisest of men to maintain them.
How much more difficult is it in these latter days, when we are educating our daughters equally with our sons, and in this great and enlightened country, where Oriental customs cannot degrade our women into slaves or silly toys, how much more difficult, I say, to maintain an argument against the adoption of ladies into binding and honorable covenants.
I am rejoiced, then, to assure you that although the advice and the influence of unfounded custom may for a little time, and in a few places, exclude ladies from our social and moral privileges, yet, by far the majority of Freemasons are already agreed to share the enjoyments and employments of the Order with the wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters of the Craft, so far as they may lawfully do so. I hail each lady here as a Queen of the South, and will proceed to communicate to you the secrets of the degree.
The Palace is called up.
The following obligation is then recited. Each person who has not taken the obligation is required to hold up his right hand during the recital:
Ladies, in the presence of these witnesses, and in addition to your former obligation, you pledge the sacred honor of a woman: and you, my brethren, the honor of a Master Mason: to the faithful performance of the conditions of this obligation:
That you will not be present nor assist in conferring this degree on any man not Masonically known to you to be a Master Mason, nor on any lady not vouched for as being the wife, widow, mother, sister, or daughter of a Master Mason, and having received the Eastern Star degrees in a legal manner.
The Palace is called down.
SOLOMON: The secrets of the degree consist of a HAILING SIGN, the ANSWERING SIGN, the PASS, and the COUNTER PASS.
(a) The HAILING SIGN is to raise the left hand and cover the chin.
(b) The ANSWERING SIGN is the same, but made with the right hand.
(c) The PASS for the lady is Solomon.
(d) The COUNTER PASS for the gentleman is She ba.
(e) The SYMBOLICAL CHART has the Camel and the Palm Tree. The Camel is an emblem of the land over which Sheba ruled; the Palm Tree, the land over which Solomon ruled.
SOLOMON: Sisters and Brothers, the beautiful and instructive legends which form the foundation of this degree have been so elaborately wrought out in the ceremonials, which have been dramatized before you, that any further instruction upon the subject is superfluous. That the female relatives of our Order are entitled to participate with us in the great privileges of Freemasonry is so clear and demonstrable that but few persons in this enlightened age are hardy enough to deny it, and I can assure you that any intelligent lady who will urge her claims persistently and properly, as the Queen of Sheba did, may ask and receive, seek and find, knock and it shall be opened unto her.
At the conclusion of the charge, the candidate steps forward two or three paces. Her escort, viz. Oziel, Zorah, Hagar, Orpah, Syene, Tharah and Ellah, form a semicircle behind her. Bathsheba and Hattipha come from their stations and stand at the right and left of the candidate.
The candidate then repeats the following:
SHEBA: Most Excellent King Solomon, and you, Gracious Queen Mother, Princesses and Lords, in the distant land where I was born, we are taught that there is but one God, and that He puts it into the hearts of such as He will to speak forth sentiments of wisdom suitable to the guidance of all His creatures. In coming hither from the uttermost parts of the earth, I was actuated by no other desire than to learn the will of the great God of Heaven. What you have told me, Most Excellent King Solomon, is wise and good, and upon my return I will make it my care to teach to others what is the good and acceptable will of God.
Speaking for my sex, O, King Solomon, we have cheerfully submitted to endure the ills of life, restricted to a humble and retiring condition, patient to bear our portion according to the will of God. The domestic circle is ours. We claim to rule the fireside. The culture of the infant mind is entrusted to us.
But when you: our fathers, brothers, husbands, sons: when you claim to possess a social bond woven by God Himself, and handed down to you through the ages, we wish to have some share in such a bond. When you tell us that the protection, the honor, the sustenance of wife and daughters are involved in these ancient ties, we wish to have some means of claiming our share in such inestimable privileges. While we do not ask for a knowledge of the essential secrets of Freemasonry, we do feel to demand of our husbands, fathers, brothers, sons, some tokens by which we may distinguish a Freemason from a base pretender, and so be enabled to accept or reject him according to his respective merits.
This is all, Most Excellent King Solomon, that we have ever wanted. In the process of time, under the better influences of civilization and a purer religion, the condition of woman has been steadily raised. Our daughters have a glorious prospect in the future for honor and usefulness. If there is anything in Freemasonry, then, planted there by divine inspiration: anything which we should know, and which is calculated to advance our sex - let us know it, and see if we will not prove ourselves worthy of Masonic confidence.
Finally, Most Excellent King Solomon, and you, Gracious Queen Mother, Princesses and Lords, I thank you for the trust you have reposed in me. I speak as the representative of woman, when I say that if you ever have traitors among you, those traitors will not be of my sex.
Inviolably sealed in my heart, I will treasure what you have given me this hour.
All resume their stations.
The proceedings being ended, and the records made up and approved, the Palace is thus closed:
SOLOMON: Sister Warder, inform the Sentinel that this Palace is about to be closed.
The order is obeyed.
An Ode may be sung, or remarks may be made by persons present.
SOLOMON: Our respected Queen Mother will lead us in our closing prayer.
BATHSHEBA: We thank you Heavenly Father for the lessons learned in the story of the wise King Solomon who humbly and graciously received the Queen from the South, Sheba, and her entourage who pleaded for equality of women.
We learned that God is impartial: he gives wisdom to, and exacts responsibilities from, men and women alike suitable for their guidance.
Let us go forward from today with more compassion and understanding as shown by King Solomon and Queen Sheba in this narrative.
Amen
SOLOMON:
I now declare this Palace of King Solomon closed. Sister Warder, you will so
inform the Sentinel. *
Resumption of Chapter business with closing