Religious Scholars - What do you know about the story related to the Queen of Sheba?

Question

Why do some people in Ethiopia believe that the "Ark of the Covenant" is there?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_of_Sheba
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ark_of_the_Covenant

Don't you think that this should be thoroughly investigated?

Answer 1

Yes. It should be thoroughly investigated.

Answer 2

The Kebra Negast from Ethiopia tells how the Queen of Sheba,
an African Nation, had a son with King Solomon. And after
Solomon sinned against God, the son came and got the Ark. Some think it is still in Africa.
The Song of Solomon was most likely written by the Queen of Sheba to Solomon, as the older versions clearly say, "I am
Black." KJV.
Christ also said the Queen of the South, (Sheba), because she
listened to the words of Solomon. Will rise up in The Judgement, and be a judge over the wicked! Matthew 12:42.

Answer 3

Maybe, but there are reputed to be over 750 different possible Ark of the Covenant replicas and only one actual Ark of the Covenant in Ethiopia. The caretakers of the Ark say that they produced all the replicas to make it more difficult for someone to come in and steal the actual Ark.

A question for readers: Why try to find the Ark of the Covenant. It was lost or disposed of by Nebuchadnezzar, Babylonian King and the temple was demolished so that even if the Israelites had a priest which they did at the time, they couldn't practice their religion. They went into captivity in Babylon for their disobedience to God. They were allowed to leave in 457 BC when King Artaxerxes, a Zoroastrian, gave them leave to go. Then they rejected Jesus after rebuilding Jerusalem and Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD along with many residents. Not long after the priesthood came to an end thus ending the cycle of Moses completely.

Notwithstanding, the Jews have held on to their religion inspite of it being bereft of the components that enable its practice.

Why look for that Ark of the Covenant when there is an abstract Ark of the Covenant to take its place as humanity has evolved to a state of awareness capable of grasping the abstract spiritual principles and do not need the physical symbols anymore?

The cycle of Moses was completed by Jesus. The cycle of Jesus was ended by Muhammad. The cycle of Muhammad was ended by The Bab. The cycle of The Bab was ended by Baha'u'llah, the return of Christ, the hereditary heir to the throne of David the King, the throne of God in the world of humanity.

Answer 4

It actually makes a bit of sense. The Queen of Sheba visits David, they fall madly in love, but she won't marry him because she has her queenly duties at home, so she leaves, pregnant with his son. The son shows up as a young adult, so its conceivable that David put the ark into his care to keep it hidden from enemies. It's a nice story, but whether its true or not I haven't a clue. It would be pretty cool though.

Answer 5

It's a tradition. The ark they have in the Church at Axum is almost certainly a very, very late "copy." There's really no reason whatever to suppose that the actual historical relic upon which the biblical accounts are based still exists, anywhere. Literally nothing remains of the first Jewish Temple.

Answer 6

I don't know much about this. But, the Ark did go missing for several hundred years after the queen of Sheba died.

Answer 7

Locations Where the Ark Was Kept. The Ark had no permanent resting-place until the erection of Solomon’s temple. With the major conquest of the land completed (c. 1467 B.C.E.), it was moved to Shiloh, where it apparently remained (with the exception of a time when it was at Bethel) until captured by the Philistines. Upon its return to Israelite territory it rested successively at Beth-shemesh and Kiriath-jearim, at this latter place for about 70 years.

David’s desire to have the Ark brought to Jerusalem was a good one, but the method he first used led to disaster. Instead of having it carried by the poles on the shoulders of the Kohathite Levites as instructed, David let it be placed on a wagon. The bulls caused a near upset, and Uzzah was struck down because he reached out to grab hold of the Ark, contrary to God’s law.
The Ark was finally brought to Jerusalem, properly carried by the Levites, and there it remained in a tent during the remainder of David’s reign.

On the occasion of the dedication of the temple, the Ark was moved from the tent on Zion into the Most Holy of the temple up on Mount Moriah, where it was placed under the overshadowing wings of two large cherubs. It was the only piece of furniture from the original tabernacle that became part of Solomon’s temple.

The only post-Solomonic historical reference to the ark of the covenant, nearly 900 years after it was made, is at 2 Chronicles 35:3 where King Josiah, in 642 B.C.E., commanded that it be returned to the temple. How it had come to be removed is not stated. Josiah came to the throne following some very apostate kings, one of whom had put an image in the house of Jehovah, and possibly one of these wicked kings removed the Ark. On the other hand, Josiah sponsored extensive repairs of the temple, during which time the Ark might have been kept elsewhere for its own protection against damage. There is no mention of the Ark’s being taken to Babylon. The Ark is not enumerated among the temple articles carried off. Likewise, there is no mention of its being returned and placed in Zerubbabel’s rebuilt temple; neither was a replacement made for it. When and under what circumstances the Ark disappeared is unknown.

Jeremiah foretold a time when the ark of the covenant would be no more, but that it would not be missed and Jehovah’s worshipers would experience no hardship because of not having it. Instead ‘Jerusalem itself will be called the throne of Jehovah.’

In the symbolic book of Revelation, John says that “the ark of his covenant was seen in his temple sanctuary” in heaven. This ark of the covenant has to do with the new covenant of God with men and the appearing of the Ark was an indication that Jehovah was again ruling by means of his Anointed One.

Sometime after Solomon had completed many building works, he was visited by “the queen of Sheba,” who had heard “the report about Solomon in connection with the name of Jehovah.” This queen, unnamed in the Bible, went to Jerusalem with “a very impressive train, camels carrying balsam oil and very much gold and precious stones.” The mode of her travel and the type of gifts she brought indicate that she was from the kingdom of Sheba in SW Arabia. This is also indicated by Jesus’ comment that she was “the queen of the south” and that she “came from the ends of the earth.” (Mt 12:42) From the standpoint of persons in Jerusalem, she had truly come from a distant part of the then-known world.

Jesus said of the queen of Sheba that she came “to hear the wisdom of Solomon.” (Lu 11:31) She was impressed by what Solomon said, by what she saw of the prosperity of his kingdom, and by his wise organization of his staff. She pronounced the king’s servants happy for being able to hear his wisdom, and she blessed Jehovah for putting him on the throne. The queen gave Solomon 120 talents of gold (valued now at $46,242,000) as well as balsam oil and precious stones. Solomon gave her gifts that apparently exceeded the value of the treasures she brought, and then she returned to her own land.