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Where the Sheba was over which the Queen reigned is uncertain. It may have been somewhere in the south of Arabia, perhaps in the area now called the Yemen or, perhaps it was in the area now regarded as Ethiopia, as Velikovsky thought (see Ages in Chaos, chapter 3). If it was the latter, the Queen of Sheba could well have been black. Christ says: " she came from the ends of the earth " (Matthew 12:42), so she obviously came from somewhere far from Canaan. She is commended by Christ for what she did, so is another of those outside Israel who is spoken well of in Scripture. |
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In Acts 8 we have the record of how the Ethiopian dignitary who had been to the feast at Jerusalem and was returning to Ethiopia was enlightened as to Christ and was baptised. He no doubt carried the Gospel to Ethiopia, so that there are those that profess the faith of Christ in that area still today. The Gospel was thuscarried southward into Africa, just as later it was carried westward by Paul into Europe. The Gospel rivers thus went out to all the earth as did the rivers from Eden (Genesis 2:10-14). Nothing adverse is said about this Ethopian and he is left going on his way rejoicing (Acts 8:39). |
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Niger means black and is presumably why the countries today called Niger and Nigeria are called what they are, and also why the river that flows in that area is called Niger. Presumably this is also where the word Nigger comes from, which used to be given to blacks. It has come to be considered a derogatory name and is not now generally used. Perhaps this is because by adding an s before it, it becomes snigger. |
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The passage in Acts tells us that there were prophets and teachers in the assembly which was in Antioch and that Simeon was one of them. The fact that he was black did not bar him from this service: there was no colour bar in Antioch. However, he was not chosen by the Holy Spirit to go out on missionary service as were Paul and Barnabas. Why this was we are not told. God is sovereign and can choose whom he will, but he always acts in wisdom and has good reason for what He does or does not do. The fact that Simeon was black would perhaps have made him a laughing stock in the Roman world and the Gospel message that he was carrying would have been less likely to have been accepted. Though there was no racial prejudice within the Assembly there could well have been in the world outside. The vital matter was by preaching to save the lost and to bring them into the Assembly where they would be all one in Christ Jesus and where race was irrelevant. The apostles did not preach against racism. That would not save souls, but the saved would come to see that racial prejudice was wrong. It is to be noted that Manaen, foster-brother of Herod the tetrarch, was also a prophet/teacher in Antioch. He also was not chosen for missionary service. Maybe, because of his connection with Herod he would not have been acceptable to those outside the Assembly. This would have been political prejudice. It is clear there was no political bar in the Assembly but there could well have been outside. |
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As to religious prejudice we know that Paul resisted the idea that a Christian needed to be circumcised (Galatians 2). He refused any idea that this made any difference to a Christian's standing in the Assembly (Galatians 6:15). However, he allowed that Christians might be circumcised for the sake of saving those outside (Acts 16:1-5). He himself became all things to all men in order that he might save some (1 Corinthians 9:19-23). The salvation of souls was more important to Paul than the practice or non-practice of a mere rite which was not a requirement for salvation (Acts 15; 1 Corinthians 7:18/19). |
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Apart from the reasons given above, no doubt, not all the prophets and teachers in Antioch were sent out on missionary service because the Assembly needed them there to nurture those who were coming into and growing up in the company. God would not, so to speak, deprive the Assembly of all ministry in it. |
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So far we have considered individual Ethiopians (Cushites), but Scripture also speaks of Ethiopia as a place and Ethiopians as a race or nation. The land of Cush is first mentioned in Genesis 2:13, but in view of the fact that the topography of the world was later changed by the flood it is now probably impossible to say where exactly this area was. |
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Other references to Ethiopia suggest its remoteness. It was the limit of the Persian empire (Esther 1:1;8:9).It was a land far away. (Isaiah 18:1, Ezekiel 29:10; Zephaniah 3:10). It was noted for the topaz, a precious stone (Job 28:19). |
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As other nations, Ethiopia went to war from time to time. This on one occasion diverted the king of Assyria from attacking Hezekiah (2 Kings 19:9; Isaiah 37:9). |
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