The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1889-12-13
SUNDAY SCHOOL.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOR
DECEMBER f5.

Lesson Text..soiomon's Fall IKings
xi,4.f8 -Gvidan Text. I Cor. T..
f2-Ccmmentary Oh tho
Lesson.
"a ut came to pass when Solomon was old,
that his wives turned away his heart after
other gods.S As 70 the things Of this world,
On on yhieh thf es0 of psoplesn all a AGES have have
them. RicEss Y n honor he enjoyed to the
full and all the pleasures that wealth could
purchase. tEccl. H., 1O.l No vessels Of silver
was used in his house dt was plentiful as
Stone and was thought nothing of, all were
Of gold; he exceeded al, the Kings Of the
earth for riches and for wisdom, and all the
earth sought the face of Solomon to hear his
wisdom, which God had put in his heart.
Chap. 4, 21-24.) But King Solomon loved
ing which the Lord had forbidden Israel to
have anything to do with them (see ". 3,
and Deut. vii, 8, A., and these turned away
his heart, as G cd had said they would. The
one great peculiarity Of Israel was that Je-
their God dwelling in their midst, and thus
they were peculiar people, separated from
oil other nations to make known the name of
Jehovah. lex xxXiii, 16.) We cannot cleave
to God and at the same time cleave to that
which God forbids, So when Solomon clave
unto these heathep women in love ". q God
ceased to occupy His proper place in Solo
mons heart.
"His heart was not perfect with the Lord
his God, as was the heart Of David, his fa-
ther." He had, at the dedication of the tenn
pie, urged the people to let their hearts be
perfect with the Lord their God that all peo
pie of the earsS might know that Jehovah is
0sa and that thsse is none else tchap. viii. GO,
6l); but now through these many wives OF his
his own heart is gone. We are to love
ynflJ Jyit no yvh "a s,.f ole
we love, whether wife Oh husband, parents
or children, God Himself must have the first
place.
8. Solomon went after Ashtoreth, y
and after Milcom." These were idols of the
Zidonians and Ammonitcs. whose worship
was accompanied with abominable rites; but
as Solomon had taken wives from these ma
tions, and they had probably gone with him
10 the temple to see the worship of his God,
they now persuade him to set up also their
idols which they had been accustomed to
worship; and as he had sinned in taking
these wives he now sins yet more to crafty
them.
9. land Solomon did evil in the sight Of
the Lord" He did evil in the sight of men,
he did evil against himself, but the greatness
of his sin was the fact that it was against
God. He was the Lords representative, ami
he, of all men, should have been faithful to
Jehovah who had so blessed him above all
y, o. fou OlQ OOiOnlOu Dullu nlSn
place for Chemosh, = and likewise
did he for all his strange wives" Thus add
ing sin to sin, the more evil associates we
have, the moro sin we are likely to commit;
and IL VI ut ourselves under the least obi.
CATION I'd IN ungodly person we cannot well
deny the favor when they ask it, even
though know it is wrong to grant it.
Righteou, hess cannot have fellowship with
unrighteN isness nor light with darkness III
Cor, vi, r.; Eph. ", H. Let us walk in the
light and avoid all appearances Of evil. Some
Of these denominations which Solomon built
on the Mount of Olives remained over three
hundreotyears, until the days OF Josiah III
Kings xSiii.,. 49,; showing us how lasting
and far reaching sin is and how hard to
undo
0. THE lord was angry with Solomon.
So we read chat Jehovah was angry with
Moses aud Afron and Israel (Deut. iv., 21:
iX, 8. 20; III NJ. xvii, 1S): and that while
He is slow to anger and great in mercy. vet
there is day Ginning when it will be i'll for
those who are {ot hid in the Rock of Ages.
Nahum l.. B; aep. IL, ., 8. 1t is hard for
us to think OFF anger apart from sin, but
when We read sf the anger of God we must
think only of t3e righteous indignation of
holy God who Nannot sin. He does not de-
sire the death ot any sinner. but rather that
the wicked tI,-Y from his evil ways and live
Ezek. xvipfelS xxxiii; II: II Pet: III. 81;
50 90 N0SeMtaIt sinIef may be for.
gi' ms sake, and sing: 20 Lord,
wh.J>l M ~; though Thou vast angry
with with S anger il it turned IN; away, and
His vas turned from the Lord God
of Israe.s hiich had appeared unto him
twice. ord had appeared to him at
Gideo,"r .ElA.le said ASK what shall give
thee, Tn HI Yna in answer to his prayer at
the {, %<4llhe,f the temple tchap ill.,, ): tx,
p, aH.r fGfigh favorS, in addition to all
thee 1yaings, should have kept Solo
mon to his God; but alas for the
despce Sckedness of the bunan heart.
and l/lp,iarvelous the long suffering and
patiencsiR Jehovah?
10. :" kept not that which the Lord conf
manded 1t was a case Of direct and will
full disokIdience. He was forbidden to multi
ply hors, or wives or silver or gold, and yet
these W. the very things he did; he was
commaI I'D to keep by him a copy. of the
law anda $ad therein all the days of his life,
but this't evidently did not do, and conse-
auently, tpt being anchored, he drifted ON
the rock.il(Deut. xvii, 14-2o) What con-
trast to father, who said: 30, how love
Thy laTN4 is my meditation all the he day"
have kept me from the paths of the de-
stroyer." tPs. xvii, ~
IL will surely rend the kingdom from thee
and give it to thy servant" The record of
this will be found more Mt length in our next
lesson; but notice here howtisobedience robs
us of our blessings. Listening to the tempter
and becoming persuaded by him that to eat
of the tree of knowledge would prove an ad-
vantage, Adam and Eve, in disobedience to
God, sought present qualification and thus
brought sin and misery upon the whole
human race Esau, for tho present gratifica-
tion Of mess of pottage, despised his birth
right and all its high privileges. Achani,
for the present qualification Of some gold and
goodly rainent, brought uponhimself and his
household fearful judgment Here we have
Solomon gratifying himself 70 the full, re.
gardless of consequences OF of the command
Of God, and thus he loses the Kingdom Abra-
ham and Moses, OH the other hand, and the
list of worthless of Heb. xi. got their eyes
and hearts fixed upon the realities of an
eternal city and kingdom, and thus were en-
abled to walk with God in obedience here,
setting a right value upon present things
and treating them accordingly.
H. notwithstanding, in thy days I will
not do il, for David thy fathers sake While
godliness is not heretlitary. yet who can esti-
mate tho benefit of godly parents, or the
blessings which come to us through those
who love Lord Jesus. Let the children con-
slider this and contrast the condition of many
whose parents know not God with the ccndi
tion of the children of pious parents.
~ will rend it out of tile hand Of thy SON"
Here is the contrast: Solomon derives benefit
from his fathers piety, while Solomop's son
Is to suffer because of his sathe:'s impety;
SO that evil doing reaches to others besides
the evil doer.
I E..