The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-10-10


under the vine clambering over his home
and when at work in the shade OF his
fgtree in the field, was unalarmed and
happy.
Some facts in regard to the extent of
the royal cavalry are now offered; Solo
mon had forty thousand stalls of horses
for has chariots, and taoelUe thousand
horsemen. We may amend the number
forty by the substitution of the, number
four q Chron. 9: 25); and we may still
greatly marvel. Chariots had been used
in war by the Israelites only from Da-
vid's day; David had first borrowed
them. for military uses, from the Egypt
ians. That Solomon had four thousand
trained chariot horses, to operate in con-
junction with his twelve thousand
mounted horsemen, indicates that he in
bis day favored the most modern and
effective methods of warfare. By sta
tioning these war-chariots and cavalry
men in the important cities of the ma
ton, the king was able to repel invasion
or quel rebellion with utmost expedi-
ton.
Such an effective cavalry department,
we infer, would preclude the necessity
of large mass Of infantry. There was
no need Of enduring the drain of large
standing army in Israel.
We are told of Solomon's method of
supplying his palaces and his army with
food, and his horses with provender.
He had twelve general revenue agents
stationed in different districts of the ma
ton; each levied on the people in kind;
and each Of these general agents supplied
for month in turn the royal require
ments. This was a welcome improve
ment on the haphazard and partial
levies previously practiced.
In organizing power, in executive fac
ulties, Solomon in his day or among his
predecessors, had no peer.
2. Solomon Famous for his
WisdOm,-vs. 29-31.
The historian declares that he YVES
wise beyond measure; even as the sand
on the seashore is beyond enumeration
| He was wiser than the noted savans of
Egypt. We are told that he was wiser
than Ethan the Ezrahite and Hemen
and Calcol and Darda, the sons of Ma
hol. 1t is striking suggestion of the
evanescence of. ordinary fame. that we
| cannot now so much as deter mine who
are meant by these names. Certain
sons of Zera and grandsons of Judah
were christened with similar names z
Chron. 2: g.; but these have no celeb.
rity for wisdom; it is probable that they
were named after men who were in
| their day noted as teachers or writer's.
That the fame of Solomon survives,
while the other names of the famous
ones of his day are lost in oblivion, sug-
gests the strength of his renown for
| wisdom.
3. He was a Patron of Sci
ence,- 1924.
How the old annalist found evidence
that Solomon spake three thousand
proverbs and has songs aoere a thousand
and fve, we can only conjecture. 1t is
no longer possible to intelligently speak
of Solomon as the author of all the
canonical Proverbs; it is reasonably Ger.
| tain that he is the author of but few OF
them. We also face the fact that
the entire number of canonical Prov
cribs is less than one thousand. A
few of the Psalms, like the I'd, the 72d,
the 127th, the 128th, have been attrib-
uted to Solomon; but his authorship Of
these few religious pieces among those
| extant is by no means certain. The rea-
sonable conjecture is that a popular
collection OF proverbs, numbering three
thousand. and also popular collection
of songs of all sorts, numbering thou
sand and five (the Septuagint says five
thousand), were, after an ancient fash
| ion, published under Solomon's name.
| Our collection of proverbs, while still
generally ascribed to Solomon, has been
subjected to some winnowing.
We are further told that he spake of
trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon
even unto the hyssop that springeth out
of the aoaH. He could speak intelli-
gently alike of the bad habits of the
great Lebanon cedars and of the little
hyssop plants growing in wall.crannies,
and OF course of the whole vegetable
life between. He spake also of beasts,
and of foul and of creeping things, and
fishes. He studied life, not alone in hu.
man beings, but in all the beings that
walk; the beings that crawl; the beings
that fly; the beings that swim. He was,
10 short, patron of science. He was
interested in every fact pertaining to
nature which could in his day be dis
cerned.
In addition to the material spendor
with which Solomon was environed, he
achieved reputation for wisdom which
penetrated all the nations, and brought
from afar even royal wisdom seekers
with gifts to his presence.
TEACHING POINTS.