The Tupelo journal., 1903-12-04
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
Lesson In h International Series
for December q, 1OO3-Solo-
mons Wise hOice.
THE LESSON TEXT.

Il Kings 3:4-15.)
T. And the king went to Gideon to sac
rifice there; for that was the great high
place: a thousand burnt offerings did Sol
ONION offer upon that altar.
3. In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solo,
mon In a dream by night: and God said,
Ask what l shall give thee.
G. And Solomon said, Thou hast Showed
unto Thy servant David myt fat great
mercy, according as he walked before Thee
III truth, and in righteousness, and in up
rightness of heart with Thee; and Thou
has kept for hin this great kindness, that
thou hast given him a son to sit on his
throne. as it is this day.
Z. And now, o Lord my God. Thou hast
made Thy servant king instead of David
my father: and L am but q little child: l
know not how to go out or come In.
s. And Thy servant is in the midst of thy
people which Thou hast chosen. a great
people, that cannot be numbered nor
counted for multitude.
3. Give therefore Thy servant an under
standing heart to Judge Thy people. that
l may discern between good and bad: for
who is able to Judge this Thy SO great a
people?
10 And the speech pleased the Lord, that
Solomon had asked this thing.
II. And God said unto him, Because thou
hast asked this thing, and hast not asked
for myself long life; neither hast asked
riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life
Of thine enemies; but hast asked for thy
self understanding to discern judgment;
u. Behold. l have done according to thy
words: 10. l nave given thee a wise and
an understanding heart; so that there was
none like thee before thee, neither after
thee shall any arise like unto thee.
10. And | have also given thee hat which
thou hast not asked, both riches, and
honor: so that there shall not be any
among the kings like unto thee all thy
days.
"A. And if thou witt walk in my ways, to
keep my statutes and my commandments,
as thy father David did walk, then l will
lengthen thy days.
Is. And Solomon awoke; and, behold, 1t
was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem,
and stood before the ark of the covenant
of the Lord. and offered up burnt offerings,
and offered peace offerings, and made a
feast to ali his servants.
GOLDEN TEXT.-The fear of Lord
Is n beginning OF wisdOm.-PrOv.
9:1O.
OUTLINE OF SCRIPTURE SECTION.
Davld $ kliigs 2:l,lS.
Solomon's Significant
Kings 3:t-15.
Solomon's Wisdom.......... Kings 4:29-34.
TlME.-Fortieth year of David's reign.
\ 1ic LIN 1iDCOh
NOTES AND COMMENTS.
Och. 3:1-3.) Solomon was about 20
years old when he came to the throne.
He was the child of David and Bath
sheba, and in many ways was admir-
ably fitted TO succeed his great father.
This fact, added to the great influence
Of his mother Bathsheba, David's ia
yrnritn uifa orA shot of Nya{IoD ~
prophet, led to his choice by the king.
though, strictly speaking, Adonijah was
heir to the throne. Thanks to the gen.
eralship and craftsmanship of David,
Solomon found himself king of one of the
greatest nations of the world, and one
of his first official acts was to form an
alliance with Egyptaby marrying the
daughter of the ~reigning Pharaoh. Sol
ONION did not have the deep religious ma
ture of David, but was at first at least a
true worshiper of Jehovah.
(Vs. 4-15.) Soon after Solomon's ac-
cession he went to Gideon, which was at
that time the high place held in great
est esteem by the Israelites, and sacri-
feed there with the pomp and ceremony
fitting the first great religious occasion
of the new reign. "Gibeon:" A hill
north of Jerusalem. 1t was a walk of
about ar hour and a half from the city.
Though the ark had been brought to
Jerusalem by David. the ancient taber-
nacle remained at Gideon. "a thousand
burnt-offerings:" Such a sacrifice as
this, besides its impressive religious
teaching, provided a great feast for the
people, for only a small part of the ami
NAL vas burned on the altar. Jehovah
appeared to Solomon in a dream" That
is, he dreamed that Jehovah came to
him. The day had been a great one for
Solomon, and he lay down to sleep with
a mind on fire with high ideals. worthy
ambitions and a real love for Jehovah.
Dreams become significant when they
are the concentrated essence of the main
stream of the waking thoughts and pic
turesquely exhibit the tendency of the
character Marcus Dods. ASK what
| shall give thee" In this vision was
offered to him on the threshold of life
the choice so often imagined in fiction,
and actually offered to all youth in real
life."-Dr. Aglen. We may all choose;
in fact we all are choosing. We cannot
help it. Il am but a little C child" The
fact that Solomon realized his unpre-
%paredness and limitations showed that
he was already wise. 1t is a great thing
to know enough to say Il don't know"
can understanding heart" Political
ability, sagacity, insight into conditions,
fairmindedness, the ability to do we'll
what God had called him to do. A very
worthy choice. Could he have made a
which thou hast not asked" The bless
ings which u right choices bring in
their train are without number Matt.
6:33). "If:" Again, as all through this
wonderful history. the condition of sue
cess and happiness is brought out; 1t is
f~aithfulness to Jehovah. To be faithful
to God and right is the first choice for
anyone to make.
(Ch. 4:29-34.) These verses give a
good idea of what the wisdom was for
which Solomon was noted. 1t was wis
dom in governing, skill in asking and
answering riddles and the originating of
proverbs. He was noted both for his
philosophical knowledge and his knowl-
edge of and his love for nature.
PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS.
ASK what l shall give thee" God is
always anxious to bestow upon you his
best gifts.
The world also says: ask what
cho11 uiyo fhooo Whose rtf+ rufIl