The Tupelo journal., 1908-01-17

Hdu eHleTed upon the great ODllga-
tons Of ruling a kingdom had kept
him steadfast and faithful to his
task. He felt his youth. his ~inexperi-
ence, his limitations, and with the
benediction and blessing of the Cody
David resting upon him and his ex-
ample pointing him to God as the
source of all wisdom and strength, he
had sought the Lord with a great
yearning to know and do the divine
will. This had become known to
all the nation, and after his return to
Jerusalem from Gideon after his re-
markable vision in which God had
promised him wisdom and riches and
leaders of the people and the people
themselves moved by one spirit of
love and devotion to the upbuilding
of the kingdom. So it had come to
pass that the nation was solicited
and strengthened and Immediately be-
gan to feel the stimulus of that ag-
gressive spirit which was to ultimate
richest and most prosperous and most
enlightened OF any of the nations
about.
Such remarkable development and
progress could not but arouse the in
terest, if not apprehension, of the
n~eighboring kingdoms, and eagerly
steps We're taken to show friendly
spirit towards the nation of IsraeP and
to invite exchange of treaties whereby
both the commercial and the politi-
cal interests of the two would be
served. Thus rapidly did there de-
yelop a system of trade relationships,
so hat there was a constant stream
of merchantmen passing to and from
Jerusalem. And in this way the mat
ter of choosing a wife for King Solo
mon became known to the nations
about, and it was not long ere bril-
liant embassies were arriving at Jeru-
salem with proposals of marriage
} with the ~princesses of the n~eighboring
nations, ever Egypt sending an offer
of the hand Of the daughter of Pha-
raoh.
Good old Nathan, the prophet, was
not a little perturbed by this latest
development of the situation, and lost
no time in reminding King Solomon
of the restrictions which the Mosaic
law placed upon marriage with the
nations about. He would have been
glad if the king would have sum-
marily bundled the whole company of
ambassadors back to the kingdoms
from which they had come, but Solo
mon was too keen a diplomat for that,
and while he did not ignore the adj
monitions of Nathan, he felt attract
ed by the brilliant prospects which
a foreign alliance offered. And where
the soul comes face to face with the
question of religious duty or expe-
diency which promises rich and glori-
Gus present reward, there is apt to
be the struggle which only too often
is decided finally in favor of
expediency, with the hope and pur-
pose that the religious obligations
shall not be forgotten OF neglected.
So it was with Solomon, and when
the messengers came from the king
of Egypt they found him more than
willing to listen to their proposals.
And again the good and faithful Ma
than came to the king and urged up
on his heart the absolute claims OF
God, and with a last parting appeal
he left him just as the evening shad-
ows were gathering.
Long the young king sat while the
struggle went on in his heart. He
was too devout and loyal to God to
willfully and absolutely violate the
command of God, but he let question
ings arise in his heart as to whether
the word of God meant just what
Nathan urged it did. Was the law OF
God intended to narrow the life and
limit the possibilities? Was serving
God a hindrance to success and pow
er? And so as he let the questions
and doubts arise it obscured his Wis
ion of right until the heart became
Tess sensitive to Gods claims and
more alive to the advantages to be
gained by following the course which
desire and reason indicated.
why cannot l make this alliance
and still maintain my loyalty to God?
And what a splendid opportunity it
will be of bringing the knowledge OF
the true God to the Egyptians. See
how such alliance will not only ad-
vance the material prosperity of the
kingdom of Israel, but how it will ad-
vance the cause of the God of Israel"
Thus there grew upon his vision
the picture of what Israel was yet
to become and again he asked himself
the Question whether he would be do
ing right not to take advantage of
every opportunity of advancing the
material prosperity of his kingdom?
And as the matter became settled in
his own mind, gradually the voice OF
God ceased to struggle with him on
that point, and SO a peace came and
a settled conviction that the policy
of expediency was the right policy.
And so to Nathan the next day the
king sent, saying:
This thing seemeth good to me.
See what glory and honor it will
bring to the nation of Israel"
And King Solomon dismissed the
messengers of the king of Egypt with
rich presents for the princess, and
sent his courtiers to prepare for the
approaching nuptials.
BOAST OF OUR CONTINENT.