Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1908-01-16

since coming to the throne. The
earnest. devout spirit in which he
had entered upon the great obliga-
tons OF ruling 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 Gibeon after his re
markabie vision in which God had
promised him wisdom and riches and
honor. he found the chief men and
leaders Of the people and the people
themselves moved by one spirit Of
love and devotion 20 the upbuildlng
Of the kingdom So II had come TO
pass that the nation was soIidified
and strengthened and Immediately be
gan to feel the stimulus of that az
gressive spirit which was to ultimate
ly make OF Solomon's kingdom the
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. il not apprehension. Of the
neighboring kingdoms. and eagerly
steps were taken to show friendly
spirit towards the nation OF Israel 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
velop a system of trade relationships.
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 IL was not long ere bril-
liant embassies were arriving at Jeru-
salem with proposals OF marriage
with the Processes OF the neighboring
nations. even Egypt sending an offer
Of the hand Of the daughter Of Pha-
raoh.
Good old Nathan. the prophet. was
not 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 IL 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 n diplomat for that.
and while he did not ignore the ad-
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 gfori-
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 or neglected.
So il 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 fast 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 i'll 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
err And so as he let the questions
and doubts arise it obscured his Wis
ion of right until the heart became
less sensitive to Gods claims and
more alive to the advantages to be
gained by following the course which
desire and reason indicated.
Why cannot | make this alliance
and still maintain my loyalty to God,
And what a splendid opportunity IL
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 II 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 peace came and
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 il will
bring to the nation of Israel"
And King Solomon dismissed the
rich presents for the princess. and
sent his eourtiers to prepare for the
approaching nuptials-