The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1908-01-17
.lce coming 10 the throne. r

earnest. devout spirit in which be
had entered upon the great obliga-
tions 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 10 God as the
source Of all wisdom and strength, he
had sought the Lord with q 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
honor, he found the chief men 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 solidifed
and strengthened and Immediately be-
gan to feel the stimulus of that ag-
gressive spirit which al 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 lsraeE 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 that 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 ii was not long ere bril-
liant embassies were arriving at Jeru-
salem with proposals of marriage
with the ~princesses ofethe nelghboring
nations, even 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
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
bundled the whole company OF
ambassadors back to the kingdoms
which they had come, but Solo
mon was too keen a diplomat for that,
and while he did not ignore the ad-
monitions of Nathan, he felt attract
81 by the brilliant prospects which
l foreign alliance offered. And where
he soul comes face to face with the
question of religious duty or expe.
iiency which promises rich and glori-
1us present reward, there is apt to
,e the struggle which only too often
S decided finally in favor OF
,xpediency, with the hope and pur'
,ose that the religious obligations
hall not be forgotten or neglected.
20 it was with Solomon, and when
he messengers came from the king
# Egypt they found him more than
to listen to their proposals.
And again the good and faithful Ma
han came to the king and urged up
N his heart the absolute claims OF
Tod, and with a last parting appeal
e left him just as the evening shad-
VS. were gathering.
Long the young king sat while the
truggle went on in his heart. He
las too devout and loyal to God to
'illfully and absolutely violate the
ommand of God, but he let question
lgs arise in his heart as to whether
le word of God meant just what
'athan urged it did. Was the law of
cd intended to narrow the life and
nit the possibilities? Was serving
cd a hindrance to success and pow.
r? And so as he let the questions
nd doubts arise 1t obscured his Wis
IN of right until the heart became
,ss sensitive to Gods claims and
Iore alive to the advantages to be
aimed by following the course which
asire and reason indicated.
why cannot l make this alliance
I'd still maintain my loyalty to God?
nd what a splendid opportunity 1t
Ill be of bringing the knowledge Of
Ie true God to the Egyptians. See
wv such alliance will not only ad-
the material prosperity of the
ngdom of Israel, but how it will ad.
the cause of the God of Israel"
Thus there grew upon his vision
e picture Of what Israel was yet
become and again he asked himself
O question whether he would be do
< right not to take advantage OF
cry opportunity Of advancing the
prosperity of his kingdom?
nd as the matter became settled In
own mind, gradually the voice Of
ID ceased to struggle with him on
at point, and so a peace came and
settled conviction that the policy
e~xpediency was the right policy.
And so to Nathan the next day the
ng sent, saying:
This thing seemeth good to me.
what glory and honor it will ,
ing to the nation of Israel" ;
And King Solomon dismissed the ,
essengers Of the king Of Egypt with :
ii presents for the princess, and +,