Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1920-08-26
SUNDMSNO0L
LESSON
By REV. p. B. FITZWATER, D. D..
Teacher OF English Bible In the Moody
Bible Institute of Chicago)
Copyright 1929. Western Newspaper union)
LESSON FOR AUGUST 20
BEGINNING OF soLoMoN's REIGN

LESSON TEXT Kings LIB; 3:13.
COLLEEN TExT-The fear of the Lord.
that IN wisdon;, and to depart from evil
is understandia Job 1928.
PRIMARY TOPIC-Solomon' Choice.
JUNIOR ToPIc-Soiomon's Wise Be-
ginning. -
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR TOPIC
Choosing the Best Things.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOPIC
True Wisdom and How to Get It
!. Solomon Amounted King Il: $40.
David had hitherto failed to show
the people who should be king after
him ". 20). He is now stirred to
action by the combined appeals Of
Bathsheba and Nathan. He immedi-
ately sent for the faithful three, Ia
dok, Nathan and Benaiah, and bade
them to anoint Solomon king. They
speedily executed their commission
and soon. the people shouted God save
king Solomon |"
II. Solomon's Acts 30 Establish His
! Kingdom Il: 41-2: 49,.
Gonaing to. the Kingdom at such a
] time as this, he noted certain danger
GUS elements, which, if allowed to de-
velop, would weaken If not destroy
his rule.
l. Adonijah placed under survefl-
lance (vv 41-53). Though he had at
tempted to usurp the kingdom, Solo
mon placed him on good behavior. In
this treatment, Solomon displayed
both clemency and dignity, which are
praiseworthy in a ruler.
2. Adonijah executed e: 1920.
Solomon ordered him executed be-
cause he made an undetermined effort
to become king.
4 3. Abathar removed from the priest
hood e :26, 81. This man had joined
Adonijah in his plot of usurpation.
Solomon removed him from office and
appointed Zadok in his stead.
a. Joab executed G. :28-35). Joab,
too, was a party in Adonijah's rebel
lion. Beside this he had treacherous-
ly murdered his rivals in the army
He was succeeded in the generalship
by Benaiah.
5. Shimei executed .(2 :3646). Shimei
had deserted David and joined his
enemies, even bitterly cursed him.
Solomon first paroled him and confined
him to Jerusalem, but when he broke
his parole he had him executed.
III. Gods Gracious Offer to Solomon
(3:4, 81. -
Solomon made lavish sacrifice to
the Lord. 1t was not that the Lord
cared for the number of animals, but
the attitude of the mans heart to-
ward him. ASK what l shall give
thee" placed very wide possibilities be-
fore the king. God, as 1t were, signed
blank checks and turned them over
to Solomon to fill in any amount that
his heart desired.
~. Solomon's Wise Choice g 500.
n The Lords gracious offer brought
the king face to face with the re-
sponsibility of making a choice. God
so deals with his children that a
choice must be made by everyone.
Solomon was keenly sensible of the
difficulty and the responsibility of his
position. David was a great king
For young man to take up the work
of an. illustrious father and push ii
to completion is most difficult task
Besides all this, the disturbing ele-
ments set in motion by the usurper
Adonijah, were to be dealt with. In
his reply to God he pleads that he
was not king as a result of his own
choosing, but because of Gods loving
kindness. All who have been called
of God to fill positions of honor and
trust can truly exercise that same
boldness of faith. When called tt
positions of honor and trust we should
not become high-minded and vain but
humbly present ourselves before Goo
for help. a
v. Gods Unstinted Gift to Solomon
(3:10-15).
Solomons speech pleased the Lord
The Lord is always pleased when VIZ
place ourselves before him in sucl
attitude Solomon got more than HI
asked for. Because he put wisdom
first, God saw that he could be trust
ed with material good, Also Chris
taught the same thing when he said
seek sc first the kingdom of Coz
and his righteousness and all thes'
things shall be. added unto you."-
Matt. 6 :33. He that puts God ant
e spiritual things first in time and i'm
T. portance can be trusted with temper
al things That which God promise,
him above what he asked was riches
honor and length of days. All VIII
r feel the lack of wisdom can go to Go,
with confidence (James L :5). Go,
blessed Solomon with sngularl
comprehensive mind Il Kings 4 :29-34)
}. He was botanist, zoologist, ARCH
q tect, poet and a moral philosopher
:. When we ask what God wills, we shal
i. surely get what we ask.