The Holly chieftain., 1924-03-13
IMPROVED UNIrcRM INTERNATIONAL
Sl11gldaySc|lool .
' Lesson
tBy REV. P. b. FITZWATER. DID,.
Dean of the Evening School. Moody
Bible Institute Of Chicago)
(G, 1874 Western Newspaper union.)
Lesion tor March %
THE REIGN OF SOLOMON

LESSONt 1EA1-ll enron. 4.d-lIs
Kings 11:6-l1.
GOLDEN TExT-The fear of the Lord
is the beginning OF knowledge.-Prov.
1T.
PRIMARY ToPIC-A Young Kings
Dream.
JUNIOR TOPIC-solomon's Choice.
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR TOP
IC-Solomon's Wisdom and Folly.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOP
IC-Lessons From Solomons Reign.
Here again we must go outside Of
the particular text assigned and make
a survey of Solomon's reign.
!. Solomon Amounted King Il Kings
1:5-4O).
David had heretofore failed to show
the people. who should be king after
him ". 20). Through the combined
appeals of Bathsheba and Nathan, he
is now stirred to action. 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. soIomon's Wise Choice III Chron.
1:7-12).
l. Gods Gracious Offer ". y. This
offer followed Solomon's lavish sacrl-
flee to the Lord. God said. ASK what
l shall give thee" thus placing very
wide possibilities before the king. God,
as 1t were, signed blank checks and
turned them over to Solomon to I'LL in
any amount that his heart desired.
tional one, for opportunities equally
limitless are placed before us. God
is saying to every one of His children,
"Ask, and it shall be given you"
(John 15:7).
2. Solomon's Wise Choice wv S-19).
The Lords gracious offer brought the
king face to face with the responsible
ity Of making his choice. Solomon
did not ask for wisdom for vain dis
play, but for the good Of others. He
desired inward worth, not outward
show. In this choice, he asked for
two particular things:
(1) That Gods promise to his ia
ther. David, might be established.
(2) That wisdom would be given to
him to perform his duties.
3. Gods Unstinted Gift to Solomon
". 1D. Solomon's petition pleased the
Lord. Because he put wisdom first
God saw that he could be trusted with
material goods also.
III. The Glory Of solomon's Reign.
l. His Extensive Kingdom Il Kings
4:21-25). He ruled over the kingdoms
from the Euphrates river to the Medi-
terranean sea, except the Phoenicians,
and they were in alliance with him.
2. His Great Wisdom Il Kings
4 :29-34). 1t excelled that of the Chal-
deans, Persians and Egyptians. He
had singularly comprehensive mind.
He was:
Q) A moral philosopher. He spake
three thousand proverbs.
(2) A poet. His songs were one
thousand five.
(3) A botanist. He spake Of trees
from the cedar tree, which was in Leb-
anon, even unto the hyssop.
(4) A zoologist. He spake OF beasts
and Of fowl, and Of creeping things.
and Of fishes.
8. The Temple Il Kings 5-8). This
was an exact reproduction of the tab
ernacle, double In size, executed in
marble and gold. The amount Of la
Dor, skill and money expended on the
building was exceedingly great Il
Chron. 22:14-16).
4. His Royal Palaces Adjoining the
Temple Il Kings y. He was nearly
twice as long in building these as in
building the Lords house.
5. His Commerce Il Kings 9:26-2S.
Compare II Chron. 8 and 10:2D. His
trading ships went east as far as the
Indian ocean, perhaps even to India !;
and west as far as Spain.
6. His Army and Navy Il Kings
10:26-29). This was for more than
display. He put his nation into a
state of preparedness.
This greatness was associated with
the name of the Lord 1t was known
that his fame was due to his reIatio;,
with the living God.
~. Soomon's Failure Il Kings
II G-12).
Because Solomon did evil In the
sight Of the Lord, the Lord was angry
with him and assured him that the
kingdom would be rent from him and
given to his servant. However, for the
sake Of David, he would not bring this
humiliation upoh Solomon while he
lived. Solomon's chief ofrenses were
alliances with foreign powers through
marrying kings daughters. This com
promise weakened his moral nature
and he soon followed his wives In the
worship Of false gods.