The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1924-03-20
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
Prepared especially for The Republi-
can by Rev. U. S. Wright, D. D.
SUNDAY, MARCH %.
THE REIGN OF SOLOMON.

the crown with which his mother
crowned him" Now no diadem can
be lifted higher than the souls hands
will reach, and Bathsheba was little
of stature in the moral world. Sen
suous, crafty, ambitious enough to
condone the death of as fine a soldier
as the record holds that she might be-
come queen to the man who took his
life and determined that her son
should rule, her character explains
much of Solomon's career. Add to
this the fact that he was reared in
harem with all its sintrigues and ieaI-
! ousy; that David was old, in The
midst of domestic and state troub' as.
and his moral muscles fiabby: that
wealthhad replaced poverty and power
Importance and newlight is cast upon
his character. Nathan is the sole
CLEAN Of righteousness and it is prac-
tlcally certain that he was tutor to
the boy who was to become the
grand monarch" of the Hebrews.
That explains the scene in the dawn
ing of the reign when he sought Je-
hovah and found his ambitions di-
rected toward His following. 1t is a
wonderfully attractive picture; pity is
that it was but dream and not the
fixed determination of the day! 1t
had vanished entirely under the light
of noon. Nathan disappears and is
never replaced. The party that had
put Davidon the throne, that support
ed him throughout his reign and
crowned his son was soon alenated
and at the last were open enemies of
that same son. Ears were too full of
other voices to catch the prophetic
whisper, for it is in soul hush that
Gods speech is to be heard.
He was wise in the terms of the
day, but we would call him shrewd.
1t was the ability to think quickly
and phrase terse and striking ex-
pressions; 1t was readiness of wit
rather than rightness of reasoning
that caught the fancy Of his age.
Take that scene in the two claimants
to the baby (3:16-27) and it is the
swift understanding of an appeal
that would bring a revealing emotion
that determined his word. That is
the politicians resource and not the
statesman's wisdom. And that was
the trouble throughout his reign, for
it was directed by policy and expedi-
ency instead of by righteousness and
conscience. And it was this charac-
teristic that was his undoing, for it
alienated the idealists and peopled
Jerusalem with the shrines of foreign
gods, letting loose the immortality that
is the accompaniment Of their wor-
ship.
SOLOMON THE MONARCH
The borders were farther flung at
David's death than at any other time
in IsraePs history and his sword had
established wholesome respect among
the warning borderites. 1t was still
troubled by tribal differences, by fac
lions and the remains of revolutions
forcibly suppressed. Solomon had a
mans job. His forced work was the
carrying out of his Fathers plan for
a royal shrine to house the Ark and
the Temple arose upon Mount Moriah
in its unrivalled splendor. While it
was financially theking and belonged
to his establishment yet it's presence
made inevitable the acceptance of it
as the ultimate, center of Hebrew re-
ligious life. There were other shrines
to Jehovah with the great High Place
of Gibeah but the glory of that gol-
den dome in Jerusalem was destined
to Outshine them and the Kings great
achievement was in the role of
Temple builder.
But this was only one of the build
ings that sprang up under his rule.
Fortifications, store cities, army bar
| lShS anu HOuSeS 1OI Ills WIVES Uldue
up a building program that covered
the entire empire g 1919; 1926.
The peace of the period enabled him
to do this but he greatly enlarged the
army, introducing cavalry and char
lots so that preparedness may be the
best term to apply to his policy. Then
his court greatly increased and had
all the grandeur of the Capitals of
the day so that even the queen of
Sheba, no piker by any means, was
dazzled by its richness. Chapter 4:
22-28 recites the provisions needed
for single day so that vast serv-
ant group was added to the new arts
tocracy. To support all this two do
nestle policies were enacted. One
was forced labor or the enslaving of
great group of people within the
realm (5:13) and the other was the
division Of the land into administra-
tive districts for taxing (4:7) that
disregarded the old tribal lines, an
early application of American Gerry
Z ~ n >, Jo,,inos