The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1924-03-22
IMPROVED uNTFoeM INTERNATIONAL
Lesson
tBy REV. r. b. FITzWATEK. DID.
Dean of the Evening School. Moody
Bible Institute Of Chieago1
20, 1924. Western Newspaper unlonj
Lessen for March %
THE REIGN OF SOLOMON

LESSON TEXT-u Chron. 1.7-12. I
Kings 11:6-l1.
GOLDEN TEXT-The fear of the Lord
Is the beginning Of knowledge.-ProE.
II.
PRIMARY ToPIC-A Young Kings
Dream.
JUNIOR EMBELLISHMENTS Choice.
INTERMEDIARY AND SENIOR TOP
IC-Solomon,s Wisdom and Folly.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOP
IC-Lessons From Solomon's Reign.
Here again we must go outside of
the particular text assigned and make
a survey of Solomon's reign.
l. Solomon Amounted King Il Kings
1870.
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 Benalah, and babe
them to anoint Solomon king. They
speedily executed their commission,
and soon the people shouted, God
save King Solomon"
II. solomon's Wise Choice III Chron.
1:7-12).
]. Gods Gracious Offer ". y. This
offer followed Solomon's lavish sacri-
flee to the Lord. God said, ASK what
I shall give thee" thus placing very
wide possibilities before the king. God.
as it were, signed blank checks and
turned them over to Solomon to fill in
any amount that his heart desired.
This offer to Solomon was no exeep-
tional one, for opportunities equally
limitless are placed before US. God
is saying TO every one of His children,
ASK. and 1t shall be given you.n
John 15:O.
2. Solomon's Wise Choice (vv. 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:
~ 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
". 11). Solomon's petition pleased the
Lord. Because he put wisdom first
material goods also.
Ill. The Glory of SoIomon's Reign.
I. His Extensive Kingdom Il Kings
4:21-25). He ruled over the kingdoms
from the Euphrates. river to the NIedl-
terranean sea, except the Phoenicians,
and they were In alliance with him.
2. His Great Wisdom q Kings
4:29-34). 1t excelled that of the Chal-
deans, Perslans and Egyptians. He
had a %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.
az A z~oologist. He spake of beasts
and of fowl, and of creeping things.
and of fishes.
8. The Temple Il Kings SOY. 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 q
Chron. 30 :14-16).
4. His Royal Palaces Adjoining the
Temple q Kings y. He was nearly
twice as long in building these as in
building the Lords house.
5. His Commerce q Kings 9:26-2s.
Compare II Chron. Q and 10:21). 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 q Kings
100000. 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. It was known
that his lame was due 10 his relation
with the living God.
~. solomon's Failure Il Kings
II :6-12),
Because solomon did evil in the
sight of the Lord, the Lord was angry
with him and assured him that the
kingdom would be rem from him and
given to his servant. However, for the
sake of David, he would not bring this
humiliation upon solomon while he
lived. Solomon's chief offenses were
alliances with foreign powers through
marrying kings daughters. This COM
promise weakened his moral nature
and he soon followed his wives IL the
worship of false gods.
The Real Source.