PROMISES AND WARNINGS. [1095-975 B.C.

of Israel, and spread forth his hands towards heaven, and prayed for them that if evils should be sent upon his people for their sins, God would hear their prayer, and forgive them when they returned to him, and acknowledged their sins. Solomon then blessed the whole congregation; and when he had made an end of praying, 'fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt-offerings and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the house. The people bowed upon the 'pavement, and worshipped, and praised the Lord. The feast was kept seven days, and the people returned home glad and merry in heart for the goodness of the Lord.

The Lord appeared to Solomon by night and said to him, "I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice. If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe my statutes and my judgments; then will I establish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel. But if ye turn away and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods and worship them; then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations. And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land, and unto this house? and it shall be answered, Because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods; and worshipped them, and served them; therefore hath he brought all this evil upon

them."

207

glory-Lesson 23, 'glory.'

by night-Lesson 66, 'a dream.'

thus causing a drought throughout the shut up prevent the rain from falling, land, with its concomitant evils of famine and thirst. Less. 80, 'dew nor rain;' 81,' great rain.'

locusts-Less. 18, 8th plague.'

pestilence-the Lord sent this fearful Great sacrifices-120,000 sheep, and scourge upon the Israelites in the wil220,000 oxen; the festival lasted four- derness on account of their sin in making teen days; the multitudes present were the golden calf, Lesson 23; when they immense, among whom the flesh of the proposed to return to Egypt; when they peace-offerings was distributed. In-rose up to justify the rebellion of Korah, dependently of the religious character Less. 26; when they fell into idolatry of the festival, extensive preparations at Shittim, Less. 28; and when David of food were necessary for the susten-numbered the people, 'Lesson 63.

ance of the people.

kneeled-upon a raised platform in the court of the temple.

prayed for he prayed that in case God's judgments should fall on Israel for their sins, he would forgive them when they returned to him, repented, and confessed his name. Solomon knew that all misery is caused by sin, and that the forgiveness of sin prepares the way for the removal of every evil. fire-Less. 2, accepted;' 24 and 81, 'fire; and 37, 'signs.'

pavement-it was of marble, overlaid with planks of fir.

called by my name-Less. 13,' Israel.'

serve-Less. 13, 'images;' 23, 'calf;' 32, former;' 33, league, &c.' 34, 'I had, &c.;' 35, 'served; 37, threw down, &c.;' 75, forsook;' 78, 'worshipped Baal;' &c.

a proverb and a by-word-spoken of with contempt; Deut. xxviii. 37; 1 Kings ix. 7; the Jews were to be thus alluded to as an awful instance of divine punishment if they forsook God.

out of-Lesson 108 and 118, 'taken captive.'

laid hold-embraced with the affection of a devotee.

SOLOMON'S TEMPLE.

"THE GLORY OF THE LORD FILLED THE HOUSE OF THE LORD."

With what magnificence sublime

To outward sense in ancient time
Thy temple, Lord! appeal'd;
When thus, descending from on high,
The glory of thy majesty

Was veil'd-and yet reveal'd.

Well may some moods of thought be known
When to that pomp, for ever flown,

We turn our mental gaze,

And mourn the splendour of the past
Should now no sun-like glory cast
On these degenerate days!

TADMOR BUILT.

SOLOMON'S NAVY. [1095-975 B.C.

The thought forbid;-teach us to see
A temple, Lord! more worthy thee,
Which thou would'st now prepare
Within the heart by grace divine;
Oh! guide us to that inner shrine,
That we may worship there.

Not all the skill, not all the cost,
Nor rites of Levi's sacred host
Which then adorn'd thy fane,
Could more availing power impart
Than the poor, contrite humble heart,
May now from Jesus gain.

On Sinai's consecrated hill,

As in that pile,-dark clouds, were still
Around thy presence bright;

But in the temple of the soul,

The broken heart, by thee made whole,
Shall worship thee IN LIGHT!

BARTON.

70. TADMOR BUILT. THE QUEEN OF SHEBA. 2 Chron. viii. & 1 Kings ix. 10-x.

And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the house of the Lord, and his own house, that he built Tadmor in the wilderness, and several store cities in Hamath, and in other parts of his dominions. And all the Canaanites who were left in the land Solomon made tributary to him. And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that he had built for her; for he said, "My wife shall not dwell in the house of David, king of Israel, because the places are holy, whereunto the ark of the Lord hath come." The city of Gezer was presented by Pharaoh to Solomon's wife.

Solomon made a navy of ships at Ezion-geber, and king Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, and they went to Ophir, and brought gold from thence to king Solomon. Solomon had also a navy at Tharshish, and once in three years, the ships brought him gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks. So king

PERIOD V.] THE QUEEN OF SHEBA VISITS SOLOMON.

Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom. And all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year. And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycamore trees that are in the vale, for abundance.

And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove him with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels that bare spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. And Solomon told her all her questions: and there was nothing hid from Solomon which he told her not. And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, and all things belonging to his household; and his ascent by which he went up into the house of the Lord; there was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, " It was a true report which I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom: howbeit I believed not their words, until I came and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told me: for thou exceedest the fame that I heard. Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants which stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom. Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighteth in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king for the Lord thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore made he thee king over them, to do judgment and justice." And she gave the king a hundred-and-twenty talents of gold, and of spices great abuudance, and precious stones: neither was there any such spice as the queen of Sheba gave king Solomon. And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which she had brought unto the king. So she turned, and went away to her own land, she and her servants.

NOTES AND EXPLANATIONS. [1095-975 B.C.

tributary-Less 33, tributaries.'

my wife-Pharaoh's daughter was Solomon's principal wife (compare Les. 34, 'concubine.') The Hebrews were permitted to marry women of other nations-except those of the seven nations of the Canaanites-provided such wives embraced the religion of the Hebrews. At this early time of his life Solomon would not be likely to neglect the law of Moses, it is therefore generally considered that Pharaoh's daughter forsook idolatry, and it is not stated in any part of the Scripture that Solomon set up the idols of Egypt in the latter part of his life, when his idolatrous wives seduced him to commit this and other sins. Lesson 67, daughter of.'

the places are holy-a tabernacle had been made for the ark in David's house. Solomon feared lest his wife, a stranger, and a proselyte to the religion of the Hebrews, might, from ignorance, defile a place rendered sacred by the symbol of the Divine presence.

navy-a fleet; a large number of sailing vessels.

they went-it is generally supposed that the profitable trade which Solomon thus carried on extended to the coasts of Africa and India; the Phoenicians were the earliest navigators, but having no compass, by which to direct their course, they were compelled to keep within a short distance of the coast, consequent

ly a voyage which would now be quickly performed, then occupied much time.

gold-gold did not occupy the chief place in the estimation of the Israelites - pure brass' being considered the most valuable metal.

silver-was the principal medium of trade-not coined, but used by weight. Many of the great men of Israel had their domestic establishments enriched with vessels made of these precious metals.

ivory-tusks and teeth of the elephant and hippopotamus.

apes these animals, which hear so striking a resemblance to the human form, were among the objects of Egyptian idolatry, and are still worshipped in parts of India.

peacocks--the peacock being a bird of singular beauty was, and is still, desired by the wealthy, as an ornament to their grounds; the word is supposed by some authorities to mean parrots.

riches and wisdom-a desire for knowledge was pre-eminent in Solomon; and his agents would doubtless be instructed to bring with them from the different countries they visited, all things that were useful, curious, or beautiful-productions of those countries.

sycamore-this tree, which was common in Canaan, Egypt, and other eastern countries was much used in building. Egyptian coffins formed of it, have been found in a sound state after the lapse of nearly 3,000 years. yielded a fruit, which resembled figs. Lesson 103, 'gatherer.'

It

hard questions-riddles; Lesson 40, riddle; puzzling propositions, and probably questions on religion, natural history, astronomy, &c.

ascent-the solemn and majestic procession of his household to the Temple -not an ostentatious display, but a procession of devout and highly favoured worshippers, led by the wisest of men.

spirit-conceit of her own greatness; his wisdom was more surprising to her than his wealth and grandeur.

because-compare Les. 56, his people.'

whatsoever she asked-it is probable that she asked for costly presents; this practice in the East is not considered degrading, rapacious, or mean.

GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES.

TADMOR- a palm tree;' a city situated in the desert of Syria, called "TadSolomon, and was afterwards called mor in the wilderness;" it was built by Palmyra. Tadmor was probably built by Solomon as a depot for merchandise, a resting place for the large caravans of merchants which traversed the desert, and a watering place for camels. The caravan traffic of the East engaged Solomon's attention as well as maritime traffic. Tadmor was well situated for the business of those merchants who traded between the Mediterranean Sea, across the Syrian desert to the Euphrates.