{443}
THE REBELLION OF ABSALOM.How an Evil Son Met His Fate in the Branches of an Oak.
(David had much trouble and many wars during his reign, but the rebellion of his own son Absalom brought more grief to him than anything else. For a time the rebellion was successful, and David was driven from his own palace. Then the tide turned and Absalom was defeated and slain in a great battle. The strange way in which Absalom met his death, and how David mourned for his son, are told in the following story.)
And David numbered the people that were with him, and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them. And David sent forth the people, a third part under the hand of Joab, and a third part under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and a third part under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, "I will surely go forth with you myself also."
But the people said, "Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us; neither if half of us die, will they care for us: but thou art worth ten thousand of us: therefore now it is better that thou be ready to succor us out of the city."
And the king said to them, "What seemeth to you best I will do."
And the king stood by the gate side, and all the people went out by hundreds and by thousands. And the king commanded Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, "Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom."
{444}
And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains charge concerning Absalom. So the people went out into the field against Israel: and the battle was in the forest of Ephraim. And the people of Israel were smitten there before the servants of David, and there was a great slaughter there that day of twenty thousand men. For the battle was there spread over the face of all the country: and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword devoured. And Absalom chanced to meet the servants of David. And Absalom rode upon his mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him went on. And a certain man saw it and told Joab, and said, "Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak."
And Joab said to the man that told him, "And, behold, thou sawest it, and why didst thou not smite him there to the ground? and I would have given thee ten pieces of silver and a girdle."
And the man said to Joab, "Though I should receive a thousand pieces of silver in mine hand, yet would I not put forth mine hand against the king's son: for in our hearing the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai, saying, 'Beware that none touch the young man Absalom.' Otherwise if I had dealt falsely against his life (and there is no matter hid from the king), then thou thyself wouldest have stood aloof."
{445}
{446}
JERUSALEM, FROM THE WELL OF EN-ROGEL
"Leaving Jerusalem by St. Stephen's Gate and walking down the valley of Jehoshaphat, by the dry bed of the Kidron, you meet at length the deep rugged valley of Hinnom, skirting the city in a semi-circular form on the southern and western sides. At the junction of these two valleys stands a low, vaulted stone building--this is the well of En-Rogel."
{447}
Then said Joab, "I may not tarry thus with thee." And he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the midst of the oak. And ten young men that bore Joab's armor came up and smote Absalom, and slew him. And Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from pursuing after Israel: for Joab held back the people. And they took Absalom and cast him into the great pit in the forest, and raised over him a very great heap of stones: and all Israel fled everyone to his tent.
Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, "Let me now run, and bear the king tidings, how that the Lord hath avenged him of his enemies."
And Joab said to him, "Thou shalt not be the bearer of tidings this day, but thou shalt bear tidings another day: but this day thou shalt bear no tidings, because the king's son is dead."
Then said Joab to the Cushite, "Go tell the king what thou hast seen."
And the Cushite bowed himself unto Joab, and ran. Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab, "But come what may, let me, I pray thee, also run after the Cushite."
And Joab said, "Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou wilt have no reward for the tidings?"
"But come what may," said he, "I will run."
And he said unto him, "Run."
Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the Plain, and outran the Cushite.
Now David sat between the two gates: and the watchman went up to the roof of the gate unto the wall, and{448}lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, a man running alone. And the watchman cried, and told the king. And the king said, "If he be alone, there is tidings in his mouth."
And he came apace, and drew near. And the watchman saw another man running: and the watchman called unto the porter, and said, "Behold, another man running alone."
And the king said, "He also bringeth tidings."
And the watchman said, "I think the running of the foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok."
And the king said, "He is a good man, and cometh with good tidings."
And Ahimaaz called, and said unto the king, "All is well."
And he bowed himself before the king with his face to the earth, and said, "Blessed be the Lord thy God, who hath delivered up the men that lifted up their hand against my lord the king."
And the king said, "Is it well with the young man Absalom?"
And Ahimaaz answered, "When Joab sent the king's servant, even me thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was."
And the king said, "Turn aside, and stand here."
And he turned aside, and stood still. And, behold, the Cushite came; and the Cushite said, "Tidings for my lord the king: for the Lord hath avenged thee this day of all them that rose up against thee."
{449}
{450}
ANCIENT TOMBS NEAR JERUSALEM.From a photograph belonging to Dr. W. J. Moulton and used by his kind permission.
Many of the kings of Judah were buried in these rock tombs. "Every family who could afford it had their tomb hewn out of the rock, with niches for the reception of many bodies."
{451}
And the king said unto the Cushite, "Is it well with the young man Absalom?"
And the Cushite answered, "The enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise up against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is."
And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, "O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!"
THE PASSING OF DAVID."I Go the Way of All the Earth."
Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, "I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man; and keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, according to that which is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: that the Lord may establish his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, 'If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee a man on the throne of Israel.'"
And David died, and his son Solomon reigned in his stead.
{452}
The Story of the Wisest and Greatest King Israel Ever Had.(After some opposition on the part of the other sons of David, Solomon was established on the throne.)THE DREAM OF SOLOMON.He Makes a Wise Choice.
And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar. In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, "Ask what I shall give thee."
And Solomon said, "Thou hast showed unto thy servant David my father great kindness, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child; I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give thy servant therefore an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this thy great people?"
{453}
{454}
A CEDAR OF LEBANONFrom a photograph belonging to the Public Library of Springfield, Mass., and used by special permission.
This is the largest of the "Cedars of Lebanon" now standing. It measures forty feet in circumference near the roots. These great trees grow in abundance upon the Lebanon range, and cedar wood was very much used in Bible times. Solomon's temple had beams of cedar, David's palace was built of it, and one of Solomon's palaces was called the house of the forest of Lebanon.
{455}
And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. And God said unto him, "Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; behold, I have done according to thy word: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there hath been none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and honor, so that there shall not be any among the kings like to thee, all thy days. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days."
And Solomon awoke, and, behold, it was a dream: and he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.
LORD OF THE LANDS.The Prosperity and the Wisdom of Solomon.
And Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life. And Solomon's provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore{456}measures of meal; ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep, beside harts, and gazelles, and roebucks, and fatted fowl. For he had dominion over all the region on this side the River Euphrates, from Tiphsah even to Gaza, over all the kings on this side the River Euphrates: and he had peace on all sides round about him. And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all the days of Solomon. And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. And those officers provided victual for King Solomon, and for all that came unto King Solomon's table, every man in his month: they let nothing be lacking. Barley also and straw for the horses and swift steeds brought they to the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge.
And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore.
And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men; and his fame was in all the nations round about. And he spoke three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. And he spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spoke also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. And there came of all peoples to hear the{457}wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.
THE TREATY WITH KING HIRAM.Cedars of Lebanon and Stones from the Quarries for the Temple.
And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king instead of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David. And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, "Thou knowest how David my father could not build an house for the name of the Lord his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the Lord put his enemies under his feet. But now the Lord my God hath given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary, nor evil happening. And, behold, I purpose to build an house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spoke to David my father, saying, 'Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build the house for my name.' Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants; and I will give thee hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt say: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that has skill to hew timber like unto the Zidonians."
And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, "Blessed be the Lord this day, who hath given unto David a wise son over this great people."
{458}
And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, "I have heard the message which thou hast sent to me: I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir. My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon to the sea: and I will make them into rafts to go by sea to the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be broken up there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household."
So Hiram gave Solomon timber of cedar and timber of fir according to all his desire. And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year. And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together.
And King Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by turns: a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the levy. And Solomon had three score and ten thousand that bore burdens, and fourscore thousand that were hewers in the mountains; besides Solomon's chief officers that were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, which were overseers of the people that wrought in the work. And the king commanded, and they hewed out great stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with wrought stone. And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did fashion them, and prepared the timber and the stones to build the house.
{459}
{460}
THE LEBANON RANGE AND A GROVE OF CEDARS.
The grand mountain range called Lebanon, "white," from the snow which lies for seven months on its summits, is very often mentioned in the Old Testament. The highest summits are from five thousand five hundred to seven thousand feet.
{461}
SOLOMON'S TEMPLE.The House of the Lord Is Built.
Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem in Mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared to David his father, which he made ready in the place that David had appointed, in the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign. Now these are the foundations which Solomon laid for the building of the house of God. The length by cubits after the first measure was threescore cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits. And the porch that was before the house, the length of it, according to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and the height an hundred and twenty: and he overlaid it within with pure gold.
And the greater house he ceiled with fir tree, which he overlaid with fine gold, and wrought thereon palm trees and chains. And he adorned the house with precious stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim. He overlaid also the house, the beams, the thresholds, and the walls thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and graved cherubim on the walls.
And he made the most holy house; the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits: and he overlaid it{462}with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents. And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold. And in the most holy house he made two cherubim of image work; and they overlaid them with gold. And the wings of the cherubim were twenty cubits long: the wing of the one cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house; and the other wing was likewise five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub. And the wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was five cubits also, joining to the wing of the other cherub. The wings of these cherubim spread themselves forth twenty cubits: and they stood on their feet, and their faces were toward the house.
And he made the veil of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubim thereon. Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the capital that was on the top of each of them was five cubits. And he made chains in the oracle, and put them on the tops of the pillars; and he made an hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains. And he set up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; and called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.
Moreover he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof. Also he made the molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and the height thereof was five cubits; and a line of thirty cubits compassed it round about.
{463}
{464}
THE MOSQUE OF OMAR AND THE ANCIENT TEMPLE AREAIn the background is the Mosque of El Akoa and beyond are the Judaean hills, to the south and southeastUsed by special permission of the Detroit Photograph Company.
The Mohammedan Mosque of Omar now stands upon the old temple area. It is a handsome octagonal building, standing on a platform near the center of the area, from which it is elevated by several steps. It is said to have been built in 636 by the Caliph Omar. In 1099, when the Crusaders captured Jerusalem, ten thousand Arabs were massacred in this enclosure. In 1187 the Moslems, under Saladin, again took the city, and the mosque has been one of their most sacred places ever since.
{465}
And under it were the images of oxen, which did compass it round about, for ten cubits, compassing the sea round about. The oxen were in two rows, cast when it was cast. It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set upon them above, and all their hinder parts were inward. And it was an handbreadth thick; and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily: it received and held three thousand baths.
He made also ten lavers, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them; such things as belonged to the burnt offering they washed in them: but the sea was for the priests to wash in.
And he made the ten candlesticks of gold according to the ordinance concerning them; and he set them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left.
He made also ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side, and five on the left. And he made an hundred basins of gold.
Furthermore he made the court of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid the doors of them with brass. And he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward, toward the south. And King Solomon made the two pillars, and the bowls, and the two capitals which were on the top of the pillars; and the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals{466}that were on the top of the pillars; and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks; two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were upon the pillars. He made also the bases, and the lavers made he upon the bases; one sea, and the twelve oxen under it. The pots also, and the shovels, and the flesh-hooks, and all the vessels thereof, did King Solomon make for the house of the Lord of bright brass. In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah. Thus Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance: for the weight of the brass could not be found out.
And Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of God, the golden altar also, and the tables whereon was the showbread; and the candlesticks with their lamps, that they should burn according to the ordinance before the oracle, of pure gold; and the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, of gold, and that perfect gold; and the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and the firepans, of pure gold: and as for the entry of the house, the inner doors thereof for the most holy place, and the doors of the house, to wit, of the temple, were of gold.
Thus all the work that Solomon wrought for the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in the things that David his father had dedicated; even the silver, and the gold, and all the vessels, and put them in the treasuries of the house of God.
{467}
{468}
INTERIOR OF THE MOSQUE OF OMARUsed by special permission of the Detroit Photograph Company.
The center of the mosque is occupied by the top of the natural rock, shown in the foreground. It is possible that the great altar of Solomon's temple was at this place.
{469}
SOLOMON'S PALACE.Costly and Beautiful.
And Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house. For he built the house of the forest of Lebanon; the length thereof was an hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars. And it was covered with cedar above over the forty and five beams, that were upon the pillars; fifteen in a row. And there were three rows of latticed windows. And he made the porch of pillars; the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth thereof thirty cubits; and a porch before them; and pillars and thick beams before them. And he made the porch of the throne where he was to judge, even the porch of judgment: and it was covered with cedar from floor to floor. And his house where he was to dwell, the other court within the porch, was of the like work.
He made also an house for Pharaoh's daughter (whom Solomon had taken to wife), like unto this porch. All these were of costly stones, even of hewn stone, according to measure, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation unto the coping, and so on the outside unto the great court. And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits. And above were costly stones, even hewn stone, according to measure, and cedar wood. And the great court round about had three rows of hewn stone,{470}and a row of cedar beams; like the inner court of the house of the Lord, and the porch of the house.
THE DEDICATION OF THE TEMPLE.The Great Assembly and Sacrifice.
Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the princes of the fathers' houses of the children of Israel, unto King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion. And they brought up the ark of the Lord, and the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the Tent.
And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude. And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto its place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place. There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.
Then spoke Solomon, "The Lord hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. I have surely built thee an house of habitation, a place for thee to dwell in for ever."
{471}
And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation of Israel: and all the congregation of Israel stood. And he said, "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, which spoke with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying, 'Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house, that my name might be there; but I chose David to be over my people Israel.' Now it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. But the Lord said unto David my father, 'Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house for my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart: nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son, he shall build the house for my name.' And the Lord hath established his word that he spoke; for I am risen up in the place of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and have built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. And there have I set a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt."
The Prayer of the King.
And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven: and he said, "O Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath; who keepest covenant and mercy with{472}thy servants, that walk before thee with all their heart: who hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou didst promise him: yea, thou hast spoken with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.
"Now therefore, O Lord, the God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, 'There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; if only thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me as thou hast walked before me.' Now therefore, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David my father. But will God in very deed dwell on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded!
"Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee this day: that thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place whereof thou hast said, 'My name shall be there': to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall pray toward this place. And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: yea, hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place; and when thou hearest, forgive.
{473}
{474}
JERUSALEM, FROM THE MOUNT OF OLIVESFrom an old photograph in the possession of the Springfield Public Library and used by kind permission.
The view of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives in the days of the city's glory, was one of splendor. Of this view in the time of Christ a writer says, referring especially to the temple, "In the setting even more than the rising sun, must the vast proportions, the symmetry, and the sparkling sheen of this mass of snowy marble and gold have stood out gloriously."
{475}
"If a man sin against his neighbor, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and he come and swear before thine altar in this house: then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his own head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.
"When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; if they turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication unto thee in this house: then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers. When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them: then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou teachest them the good way wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance.
"If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting or mildew, locust or caterpillar; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be; what prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and render unto every man according to all his ways, whose heart thou knowest (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men);{476}that they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers.
"Moreover concerning the stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, when he shall come out of a far country for thy name's sake (for they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy mighty hand, and of thy stretched out arm); when he shall come and pray toward this house: hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all the peoples of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name.
"If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatsoever way thou shalt send them, and they pray unto the Lord toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name: then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.
"If they sin against thee (for there is no man that sinneth not), and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captive unto the land of the enemy, far off or near; yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn again, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captive, saying, 'We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have dealt wickedly'; if they return unto thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, which carried them captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou{477}gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name: then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause; and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee; and give them compassion before those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them: for they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron: that thine eyes may be open to the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them whensoever they cry unto thee. For thou didst separate them from among all the peoples of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou hast spoken by Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God."
And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread forth toward heaven. And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying, "Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by Moses his servant. The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us nor forsake us: that he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and keep his{478}commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers. And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the Lord, be nigh unto the Lord our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel, as every day shall require: that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord, he is God; there is none else. Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day."
And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the Lord. And Solomon offered for the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto the Lord, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the Lord.
A ROYAL PILGRIMAGE.The Visit of the Queen of Sheba.
And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions. And she came to Jerusalem with a very great caravan, with camels that bore spices, and very much gold, 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: there was not anything hid from the king which he told her not. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, and the meat of his table and the seating of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the Lord; there was no more spirit in her.
{479}
{480}
JERUSALEM, FROM THE CITADEL, LOOKING TOWARD THE MOUNT OF OLIVES.From a picture in the possession of the Forbes Library and used by kind permission.
This view reverses the position of the spectator in the previous picture Looking from the citadel, the slope of the Mount of Olives rises in the east.
{481}
And she said to the king, "It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom. Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard. Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom. Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the Lord loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice."
And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned, and went to her own land, she and her servants.
THE GREATNESS OF SOLOMON'S EMPIRE.Gold and Ivory Brought by Ship and Caravan.
(For forty years Solomon reigned in Jerusalem, and during nearly all this time the land was peaceful and prosperous. The empire of Solomon was greater in extent than the territory{482}ruled over by any king which came after him. At last the great king died and was buried in Jerusalem, the city which his father had made the capital.)
And King Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion-geber, which is beside Elath, at the head of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, sailors that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to King Solomon.
And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees and precious stones. And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the Lord, and for the king's house, harps also and psalteries for the singers: there came no such almug trees, nor were seen, unto this day.
Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold, beside that which the traders brought, and the traffic of the merchants, and of all the kings of the mingled people, and of the governors of the country. And King Solomon made two hundred bucklers of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one buckler. And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pounds of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon.
Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the finest gold. There were six steps to the throne, and the top of the throne was round behind:{483}and there were arms on either side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the arms. And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom. And all King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold: none were of silver; it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon.
For the king had at sea a navy of Tarshish with the navy of Hiram: once every three years came the navy of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.
So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. And all the earth sought the presence of 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 raiment, and armor, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.
And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem. 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 lowland, for abundance.