39. the city of David. See the Map of Jerusalem on page 115. 43. went before the ark, i.e. they marched in procession, and stopped now and again to offer sacrifices on the way. 47. the cherubim. See note on Lesson LIX. 27. 51. they were not seen without. The staves were much longer than the width of the door which opened from the nave to the oracle. Though a person standing near the door could see the ends of them, one who stood outside the Temple, or in the porch, could only see the Ark itself. 52. There was nothing. The writer evidently wishes to correct a mistaken belief which was current. Perhaps it was the belief which is mentioned in the Epistle to the Hebrews, that there was also 'a golden pot holding the manna, and Aaron's rod that budded.' See Hebrews 9. 4. 54. the cloud. The definite article is used with a purpose: as much as to say 'the usual cloud which marks the presence of Jehovah.' See Lesson xx. 97-99. 56. the glory. This seems to mean that the cloud (like the pillar of cloud in the wilderness) shone in the darkness of the oracle. The oracle had no window. 60. The text of these lines has been better preserved by the LXX. The LORD hath set the sun in the heavens, but said that himself would dwell in darkness. I have built a lofty mansion for thee, a place for thee to dwell in for ever. A note in the LXX. tells us that this poem was found in 'the book of songs,' i.e. the book of Jashar.' It is certain, therefore, that these four lines are very old, and probable that they are Solomon's own words. The first couplet explains why there is no light in the oracle. The second expresses the belief that Jehovah will actually dwell in the Temple. 64. blessed. Observe that all through this ceremony Solomon acts as priest. He blesses, he prays, he sacrifices. 80. After this there follows a long and beautiful prayer, which was certainly not Solomon's own, but composed for him by the author of the book. There is only room here for a brief abstract of it. Solomon begins by claiming that Jehovah will fulfil the promise made to David that his descendants should reign as long as they observed His laws. He prays that Jehovah, though He cannot dwell in the Temple, will always answer prayers which are offered there. Then he mentions several occasions on which prayers are likely to be addressed to Him. Parties in a suit may appeal to Him for justice. The whole people, when its sins are punished by defeat, or drought, or plague, may repent and pray for deliverance. The army may pray for victory. Or the captives in foreign lands may look towards the Temple and pray to be restored. 88. his good promise. The reference is especially to Deut. 12. 97. that all the peoples of the earth may know. That is a thought which belongs to the author's own time. In Solomon's day the Israelites believed that each nation had its own god, and did not claim that Jehovah was the God of all. 102. peace offerings were the most usual form of sacrifice. The fat of the victim was burnt on the altar, some portions were given to the priests, and the greater part of the flesh made a feast for the worshippers. The usual altars were not So the middle of the court 106. hallow the middle of the court. sufficient for such a number of offerings. was consecrated as a temporary altar. 107. burnt offerings were those in which the victims were wholly consumed by fire. These were offerings for atonement. 108. meal offerings consisted of wheat or other grain. 111. the feast means the feast of tabernacles. 113. the entering in of Hamath is the gorge through which the river Orontes flows northward into the plain in which Hamath stood. It was the extreme northern boundary of Israel. See Map I. the brook of Egypt (often called the river of Egypt) is the Wady el Arish, the gorge made by a small stream which is still considered to be the boundary between Egypt and Palestine. See Map VII. Why do we spend so much time upon the Temple and its dedication? Because no building in all the world's history has been so important to mankind. Consider these three facts: (a) The Temple gradually became the centre of national unity. Even during the divided monarchy its fame attracted many pilgrims, who felt themselves Israelites in a fuller sense when they worshipped in the greatest of Israelite shrines. During the captivity its ruins were the subject of their prayers and their poetry; its rebuilding was the aim of all pious Israelites ; and until the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 Israelites in all parts of the world prayed with their faces toward the sacred building. (b) The Temple stood for progress in worship. Situated in the capital, under the influence of the prophets, and served by a superior class of priests, the Temple was more affected by the gradual elevation of religious ideas. Its services were not only more splendid than those of the high places: they were more reverent, more orderly, and were gradually purged of the grossness which remained connected with other sanctuaries. In spite of all the abuses of which the prophets complain, the worship of the Temple was comparatively spiritual. (c) Not only was the Temple the place in which our Lord delivered some of His most important discourses: it was the place in which He and His disciples first worshipped: it supplied the ideal for a Christian church: it is the source of countless images in the apostolic writings. We have but to remember what blanks would be made in the New Testament by the omission of all references to the Temple, and we shall see how large a place it fills in our own thought. END OF PART II. LXXV. THE END OF SAMARIA 2 KINGS XV. 27-30, xvii. 1-41; LXXVI. AHAZ AND ISAIAH. 2 KINGS XV. 32-XVI. 17; ISAIAH 2 KINGS XVIII., XIX.; ISAIAH X. LXXVIII. ISAIAH AND THE IN- ISAIAH I. 2-17, IX. 2-7, XXXII. 402 406 ii LESSON LESSONS FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT LXXXI. THE FALL OF JERU- 2 KINGS XXIV. 8-XXV. 22; JERE PAGE 437 442 XL., XLV. 447 EZRA I., III., IV.; HAGGAI I., II. 452 457 461 . NEHEMIAH VIII.-X.; EZRA IV. 467 MOUNT CARMEL AND THE MOUTH OF THE KISHON SHALMANESER'S ARMY BESIEGING A CITY (IN THE MIDDLE ARE PAGE 348 MAP VIII-THE KINGDOMS OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH (circa 939-722 B. C.) 336 XII-THE PERSIAN EMPIRE (WESTERN HALF) UNDER DARIUS 454 LESSON LXI SOLOMON IN ALL HIS GLORY The Queen of Sheba visits Solomon. His trade, and the splendour of his household. At the end of his reign his power is threatened by Hadad and Jeroboam. 1 KINGS IX. 26-XI. 43 9 26 And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred 5 and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon. 10 1 And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove him with hard questions. And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she 10 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 any thing 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 15 sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers,1 and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his 2 ascent by which he went up unto the house 2 of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, It was a true report that I 1 For the sitting . . . ministers read the seats of his ministers and the attendance of his servants. 2 For his ascent . in the house (R). . . house read his burnt offering which he offered ... |