Outline Studies in the Old Testament for Bible Teachers

by Jesse Lyman Hurlbut

TENTH STUDY

The Reign of Solomon

Part One

The reign of Sol´o-mon may be regarded as the culminating period in the history of Is´ra-el. But, strictly speaking, the latter part of Da´vid's reign and only the former part of Sol´o-mon's constitute "the golden age of Is´ra-el"; for Sol´o-mon's later years manifested a decline, which after his death rapidly grew to a fall.

I. Sol´o-mon's Empire embraced all the lands from the Red Sea to the Eu-phra´tes, and from the Med-i-ter-ra´ne-an to the Syr´i-an desert, except Phœ-ni´cia, which was isolated by the Leb´a-non mountains. 1. Besides Pal´es-tine, he ruled over E´dom, Mo´ab, Am´mon, Syr´i-a (here referring to the district having Da-mas´cus as its capital), Zo´bah, and Ha´math. 2. On the Gulf of Ak´a-ba, E´zi-on-ge´ber was his southern port (1 Kings 9. 26); on the Med-i-ter-ra´ne-an, Ga´za (Az´zah) was his limit; in the extreme north, Tiph´sah, by the Eu-phra´tes (1 Kings 4. 24); in the desert, Tad´mor, afterward Pal-my´ra (1 Kings 9. 18).

II. His Foreign Relations were extensive, for the first and only time in the history of Is´ra-el. 1. His earliest treaty was with Tyre (Phœ-ni´cia), whose king had been his father's friend (1 Kings 5. 1). (What this alliance brought to Sol´o-mon see 1 Kings 5. 6-10; 2 Chron. 2. 3-14.) 2. His relations with E´gypt: in commerce (1 Kings 10. 28, 29); in marriage, a bold departure from Is´ra-el-ite customs (1 Kings 3. 1). Perhaps Psalm 45 was written upon this event. 3. With A-ra´bi-a, the land bordering on the southern end of the Red Sea (1 Kings 10. 1-10, 14. 15). 4. With the Far East, perhaps India, referred to in 1 Kings 9. 21-28. 5. With the West, perhaps as far as Spain, the Tar´shish of 1 Kings 10. 22.

III. His Buildings. No king of Is´ra-el ever built so many and so great public works as did Sol´o-mon. Among these are named:

1. The temple, on Mount Mo-ri´ah, to be described later.

2. His own palace, south of the temple precincts, on the slope of O´phel and Mo-ri´ah. This consisted of several buildings, as follows: 1.) The House of the Forest of Leb´a-non, so called because of its many columns of cedar; this was the forecourt, or entrance. 2.) The Porch to the Palace. 3.) The Throne Hall. 4.) The King's Palace. 5.) The Queen's Palace, or Harem.

3. His fortified cities, forming a cordon around his kingdom. (See the lists of these in 1 Kings 9. 17-19.)

4. His aqueducts, some of which may still be seen (Eccl. 2. 4-6).

IV. But all was not bright in the reign of Sol´o-mon. We must notice also His Sins, for they wrought great results of evil in the after years. 1. That which led to all his other sins was his foreign marriages (1 Kings 11. 1-4). These were the natural and inevitable results of his foreign relations, and were probably effected for political reasons as well as to add to the splendor of his court. 2. His toleration of idolatry, perhaps actual participation in it (1 Kings 11. 5-8). We cannot overestimate the harm of Sol´o-mon's influence in this direction. At once it allied him with the lower and evil elements in the nation, and lost to him the sympathy of all the earnest souls.[13] 3. Another of Sol´o-mon's sins, not named in Scripture, but referred to in many legends of the East, may have been a devotion to magical arts. He appears in Oriental traditions as the great master of forces in the invisible world, engaging in practices forbidden by the law of Mo´ses (Lev. 19. 31; Deut. 18. 10, 11).

Blackboard Outline

I.	Sol. Emp. Pal. Ed. Mo. Amm. Syr. Zob. Ham. E.-G. G. T. T.
II.	For. Rel. Ty. Eg. Ar. F. E. W.
III.	Buil. 1. Tem. 2. Pal. 1.) H. F. L. 2.) P. 3.) T. H. 4.) K. P. 5.) Q. P.
IV.	Sins. 1. For. mar. 2. Tol. idol. 3. Mag.

Review Questions

What is the reign of Sol´o-mon called? How far is that a correct title? What lands were included in Sol´o-mon's empire? What cities were on its boundaries? With what countries did Sol´o-mon have treaties and foreign relations? How was Sol´o-mon connected with the court of E´gypt? What were some of Sol´o-mon's buildings? Name the various parts of his palace. What were the sins of Sol´o-mon?

Part Two

V. General Aspects of Is´ra-el in the Reign of Sol´o-mon.

1. It was a period of peace. For sixty years there were no wars This gave opportunity for development, for wealth, and for culture.

2. It was a period of strong government. The age of individual and tribal energy was ended, and now all the life of the nation was gathered around the throne. All the tribes were held under one strong hand; tribal lines were ignored in the government of the empire; every department was organized.

3. It was a period of wide empire. It was Is´ra-el's opportunity for power in the East; for the old Chal-de´an empire had broken up, the new As-syr´i-an empire had not arisen, and E´gypt was passing through a change of rulers and was weak. For one generation Is´ra-el held the supremacy in the Oriental world.

4. It was a period of abundant wealth (1 Kings 3. 12, 13; 4. 20; 10. 23, 27). The sources of this wealth were: 1.) The conquests of Da´vid, who had plundered many nations and left his accumulated riches to Sol´o-mon (1 Chron. 22. 14-16). 2.) The tribute of the subject kingdoms, doubtless heavy (1 Kings 10. 25). 3.) Commerce with foreign countries (E´gypt, A-ra´bi-a, Tar´shish, and O´phir) in ancient times was not carried on by private enterprise, but by the government. The trade of the East from E´gypt and Tyre passed through Sol´o-mon's dominions, enriching the land. 4.) There were also taxes laid upon the people (1 Kings 4. 7-19; 12. 4). 5.) The erection of public buildings must have enriched many private citizens and made money plenty.

5. It was a period of literary activity. The books written during this epoch were Sam´u-el, Psalms (in part), Prov´erbs (in part), and perhaps Ec-cle-si-as´tes and Sol´o-mon's Song. Not all the writings of Sol´o-mon have been preserved (1 Kings 4. 32, 33).

VI. Dangers of the Period. There was an A-ra´bi-an tradition that in Sol´o-mon's staff, on which he leaned, there was a worm secretly gnawing it asunder. So there were elements of destruction under all the splendor of Sol´o-mon's throne.

1. The absolute power of the king. Da´vid had maintained the theocratic constitution of the state; Sol´o-mon set it aside and ruled with absolute power in all departments. He assumed priestly functions (1 Kings 8. 22, 54, 64); he abolished tribal boundaries in his administration (1 Kings 4. 7-19); he ignored both priests and prophets, and concentrated all rule in his own person.

2. The formal character of the worship. There was a magnificent temple and a gorgeous ritual, but none of the warmth and personal devotion which characterized the worship of Da´vid. The fervor of the Da-vid´ic Psalms is wanting in the literature of Sol´o-mon's age.

3. Luxury and corruption of morals. These are the inevitable results of abundant riches and worldly association. We do not need the warnings of Prov. 2. 16-19; 5. 3-6, etc., to know what a flood of immorality swept over Je-ru´sa-lem and Is´ra-el.

4. The burden of taxation. With a splendid court, an immense harem, and a wealthy nobility came high prices and high taxes; the rich growing richer rapidly, the poor becoming poorer. The events of the next reign show how heavy and unendurable these burdens grew.

5. Heathen customs. With the foreign peoples came the toleration of idolatry, its encouragement, and all the abominations connected with it. Jer-o-bo´am could not have established his new religion (1 Kings 12. 28) if Sol´o-mon had not already patronized idol worship.

6. Underlying all was the old tribal jealousy of E´phra-im and Ju´dah, fostered by an able leader (1 Kings 12. 26), ready to break out in due time and destroy the empire.

Blackboard Outline

V.	Gen. Asp. Isr. 1. Pea. 2. Str. gov. 3. Wi. emp. 4. Abun. weal. 1.) Conq. 2.) Trib. 3.) Com. 4.) Tax. 5.) Pub. build. 5. Lit. act.
VI.	Dan. Per. 1. Abs. pow. 2. For. wor. 3. Lux. cor. mor. 4. Bur. tax. 5. Hea. cus. 6. Tri. jeal.

Questions for Review

Name five general aspects of Is´ra-el in Sol´o-mon's reign? What were the benefits of the peace at that time? What was the characteristic of Sol´o-mon's administration? What opportunity did the age give to a great empire for Is´ra-el? What were the sources of the wealth in Sol´o-mon's age? How was it a period of literary activity? What ancient legend illustrates the dangers of Sol´o-mon's age? What were some of the dangers? Wherein did Sol´o-mon set aside the Is´ra-el-ite constitution? What was the defect in the religion of Sol´o-mon's time? What evils resulted from the wealth of that time? What caused heavy taxation? What heathen customs were introduced? What showed that tribal jealousy was still existing?

Hints to the Teacher and Class

1. See that the outline of the lesson is learned, with all its divisions and subdivisions. Let a scholar place each division of the outline on the blackboard in the form given in the Blackboard Outline, and then let another scholar read it to the class.

2. Have a map of Sol´o-mon's empire drawn, with each of the subject lands shown upon it. "Bound" the empire; that is, name the countries surrounding it.

3. Let the diagram of buildings on Mount Mo-ri´ah and O´phel be drawn by one pupil, and explained by another.

4. Let the Review Questions be studied until they can be answered correctly.

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