The account of the anointing of Saul may be given, and in this connection note that the old custom is still in use to-day in the coronation of kings. Have a reading from Browning's "Saul" and discuss the two points of view.
Next will come the story of David and Goliath, the anointing of David, the feud between Saul and David and the idyllic story of the affection of David and Jonathan. Brief readings from all of these should illustrate the papers or talks upon them. Notice the other famous friendships in history, and compare them with that of the two Hebrews.
The subject of witchcraft may be briefly touched upon in connection with the old story of the Witch of Endor, and its singular persistence through the history of all nations down to the present time.
David's lament over Saul and Jonathan should be read and compared with other elegies, and also that over the death of Absalom; notice the difference in spirit between them.
The life of Solomon is full of unusual touches. Read his dream, the story of the judgment about the infant, and then the majestic dedication of the Temple, the last, one of the stately pieces of literature of the Bible. The visit of the Queen of Sheba may be read after this, and the allusions to it in literature noted.
V—THE DIVIDED KINGDOMS AND THE EXILE
The divided kingdoms furnish many episodes of literary value. The stories of Elijah and Elisha have a marked dramatic quality; the incident of Naaman and Gehazi is a bit of romance; the fall of Samaria is a tragedy, as is the fall of Jerusalem, about one hundred and fifty years later. There is a bit of interesting work which some clubs might like to undertake, the comparison of the literary style of Kings and Chronicles, one colored by the prophetic and the other by priestly ideas.
The subject of the Exile may be used in one meeting, as it relates itself to a considerable part of Hebrew literature, especially in poetry. One prose passage may be read, the brief book of Esther, which has always been of great importance to the Jews, and full of interest.
VI—HEBREW POETRY
This has no regular rhyme, nor is it divided into feet like the classical poems of Greece and Rome. Instead it has a certain stately sweep, a rhythm, which is the very essence of poetry. In structure it may be compared to Walt Whitman's rhythmical prose.