Half Hours in Bible Lands, Volume 2 / Patriarchs, Kings, and Kingdoms

by P. C. Headley

Nathan Reproving David.

David's Charge to Solomon.
THE BIBLE AND THE HOLY LAND.
PATRIARCHS. KINGS. AND KINGDOMS.
THE FIRST KINGS.
Theocracy, we have seen, was the first form of government in the world.
The word is from Theos, which means God; for He ruled by direct command,
and would have continued to have been the only and perfect sovereign,
had not man been disloyal to him.
The patriarchal quay, which was that of the family, having at length
united households and extended authority, was still a Theocracy.
When God made his people a separate nation, each of the twelve tribes,
which sprang from the sons of Jacob, had its own ruler. If any important
matter concerning them all demanded public attention, they called an
assembly of their leaders.
When the bondage in Egypt was broken, Moses was the deliverer and
lawgiver of Israel, and Joshua the great general or military chieftain.
The high priest was the visible servant of God--his representative of
the Redeemer of his people.
Then came the judges, who were a kind of governors, having power to
declare war and make peace for the nation, but wearing no badges of
distinction. Jehovah revealed through them his will, and was still the
glorious king of Israel.
With the increase in numbers and general prosperity, there was a
decrease of the religious element and of harmony among the people. They
also ceased to appreciate the simple and sublime principles of a
Theocracy, while all around them was the central power and the pomp of
pagan monarchies; and they became tired of God's holy sovereignty,
having no visible display of authority. There were dissensions and civil
strife in Israel, in consequence of these departures from the Lord, and
strange melancholy blindness to their preeminence over other nations.
It was with them as it will be in the great American Republic, if
Puritan faith and works decline, until practical atheism prevails in our
"goodly land." The people will throw off wholesome restraints, become
divided North and South, and corrupt in morals, until a monarchy will be
the natural resort of the people, as a protection against their own
selfish passions and conflicts.
Samuel, the wonderful child of Elkanah and Hannah, given to them, like
Jephthah and Samson, as a special mark of divine favor, and who early
entered the temple-service under Eli, was the last of the judges,
excepting the authority which he delegated to his sons. He was a noble,
dutiful and devout boy, and a faithful priest and magistrate in Israel.
Eli, whose sons were dissipated, and slain by God's revealed purpose on
account of their enemies, preceded him, so that Samuel saw the last of
the Theocracy, and inaugurated by the Lord's command a monarchy in
Palestine.
The Hebrews came to him begging for a king, and urging, as one reason
for the change, the unfitness of his sons to succeed him. They were
mercenary and open to bribery, and it is not strange that they were
disliked by the people. It is one of many instances of departure by
children from the counsels and prayers of the kindest parents, and
choosing the "wages of sin."
Samuel took the petition of the people to God for direction in answering
it. The Lord's message was the following:
"Hearken to the voice of the people in all that they say to thee: for
they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should
not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done,
since the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, even to this
day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they
also to thee. Now, therefore, hearken to their voice: nevertheless
testify solemnly to them, and show them the practice of the king that
shall reign over them."
He then enumerated the burdens of the state which they must bear. The
inventory of these royal exactions is so true to the experience of all
countries under kingly rule, you will read it with interest. It was the
first divine statement of the nature of a monarchy, and has needed no
important change in the progress of the ages. Jehovah told Samuel to
repeat the following description of the desired blessing, a king:
"He will take your sons and appoint them for himself, for his chariots,
and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. And he
will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and
will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make
his instruments of war and instruments of chariots. And he will take
your daughters to be confectioners, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.
And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive-yards,
even the best of them, and give them to his servants. And he will take
the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give them to his
officers, and to his servants; and he will take your men-servants, and
your maid-servants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and
put them to his works. And he will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye
shall be his servants. And ye shall cry out in that day, beware of your
king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in
that day."

Saul and the Witch of Endor.
God had selected the first monarch of earth outside of heathenism. In
the comparatively small tribe of Benjamin, was a man of honorable
ancestry named Kish. His son, Saul, was a splendid young man, and would
have attracted admiring attention anywhere, and in any land under the
sun, then or since his day. He was taller from his shoulders than all
the rest of Israel's men, and possessed of the highest style of manly
beauty. Repeated mention is made of his noble figure and bearing. The
providential circumstances which attended his promotion were remarkable.
He had wandered about for three days seeking the strayed asses of his
father. Fatigued with the unsuccessful search, he was inclined to
abandon it and return home, when, finding himself near Ramah, where
Samuel lived, he resolved to consult one who was renowned in all Israel
as a man from whom nothing was hid. Instructed in the divine designs
regarding Saul, the prophet received him with honor. He assured him that
the asses which he had sought were already found, and invited him to
stay with him until the next morning. Saul was in fact the man on whom
the divine appointment to be the first king of Israel had fallen. A hint
of this high destiny produced from the astonished stranger a modest
declaration of his insufficiency. But the prophet gave him the place of
honor before all the persons whom--foreknowing the time of his arrival--
he had invited to his table. As is still usual in summer, Saul slept on
the flat roof of the house; and was called early in the morning by
Samuel, who walked forth some way with him on his return home. When they
had got beyond the town they stopped, and Samuel then anointed Saul as
the person whom God had chosen to be "captain over his inheritance;" and
gave him the first kiss of civil homage. In token of the reality of
these things, and to assure the mind of the bewildered young man, the
prophet foretold the incidents of his homeward journey, and, in parting,
desired his attendance on the seventh day following at Gilgal.
On the day and at the place appointed, Samuel assembled a general
convocation of the tribes for the election of a king. As usual, under
the Theocracy, the choice of God was manifested by the sacred lot. The
tribe of Benjamin was chosen; and of the families of Benjamin, that of
Matri was taken; and, finally, the lot fell upon the person of Saul, the
son of Kish. Anticipating this result, he had modestly concealed himself
to avoid an honor which he so little desired. But he was found and
brought before the people, who beheld with enthusiasm his finely
developed form and preeminence in appearance, and hailed him as their
king.
Many prominent persons of the great tribes were jealous and indignant,
because the smallest tribe, and a young man whose chief claim to the
honor was his fine figure, had been chosen. They refused to join the
masses in their homage, and Saul displayed his shrewdness in "holding
his peace."
And the wisdom of God was apparent in the result; for he gradually
united the discordant elements around him, and became established in
power. Soon after came the trial of his ability as a general.
The Ammonites, a mighty and warlike people under king Nahash, besieged
the important town of Jabesh-Gilead. The beleaguered place was at length
compelled to ask terms of capitulation. The proud and cruel reply was,
that every man should have his right eye put out.
The Jabesh-Gileadites agreed to the hard conditions, unless help reached
them within seven days. Messengers hastened to Saul, in Gibeah, and
found him returning from his herds in the field. The story of the
invasion and peril roused all the energies and martial spirit of a king
worthy of his crown. It was the Lord's inspiration for his high office,
and immediate command of the army.
The inhabitants were timid; and to awaken their courage he slew oxen,
had them quartered, and sent the pieces over the kingdom, assuring those
who were able to fight, that unless they hastened to the rescue all
their cattle should have a similar slaughter. The volunteers came
pouring in, and Saul marched to Jabesh-Gilead. A battle followed, and
the Ammonites were routed with terrible slaughter. It was a grand
victory, and won for Saul the glory of military genius. This settled the
question of his right to reign, and his sceptre was held over an
undivided people.
Retaining three thousand men, he followed up the conquest by an attack
upon the Philistines, who had conquered on the south, and deprived
Israel of weapons of war, and implements of husbandry. Only Saul and
Jonathan had either sword or spear. The latter, a gifted and noble young
man, distinguished himself, under God's special benediction, in a
successful assault upon a garrison of the Philistines. The enemy rallied
in full strength, and Saul prepared to meet them with additional forces.
Samuel had appointed sacrifices to be made before the campaign was
opened, and because he did not appear in Gilgal when Saul expected him,
the king turned priest, and presented the offerings. This rashness
revealed his undevout character and haughty self-will, which proved his
ruin.