Chapter XVII: 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.

ELEVENTH STUDY

The Temple on Mount Moriah

The most famous of all the buildings erected by Sol'o-mon, though by no means the largest, was the temple. It is so frequently mentioned in the Bible, and was so closely connected with the religious and secular history, both in the Old Testament and the New, that a detailed study of it is needed.

I. =The Three Temples.= All these stood in succession upon the same site, and were arranged upon the same general plan.

1. _Sol'o-mon's Temple._ Built about B. C. 970, and standing until B. C. 587, when it was destroyed by the Bab-y-lo'ni-ans (2 Kings 25. 8, 9).

2. _Ze-rub'ba-bel's Temple._ After lying desolate more than fifty years the second temple was begun about B. C. 534, under Ze-rub'ba-bel, the ruler of the exiles returned from Bab'y-lon (Ezra 3. 8). This temple was far inferior in splendor to the first, but soon became the object of pilgrimage to Jews from all lands and the center of Jew'ish national and religious life.

3. _Her'od's Temple._ The second temple having become dilapidated, Her'od the Great undertook its restoration on a magnificent scale. The work was begun about B. C. 20 and was not completed until A. D. 64. In the lifetime of Je'sus it was not yet finished (John 2. 20). This temple was destroyed by the Ro'mans under Ti'tus, A. D. 70. Its site is now occupied partially by the Dome of the Rock, miscalled the Mosque of O'mar, in Je-ru'sa-lem.

II. =The Situation.= The city of Je-ru'sa-lem stood upon hills separated by three valleys radiating in a fanlike order, from a point at the southeast. Northward runs the valley of the Kid'ron; northwest the valley of the Ty-ro'poe-on, now almost obliterated; almost westward, with a curve northward, the valley of Hin'nom. Between the valley of the Kid'ron and the valley of the Ty-ro'poe-on were two hills--on the north Mount Mo-ri'ah, and a little to the south a spur of lower elevation known as O'phel. On Mount Mo-ri'ah stood the temple, on O'phel the buildings of Sol'o-mon's palace. Later the temple area was enlarged to include both these hills. West of Mo-ri'ah, across the Ty-ro'poe-on valley, was Mount Zi'on, upon which the principal part of the city stood.

III. =The House of the Lord.= This was a building not large, but magnificent and costly; made of stone and cedar, and decorated lavishly with gold and precious stones. It consisted of four parts:

1. _The Porch_, a lofty tower facing the east. Two pillars, either in the tower at the entrance or standing apart before it, are named (1 Kings 7. 21). The interior dimensions of the porch were about 30 feet from north to south, and 15 feet east and west[14] (1 Kings 6. 3).

2. _The Holy Place_ was west of the porch, and was a chamber 60 feet long by 30 wide, and perhaps 30 feet high. In it stood, on the north, the table for "the showbread"--that is, the twelve loaves shown before the Lord; on the south, the golden candlestick, or lampstand[15]; and at the western end the golden altar of incense.

3. _The Holy of Holies_, or "the oracle" (1 Kings 6. 19, 20), was a cube, each dimension being 30 feet. It had no windows, but received a dim light through the veil which separated it from the adjoining room. This place was entered by the high priest only, and on but one day in the year, the day of atonement. The only article of furniture in the room was the Ark of the Covenant, containing the two stone tables of the law. The Ark doubtless was destroyed with the first temple, and in the second and third temples its place was indicated by a marble block, upon which the blood was sprinkled.

4. _The Chambers_ were rooms for the priests, situated around the house, with entrance from without. They were in three stories, and were set apart for the residence of the priests while employed in the services of the temple. Each priest served two weeks in the year; not, however, two weeks in succession, but six months apart, and lived at his home for the rest of the time. In similar chambers around the old tabernacle E'li and Sam'u-el slept (1 Sam. 3. 2, 3).

IV. The =Court of the Priests= was an open, unroofed quadrangle surrounding the House of the Lord, but mainly in front, toward the east. It was about 200 feet wide, north and south, by 275 feet long, east and west, a few feet lower in elevation than the floor of the temple proper. Here stood the great _Altar of Burnt Offering_, upon which the daily sacrifice was offered, its site now shown under the Dome of the Rock; and near the door to the house _the Laver_ for washing the sacrifices. Sol'o-mon built also a great "_Sea_," or reservoir of water, standing on the backs of twelve oxen, all of "brass," probably copper (1 Kings 7. 23-26). This was broken up by the Bab-y-lo'ni-ans, B. C. 587 (2 Kings 25. 13), and was not replaced in the later temples.

V. Around the Court of the Priests was another and larger corridor, the =Court of Is'ra-el=, or "the men's court." In the later temples this was 320 by 240 feet in dimensions, 26 feet wide on the north and south, 24 feet wide on the east and west. The size of this court in Sol'o-mon's temple is not given, but was probably the same as in later times. This was the standing place of the worshipers (exclusively men) as they witnessed the service.

VI. These were the only courts around the first temple, as the space to the south of the last-named court was occupied by Sol'o-mon's palaces, from which a magnificent flight of steps ascended to the temple area (1 Kings 10. 5). After these buildings were destroyed the latest temple, that of Her'od, included their site in additional courts and buildings for the worship. East of the Court of Is'ra-el, and a little lower, stood the =Court of the Women=, 200 feet square, having a lattice gallery on the western side, from which the women could look on the services of the altar. This court was also called "the Treasury" (John 8. 20) from the gift boxes fastened upon the wall (Mark 12. 41, 42). In each corner of this court was a room said to be 60 feet square, with an open roof.

VII. Around all these buildings and courts, with Her'od's temple, but not with Sol'o-mon's, was the =Court of the Gen'tiles=, an irregular quadrangle of about 1,000 feet on each side (north 990, east 1,000, south 960, west 1,060). The wall on the east was surmounted by a double row of columns, and called Sol'o-mon's Porch (John 10. 23; Acts 3. 12). The "Beautiful Gate" was from the Court of the Gen'tiles to the eastern side of the Court of the Women (Acts 3. 1), through which the people passed on their way to the public worship. The narrow corridor extending entirely around the Court of the Women and the Court of Is'ra-el was called "Chel"--that is, the sacred inclosure--and no one except an Is'ra-el-ite was permitted to enter it. The Court of the Gen'tiles was not regarded by the Jews as sacred, since foreigners were allowed within it, and in its area had grown up a market for the sale of animals for sacrifice and tables for the exchanging of foreign money. Twice this court was purged of these desecrations by Je'sus (John 2. 13-17; Matt. 21. 12, 13).

The principal access to the temple in the time of Christ was a bridge over the Ty-ro'poe-on valley from Mount Zi'on. Of this bridge a fragment of one arch still remains, known as "Rob'in-son's Arch."

The immediate surroundings of the temple, in the New Testament period, were the following: 1. On the north stood the Castle or Tower of An-to'ni-a, erected by the Ro'mans for the control of the temple area. 2. On the east was the valley of the Kid'ron. 3. On the south and west lay the curving valley of the Ty-ro'poe-on.

Blackboard Outline

I. =Thr. Tem.= 1. Sol. 970-587. 2. Zer. 534. 3. Her. B. C. 20.
A. D. 70.
II. =Situa.= Vall. Kid. Tyr. Hin. Mts. Mor. Oph. Zi.
III. =Hou. Lor.= 1. Por. 30x15. 2. H. P. 30x60. 3. H. H. 30x30.
4. Chamb.
IV. =Cou. Pri.= 200x275. Alt. Lav. "Sea."
V. =Cou. Isr.= 240x320.
VI. =Cou. Wom.= 200x200. "Treas." Rooms.
VII. =Cou. Gen.= 1,000. "Chel." Market. Bridge.

Hints to the Teacher and the Class

Let each pupil in turn draw on the blackboard one of the departments or courts of the temple, state its dimensions, and explain its uses.

Let a pupil recite the history of each temple.

Let one pupil state in what parts of the temple Je'sus walked and taught, and another events in the life of Saint Paul connected with the temple.

Review Questions

Who built the first temple, how long did it stand, and
by whom was it destroyed? Who built the second temple,
and at what time? Who built the third temple? When was
it begun, finished, and destroyed? What building now
stands on the site of the temple? Between what three
valleys was Je-ru'sa-lem situated? Give a description
of each valley. Where were Mo-ri'ah, O'phel, and Zi'on
located? Into what four parts was the "House of the
Lord," or temple proper, divided? What were the
dimensions and what was the location of the Porch?
Describe the Holy Place and its contents. Describe the
Holy of Holies. What took the place of the Ark in the
later temples? What were the Chambers, and where were
they situated? Where was the Court of the Priests?
What were its dimensions? What stood in this court?
Where was the Court of Is'ra-el? What were its
dimensions and uses? What stood outside the Court of
Is'ra-el adjoining Sol'o-mon's temple? Where was the
Court of the Women in the latest temple? Describe this
court and its uses? What was the exterior court to the
temple in the time of Christ? What were the dimensions
of this court? Where was the "Beautiful Gate"? Where
was the "Chel"? Where was Sol'o-mon's Porch? How was
this court used by the Jews? What did Je'sus do in
this court? What was the principal means of access to
the temple? What were the immediate surroundings of
the temple?

TWELFTH STUDY

The Kingdom of Israel