578
T H E
K I N G ’ S
B U S I N E S S
September 1924
Does our Lord not come, in the person of the Holy Spirit, and abide in us? What gift could compare with the gift of Himself? Are we not rich indeed? But now comes a warning voice, also, from the lips of the Lord: “ If ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children— Then comes the promise of judgment, “ I will cut off; I will cast out.’’. No one sees God as He is who does not see both sides of His character,— love and wrath. Love for His Son, when , God spoke from Heaven, “ This is my beloved Son; hear ye Him.” But wrath upon that Son when He bore our sins on the cross and cried out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” No one can properly understand God who does not see how both these characteristics are essential to a perfect person. Any one who carefully reads vs. 6-9 can interpret the history of Israel. They brought God’s judgment upon themselves. Where is the temple? Where is Israel? Scattered and peeled, robbed and persecuted,— who can doubt the verity of the Scripture. Eighteen hundred years bear witness to the fulfillment of God’s warning of judgment’. There is no change in God. There never will be. He is the same, yesterday, today and forever. How could God be just and wink at sin? How could He be righteous and overlook sin? Israel is His beloved earthly people. They are a voice that speaks to Christendom. “ Therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil.“ (2 ) FAME AND FORTUNE OF SOLOMON, Ch. 10. “ The Queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon” v. 1. We know that God gave wisdom to Solomon. Read his proverbs. Nothing from the pen of man can equal them. They are well worth the study of every Bible student. You will find they fit right into the conditions of the present day. Israel reached the climax, of its glory in Solomon’s day. He had wisdom and used it to accomplish great things for his land. Three things are suggested in the ninth chap ter which assisted him in acquiring both fame and fortune. (1) Hiram, king of Tyre, a lover of his father David, was his helper, and was well rewarded. (2) The heathen people which became subject to him were forced to labor for him, while the men of Israel were kept for war service. (3) He had acquired a great fleet of vessels which were used to bring treasures from distant lands, (vs. 26-29). The Queen of Sheba heard the story of Solomon’s mag nificence-carried, no doubt, by the fleet of vessels. Her wonder was excited and she determined to see for herself. She was not only interested, but being, herself, a wise woman, she desired to, know the truth and took the prac tical method of finding out the facts. She traveled 1500 miles each way,— three thousand miles altogether— and she has been accorded a place in God’s Word and the testimony of Christ Himself (Luke 1 1 :3 1 ): “The queen of the south shall rise up in judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn it; for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, "behold, a greater than Solomon is here.” His greatness is accredited because Christ contrasted it with Himself. The queen came riding upon a camel, with her escort, bringing treasure to Solomon. It must have taken six months for the round trip— a long, weary journey, accompanied by many trials and, no doubt, hardships. The way led through the land of Ishmael, whose hand was against every man. There were perils of the wilderness and perils of robbers, but there was something worth journey ing to see and hear. She sought wisdom (Job 2 8 :1 8 ): “No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls; for the price of wisdom is above rubies.’* (Prov. 8 :1 1 ):
“For wisdom is better than rubies; and all things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.** (Prov. 4 :7 ): “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom; and with all thy getting, get understanding.** Christ has compared Himself to Solomon, and is it not true that we have a greater than Solomon— even the Pearl of great price? The queen brought her offerings to Solomon. She did not come empty-handed. She brought what her country produced and Solomon accepted it. He used her gifts in the temple. What is the lesson for us? We do not have to travel to see our Solomon. He has come to us. Are We joyfully giv ing to Him of our substance? Are we counting it a great privilege? He needs us. He needs our gifts. He wants to adorn His temple with the souls of the unsaved; and He entreats us to brifig to Him the best of all gifts. Listen to the testimony of the queen (vs. 6, 7 ): “And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it; and, behold, the half was not told me; thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard.” The half has never yet been told, but we can tell others something of the glory of our Christ, and the joy of fellow ship with Him, and of service for Him. Christ says, “ Give and it shall be given unto you” and here we find it verified. Solomon took her gifts, but he, in turn, “ gave her all her desire, whatsoever she asked.” Not only all she asked, but he heaped the measure with his bounty. What a prom ise we have (Eph. 3 :2 0 ): “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in ns.” We are slow in giving to Him, and we are slow in our asking of Him what He longs to give. “We know that giving doth not impoverish Him, nor doth withholding enrich Him.” Why not get a heart lesson from this and bring all of our tithes and offerings to Christ, and then ask for the things which He delights to give. His Fortune, vs. 14-27. “King Solomon exceeded all of the kings of the earth for riches, and wisdom.” This tells the story. Like many a man in our own day, he did not know how rich he was, and he was not aware of the fact that riches,— in those days as in our own— make many a man a fool. (3) THE SIN AND SENTENCE, Ch. 11. (a) The Sin, vs. 1-8, “ But king Solomon loved many strange women.” Solomon was the wisest man, but he played the fool. He failed to exercise his wisdom along the line in which so many men fall. He was absorbed in things and forgot the main thing. His eyes were upon his wealth and strange women, rather than upon the Lord. He was like the rich man that Christ tells us about,— absorbed with his riches. He had said, “Keep thy heart with all diligence,” but he did not keep his own. What was Solomon’s sin? Was it love of money? That is not suggested for he gave lavishly to the queen of Sheba. Was it pride? That is not suggested, for he wrote Prov. 16:18: “ Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” Was it strong drink? No, for he wrote Prov. 2 0 :1 : “Wine is a mocker; strong: drink is raging:; and whosoever is deceived thereby is not 'wise.” Was it strange women? Well, he had a thousand wives and one son and he was a fool. This seems to have been the stumbling block for the wise man. How could he
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