Q. From what friendly king did Solomon request aid in building the temple ?

A. From Hiram, king of Tyre, who had been the friend of David. 1 Kings v. 1-6.

Q. What aid did he receive?

A. Hiram furnished him with skilful workmen, and with fir-trees and cedars of Lebanon, which he caused to be sent by sea in floats unto the place appointed by Solomon. 1 Kings v. 7-10. Q. How many men were employed in preparing materials and in building the temple ?

A. 180,000 men, besides 3,300 officers and superintendents. 1 Kings v. 13-16.

Q. What architect did he obtain from Tyre? A. Hiram of Tyre. His mother was a Hebrew woman, and his father a man of Tyre. 1 Kings vii. 13, 14; 2 Chron. ii. 13, 14.

Q. When the temple was completed, what was first brought into it, and where was it placed?

A. The ark of the covenant, which was deposited in the most holy place under the wings of the cherubim. 1 Kings viii. 1-6.

Q. What was in the ark?

A. Nothing but "the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb." 1 Kings viii. 9.

Q. Was there any manifestation of the Divine presence on this occasion, and what?

A. A cloud filled the house, so that the priests could not stand to minister. 1 Kings viii. 11.

Q. Who were assembled at the dedication of the temple?

A. The elders of Israel, the heads of the tribes, and the chief of the fathers of the people. 1 Kings

viii. 1, 2.

Q. Can you mention any of the petitions which are found in Solomon's prayer?

A. He prayed that God would hear the prayers of his people offered in that place, and relieve them in seasons of distress, whether caused by their enemies, or by drought, or by pestilence or famine, or by whatever other cause. 1 Kings viii. 30, 31, 33, 35, 37, 41, 44, 46.

Q. What blessing did he seek?

A. That the Lord should be with them, and incline their hearts to walk in his ways, and to keep his

commandments. 1 Kings viii. 57, 58.

Q. What is said of the great festival held at the dedication of the temple?

A. It was celebrated with great rejoicings, for four

teen days. The people from the most distant parts of the country came to Jerusalem to take part in it, and at the close of it the people blessed the king, and returned to their homes joyful for all the goodness that the Lord had done for them. 1 Kings viii. 65, 66.

Q. What promises and warnings were renewed to Solomon ?

A. His throne should be established so long as he

should continue faithful to the worship of the true God; but if he or his descendants should go and serve other gods, then should Israel be cut off the land which the Lord had given them. 1 Kings ix. 4-9.

Q. What induced the queen of Sheba to visit him? A. The fame of his wisdom. 1 Kings x. 1.

Q. At what place on the Red Sea did Solomon build a fleet of ships?

A. At Ezion-geber, on the Red Sea. 1 Kings ix.

26.

Q. Whence did he obtain sailors?

A. From Hiram, king of Tyre. 1 Kings ix. 27.
Q. To what country did they trade?

A. To Ophir, whence they brought large quantities of gold. 1 Kings ix. 28.

Q. Where in the Mediterranean did Solomon and Hiram carry on commerce?

A. To Tarshish, which is supposed to have been in the southern or western part of Spain. 1 Kings x. 22; 2 Chron. ix. 21.

Q. What was the character of Solomon during the early part of his reign?

A. He walked in the statutes of David his father ; yet he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. 1 Kings iii. 3, 4.

Q. Did he continue faithful to Jehovah throughout his reign?

A. No; when he was old, he did evil in the sight

of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David, his father. He built high places for various idol deities. 1 Kings xi. 4-8.

Q. By whom was he led astray?

A. By his foreign and idolatrous wives, who turned away his heart after other gods. 1 Kings xi. 4. Q. What warning did he receive respecting the punishment of his transgressions?

A. "Forasmuch as this is done by thee, I will surely rend away the kingdom from thee, and give it to thy servant." 1 Kings xi. 11– 13.

Q. What enemies disturbed the last years of his reign?

A. Hadad, the Edomite, and Rezon, king of Damascus, and Jeroboam, one of his own generals. 1 Kings xi. 14, 23, 26.

Q. What was the extent of his kingdom?

A. He reigned over all the kings from the river (Euphrates) to the border of Egypt.

ix. 26.

2 Chron.

Q. What books of the Old Testament have been commonly supposed to have been written by Sol

omon?

A. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Canticles.

LESSON XX.

REVOLT OF THE TEN TRIBES.

On the death of Solomon, the people assembled at Shechem, for the purpose of making his son Rehoboam king. The reign of Solomon, though a prosperous, had been in certain respects an oppressive one; and the people demanded of his successor some relief from their burdens as the condition of placing him on the throne. This was refused in contemptuous and threatening terms, and it so excited their indignation that ten tribes renounced their allegiance to him, and elected Jeroboam for their sovereign. Two tribes only, Judah and

Benjamin, - often spoken of as one, because of the much greater extent of Judah, and because the capital was situated on the borders of both, — remained faithful to him.

This revolt of the ten tribes under Jeroboam led to the permanent division of the great Hebrew monarchy into the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel. This event greatly weakened the power of the Hebrew people, and both nations were plunged into great disasters because of their subsequent unfaithfulness. From the time of Moses, the assurance had been given to the chosen race, that their prosperity would depend on the fidelity of their allegiance to Jehovah. During the latter years of Solomon, idolatry had begun to creep in; but after his death it made far more rapid progress. Before the death of Rehoboam, the idolatrous customs of the heathen had come to be very generally practised, even in Judah. But in the kingdom of Israel the decay of the true religion was much more rapid. The temple was the centre of Hebrew worship, and the faithful were required, three times a year, on the recurrence of the great festivals, to visit Jerusalem. Jeroboam feared that, if his subjects went up to Jerusalem to sac. rifice, and still regarded that city and its temple as the great place of religious resort, his power would be unstable and un