The Wonder Book of Bible Stories Part 13

So David made ready great store of precious things for the temple; also stone and cedar to be used in the building. And David said to Solomon, his son: "G.o.d has promised that there shall be rest and peace to the land while you are king; and the Lord will be with you, and you shall build a house, where G.o.d shall live among His people."

But David had other sons who were older than Solomon; and one of these sons, whose name was Adonijah, formed a plan to make himself king.

David was now very old; and he was no longer able to go out of his palace, and to be seen among the people.

Adonijah gathered his friends; and among them were Joab, the general of the army, and Abiathar, one of the two high-priests. They met at a place outside the wall, and had a great feast, and were about to crown Adonijah as king, when word came to David in the palace. David, though old and feeble, was still wise. He said:

"Let us make Solomon king at once, and thus put an end to the plans of these men."

So at David's command they brought out the mule on which no one but the king was allowed to ride; and they placed Solomon upon it; and with the king's guards, and the n.o.bles, and the great men, they brought the young Solomon down to the valley of Gihon, south of the city.

And Zadok, the priest, took from the Tabernacle the horn filled with holy oil, that was used for anointing or pouring oil on the head of the priests when they were set apart for their work. He poured oil from this horn on the head of Solomon, and then the priests blew the trumpets, and all the people cried aloud, "G.o.d save King Solomon."

All this time Adonijah and Joab, and their friends were not far away, almost in the same valley, feasting and making merry, intending to make Adonijah king. They heard the sound of the trumpets, and the shouting of the people. Joab said: "What is the cause of all this noise and uproar?"

A moment later, Jonathan, the son of Abiathar, came running in. Jonathan said to the men who were feasting:

"Our lord King David has made Solomon king, and he has just been anointed in Gihon; and all the princes, and the heads of the army, are with him, and the people are shouting, 'G.o.d save King Solomon!' And David has sent from his bed a message to Solomon, saying, 'May the Lord make your name greater than mine has been! Blessed be the Lord, who has given me a son to sit this day on my throne!'"

When Adonijah and his friends heard this they were filled with fear.

Every man went at once to his house, except Adonijah. He hastened to the altar of the Lord, and knelt before it, and took hold of the horns that were on its corners in front. This was a holy place, and he hoped that there Solomon might have mercy on him. And Solomon said:

"If Adonijah will do right, and be faithful to me as the king of Israel, no harm shall come to him; but if he does wrong, he shall die."

Then Adonijah came and bowed down before King Solomon, and promised to obey him, and Solomon said, "Go to your own house."

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Solomon on his throne_]

Not long after this David sent for Solomon, and from his bed he gave his last advice to Solomon. And soon after that David died, an old man, having reigned in all forty years, seven years over the tribe of Judah, at Hebron, and thirty-three years over all Israel, in Jerusalem. He was buried in great honor on Mount Zion, and his tomb remained standing for many years.

The great work of Solomon's reign was the building of the House of G.o.d.

It was generally called the Temple. It was built on Mount Moriah, one of the hills of Jerusalem. King David had prepared for it by gathering great stores of silver, stone and cedar-wood. The walls were made of stone and the roof of cedar. Solomon had great s.h.i.+ps which visited other lands and brought precious stones and fine woods for the building.

Seven years were spent in building the Temple, and it was set apart to the wors.h.i.+p of G.o.d with beautiful ceremonies in which Solomon, in his robes of state, took part.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Supposed form of Solomon's temple_]

Solomon was indeed a great king, and it was said that he was also the wisest man in all the world. He wrote many of the wise sayings in the Book of Proverbs, and many more that have been lost.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _s.h.i.+p in Solomon's time_]

THE STORY OF ELIJAH, THE PROPHET

One of the greatest of all the kings of the Ten Tribes was Jeroboam the second. Under him the kingdom of Israel grew rich and strong. He conquered nearly all Syria, and made Samaria the greatest city of all those lands.

But though Syria went down, another nation was now rising to power--a.s.syria, on the eastern side of the river Tigris. Its capital was Nineveh, a great city, so vast that it would take three days for a man to walk around its walls. The a.s.syrians were beginning to conquer all the lands near them, and Israel was in danger of falling under their power.

One of the kings who ruled over Israel was named Ahab. He provoked the anger of the Lord. His wife, Jezebel, who was a wors.h.i.+per of Baal, persuaded him to build an altar to the false G.o.d.

Elijah, a prophet of the Lord, was sent to him and proposed a test. Two altars were built; one to Jehovah and one to Baal. The priests of Baal called upon their G.o.d to send down fire; but there was no answer. Then Elijah called upon the Lord G.o.d of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, and fire came down and burnt up the offering.

The people turned upon the priests of Baal and killed them all. Later the wicked queen, Jezebel, coveted a vineyard for Ahab, and she caused Naboth, the owner of the vineyard, to be placed in front of the battle.

When he was slain Ahab took the vineyard.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Denounced Ahab and Jezebel_]

Once more Elijah came and denounced Ahab and Jezebel, telling them that they had done wickedly, and that the Lord would punish them.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Made king when he was only seven years old_]

In a little while the prophet's words came true, for Ahab was slain in battle and Jezebel was put to death by order of King Jehu. Elijah was taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire.

There was another prophet, a companion of Elijah, whose name was Elisha, a brave and courageous man who did not fail to deliver G.o.d's message.

It happened that when Elisha was an old man there can to him King Joash, who had been made king when he was only seven years old. Joash was now a young man and was trying to do right in the sight of the Lord. But he felt the need of the prophet's aid, and he came to Elisha and said:

"My father, my father, you are more to Israel than its chariots and hors.e.m.e.n."

[Ill.u.s.tration: _"This is the arrow of victory"_]

Elisha, though weak in body, was yet strong in soul. He told Joash to bring him a bow and arrows, and to open the window to the east, looking toward the land of Syria. Then Elisha caused the king to draw the bow; and he placed his hands on the king's hands. And as the king shot an arrow, Elisha said:

"This is the arrow of victory; of victory over Syria; for you shall smite the Syrians in Aphek and shall destroy them."

It happened as Elisha had foretold and the Syrians were defeated and their cities taken.

THE STORY OF JONAH AND THE WHALE

At this time another prophet, named Jonah, was giving the word of the Lord to the Israelites. To Jonah the Lord spoke, saying:

"Go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it; for its wickedness rises up before me."

But Jonah did not wish to preach to the people of Nineveh; for they were the enemies of his land, the land of Israel. He wished Nineveh to die in its sins, and not to turn to G.o.d and live. So Jonah tried to go away from the city where G.o.d had sent him. He went down to Joppa and took a s.h.i.+p for Tars.h.i.+sh.

But the Lord saw Jonah on the s.h.i.+p; and the Lord sent a great storm upon the sea, so that the s.h.i.+p seemed as though it would go to pieces. The sailors threw overboard everything on the s.h.i.+p; and when they could do no more, every man prayed to his G.o.d to save the s.h.i.+p and themselves.

Jonah was now lying fast asleep, and the s.h.i.+p's captain came to him, and said:

"What do you mean by sleeping in such a time as this? Awake, rise up, and call upon your G.o.d. Perhaps He will hear you and save our lives."

But the storm continued to rage around the s.h.i.+p; and they said:

"There is some man on this s.h.i.+p who has brought upon us this trouble.