DAY 154 Read 2 Chronicles 9; 1 Kings 10 and 11.
Today's reading: Solomon's mad pursuit of worldly pleasure plunged the unhappy king into apostasy and sowed the seeds of ruin for his kingdom.
Memory gem: "Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them" (Psalm 62:10).
Thought for today:
Now just a word about this man Solomon. He had a desire for happiness as all of us have, and he tried to find it. The book of Ecclesiastes, which he wrote late in life and after sincere repentance, brings us the story of his search for happiness. He had opportunities that very few of us have. He had unlimited money, he had great wisdom, he had supreme authority. If any man could find happiness in this world, surely he could.
The whole world today is like a mighty procession marching on, seeking happiness but seldom finding it. At most, the end of the trail is despair and sorrow and disillusion. Like a boy hunting for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, most human beings are forever seeking and never finding.
Solomon, the wisest man in his generation--possibly the wisest man who ever lived--set himself to search for happiness. He says: "I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven" (Ecclesiastes 1:13).
And did he succeed?
There was no science known in his day that he did not understand. He studied the laws of nations; legends and history became his heritage; the story of the world and the course of mankind were his treasured knowledge. He gathered together the priceless works of literature. He acquired a vast knowledge of nature, the flora and fauna of the world. He knew about botany, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall.
But did this wisdom and knowledge bring him happiness? He answers: "For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrows." "Behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit" (Ecclesiastes 1:18, 14).
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Difficult or obscure words:
1 Kings 10:28. "Linen yarn"--rather: from Kue, an ancient name for Alicia, then under Hittite control.
1 Kings 11:5, 7. "Milcom"--Molech; also called Malcham (see Zephaniah 1:5); one of the most repulsive aspects of Baal (see Jeremiah 19:6; 32:35). Children were burned alive as offerings to this deity.
1 Kings 11:40. "Shishak"--identified as Sheshonk I, a Libyan army commander who established the twenty-second dynasty of Egypt.
Today's reading: Solomon's mad pursuit of worldly pleasure plunged the unhappy king into apostasy and sowed the seeds of ruin for his kingdom.
Memory gem: "Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them" (Psalm 62:10).
Thought for today:
Now just a word about this man Solomon. He had a desire for happiness as all of us have, and he tried to find it. The book of Ecclesiastes, which he wrote late in life and after sincere repentance, brings us the story of his search for happiness. He had opportunities that very few of us have. He had unlimited money, he had great wisdom, he had supreme authority. If any man could find happiness in this world, surely he could.
The whole world today is like a mighty procession marching on, seeking happiness but seldom finding it. At most, the end of the trail is despair and sorrow and disillusion. Like a boy hunting for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, most human beings are forever seeking and never finding.
Solomon, the wisest man in his generation--possibly the wisest man who ever lived--set himself to search for happiness. He says: "I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven" (Ecclesiastes 1:13).
And did he succeed?
There was no science known in his day that he did not understand. He studied the laws of nations; legends and history became his heritage; the story of the world and the course of mankind were his treasured knowledge. He gathered together the priceless works of literature. He acquired a vast knowledge of nature, the flora and fauna of the world. He knew about botany, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall.
But did this wisdom and knowledge bring him happiness? He answers: "For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrows." "Behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit" (Ecclesiastes 1:18, 14).
----------------
Difficult or obscure words:
1 Kings 10:28. "Linen yarn"--rather: from Kue, an ancient name for Alicia, then under Hittite control.
1 Kings 11:5, 7. "Milcom"--Molech; also called Malcham (see Zephaniah 1:5); one of the most repulsive aspects of Baal (see Jeremiah 19:6; 32:35). Children were burned alive as offerings to this deity.
1 Kings 11:40. "Shishak"--identified as Sheshonk I, a Libyan army commander who established the twenty-second dynasty of Egypt.
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