By Mrs. Bessie Wilbon
INTRODUCTION
David, the father of Solomon, had become
king of Israel only after years of struggle.
When we first learn of him, he was a simple
- shepherd, of humble parentage. Later
David was to receive the ridicule of his
eldest brother when he manifested an
interest in the warfare between the Philis
tines and Israel. In spite of this, he en
tered into the conflict, killed Goliath, and
attained many other notable victories for
Israel. But even his successes caused him
great difficulty, for King Saul became
ihsanely jealous of this popular young hero
and sought to kill him. For years David was
a fugitive and had to sustain himself as best
he could. Thus was his path to the throne
fraught with danger every step of the way.
Solomon, on the other hand, although
confronted by a degree of opposition,
actually received the kingdom from the
hand of his father with little effort on his
own part.
in mentality, Solomon seems to have been
well qualified, even before the special gift of
wisdom given to him when he prayed for
God’s guidance. The extent of his religious
heritage we cannot adequately measure.
We know that he did look to God for help
when he became king, and other incidents in
his life indicate that he was devout by
nature. But his life was never subjected to
the tempering processes that had tested and
strengthened the character of David. Per
haps the way of Solomon was a bit too easy.
It could well be that the absence of a period
— of great adversity and testing was the
greatest handicap of King Solomon’s life.
LESSON BACKGROUND
In the declining years of David, peace
prevailed between Israel and her neighbors.
All of the nations bordering upon the
kingdom had either become subject nations,
or else had negotiated treaties of peace. A
high degree of security was realized.
However, the strife within his own family
continued until his death and even after
ward.
Amnon, the oldest son of David, had been
killed by his brother Absalom. The latter,
because of his rebellion against David, was
slain by Joab. Chileab, David’s second
born son, seems to have died before his
father. This left Adonijah as the oldest
surviving son, (2 Samuel 3:2-4). It was
David’s intention that Solomon, the son of
Bethsheba, should become the next king, (1
Kings 1:13). However, in David’s old age
Adonijah attempted to seize the throne.
Perhaps he thought that the crown ought to
be his as heir apparent. However, in Israel,
neither law nor custom required this.
ine rapicuy weakening David made ar
rangements for Zadok the priest and
Nathan the prophet to anoint Solomon king,
thus thwarting Adonijah’s plan. Solomon
promised that Adonijah would not be
harmed if he proved worthy of trust. But
when Adonijah made a second attenpt to
deprive Solomon of the throne, Solomon had
him put to death, (1 Kings 1:28-53 ; 2:13-25).
Thus was Solomon established as king. In
the years that followed, Solomon’s wisdom,
fame and wealth increased so that he
became the dominant figure in the Middle
East. It was during this time that he
undertook his tremendous building pro
jects, especially the temple.
“But if you or your descendants stop
following me, disobey the laws and com
mands I have given you, and worship other
gods, then I will remove my people Israel
from the land that I have given them. I will
also abandon this Temple which I have
consecrated as the place where I am to be
worshipped,” (1 Kings 9:6-7). “And the
Lord was angry with Solomon because his
heart was turned from the Lord God of
Israel," (1 Kings 11:9).
What about our attidues today? True, we
do not worship the same deities in the same
way as then, but we can make idols of our
houses, our cars, our “things.” In a sense
we count as supreme worth what we spend a
great deal of money for and a great deal of
the time with.
Just as the results of Solomon’s folly were
not fully seen until after his death, so the
effects of our worship of false deities may
be more obvious after a while than at first.
We can run on the momentum from past
faithfulness for a time, but the thrust will
eventually wear off and cease. We need to
pray to be delivered from every false god
and to be led to the worship of the God who
inhabits eternity and who calls us to purity
of life and fixity of faith. --
I
1 ,
Terrence Carothers and Asha Hood have just begun to
know what it feels like to be treated as royalty. They
were recently crowned King and Queen of the E.C.
Cannon Day Care Center. Although both winners had to
raise the highest amount of money, they seem to be
accepting their roles graciously. (Photo By Divine
Reflections)
Super Sunday II Extended
There was “Jaws II,”
“£tar Wars,” “Return of
the Jedi,” and “Superman
II.” All great events and
programs have their
sequels. Therefore, Super
Sunday II.
The Afro-American
Cultural Center announced
this week that it would
extend the successful
Super Sunday idea to
include July 1 and July 8.
The first Super Sunday
held last week was a
special promotion to give
local churches an
opportunity to pledge or
contribute to the campaign
to restore the old historic
Little Rock AME Zion
Church to house the Afro
American Cultural Center.
Campaign officials say
they were pleased with the
results of Super Sunday
which generated a lot of
momentum for the project
as it closes in on its original
ending date of June 30.
Officials say there are
still other churches that did
not have enough time to
prepare for their participa
tion in the first Super |
Sunday. Hopefully, their
efforts will boost church
donations considerably
higher. As of this week,
campaign leaders report
that local churches had
contributed a combined”!
$58,258. They add that
churches are a great
resource of pledges and
contributions.
Any churches that have
not made pledges or
contributed already are
urged to be part of the
upcoming Super Sundays.
For more details, call the
Afro-American Cultural
Center at 374-1565.
de
I way..
I By Joe Black
An underlying reason for a lack
of unity among Black people is the
fact that envy, or a lack of under
standing, still has some Black
people labeling Blacks in the pri
vate sector who exercise their
prerogative of saying “no” to a
request from a Black organization,
or person. I say that is tne wrong
attitude to take. No, not because
I am one of those “labeled" indi
viduals. but rather because the
Black man is caught "between a
rock and a hard place. ” On the one
side he is being called a “Tbm” or
"window dressing," while on the
other side he is attempting to use
the mind that God gave to him
and proving that he does have
a job with defined duties and
responsibilities.
n i» uui uciici inai we inusi snow
the private sector and Black Amer
ica that our educational preparation
makes us as professional and
efficient as any other executive
regardless of color. Our successes
will motivate Black youths to dig in
and learn, baby, learn so that they
can compete for a job that is real
and rewarding because they are
prepared and qualified. This can
only happen when Black Americans
accept and respect the Black execu
tive’s right to reject proposals sub
mitted by Black or white groups.
Letfc face it. soon there will be only
a few Jobs available because it has
been mandated by a law.
/
J&e'B&ick
Vice President
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