the Jews of that time this book
set forth the whole of the history of Israel; to the Christian it sets
forth the fullness of love that unites the believer and his Savior as
bride and bridegroom; to all the world it is a call to cast out those
unworthy ideals and monstrous practices that threaten to undermine
society and the home.

Nations Surrounding Israel. The life of any people is always
influenced by the nations around them. During this period Israel had
intercourse with many other nations. (1) _Phoenicia_. This commercial
people, through Hiram of Tyre, one of its kings, supplied the cedar
wood and the skilled laborers who made possible the building of the
temple. (2) _Egypt_. Solomon married a daughter of Pharoah and carried
on with Egypt an extensive commerce and for his wife's sake no doubt
introduced the worship of Egyptian gods. (3) _Assyria_. This country
as well as Egypt had lost much of her former power and was not in a
position to antagonize Solomon. (4) Among the other nations with which
Solomon had dealings may be mentioned _Sheba_, thought to be in the
most southern part of Arabia, _Ophir_ and _Tarshish_, and from the
nature of articles purchased and the three years required for the
voyage he is thought to have sent trading vessels to _India_.

Evidences of National Decay. From the brief history of this period
given us by the biblical writers it is evident that the nation began
to disintegrate before the death of Solomon. Among the more apparent
signs of decay were several revolts: (1) that of Hadad the Edomite,
who threw off the Hebrew part of Edom independently: (2) that of Adad,
the Midianite, who defiled the authority of Solomon; (3) that of
Rezon, the Aramean, who revolted and became master of Damascus around
which grew up an important kingdom; (4) that of Jeroboam, an
Ephraimite, who was an officer of Solomon at Jerusalem and while
unsuccessful showed the existence of a deep-seated discontent in
Jerusalem itself. It is significant that the prophet Ahijah of Shiloh
encouraged Jeroboam by telling him that, on account of the idolatry
fostered by Solomon, ten tribes would be removed from Solomon's son
and committed to him. This indicates that the prophets saw that
disunion alone would preserve the liberties and pure religion of
Israel.

Lessons of the Period. (1) All national methods bring disaster if God
is left out of account. (2) Material progress is absolutely of no
value without a spiritual l