Период шестой. От помазания царя до разделения царства еврейского

XXXI. Saul's anointing as king. The first years of his reign. Rejection of Saul and Anointing of David 146 After the people's decision to have a king received final approval from the supreme King of Israel, the prophet Samuel did not have to wait long for further instructions to carry out this deed. Circumstances, apparently completely accidental, but clearly revealing the hand of Providence in this very accident, soon brought him face to face with the man who was destined to be the first king of the chosen people. In the town of Gibeah, in the tribe of Benjamin, lived the family of a certain Kish, who had an only son, Saul. This family was not rich and earned its daily bread through agricultural work, which the father himself did together with his son and a few servants. But it was generously endowed by nature and was distinguished by external greatness and beauty, and at the same time by irresistible courage, tempered in the fight against enemies. And one day this family’s working donkeys disappeared. This loss was very significant for the poor Kish, and to find them he sent his son Saul, who at that time was already middle-aged. Saul searched in vain for them for three days and was about to return home, when the servant accompanying him advised him to go to the nearest city (Mizpah), where, according to him, there was “a man of God, a respected man; whatever he says comes true”; will he show them where to look for their lost donkeys? Saul expressed regret that he had nothing to pay the “seer”; but when the servant noticed that he had a quarter of a shekel of silver, he agreed, and so the seeker of donkeys went to the prophet who was to give him the kingdom. Samuel at this time participated in a solemn sacrifice on the occasion of a national holiday and, forewarned from above, met Saul with respect, gave him first place at the feast and, offering him the best part of the meat (shoulder), expressed in significant words the high appointment ahead of him. Then, at the end of the feast, Samuel took a vessel of oil, went out with Saul outside the city, anointed him and, kissing him, said to him: “Behold, the Lord anoints you to be the ruler of His inheritance in Israel, and you will reign over the people of the Lord, and you will save them from the hand of their enemies who are around them.” 147 Saul could only be amazed at all this, because he was a man of an humble family, coming from the smallest tribe of Israel, which almost suffered complete extermination. But God is not in power and nobility, but in truth. In confirmation of his action, Samuel gave Saul three signs, the fulfillment of which immediately showed Saul the truth of all the seer's predictions. According to one of the signs, Saul was supposed to meet a host of prophets and prophesy with them. And indeed, in the indicated place “he met a host of prophets, and the Spirit of God came upon Saul, and he prophesied among them.” This event was so unusual for everyone who knew Saul before, when he apparently was not distinguished by any particular religious zeal, that everyone among the people said to each other: “What happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also a prophet? The change in him was so profound that the last expression even became part of a proverb (“food and Saul in the prophetic hall?”), used to express amazement at the sight of any extraordinary and amazing phenomenon. Meanwhile, donkeys were also found, as Samuel had predicted; but Saul's thoughts were now occupied not with how to manage the donkeys in plowing the land, but with how to manage the kingdom entrusted to him. His anointing, however, was still a secret for the people, and in order for it to receive civil force, it was necessary to subject the whole matter to a popular decision. For this purpose, Samuel convened a national meeting in Mizpah. There the electoral lot was solemnly cast, and it fell first on the tribe of Benjamin, then on the tribe of Matri, and in it on Saul, the son of Kish. Saul himself, however, was not present; Out of modesty, he remained in the wagon train. Having learned about this, the people ran and took him from there, “and he stood among the people, and was taller from his shoulders than all the people.” Samuel said to the people, “Do you see whom the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him in all the people. Then all the people exclaimed and said: Long live the king!” In the newly elected king, the people of Israel welcomed the embodiment of their political ideal, and indeed Saul was the personification of the people themselves, their virtues and shortcomings. His good qualities lay mainly in his stately appearance, which especially endeared the people to his favor; and his inner qualities, the qualities of his mind and heart, had to be gradually worked out and developed in obedience to the will of God. The anointing had already enlightened his mind with the Spirit of God, but in his activity he himself had to show awareness of the height of his calling and had to justify his election with good works, like the people themselves, who, having been chosen from the outside, could become the truly chosen people of God only through obedience to the commandments of God and the law of Moses. To what extent Saul justified his election in obedience to the will of God, this was to be shown by his future activities; but since the people were pleased with the election, Samuel explained to the people the rights of the “kingdom”, i.e. rights and duties of the king, wrote them down in a book and placed them in the tabernacle along with other monuments of the historical life of the people. Among the people, voices were also heard dissatisfied with the election, who even spoke contemptuously of Saul, saying: “Should he save us?” - but Saul was only waiting for an opportunity to prove to these dissatisfied people that he was capable of saving the people from external enemies, and therefore did not seem to notice these contemptuous reviews of himself. An opportunity soon presented itself that gave Saul the opportunity to justify his royal ability 148. After his election, Saul, with purely patriarchal simplicity, went to his hometown of Gibeah and there continued to engage in agriculture. But then a rumor reached him that the city of Jabez-gilead was attacked by the Ammonite prince Nahash and demanded the surrender of the city under the cruel condition of gouging out the right eye of every inhabitant. This news inflamed the king’s anger, and the Spirit of God descended on him, giving him the strength to immediately begin the deliverance of his suffering brethren. Having cut a couple of his oxen into pieces, he sent them to all the ends of the earth with the announcement that this would be done to the oxen of anyone who did not respond to his call to defeat the enemy. The people unanimously followed the call, an army of 330,000 people gathered, with whom the cruel Naas was defeated. After such a glorious deed, those close to him urged Saul to take revenge on those dissatisfied who said: “Should Saul reign over us?” But the king generously answered: “On this day no one should be killed; for today the Lord has accomplished salvation in Israel.” Then, at the suggestion of Samuel, a national assembly was again convened in Gilgal, and there the final confirmation of Saul on the throne took place. Samuel solemnly resigned the title of judge, transferring all his rights to the newly elected king. Then peace offerings were offered before the Lord, “and Saul and the Israelites rejoiced there greatly.” Saul's first concern was to form a permanent and strong army, as required by external political circumstances. For this purpose, he formed a detachment of three thousand from the bravest people, which became his permanent guard and was located in the main cities of the tribe of Benjamin. At Saul’s place of residence, the city of Mikhmas became the center of all government, from where he began to undertake military campaigns for the final liberation of the country from the enemies who ruled over its individual parts. The most important thing was to push back the Philistines 149. These long-time enemies of the Israeli people managed to penetrate into the very depths of the country, and one of their “security detachments” even stood in Gibeah, in the center of the tribe of Benjamin. The first blow was aimed precisely at this Philistine detachment, which was defeated by Saul’s son Jonathan. But this, naturally, irritated the Philistines, and they, having learned about the establishment of royal power from their neighbors and fearing the strengthening of their political and military power, decided at the very beginning to destroy the emerging monarchy, and invaded the country with a large army that had 30,000 chariots and 6,000 cavalry. The Israelites were struck with horror and, as usual, fled to the mountains and caves, seeking refuge from the enemy. This complete flight of the Israelites before the Philistines showed what a formidable enemy the latter were for them, having dominated Palestine for so long. The horror was further intensified by the fact that one of the goals of the Philistine invasion of the land of Israel was to capture as many captives as possible, whom they sold in their slave markets, earning a lot of money from the sale of this living commodity to merchants of neighboring rich countries - Egypt and Phenicia. Saul, however, did not lose courage and, realizing his duty to protect the country from the advancing enemy, gathered an army in Gilgal and was ready to march against the enemy. Unfortunately, the army itself trembled and, not hoping for success in the struggle, began to quickly scatter. To encourage the people, it was decided to offer sacrifices to God, and the highly revered prophet Samuel promised to come to perform them. But he delayed, and Saul had to wait for him for seven days. Almost the seventh day passed, and since Samuel did not appear, and the army was scattering more and more, Saul decided to do without Samuel and, voluntarily accepting sacred duties, performed the sacrifice himself, clearly proving by this that he had less hope for higher help than for the strength of his army. Such self-will constituted a great crime. In the Israeli monarchy, the main principle was the subordination of civil authority to the will of God in the person of prophets and priests. By violating this principle, Saul violated the main condition of his election to the kingdom, since he declared an unlawful desire to act not as a representative of the supreme King, but without permission, as an independent ruler. He claimed to unite in his personality not only independent civil royal power, but also religious, priestly power, and such a union of them in one person, on the one hand, could give excessive weight to royal power to the detriment of the priesthood, and on the other, the priesthood itself would lose its independence, becoming subordinate to civil power. This act of Saul immediately showed that his further activities would go against the will of God, that, carried away by political interests, he was ready to neglect religious ones. Therefore, Samuel expressed a solemn reproach to him and, as a warning, told him that by this illegal action he had shaken the stability of his reign. Meanwhile, the Philistines continued to devastate the country and reached the shores of the Dead Sea and Jordan. In order to deprive the Israelites of the very opportunity to have weapons and even the necessary agricultural tools, they, as had happened before, captured all the blacksmiths and took them captive. The position of Saul himself, standing in the fortress of Gibeah, was critical. But he was delivered by the courageous feat of his son Jonathan, who alone with his armor bearer, having made his way into the enemy camp, killed several Philistines and caused such confusion among them that they fled, pursued by the Israelites. To complete the defeat of the pursued enemy, Saul made a rash vow: “Cursed,” he said, “whoever eats bread until the evening, until I take vengeance on my enemies.” The people were extremely tired, but did not dare to break the spell until Jonathan broke it, tasting the honey found in the forest. He was followed by the whole people, who greedily rushed to the cattle abandoned by the Philistines, killed them and ate them even with blood, contrary to the law, which brought upon themselves the wrath of God, which was reflected in the failure to receive an answer to Saul’s question to the Lord about whether he should continue the pursuit of the enemy. Having learned that the reason for this was his son’s violation of his vow, Saul even wanted to execute him, but the people stood up for their favorite hero and did not allow him to be executed. The same self-will can be seen in Saul’s further activities. To completely secure the country from external attack, it was necessary to accomplish one important task, namely, to finally defeat one very dangerous enemy - the Amalekites 150. These bloodthirsty nomads continually attacked the country, robbed and killed, and then quickly retired on their horses into the desert, so that after a while they would again make a similar predatory raid. Now Saul was ordered to completely destroy this predatory people, as if in revenge for the attack that they were the first to make on the Israelites after they crossed the Red Sea. Saul really defeated the Amalekites, but at the same time he again violated the will of God, since he destroyed only the worst part of the booty, and captured the best for himself and, moreover, left the king of the Amalekites (Agag) alive. At the same time, he was already so proud of his exploits that he arbitrarily erected a monument to himself on Carmel. Then Samuel again appeared to him with a severe reproach for his disobedience, and in response to Saul’s justification for having captured the Amalekite flocks to make sacrifices to God, he responded with a lofty truth, which was later more fully explained by the prophets and which was finally confirmed by Christ: “Are burnt offerings and sacrifices really as pleasing to the Lord as obedience to the voice of the Lord? obedience is better than sacrifice, and to obey than the fat of rams.” “Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,” Samuel solemnly added, “He has rejected you, so that you should not be king over Israel” (1 Samuel 15:23). Having said this, the angry prophet wanted to leave; but Saul, wanting to achieve his forgiveness, held him so tightly that he even tore off the hem of his robe, to which Samuel added: (just as you tore off the hem of my robe, so) “today the Lord has torn off the kingdom of Israel from you.” However, he remained with Saul and, as a lesson to him, killed Agag with his own hands. The power of the Amalekites was completely crushed, and the Israelites almost completely got rid of this dangerous enemy. But at the same time, Saul’s fate was decided. All his actions showed that he was unable to curb his waywardness and did not want to be such an obedient instrument of the will of God, proclaimed through His prophets, as a king of the chosen people should be. Seeing all this, Samuel left Saul with sadness and did not see him again until the day of his death, but in absentia mourned the king he had so unsuccessfully anointed. In his grief, Samuel was soon consoled by God's command to go to Bethlehem to the tribe of Judah, and there to anoint God's new chosen one to the kingdom, namely one of the sons of Jesse 151. Jesse was the grandson of Ruth the Moabite and a descendant of Rahab of Jericho, and thus partly pagan blood flowed in his veins. But he had long been a member of Jehovah's kingdom and was respected in the city. To ward off Saul’s suspicion, Samuel had to make the whole affair look like an ordinary sacrifice with the family of Jesse, as he and the residents of Bethlehem announced, who greeted the arrival of the elderly prophet with alarm. When the family of Jesse arrived, Samuel, seeing his son Eliab, distinguished by his majestic and beautiful appearance, involuntarily thought: “This is truly His anointed before the Lord!” But he had to be unconvinced of this, because the voice of God told him: “Do not look at his appearance, at the height of his growth; I rejected him; I don't look the way a person looks; For man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” The chosen one of God turned out to be the youngest son of Jesse, David, who tended his father’s sheep. He was still a teenager, “fair-haired, with beautiful eyes and a pleasant face.” He was nothing striking in his appearance, was no more than average height, very simple in his shepherd’s attire, with a stick in his hands and a knapsack over his shoulders. But in his beautiful eyes the fire of inner greatness shone. Living for months at a time among his herds and the surrounding nature, from childhood he learned to delve into himself and draw inspiration from his own richly gifted soul, excited by the sounds and beauties of his native nature. His solitary position among the beasts of prey early taught him to brave such bloodthirsty predators as lions and bears, and developed in him a strength and courage that surprised even his elder brothers. But most of all, the shepherd's life with its leisure developed his spiritual life. His native mountains, completely covered with vineyards and olive trees, delighted his spirit with their beauty, and he poured out his sublime feelings in the wondrous playing of the harp, which was the inseparable companion of the young shepherd. This young shepherd was God's chosen one. Samuel anointed him, and from that day the Spirit of God rested on David, beginning his long education and preparation for occupying the throne of the chosen people. XXXII. Saul and David. The defeat of Goliath and the rise of David at court. Persecution against him. Death of Saul 152 Meanwhile, Saul, tormented by remorse for his disobedience to God and fears for his future, became gloomy and suspicious, and often began to suffer from attacks of unbearable melancholy. Those close to him, in order to somehow entertain the despondent king, advised him to resort to the consolation of music, and this led to Saul’s first meeting with his future successor David. Possessing a gentle soul and devoting much of his time as a shepherd to music, David improved so much in the art of music that he acquired widespread fame, so that the king’s entourage pointed to him as the one most capable of dispelling Saul’s gloomy thoughts and heavy melancholy with his sweet playing. And so, indeed, the young shepherd was invited to the palace and, when necessary, played for the king. But he still had to perform this duty so rarely that he had the opportunity to go to his hometown for a long time and continued to engage in his shepherd business. One incident, however, brought him closer to the king. The war with the Philistines began again, and during it, one giant emerged from the ranks of the enemies - Goliath, who proposed to solve the matter of war with him in single combat 153. Despite the magnificent and highly honorable reward offered by Saul, namely to marry his daughter to the winner, none of the Israelites dared to volunteer for single combat with the terrible giant clad in armor, who therefore mocked the Israeli army every day. At this time, David, on behalf of his father, came to the Israeli camp to visit his brothers who were in the service. And with him, again, the Philistine giant, as usual, stepped out from his ranks and with a thunderous voice began to mock the cowardice and cowardice of the Israelites. When David found out what was the matter, his young soul could not tolerate such reproach against the “army of the living God,” and he began to seethe with uncontrollable courage. In the desert, he slayed the lions that attacked his flocks; with the help of God, he decided to slay this lion that was reproaching his people. His decision was reported to Saul, but the king, seeing the plain-looking young man before him and considering him more capable of playing the harp than engaging in single combat with a terrible giant, rejected his offer, and only David’s enthusiastic confidence and courage forced him to agree to accept the challenge. Saul offered him his armor, but it was too large and heavy for David, and he decided to fight Goliath with his shepherd's weapons. The hostile troops stood between Succoth and Azek, about twenty miles southwest of Jerusalem, on two opposite banks of a valley (wadi), along which a stream flowed in winter, drying up in summer. And so, when the gigantic Philistine, as usual, came out to mock the Israelites, a young man in simple shepherd’s clothing, with a staff and sling in his hands and a knapsack on his shoulders, separated from the ranks of the army on the opposite bank of the wadi. He boldly descended into the valley and, having collected smoothly washed flint stones most convenient for slinging, he stood in a warlike position before the gigantic enemy. Such an opponent could seem to Goliath only as a mockery of him, and in arrogant indignation he only noticed that he was not a dog for some boy to go against him with a stick in his hands and stones. When David boldly answered him that he was not a dog, but worse than one, Goliath burst into abuse and shouted menacingly that the despicable shepherd would come closer to him and Goliath, without a humiliating struggle for him, would give his body to the birds and beasts to be devoured. But there was no need to talk for a long time. With a mark and his usual hand, David threw a stone from his sling, and the stunned giant fell to the ground, and David, jumping up to him with the speed of a doe, cut off his head with his own sword. The Philistines, amazed by such a miraculous feat of the young man, fled in confusion, pursued by the Israelites. David's feat gained him the friendship of the valiant Jonathan, who from then on “loved him as his own soul” (1 Sam. 18:3), and Saul brought him closer to him and made him a military leader, although he did not marry him to his daughter as a reward for the victory over Goliath. But Saul's affection for David was soon spoiled by his enthusiastic praise of the latter. When they returned from the battlefield, women and maidens everywhere greeted them with songs and dances, with solemn timbrels and cymbals; but among the songs, Saul’s suspicious ear heard a refrain that was insulting to him: “Saul defeated thousands, and David defeated tens of thousands!” 154. A gloomy suspicion fell into the king’s soul towards the young hero, and he twice, as if in a frenzy, tried to pierce him with a spear when David indulged in sweet music in order to disperse the king’s melancholy. Having failed in this, Saul tried to encourage David’s courage in order to lead him to certain death with his brave exploits among the Philistines. But David always remained unharmed and for Saul’s daughter Michal he performed the dangerous feat of circumcising not even one hundred Philistines, as Saul appointed, but two hundred, and presented material evidence of the feat itself. Thus, David became the king's son-in-law and increasingly gained the love of the people; but then “Saul began to fear David even more, and became his enemy for life.” He began to openly pursue the people's favorite and his secret successor, and as a result of this, a series of amazing adventures of David began, with which Providence gradually prepared him to take the throne. This was a difficult school of testing, in which David’s conviction was to be strengthened that the fate and life of man are in the hand of God, and even the king with all his army, being deprived of God’s help, becomes more defenseless and helpless than the last slave. Having failed in his plans to destroy David through the Philistines, Saul openly began to seek his death, and the order about this was communicated not only to all his associates, but even to David’s friend, his son Jonathan. The latter managed to temporarily calm down the bloodthirsty rage of his father, and Saul even swore that he would stop plotting against David’s life. But David’s new exploits in the war with the Philistines again irritated the wound in Saul’s heart, and in a dark frenzy he again threw a spear at him when David inspiredly played his harp before him. The hand, shaking with furious excitement, however, betrayed Saul this time, and the thrown spear flew past and pierced the wall, and David escaped. Enraged by the failure of this new attempt to get rid of his hated son-in-law, Saul ordered his house to be surrounded and captured at night. And he was saved from this danger only by the cunning of his deeply devoted wife Michal. Then David fled to the elderly prophet Samuel and there, in the host of prophets, he relieved his soul, tired of persecution, with singing and music. Saul sent his servants in pursuit of him and to Ramah to capture him there; but the servants three times succumbed to the influence of the enthusiastic songs of the prophets and themselves began to prophesy. Enraged, Saul finally went to Ramah himself; but as soon as he heard the sounds of prophetic songs familiar to him, his gloomy soul brightened, the spirit of malice departed from him and the Spirit of God descended on him again, so that he again abandoned his bloodthirsty thought for a while. David, generously forgiving the ill-fated king, poured out his grief to his friend Jonathan and tried to win over the king through him. But the king’s bloodthirstiness was now incurable, and when Jonathan, at the opportunity that presented itself, began to intercede with his father on behalf of his friend David, he almost died at the hands of Saul, who in a rage threw a spear at his favorite heir-son. Having learned about this, David touchingly said goodbye to Jonathan, who, realizing the injustice suffered by his valiant friend, cried bitter tears when separated from him; but David wept even more. The love between them was amazing, the kind that can only exist between two valiant, pure souls. They parted almost forever and met each other only once more in their lives, but under the most sad circumstances 155. Having parted with his friend, David headed to the priestly city of Nob, where at that time the tabernacle was located, and the high priest lived with it 156. He arrived in the city hungry and exhausted and, in order to strengthen his strength, he, under the pretext of an important royal commission that required extraordinary haste, begged from the high priest Ahimelech the showbread and the sword of Goliath, which was kept in the tabernacle as a trophy, and with a supply of sacred bread, which by law could only be eaten by persons of the priestly rank, he retired beyond the borders of his native country, where, in the form of a simple the wanderer stopped in the Philistine city of Gath. But shelter there turned out to be unreliable. Those close to Achish, the king of Gath, began to express their suspicions about the stranger to him and said to him: “Isn’t this David, the king of that country? Was it not to him that they sang in round dances: Saul conquered thousands, and David tens of thousands?” To ward off this dangerous suspicion, David was forced to pretend to be insane, and when he was brought to the king, “he drew on the doors, threw himself on his hands, drooled over his beard,” so that Achish lost all suspicion, and David, taking advantage of this, hurried away from here to the wild cave of Adollam, where his parents and brothers gathered around him, who probably began to be persecuted by Saul, as well as everyone else. dissatisfied with the rejected king, so that up to four hundred people gathered around David. Having placed his parents under the protection of the king of Moab, David and his followers again returned to the borders of their native country. Saul, meanwhile, was exhausted from impotent anger 157. Hearing that the high priest had given David the showbread, and suspecting him, and with him the entire priesthood, of conspiring with David, the enraged king ordered his servants to beat them, but when the servants refused to raise their hands against the servants of God, he entrusted this bloodthirsty deed to a certain Doik the Edomite, who denounced the high priest to him. Eighty-five priests were killed and the city itself was destroyed; Only the son of the high priest, Abiathar, was saved, who, taking with him some sacred accessories (ephod), ran to David and told him about Saul’s terrible crime. David could only grieve that he had become the involuntary cause of such a disaster, and, having given refuge to Abiathar, he himself was forced to flee from the king who was overtaking him. Once in the city of Keilah, he was almost surrounded by Saul’s army, but fled with his followers in advance and hid in inaccessible mountains and forests. During these persecutions, there were cases when Saul found himself in the complete power of David, who could easily put him to death and thus not only get rid of the persecutor, but also inherit the throne. But David shuddered at the mere thought of laying his hand on God’s anointed and grieved even after he once cut off the hem of Saul’s robe, who had gone into a cave for need, in the depths of which the royal fugitive was hiding with his followers. This last incident moved Saul to tears; when he learned about the all-forgiving generosity with which the persecuted David treated him even at that moment when his life was completely in the hands of the latter, he began to repent of his madness and, already humbly recognizing David as his future successor, asked him only that he would not uproot his descendants and not destroy the name of his father, which David swore to him. But the spirit of malice soon took possession of Saul again, and he again rushed in pursuit of David, who soon had a new opportunity to prove to the unjust king his unshakable and noble generosity. One night David made his way into the king's camp and, reproaching his companion Abishai for his intention to kill Saul, took with him only a spear and a cup of water at the king's bedside, and from the top of a nearby mountain loudly reproached Abner, the chief of the king's bodyguard, for his inattention and poor vigilance around the king's sacred person. Ashamed of this, Saul again stopped the persecution for a while, but in order to break all ties with David, he gave his wife Michal to another man. Heavily upset by such an insult, David, fearing the further wrath of the king, another time sought refuge with the king of the Philistine city of Gath. But his position there was extremely ambiguous and difficult, since the king of Gath, Achishus, having given him possession of the entire city of Ziklag, demanded from him hostile raids on his native land. When open war with the Israelites began, David was even forced to give Achish a direct commitment to provide him with military assistance and was thus placed in the sad necessity of taking up arms against his own people. Only the suspicion of the military leaders of David’s loyalty freed him from this difficult obligation, since the Philistines forced Achish to return David from the campaign as a very unreliable ally in the war with the Israelites. Meanwhile, during his absence, the Amalekites attacked Ziklag and destroyed everything in it. This disaster so armed his very followers against David, who had lost all their property in the destroyed city, that they even wanted to stone him, and only his military success in the pursuit of the Amalekites restored the authority of David, who quickly overtook the predators, scattered them, returned the captives and captured rich booty. But David's trials were quickly coming to an end. An important and, at the same time, sad event took place in his native land: Samuel died in the 88th year of his life and was solemnly buried in Rama by the people who mourned him 158. This event laid an even heavier burden on Saul's soul, since in the depths of his heart he did not cease to revere the prophet who had anointed him. His death, undoubtedly, showed his conscience even more clearly all his lies and crimes, which so deeply upset the elderly prophet and probably hastened his death. In him, despite the complete break with him, he continued to see some moral support for himself in extreme need. Now he was gone, and meanwhile the circumstances were becoming more and more menacing and darker 159. The Philistines, noticing internal unrest in the kingdom of Israel, decided to take advantage of the opportunity to seize booty and moved into the country with a huge army. Saul, already clearly aware of his rejection before God and his people, had a presentiment of the impending disaster and was in despair and fear. With an instant awakening of an echo of his former faith, he asked God about the outcome of the upcoming battle, but God did not answer his weak faith. Then the ill-fated king committed another great crime and resorted to superstition, turning to magic, with the help of which he wanted to find out his fate 160. In Endor, near Mount Hermon, there lived a sorceress, and it was to her that night, in disguise, that Saul went, accompanied by several of his confidants. The sorceress at first refused to begin the magic, fearing punishment; but when the visitors swore “that she would not be in trouble for this matter,” but would be given a good reward, the woman asked: “Who should I bring out to you?” “Bring out Samuel to me,” Saul answered. The sorceress performed her magic and screamed in horror, because she simultaneously saw the ghost of Samuel and learned that the visitor was her king. “And the king said to her: Do not be afraid (tell me) what do you see”? “I see,” the woman answered, “as if a god emerging from the earth.” - “What does he look like? Saul asked her. She answered him: “An elderly man comes out of the earth, dressed in long clothes.” “Then Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he fell face down to the ground and worshiped.” Then, getting up, he heard in fear the prophet’s voice from beyond the grave: “Why are you disturbing me so that I come out?” - “And Saul answered: It is very hard for me; The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has retreated from me and no longer answers me, either through the prophets, or in a dream, (or in a vision); therefore I called you so that you could teach me what to do.” “And Samuel said, Why do you ask me, when the Lord has departed from you? The Lord will do what he has announced through me; The Lord will take the kingdom out of your hands and give it to your neighbor David. And the Lord will deliver Israel and you into the hands of the Philistines; Tomorrow you and your sons will be with me, and the Lord will deliver the camp of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.” The terrible voice fell silent, but its words thundered with horror in Saul’s criminal conscience; he suddenly collapsed with his entire gigantic body on the ground and lay exhausted. Only after having refreshed himself with food was he able to return to the camp, where he went that same night. Samuel's terrible sentence was not slow to come true in all its accuracy. The battle with the Philistines took place in the vicinity of Jezreel 161 . The Israelis could not withstand the pressure of the iron chariots of their enemy and on the very first day of the battle they were forced to retreat to Mount Gilboa, littering their path with dead. Meanwhile, the Philistines pressed ever harder on the fleeing Israel. The sons of Saul and among them the brave Jonathan had already fallen under the blows of their enemies; but then the enemy arrows overtook Saul himself and began to shower him with a hail of arrows, “and he was very wounded by the arrows.” Death was obvious and inevitable. The proud king, however, does not want to die at the hands of the uncircumcised and commands his squire to draw his sword and stab him. But the squire does not dare to raise his hands against God’s anointed, and then the ill-fated king commits the last crime of his life - suicide, which was followed by his faithful squire. The triumphant Philistines rushed to rob the slain and, having found the bodies of Saul and Jonathan, barbarously violated them and then hanged them on the walls of the city of Bethsan. Such a shame aroused courage in the inhabitants of the city of Jabesh-Gilead, who, remembering the benefit once shown to them by Saul, made a brave raid, took the royal bodies from the wall, burned them, buried the bones in their city under an oak tree and fasted for seven days in memory of the dead king, thus showing the rare virtue of gratitude to the fallen king. The news of the outcome of the battle of Gilboa soon reached David. One young Amalekite, seizing Saul's crown and wrist, hastened to David, hoping to please him with the news of the king's death and, in order to increase his supposed reward, even falsely declared that he himself had pinned him. But David was horrified by this sacrilege and ordered the Amalekite to be put to death because he had raised his hand against the anointed king, and he and those around him bitterly mourned not only his friend Jonathan, but also the ill-fated king Saul. His grief was expressed in an inspired song: “Your beauty, O Israel, is stricken on your heights! How the mighty have fallen, the weapons of war have perished! Saul and Jonathan, amiable and agreeable in their lives, were not separated in their death... Daughters of Israel, weep for Saul, who dressed you in scarlet robe with ornaments... Jonathan is slain on your high places. I grieve for you, my brother Jonathan; you were very dear to me; your love was for me higher than a woman’s love. How the mighty fell, the weapons of war perished!..” This song became a historical monument, and the whole people learned to sing it 162. Thus ended the reign of the first king of the people of Israel. Saul's life falls into two periods, the first of which represents his life with God and the second his life without God. The first period, therefore, serves as a revelation of the best qualities of his soul - humility and trust in God, obedience to the will of God, followed by success and victories. And during this period he did a lot for the political rise of his state. The foreign yoke was overthrown, and the surrounding predatory peoples suffered severe defeats, forcing them to abandon the plunder of the kingdom of the chosen people. But in the second period, his worst qualities clearly took over - arrogance, arrogance, disobedience, which, in turn, were inevitably followed by troubles in internal governance, melancholy, superstition, defeat, despair and suicide. In all this, he was a mirror of his people and through his fate once again taught a deep lesson that the chosen people should place their strength not in man, even if he were a king, but only in God, who is their only helper and patron, and without Him they will inevitably become a helpless and pitiful prey to their wicked neighbors. This lesson was deeply imprinted on the soul of David, who was now free to act as king of the people of Israel. XXXIII. Reign of David. Conquest of Jerusalem. The transfer of the Ark of the Covenant, victorious wars and the thought of building a church 163 During his life of exile, David was already considered by many to be the direct and legitimate successor of Saul, and therefore, after the death of the latter, the tribe of Judah did not hesitate to proclaim him king, as soon as he entered the borders of this land. But Saul also had followers, and his close general Abner took advantage of this, who, with the help of the inhabitants of Gilead, declared Ishbosheth, one of Saul’s sons, king, and his power was recognized by the eleven tribes. Under such circumstances, an internecine war became inevitable, which continued with varying happiness for about five years. But the preponderance, apparently, leaned towards David, especially since disagreements soon arose between Abner and Ishbosheth, which even led to Abner going over to David’s side, where he, however, was killed by the latter’s commander Joab in revenge for the murder of his brother Asahel. Ishbosheth himself was soon killed by his entourage, who, in the hope of receiving a reward from David, even brought him the head of the king they had treacherously killed. But David, with truly royal generosity, buried the head of Ishbosheth, and executed his murderers by death 164. After the death of Ishbosheth, David had no more rivals, and the eyes of all the people involuntarily turned to him. Representatives of all the tribes gathered in Hebron and, enumerating David’s merits for the country, solemnly proclaimed him king over all the tribes, after which he was finally anointed as king 165. In his person, the people of Israel acquired their greatest king. He was thirty years old. During the war, he had already gained loud, nationwide fame for his famous fight with Goliath, which, along with his other exploits, was sung in folk songs that so aroused Saul’s dark envy. During his wandering life as an exile, he walked the length and breadth of the country, became closely acquainted with the life of not only his own people, but also his closest neighbors, with whom he more than once had to seek refuge. During the difficult school of trials, he learned to value life not from the heights of a distant royal throne, but in its actual needs and requirements, to be merciful and compassionate towards the common people, as well as generous to his enemies. But most of all, the trials he endured taught him complete trust in God and even more inflamed in him that spirit of religiosity, which was expressed in his wondrous divinely inspired songs - psalms, breathing boundless hope in God's providence. Such a king could not help but awaken sympathy among the people, and a large army quickly formed around him, the leaders of which completely placed themselves at the disposal of David. David reigned in Hebron for seven and a half years 166. During this time, he came to the conviction that in order to establish royal power in the country, he needed a capital, which, not belonging to any tribe individually, could serve as a common capital for the entire people. For this purpose, David outlined one strong fortress on the border between the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, which, despite all the efforts of the Israelites, defended its independence and hitherto belonged to the Jebusites 167. This is Jerusalem, which not only occupied a strong natural position on a mountain rising 2,610 feet above sea level, but was also fortified with impregnable walls. David, relying on the courage and patriotism of his brave army, decided to take this proud stronghold at all costs and announced that the first person to plant the banner of David on the walls of Jerusalem would be made commander of his entire army. This honor fell to the brave Joab. The fortress was taken, and David founded his royal capital in Jerusalem, calling it the City of David. Thanks to its magnificent position on Mount Zion, which dominates the entire surrounding area, Jerusalem, with its elevation to the level of capital, began to quickly attract the Jewish population; the new capital soon blossomed magnificently and richly, and Jerusalem became one of the most famous cities in the history of not only the Israeli people, but of all mankind. In his new capital, David “prospered and exalted himself, and the Lord God of hosts was with him” 168. The power of his name had a terrifying effect on the Philistines, these long-time enemies of the chosen people. They tried to undermine the strength of the growing state and opened military action against David; but, twice struck by David, they had to retreat with great damage, leaving in his hands even their idols, which David ordered to be burned. At the same time, David acquired the friendship of his neighbor Hiram, the king of the powerful and rich Tire. Hiram was useful to David especially in the improvement of his new capital, as he sent him “cedar trees, carpenters and masons” for the construction of the palace and the necessary government buildings. And in general, this friendship was extremely beneficial for both peoples, of which one (Israel) was predominantly agricultural, and the other commercial and industrial, and therefore could exchange the products of their land and their labor with mutual benefit. But, while improving his capital and his state politically and economically, David did not forget that the main purpose of the chosen people was to be a light for the pagans in religious and moral terms, and therefore he turned his main attention to the elevation of the religious spirit of the people. For this purpose, he decided to move the main shrine of the people - the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, in order to make his capital the unifying center of the country not only politically, but also religiously 169. From the time of its return from the Philistines, the Ark of the Covenant was in Kiriathyarim. David went there at the head of 30,000 chosen men. A new chariot was prepared for the ark, on which it was solemnly set on its journey. The two sons of Abinadab, in whose house the ark had hitherto been, carried it in a solemn procession of the people, who expressed their enthusiasm with music and sacred songs. But the death of Uzzah, one of the sons of Abinadab, however, showed that the shrine required another method of transportation, namely on the shoulders of the Levites and priests. After a three-month stay in Gath, the ark was again set on its journey and carried in triumph by the high priests from both lines of the Aaronic priesthood. Every six steps the king made sacrifices; The procession itself was accompanied by enthusiastic singing, music and rejoicing. David himself, dressed in a simple priestly linen ephod, carried away by a feeling of religious delight, “galloped with all his might before the Lord,” pouring out his enthusiasm in wondrous psalms, mingled with the songs of the Levites, the joyful cries of the people and the solemn sounds of trumpets, cymbals and harps. In Zion, a new tabernacle was prepared for the ark (the old one was left in Gibeon, since it had probably become significantly dilapidated and damaged from time to time): there David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings and, “having blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts, he distributed to all the people - both men and women - one piece of bread, and a piece of roast meat, and one cake and a mug of wine to everyone” in memory of this great events. But the eternal memory of him remained those psalms that were composed by David on the occasion of the great celebration. At the very lifting of the ark to transfer it to Jerusalem, Psalm 67 was composed and sung, beginning with the words: “Let God arise and His enemies be scattered, and let those who hate Him flee from His presence.” When the ark entered the fortress of Zion, Psalm 23 was sung, in which, at the very moment of entry, an enthusiastic address to the gates of the fortress is indicated: “Lift up, O gates, your heights, and lift up the eternal doors, and the King of glory will enter!” This psalm glorifies Jehovah as the king of glory who has finally completed his victory over the pagan enemies of His people and is established in Zion, from where He will conquer the whole world. “Who is this king of glory?” asks one choir in this psalm, and the other solemnly answers: “The Lord is mighty and strong, the Lord is mighty in battle.” “Who is this king of glory? - The Lord of hosts, He is the king of glory! “Having dismissed the people, the jubilant king returned to his home to share his religious enthusiasm with all his household. But there he was met with an offensive reproach from his arrogant wife Michal, who was extremely displeased with the king’s behavior before the ark: “how the king of Israel has distinguished himself today,” she told David with poisonous irony, “by exposing himself today before the eyes of his servants, as some empty man is exposed!” Such arrogance of Saul's daughter should have been duly punished. Expressing a fair reproach to her, David answered her that for the sake of the Lord he was ready to humble himself even more and preferred the religious enthusiasm of the last maids to the proud arrogance of the queen. “And Michal the daughter of Saul had no children until the day of her death.” After transferring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, David took up matters of internal improvement, both religious and civil. So, first of all, he established the correct order of worship at the tabernacle, appointing special persons for this, so that “they praised, thanked and exalted the Lord God of Israel.” Two priests had to constantly blow the trumpet before the ark of the covenant of God, and several Levites were appointed to be present at it with psalms, harps and cymbals in order to enhance the solemnity of the service. David himself composed a divinely inspired psalm, which was sung during worship as a special praise to God and began with the words: “Glorify the Lord, exalt His name; proclaim His works among the nations; sing to Him, jingle to Him; tell about all His wonders”... The psalm ended with the words: “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting,” and all the people enthusiastically responded with cries: “Amen, hallelujah!” In matters of civil administration, David paid special attention to the restoration of the right court, shaken during the turmoil of Saul's reign. For this purpose, he, first of all, formed a council under his personal chairmanship, composed of the closest persons. Of these, e.g. Joab was the commander of the army, Jehoshaphat the scribe, Zadok and Abimelech the chief priests, Shusa the scribe, and so on. With the help of these advisers, David was able to comprehensively monitor the life of the people and the state and satisfy all their urgent needs and requirements. “And David reigned over all Israel, and administered justice and righteousness to all his people.” While improving his internal affairs, David stationed security troops everywhere to secure his borders from external attacks. But with the end of this improvement, he, having a strong army, could enter the field of aggressive politics 170. Around the promised land there lived many hostile nations, who not only often attacked the people of Israel, but also owned lands that, according to God’s promise, should have belonged to the possessions of the chosen people. And so begins a whole series of victorious campaigns. David, full of living trust in God, decided to fulfill the will of God stated in the promise and conquer all those lands that were still illegally and only due to the weakness and unbelief of the Israeli people in the possession of their pagan enemies. First of all, he directed his victorious weapon against the Philistines, who now had to finally pay for the numerous troubles caused by their frequent raids to the people of Israel. They were defeated, and their strongest city, Gath, with its dependent cities, came under the authority of David. This victory was decisive and humbled the Philistines for a long time, so that, with the exception of two or three minor skirmishes, we have not heard of their attacks for a long time. She provided the chosen people with a legal border in the southwest and extended their possessions to the “River of Egypt,” separating Palestine from the possessions of Egypt. Turning to the eastern border, David defeated the Moabites and, in order to finally break their strength, he put two-thirds of the population to death, and made the remaining third slaves and tributaries. Such severity towards this people, with whom David was partly related by blood (through his great-grandmother Ruth the Moabite) and with whom he was generally on friendly terms, so that at one time he entrusted his parents to the protection of the Moabite king, is explained by the awareness of the need for final revenge for all the disasters inflicted on the people of Israel since the time of Balak, and also, perhaps, was caused by some treacherous act with their sides. Thus, Balaam’s prediction was fulfilled: “He who is descended from Jacob will take possession and destroy what is left of the city” (the capital of Moab). Having secured the eastern border, David turned his victorious weapons to the northeast to expand his kingdom to the promised border - the Euphrates River. Two Syrian kings, Adraazar of Suba and the king of Damascus, were defeated by David, leaving in his hands many chariots, horses, golden shields and copper weapons. Having destroyed most of the chariots, David kept one hundred of them for his court and transported them, along with shields and copper armor, to Jerusalem. Glorious Damascus laid down his arms before David and became his tributary. “And the Lord helped David wherever he went.” These victories glorified the name of David throughout Asia. Some kings rushed to offer him their friendship and alliance. So Thoi, king of Imath, hearing of the defeat of Adraazar of Suba, his own enemy, sent his son Joram with congratulations to David and with rich gifts of various gold, silver and copper vessels. This alliance, together with the previous alliance with Hiram of Tire, fully secured the northern border of the kingdom, and David returned to Jerusalem, carrying as booty a lot of gold, silver and copper, which all subsequently went to build the church and palaces. After some time, David’s military glory thundered in the south. He defeated the Edomites and, placing guard troops among them, made them tributaries and slaves. As a result of this victory, the border of the state expanded to the eastern bay of the Red Sea. And so, thanks to a series of brilliant victories, David, for the first time in the history of the Israeli people, owned the entire expanse of the earth, which was promised by the patriarchs. The kingdom of the Israelite people was no longer an insignificant, poorly organized state, the prey of neighboring predatory peoples, who continually attacked it, plundered cities and killed the inhabitants. It was now a powerful monarchy, which for a time ruled over all of Western Asia and in whose hands lay the fate of numerous peoples who reverently brought their tribute to the formidable king. Filled with gratitude to God, who was now pleased to fulfill His promises regarding the possession of the land of Canaan, David decided to prove his gratitude by building a magnificent church that would be worthy of the Lord of hosts and the King of glory. David had a lot of wealth accumulated from booty and tribute, and he built himself a magnificent cedar palace, in which he lived, enjoying his victorious laurels. The Ark of the Covenant, meanwhile, was still in the tabernacle. This discrepancy in the premises of the king of earth and the King of heaven amazed David. Calling his close prophet Nathan, the king said to him: “Behold, I live in a house of cedar, and the ark of God is under the tent.” The prophet at first approved of the king's thought, but at night he received a divine inspiration that David, busy with the improvement of the earthly kingdom, could not begin this great undertaking and must leave the glory of completing it to his son, the successor to the throne. The church of the Most High must be a church of peace and therefore can only be built by a man who did not shed human blood, but David shed a lot of blood during his many wars and therefore is not worthy to be the builder of a church to the God of love and peace. But the very thought of building a church flowed from good intentions, and therefore the Lord showed him His mercy in the great promise that his kingdom (in the spiritual sense) would be established forever. David thanked God with fervent prayer and humbly limited himself to preparing materials for the construction of the church in the future 171. At the same time he once again showed noble magnanimity towards the house of Saul. Out of respect for the memory of his friend Jonathan, he found his son Mephibosheth, lame in both legs, gave him Saul's family lands and gave him access to the royal table 172. XXXIV. Continuation of David's reign. His power and fall. Absalom and his rebellion 173 At this time, David was at the height of his power and his glory. His palace shone with luxury and wealth and was similar to the palaces of other great kings of the ancient east. Enemies around him humbly submitted to him, paid tribute and enriched his treasury. Internally, the people prospered and fully enjoyed the benefits of wise and fair government. Such a fair situation is most likely capable of weakening humble trust in God and awakening feelings of arrogance and autocracy, with the inseparable decline in moral life that is so natural given the relaxing luxury of eastern court life. David did not escape such a temptation, and from this time a new period of his life begins, which represents the story of his moral decline, with inseparable disasters. The first instance of David's fall from grace occurred during the Ammonite War 174 . During David's previous wars, the Ammonite king Nahash was his faithful ally and friend, but he died and was succeeded by his son Hannon. David, wishing to maintain his friendship with the son of his ally, sent ambassadors to him with friendly offers and consolation on the occasion of his father’s death. But this embassy was interpreted for the worse by those close to the young king, the ambassadors were mistaken for spies, and the foolish Annon inflicted a terrible insult on them, ordering each of them to shave “half their beard and cut off their clothes in half to the loins,” and in such an ugly form he sent them back to David. David could not bear such dishonor and sent an army to punish the daring Annon, who, meanwhile, had already concluded a defensive alliance with the Syrians, who took advantage of this opportunity to overthrow the power of the Israeli king. The Syrians, however, were again defeated, having lost 7,000 chariots and 40,000 infantry, and submitted to David, so that the Ammonites were left alone and had to defend themselves against the powerful king with their own forces. Joab marched on their main city, Rabbah, and besieged it. Fully relying on his military leader, David himself remained in Jerusalem, and at that time he committed that grave sin, which laid a terrible burden on his conscience for the rest of his life and darkened his entire reign 175. Having once ascended to the roof of his magnificent cedar palace, he saw a beauty openly bathing in the neighboring courtyard, which instantly aroused a fiery passion in him. According to inquiries, it turned out to be Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the son of his adviser Ahithophel, and the wife of one of the bravest warriors, Uriah the Hittite. This alone would be enough to suppress the passion of even a pagan despot; but David fell, and when the very consequence of his sin was ready to be revealed and threatened to bring shame upon him, the ill-fated king, after a vain attempt to cover up his crime by calling Bathsheba’s husband, completed it with a new grave sin - the treacherous murder of Uriah, whom he (in a handwritten letter referred to by Uriah himself) ordered Joab to place in the most dangerous place of the battle, where death would be inevitable for him. Joab exactly carried out the criminal order of his master and soon, through a special messenger, informed him that Uriah had been killed. Thus, the sin of adultery was covered with the blood of an innocent person. At the end of the usual crying for her husband, Bathsheba, who apparently consciously participated in the crime, became David’s wife and bore him a son. But the terrible crime did not escape the justice of God, “and this deed that David did was evil in the sight of the Lord.” Soon a spokesman for this ever-present justice appeared, in the person of the prophet Nathan, who came to the king with his famous parable about a rich man who spared his numerous flocks to treat his guest and for this purpose took away from his poor neighbor the only sheep that was the favorite of his wretched hut. David had not yet fallen so morally as not to recognize the blatant injustice of such an act, and with passionate indignation he exclaimed: “As the Lord lives!” The person who did this deserves death!” And when he began to list in detail how this heartless rich man should reward the poor man, terrible words thundered from the prophet’s lips: “you are the man who did this”! then the prophet pronounced the formidable verdict of the King of kings. Having reproached David for his ingratitude for all God’s good deeds, the prophet announced to him the punishment awaiting him. For his destruction of Uriah’s happy family home with sword and shame, sword and shame will henceforth destroy his own family life and, moreover, to an even worse degree. “You did it in secret, but I will do it before all Israel and before the sun.” Struck by such an unexpected exposure of a terrible crime, the king trembled in his criminal conscience and resigned himself. In complete contrition of heart, he exclaimed: “I have sinned before the Lord.” The Prophet pronounced immediate punishment on him, that although he himself had been forgiven by God and would not die, he must suffer for his crime in the person of his newborn son, who, as the fruit of the crime, should not live. In terrible sorrow, David awaited the execution of the sentence, and calmed down in his conscience only when he was informed that his son had actually died. This whole event sank deeply into David’s soul and he poured out the contrition of his heart in a fiery repentant psalm: “Have mercy on me, O God,” which became the repentant prayer of every repentant sinner. David's repentance was so sincere that God sent him consolation in his second son from Bathsheba, who, named Solomon, was loved by God and became not only the successor of David, but also the ancestor of the Messiah. At the same time, David was consoled by the capture of Rabbah. He personally participated in the last attack and, after taking the city, he cruelly took revenge on the treacherous people with their daring king, whose precious crown David placed on his head as a trophy and brought to Jerusalem the richest booty, which replenished the collected material for the construction of the church. David’s crime, meanwhile, seemed to infect his entire family life, and from then on a whole series of disasters began in his house. It should be noted that in his family life David was not distinguished by moderation and, contrary to the direct decree of Moses, who forbade the king to “multiply wives for himself” (Deut. 17:17), even in Hebron he had seven wives and ten concubines, and then multiplied this number with several more wives, among whom was Bathsheba. The numerous generation of sons from these numerous wives was the natural source of all kinds of unrest, crimes and disasters 176. The most famous are his three sons: the eldest is Amnon, the third is Absalom and the fourth is Adonijah. The first two apparently competed with each other for primacy and predominance in the palace, and this rivalry ended with the death of Amnon, who was killed by Absalom in revenge for the dishonor inflicted on his blood sister Tamar. Fearing, in turn, bloody vengeance and the wrath of his father, Absalom fled to the king of Geshur, his maternal grandfather, and stayed there for three years, increasing David’s sorrows. To put an end to this deplorable state of affairs, Joab resorted to cunning and sent to David a “clever woman” from Tekoah, who, with a tearful story about an imaginary event in her family life, persuaded the king to have mercy on Absalom. But even after allowing Absalom to return to Jerusalem, David could not see his criminal son in person for a long time, and only after two years did fatherly love in him triumph over justice and prudence, and he finally allowed him to come to him in person and kissed him fatherly. But Absalom, who had been pardoned, soon became the source of a new terrible disaster, which almost cost David his very throne 177 . He was a man of extraordinary beauty. “In all Israel there was no man so handsome as Absalom, nor so much praised as he; from the soles of his feet to the top of his head he had no shortage.” He had such luxurious hair on his head that every year he took off as if a whole fleece, weighing “two hundred shekels according to the king’s weight.” With his charming manner, he involuntarily endeared himself to everyone, so that everyone praised him and admired him. But his outer beauty was not matched by his inner kindness, and beneath his magnificent appearance beat an evil and treacherous heart. Noticing the people's disposition towards him, he decided to use it to satisfy his unbridled lust for power and, not hoping to legally become heir to the throne, he decided to take possession of it by force even during his father's lifetime. To this end, he directly began, at every opportunity, to arouse discontent among the people against David's rule and to flatter popular passions with tempting promises of all kinds of benefits in the event that he had to seize the throne. In this criminal plan, he found sympathy even in one of David’s closest advisers, namely in the subtle and ambitious Ahithophel, who, apparently, was looking for an opportunity to take revenge on David for Uriah, as the husband of his own granddaughter Bathsheba. Having thus prepared the ground, Absalom suddenly retired to the old capital Hebron, openly raised the banner of rebellion against his father there and managed to win over such a large number of troops and people to his side that David was forced to flee Jerusalem for his safety. Early in the morning, accompanied by his devoted servants and soldiers, with the loud crying of the faithful people, David with a contrite heart left his beloved capital and moved across the Kidron stream to the Mount of Olives. From its top a magnificent view of the capital opened up, delighting every spectator; but this sight now struck the heart of the king with even greater sorrow, just as, later, this same sight caused sobbing in his divine descendant - Jesus Christ. David did not hide his grief: he left the capital barefoot and with his head sprinkled with ashes. But even in such a difficult situation, David still retained within himself his royal qualities - generosity, piety and, at the same time, trust in God - those best qualities that distinguished him in the first period of his life and which now came to life again under the heavy blow of the disaster that befell him. The high priests Zadok and Abiathar, devoted to him, followed him into exile with the ark of the covenant; but David sent them back, expressing the hope that the Lord had not yet completely abandoned him. “And if he says: My blessing is not upon you; then here I am; “Let him do with me whatever pleases him,” said David. With royal generosity, he dissuaded the devoted Ephtheus from adhering to the fallen soar and with boundless humility endured insults from the daring Semey, who slandered him and threw stones and dust at him. Abishai wanted to punish the daring slanderer, who brazenly shouted after the king: “Go away, go away, murderer and lawless one,” but David stopped him, saying that if his own son rebelled against him, then even more so does some Shimei have the right to revile him, and expressed the hope that the Lord would look upon his humiliation and reward him with goodness for the current reproach. David also sent his friend and adviser Hushai to Jerusalem so that with his wisdom he could counteract the evil treachery of Ahithophel. Absalom, meanwhile, entered Jerusalem 178 without meeting any resistance, and the first thing he did, on the advice of Ahithophel, was to dishonor his father’s bed by capturing his concubines. Ahithophel then insisted on immediately pursuing David to take advantage of his fatigue and despondency. Absalom was turned away from carrying out this dangerous and disastrous advice for David by Hushai, who managed to inspire the confidence of the usurper. Hushai did not approve of this advice and pointed out the need for extreme caution and thoughtful action in relation to David, who was known for his courage and was surrounded by brave warriors. Therefore, he advised to wait until all the people had gathered, so that then with a strong army it would be possible to deal a decisive blow to David. Absalom liked the advice of Hushai better, he postponed the persecution, and David, meanwhile, took advantage of this time and, having retired beyond the Jordan, strengthened himself in the city of Mahanaim, where he was shown cordial hospitality by the rich Barzillai the Gileadite, who, together with other residents of the city, offered him and his army a treat. The cunning Ahithophel immediately saw that with the rejection of his plan the whole cause of the uprising would inevitably perish, and in order to prevent his inevitable punishment from David, he committed suicide. Events soon justified his fears. A strong army gathered around David, with which it was possible to march to suppress the uprising. The hostile troops met near Mount Gilead, on the top of which Absalom was camped. All around was the vast and dense forest of Ephraim, in which the decisive battle took place. Full of trust in God and relying on the proven courage and steadfastness of his devoted military leaders Joab, Abishai and Ephthai, David could easily foresee the outcome of the battle and, before the departure of his troops, with fatherly love he instructed everyone: “Save for me the youth Absalom.” The battle that began turned out to be quite unfortunate for Absalom: his inexperienced troops were lost in the forest and, under the brave onslaught of David’s troops, they fled in disarray, losing 20,000 people killed and even more killed in the forest. Absalom himself rode in despair on a mule into the forest, but “when the mule ran with him under the branches of a large oak tree, Absalom got entangled with his hair on the branches of the oak tree and hung between heaven and earth, and the mule that was under him ran away.” In this situation, the unfortunate young man was shot by Joab, who, in the heat of battle and revenge for the humiliation of the king, did not even think of neglecting the request of David himself. Meanwhile, David awaited news of the outcome of the battle with a trembling heart. Messengers, one after another, quickly came to him with news of the victory. But his heart was most occupied with the fate of his ill-fated son, and his first question was: “Is the boy Absalom well?” And when he learned about the fate that befell Absalom, the feeling of fatherly love and grief overcame in him all joy of victory. “And the king was troubled, and went into the upper room above the gate, and wept, and as he went, he said thus: My son Absalom, my son, my son, Absalom! Oh, who would let me die in your place, Absalom my son, my son? "... The king's grief spread to the whole people, "and the victory of that day turned into lamentation for all the people," and only at the persistent admonition of Joab to stop this inappropriate, although natural lamentation, David was encouraged in spirit to properly benefit from the fruits of victory and return to Jerusalem. But after Absalom’s death, nothing could stop him from doing this. All the rebels hurried to confess to him, and David again entered his capital, showing his usual magnanimity, and declared universal forgiveness, from which the daring Shimei was not excluded, who now humiliatedly fell at David’s feet and begged him for forgiveness for slander and insult. The elderly Barzillius refused a high reward for his hospitality, but his son Kimgam was taken to court and elevated to a high rank. Ziba, the treacherous servant of Mephibosheth, tried to entangle his master in Absalom’s conspiracy and was so successful in this that David gave him all the possessions of Mephibosheth; but the latter, however, managed, in part, to justify himself in the slander erected, and David returned half of his possessions to him, giving the other half to Ziba - as a reward for his devotion to the king. Absalom's rebellion did not pass without consequences for the general political state of the people and served as a reason for inciting rivalry between the tribes 179 . The northern tribes, offended that the tribe of Judah acted without any communication with them in suppressing political unrest, and, suspecting some kind of private agreement between him and David to the detriment of the other tribes, openly declared their discontent, reproaching the tribe of Judah for “kidnapping the king.” One “wicked man” named Sheba, a Benjamite, did not fail to take advantage of such discontent. He boldly raised the banner of rebellion and for the first time uttered the disastrous cry of division: “We have no part in David, and we have no share in the son of Jesse; all in their tents, O Israelites!” This is precisely the cry that subsequently led to the final division and destruction of the state; but now he met a counterbalance in the charm of the majestic personality of David, whose military leaders quickly managed to suppress the uprising. Sheba, pursued by David's troops, took refuge in the city of Abel, which was besieged by Joab. The city was threatened with imminent destruction, but it was saved from it by one “smart woman,” who advised the citizens to seize Sheba and hand over his head to Joab, with which David’s commander was satisfied and lifted the siege from the city. XXXV. The last years of David's reign. Numbering of the people and punishment. Final orders and death of David 180 With the suppression of Savea's uprising, internal peace was established in the state, which lasted almost until the end of David's reign. Internal enemies no longer dared to openly oppose the king, who increasingly won the hearts of his people, devoting himself to concerns about their internal well-being. But this last period did not pass without some tests that Providence sent for the moral purification and strengthening of kings and peoples. The first of these was a famine that lasted three years and was the reason for the sad fate of Saul at home 181. Research into the cause of the famine showed that it was a punishment for some bloodthirsty act of Saul towards the Gibeonites - an act that required vengeance. When David asked the Gibeonites what kind of retribution they would like for this act, these cruel pagans, although introduced to the people of Israel in the form of slaves, but retaining their pagan morals, demanded the surrender of Saul's descendants among seven people, whom they hanged in the most barbaric manner, exposing their corpses under the scorching sun to rot and be eaten by wild animals and birds. The corpses hung like this for the whole summer, from the beginning of the barley harvest in April until the autumn rains, presenting a truly terrible sight, which was given even more tragic horror by the figure of the ill-fated mother of the five hanged sons bending before them. Rizpah, Saul's concubine, heartbroken over the loss of her sons, took sackcloth, spread it in front of the corpses and spent the whole summer on it, not allowing wild animals and birds to touch the bodies dear to her. This boundless maternal devotion impressed David so much that he himself went to the place of execution and consoled the unfortunate mother by burying the hanged (as well as the bones of Saul himself and his friend Jonathan), worthy of their high rank. “And God had mercy on the country after that.” At the same time, David had to once again repel the Philistines 182. The latter, taking advantage of the internal turmoil and disasters of the state, once again tried to break its strength and put up several giants, descendants of the ancient Rephaim, one of whom, Esbius, almost killed David himself. This incident greatly struck the Israelites, and they vowed that in the future they would not allow him to go out in person to war, “lest, as they added, the lamp of Israel should go out.” Thanks to the courage of David's army, the Philistines were defeated, and peace was restored on all the borders of the state. David thanked God with a solemn song: “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my glory, in Him I trust; my shield, the horn of my salvation; my refuge and my refuge; My Savior, you delivered me from troubles!” 183. This rapturous song of praise from the king was included in his collection of other songs and psalms and constitutes the 17th psalm of the book of Psalms. David now again enjoyed complete peace and prosperity. He was the autocratic king of a great state that stretched from the Lebanese mountains to the Egyptian border and from the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates River. In this state, David could only humbly thank God for the blessings shown to him and his people, since he himself realized that he owed all this greatness solely to God’s help. But a feeling of arrogant pride stirred in him, and he, perhaps having in mind a bold plan for further conquests or increasing his wealth, ordered a count to be made of the entire population of the state 184. The count was made, and it turned out that “the Israelites were 800,000 strong men, and the Jews were 500,000.” But only then did David fully realize the sinfulness of his motives in this calculation, “and David’s heart trembled, and he said to the Lord: I have sinned gravely in doing this; and now I pray Thee, O Lord, forgive the sin of Thy servant; for I acted extremely unwisely.” By his repentance, however, he did not atone for his sin and had to suffer punishment. The prophet Gad appeared to him as a messenger of God's wrath and offered him a choice of three punishments: a seven-year famine, a three-month persecution from enemies, or a three-day pestilence. “It’s very hard for me,” the king exclaimed: but let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for His mercy is great; If only I don’t fall into human hands.” David chose a pestilence, which began to devastate the population. In a short time it kidnapped 70,000 people and was ready to spread to Jerusalem to devastate it. Then the king, with a plea for mercy, exclaimed: “Behold, I have sinned, I (the shepherd) acted lawlessly; and these sheep, what did they do? Let Thy hand turn against me and against my father’s house!” Such complete selflessness for the sake of an innocent people appeased the wrath of God. David, according to the instructions of the prophet, built an altar in the place where he saw the Punishing Angel and bought this place (the threshing floor of Orna the Jebusite) for 600 shekels of gold in order to build the church itself on it. This place received the name Moriah (vision), due to David’s vision of the Punishing Angel, whose destructive hand was turned away from Jerusalem here by the king’s prayerful intercession. David devoted the rest of his life mainly to collecting materials and preparatory work for the construction of the church. During his entire reign, he had already managed to collect enormous wealth, which now amounted to 100,000 talents of gold and a million talents of silver. Skilled workmen and stonemasons were gathered from all over the earth; an abundance of iron and copper was prepared beyond weight, and cedar trees beyond count. But David remembered the will of God and limited himself to only preparatory work, leaving the construction of the church itself to his successor, whom he appointed Solomon. Calling him to himself, David told him the story of this entire great enterprise and bequeathed him to complete it, asking all the princes of Israel to help him in this. This public appointment of Solomon as heir to the throne gave rise to new internal turmoil that poisoned the last days of David's reign. It dealt a mortal blow to the ambitious plans of David’s fourth-eldest son, Adonijah, who, distinguished by his beautiful appearance and taking advantage of his father’s apparent favor, had hitherto considered himself the direct heir to the throne 185. Seeing such an unfavorable turn of affairs for himself, he, like his brother Absalom, decided to seize the throne by force. He managed to recruit many followers, and even the restless Joab and the chief priest Abiathar took his side. The conspirators arranged a brilliant feast, at which they openly proclaimed Adonijah king, and yet the elderly David still knew nothing about this. Then the prophet Nathan revealed to him about the conspiracy and the danger threatening Solomon, and the alarmed king ordered to immediately take Solomon to the river Gione and there solemnly anoint him as king. The anointing was performed by the chief priest Zadok and the prophet Nathan, in the presence of a large crowd, who greeted this anointing with enthusiastic rejoicing and accompanied Solomon upon his return to the city with joyful cries: “Long live King Solomon!” Struck by such a surprise, the conspirators dispersed. The culprit of the troubles, Adonijah himself, sought salvation at the altar, and left it only when Solomon swore to spare his life. To establish Solomon's rights to the royal throne, David again convened the most important representatives of the people and expressed his will to them that Solomon should be the heir to his throne. At the same time, he once again exhorted them not to weaken in zeal in creating a great shrine, namely the church of God, which “should be very majestic, for glory and adornment before all lands.” David immediately handed over to Solomon all the drawings of the future church and its accessories with an inventory of materials and wealth, which were increased by the offerings of the leaders and princes of the people. In confirmation of the king's will, sacrifices were made, Solomon was finally proclaimed king, and the priest Zadok, devoted to him, was anointed high priest. In this solemn meeting of the people and clergy, David, among other things, made detailed orders about the order of service of the tribe of Levi at the future church, as well as the last orders regarding the army and all other state affairs. But then the end approached, when the “lamp of Israel” 186 was about to go out. Feeling the approach of death, David once again called his heir and from his deathbed once again exhorted him to fulfill the commandments of God and the laws of Moses, giving him at the same time some wise advice regarding those close to him, from which Solomon had to remove some (and the restless Joab among them), and bring others closer and reward. And then, having offered his last fiery prayer for the well-being of his son-successor, David died “in a good old age, full of life, wealth and glory.” His total reign was forty years, of which seven were in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem, the “city of David,” where he was buried. His tomb became a common tomb for subsequent kings of Judah. In the person of David, the religious and moral spirit of the chosen people found its fullest and highest expression. In the various events of his life, David appears before us as a shepherd, warrior, poet, wise ruler, prophet and king, combining the best qualities of his people - simplicity, generosity, prudence and a strong religious and moral sense. His religious and moral songs and psalms, in which he, depending on the circumstances of his life, rich in adventures and all kinds of trials, inspiredly expressed his feelings of faith and hope in God, gratitude and glorification, joy and sorrow, rejoicing and repentant contrition, in strength and tenderness of expression, as well as in the sublimity and ardor of religious feeling, have nothing similar not only in the sacred poetry of other peoples, but also in the books of the old covenant. The truths contained in them come closest to the truths of the New Testament, and therefore the Psalter is also the most beloved book among Christian peoples, in which millions seek and find consolation and peace for their souls struggling with temptations and adversities. Both in his life and especially in his spirit, David, more than anyone else in the Old Testament, was a true prototype of Christ, who is therefore called with particular expressiveness “the son of David.” The very name of David became a historical name, and was immortalized in such names as “city of David”, “throne of David”, “seed of David”; it was considered so high that no one dared to wear it later, as a result of which we no longer meet it in the biblical history of subsequent times. The highest praise for David is that in him God Himself found “a man after His own heart” (1 Sam. 13:14), and that the height of his religious and moral life was measured by the life of the best of his successors, for whom the expression was praised: “he walked in the first ways of David his father.” Like any person, he often fell from the heights of his religious and moral ideal, and fell deeply; but even in this fall, he taught us the greatest example of repentant contrition, which gave him the opportunity and strength to again throw off the burden of sinfulness and rise for a new spiritual life. David is the greatest example of a morally good person, inspired by sublime feelings, who strives for good with all his might and courageously fights the temptations that overcome him. In this struggle, he may fall and fall deeply, but he will never leave this struggle, and after every fall, with tears and contrition, he will again begin this endless, fierce struggle, and in the end he will triumph in it over all the dark forces of evil. That is why the Psalter, as a divinely inspired poetic chronicle of the trials of the spiritual life of the great psalmist, amazes with its amazing vital truth, and in it everyone finds a divinely inspired expression of the very feelings that every person can experience under various circumstances and vicissitudes of life. XXXVI. Reign of Solomon. The wisdom of the young king, his greatness and power. Construction and consecration of the church 187 Solomon came to the throne when he was no more than an 18-year-old boy. From his father he inherited a huge state, stretching from “the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates.” To govern such a state, in which, moreover, there were many different conquered tribes, ready at every opportunity to rebel against the conquerors, an extensive mind and proven wisdom were required. The young king was naturally gifted with a bright mind and insight and, understanding the difficulty of the task ahead of him, took care, first of all, to establish the necessary peace around the throne itself, so that he could then devote himself entirely to governing the state. This was all the more necessary because, despite the final proclamation of Solomon as king, supporters of Adonijah continued to exist in the palace, to which even such persons as the great priest Abiathar and the military commander Joab belonged. It was necessary to break and destroy this party, and when Adonijah once indirectly declared his claim to the throne by asking for permission to marry David’s last concubine (Avisage), Solomon took advantage of this opportunity to finally eliminate the danger of encroachments on his throne. Adonijah was put to death, Abiathar was “removed from the priesthood of the Lord,” and the dangerous schemer Joab was also deprived of his life, despite the fact that he sought refuge in the tabernacle. Shimei suffered the same fate, who, although he was forgiven by David for his evil mockery and slander of him, at the same time revealed such hatred of David that the young king could not tolerate him with him. After this, Solomon, until the later years of his reign, enjoyed the deep peace that constituted the distinguishing feature of his reign. As a powerful sovereign, he easily acquired the friendship of neighboring sovereigns, and the Egyptian pharaoh even gave his daughter in marriage to him, with whose hand Solomon received as a dowry the important city of Gazer, which commanded the Philistine plain - this great road between Egypt and Mesopotamia 188. Both for the Israelites and for the peoples surrounding them, this union eloquently testified to the high position and political significance that the chosen people had achieved. One involuntarily draws a striking contrast between his current state and the one he was in, being a despised slave of the proud pharaohs. So wonderfully God fulfilled all His great promises. Along with the state inheritance, Solomon received from David a rich spiritual inheritance - his devotion to the religion of his fathers. “And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statute of David his father.” To express gratitude for the good start of his reign, the young king went to Gibeon, where the main altar was located, and there he offered a rich sacrifice - a thousand burnt offerings 189. And the sacrifice was pleasing to God. “In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night, and God said: Ask what he will give you.” This question was a test for Solomon, and he answered it as he should have answered a young king called to rule a great people. “Lord, my God! Solomon answered: You have made Your servant king instead of David my father; but I am a little boy, I don’t know either my way out or my way in. Grant therefore to Thy servant a heart of understanding, to judge Thy people and to discern between what is good and what is evil; for who is able to govern this multitude of Your people?” “And the Lord was pleased that Solomon asked this. And God said to him: because you asked for this, and did not ask for a long life, did not ask for wealth, did not ask for the souls of your enemies, but asked for reason to be able to judge, behold, I will do according to your word. Behold, I give you a heart that is wise and understanding, so that there was none like you before you, and after you there will not arise one like you. And what you did not ask for, I give you - both wealth and glory, so that there will be no one like you among kings all your days. And if you walk in My way, keeping My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, I will also prolong your days.” Out of joyful excitement, the young king woke up and saw that it was just a dream, but a deeply significant dream that revived his entire spiritual life. He soon proved the wisdom wonderfully bestowed on him by the famous decision about a disputed child between two mothers 190 and even more by his wise management, thanks to which his state became a model in its improvement for all surrounding rulers. Solomon arranged his court with magnificent splendor 191. He was surrounded by close dignitaries who formed, as it were, his state council, each of whom was in charge of the part of government entrusted to him. So, in addition to the “descriptor”, priests and scribes at the court there were: a military commander (Banea), a friend of the king (Zavuf), a chief over the guards (Azaria), a chief over the royal house (Ahisar) and a chief over taxes (Adoniram). The entire state was administratively divided into twelve districts, which were governed by twelve “supervisors”, each of whom had to deliver food to the royal court for one month. But besides this, gifts and taxes were sent to him from everywhere - from all the conquered kingdoms and peoples over a vast space “from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and to the borders of Egypt.” “Solomon’s food for each day was: thirty cows of wheat flour and 60 cows of other flour, ten fattened oxen and 20 oxen from pasture, and one hundred sheep, besides deer and chamois, and saigas and fattened birds.” To protect the external and internal peace, Solomon maintained a strong army, which he increased with cavalry and chariots. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen. Horses and chariots were exported from Egypt, which was famous for them. Each chariot cost 600 shekels of silver and each horse 150 shekels of silver. Thanks to peace with neighboring states, trade began to develop rapidly, which further contributed to the enrichment of both Solomon’s court and the entire people. So many precious metals accumulated in Jerusalem that silver and gold became as if equivalent to a simple stone; So many Lebanese cedars were brought for buildings that they became equivalent to syquimores - simple timber in Palestine. As a result, the population quickly increased, enjoying contentment and prosperity. “And Judah and Israel dwelt quietly, every man under his vineyard and his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.” Solomon himself was distinguished not only by his royal splendor, but also by his royally beautiful appearance and especially by his royal wisdom, which amazed his contemporaries. The sacred historian strives to find sufficient words to depict this wisdom. “And God gave Solomon,” he says, “wisdom and very great understanding, and a vast mind, like the sand on the seashore. And the wisdom of Solomon was greater than the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of the Egyptians. He was wiser than all people, and his name was in glory among all the surrounding nations" 192. From his father he inherited the gift of poetic inspiration, which, together with his personal wisdom, was manifested in the fact that he “spoke three thousand parables and a thousand and five songs”; at the same time, his inquisitive mind devoted itself to the study of nature, so that in the field of natural science he amazed his contemporaries with the breadth and depth of his knowledge: “and he spoke about trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows from the wall; spoke about animals, and birds, and reptiles, and fish,” that is, in a word, in all departments of natural science. The combination of such extraordinary talents and extensive knowledge in the young king, naturally, made him a miracle of his age. “And they came from all nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom” 193. Having improved the internal affairs of government, Solomon did not hesitate to begin fulfilling the main testament of his father David, namely the construction of “the house of the name of the Lord his God” 194. Circumstances were favorable for the start of the enterprise. David's old friend, Hiram, king of Tyre, transferred his friendship to his son, and, hearing about his accession to the throne, sent an embassy to him with congratulations and a declaration of friendship. Solomon took advantage of this opportunity and, through a return embassy to Hiram, asked him for assistance in building the church. Hiram again responded to Solomon with a letter in which he willingly offered him all assistance. An agreement was reached between them, according to which Hiram agreed to deliver cedar beams from Lebanon, and Solomon was to annually supply the agreed amount of bread and olive oil to Hiram’s palace, namely 20,000 cows of wheat and 20 cows of butter. The timber harvested in Lebanon was floated by the Phoenicians by sea to Jaffa, from where Solomon transported it to Jerusalem. Workers for these jobs were recruited from subordinate foreigners living in various parts of the country. They collected 153,600 people: 70,000 of them were used for transporting beams, 80,000 for cutting wood in Lebanon and 3,600 as overseers. In addition, in order to make the church a completely national enterprise and creation, Solomon imposed duties on the entire Israeli people, who had to supply 30,000 workers to work in Lebanon, where he sent them at the rate of ten thousand a month alternately, so that one month they worked in Lebanon, and two months they remained at home. In addition to cutting down the forest, they had to cut huge stones for the foundation of the church, for which Mount Moriah itself, designated by David for the construction of the church, was artificially constructed. In addition to workers and materials, Hiram also provided Solomon with the chief architect, his brother-in-law Hiram. He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Dan. His father was a Tyrian artist, from whom he inherited a multifaceted artistic talent and could perform all the expensive and elegant works necessary for the church. As the chief architect and artist, he became the head of many other artists collected by Solomon himself. Finally, the construction of 195 began. This was in the year 480 from the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, in the fourth year of the reign of Solomon, on the 2nd day of the month Zif, the second month of the church year (April - May). All the preparatory work was so complete that the actual construction of the building took place in complete silence - without the sound of a hammer, and was completed in 7 1/2 years, in the eighth month (Bul), the eleventh year of Solomon's reign. The entire area enclosed by the walls of the church courtyards occupied about 600 square feet. The sanctuary itself was small in size, since it was intended only for celebrants, while extensive courtyards were intended for the people. In general, the plan of the church was similar to the plan of the tabernacle, from which it differed only in several extensions to the sanctuary, intended to house the priests and other church servants, as well as the treasury and generally necessary services. In terms of size, the church itself was just twice the size of the tabernacle, it was 80 cubits long and 40 cubits wide (the tabernacle was 40x20), and its height was 30 cubits (the tabernacle was 15 cubits high). The church consisted of three parts: the porch, the sanctuary and the Holy of Holies. The porch occupied 10 cubits of the entire church premises and was decorated with two magnificent bronze columns (Jachin and Boaz) each 18 cubits high, in addition to special capitals decorated with expensive carvings representing crowns like lilies with pomegranate apples on chains. The sanctuary, or middle room, was 40 cubits long and 20 wide (the tabernacle was 20x10 cubits) and the Holy of Holies was a cubic room 20 cubits long, wide, and high (the tabernacle was 10 cubits in all three dimensions). The entire interior of the church was richly decorated with expensive carvings and gold. Above the Ark of the Covenant, placed in the Holy of Holies, were placed two cherubim, carved and overlaid with gold. With their inner wings they touched each other above the ark, and with their outer wings they touched the walls of the church. In the sanctuary, in addition to the cedar and gold-covered altar of incense, seven golden lamps were placed (in place of one in the tabernacle) and the table of showbread was replaced by ten golden tables, on which, in addition to the showbread, all the golden vessels necessary for worship were placed. The church was surrounded by two vast courtyards surrounded by walls. The outer court was intended for the people, and the inner court for the priests. On the latter there was a huge copper altar, to which one had to climb the steps of a staircase, interspersed with three platforms. Right there in front of the porch there was a “sea of ​​copper”, i.e. a huge copper laver, so named because of the vastness of its volume, which was five cubits high, 10 in diameter and 30 in circumference. It stood on twelve copper oxen, which in threes were facing the four cardinal points, and had the graceful appearance of a six-leaved lily. Next to it were ten smaller lavers for washing the victims. In general, the church was a magnificent building in terms of the wealth of materials and elegance of work and decoration, rising at the very top of Mount Moriah. The entrance from it was from the east and led up the slope of the mountain, first into the outer courtyard, from there several steps higher into the inner courtyard, from which also a few steps higher stood the vestibule of the church. The individual parts of the church were separated from each other by wooden partitions covered with gold. Double gates of exquisite workmanship led into the sanctuary, and the gates to the Holy of Holies were closed with a curtain of the most precious fabrics depicting cherubs. Thanks to this plan for building the church on the mountain, it, despite its relatively small size, was “very majestic,” and the amazing wealth of decorations and the very value of the materials truly made it “a glory and an adornment before all the lands,” as David wished in his dying will. Upon completion of the construction of the church, its solemn consecration took place 196. The time chosen for him was the most joyful Feast of Tabernacles, in the seventh month (Tisri September - October) of the holy year. Having finished all their field work and harvested the grapes, the people gathered in Jerusalem from all over the vast state of Solomon. Representatives of all the tribes of the people and the entire tribe of Levi appeared in their entirety. Around the great altar in the courtyard, priests were placed in rows for sacrifice and next to them were Levite singers in fine linen 197 robes with cymbals, psalters and harps, and 120 priests with trumpets. Solomon himself occupied an elevated place, which gave him the opportunity to see the entire rite of consecration. The ritual began with the solemn raising and transfer of the Ark of the Covenant. When the Levites with the ark approached the gates of the porch, a large choir of singers rang out the last verses of Psalm 23: “Lift up your heads, O gates, and lift up the eternal doors, and the King of glory will come in.” Part of the choir asked: “Who is this King of glory?”, and the whole choir again answered: “The Lord of hosts - He is the King of glory.” The Ark of the Covenant was placed in the Holy of Holies under the canopy of the wings of the cherubim. At this moment everything was filled with sounds of triumph. “And they were as one, trumpeting and singing, uttering one voice to praise and glorify the Lord - and when the sound of trumpets and cymbals and musical instruments thundered, and they praised the Lord: for He is good, for His mercy endures forever, then the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, and the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord has filled the house of God.” Then the king rose from his exaltation and blessed the people; Having told the story of the construction of the church, he knelt down and, raising his hands to heaven, said a great dedicatory prayer 198 in which he asked for God's favor and mercy in the future destinies of Israel. “O Lord, God of Israel! Solomon prayed. If heaven and the heavens cannot contain You, how much less this church which I have built. But consider the prayer of Your servant and his petition. Let Your eyes be open and Your ears attentive to prayer in this place. May Thy priests, O Lord, be clothed with salvation, and may Thy saints enjoy blessings. Lord, my God! do not turn away Your face, remember Your mercy towards David Your servant! During prayer, the cloud became brighter and lighter, and as a sign of special favor, “fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the house.” “And all the children of Israel fell on their faces to the ground, and praised the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever.” The festival that followed lasted two weeks (twice the usual Feast of Tabernacles) and during this time 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep were sacrificed, both the king and the whole people competing in the generosity of the offerings. At the end of the festival, Solomon dismissed the people, and everyone “blessed the king, and went to their tents, rejoicing and having merry in their hearts for all the good that the Lord had done to His servant David and to His people Israel” 199. XXXVII. Solomon at the height of his glory. Queen of Sheba. The Fall of Solomon and His Death 200 After the happy completion of the construction of the majestic church to the King of kings, Solomon did not stop construction activities, which continued almost throughout his reign. First of all, he began to build himself a magnificent palace in Jerusalem with luxurious chambers, decorated with rows of cedar columns, from the number and wealth of which the main chamber received the name “house of the forest of Lebanon.” Of the other chambers, the “narthex of pillars” was the usual place for ceremonial audiences, the “narthex with the throne” was the place of judgment. The palace stood on Zion and was connected to the church by an underground passage. In one of the palace buildings there was a special room for the proud daughter of the pharaoh, who did not want to live with the other wives of the king. At the same time, Solomon erected several other palaces outside of Jerusalem, such as. summer palace in Lebanon. To increase the luxury of these palaces, Solomon planted magnificent gardens and vineyards everywhere, among which many of the events described in the book “Song of Songs” take place. On the outskirts of the state, he built several fortified castles or cities for supplies (Fadmor, upper and lower Bethhoron, Baalaf, etc.). In Jerusalem itself, major reconstructions were carried out, new walls were built and an expensive water supply system was installed, which made it possible to feed the huge masses of people who flocked to the annual holidays and to withstand prolonged sieges. After all the main works were completed, the Lord appeared to Solomon for the second time and renewed the covenant with him, in which blessings and an endless reign were promised for devotion to God, although at the same time a threat of severe punishment was expressed for deviations from Him. “If you and your sons depart from Me, said the warning voice of God, then I will destroy Israel from the face of the land that I have given to them, and the church that I have illuminated for My name will I cast away from My presence, and Israel will be a byword and a laughing stock among all nations. And about this high church, everyone passing by will be horrified and whistle, and say: why did the Lord do this to this land and to this church? And they will say: because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and accepted other gods, and worshiped them, and served them, for this the Lord brought this disaster upon them.” All the work carried out by Solomon required enormous funds, and they were delivered by rapidly developing trade. At this time, the kingdom of Israel concentrated in itself, one might say, all world trade. Particularly important in this regard was the alliance with Tyre, the main city of Phenicia, the then mistress of the Mediterranean Sea. Trade from all countries of Asia was drawn to it, but since all the main Asian trade markets were subordinate to Solomon, all trade, of necessity, passed through the possessions of the Israelites, and Tire itself was only, as it were, the richest port of Palestine, which, moreover, was completely dependent on it in terms of life, since it was the main and almost the only granary of both this and other Phoenician cities. In addition, in order to become even more independent from the Phoenicians, Solomon started his own fleet, the ships of which made long voyages from the ports of the Mediterranean and Red Seas and brought enormous wealth both in gold and rare works of distant countries. A ship that went to Ophir (in Arabia) brought Solomon 420 talents of gold, and a ship from Tarshish, which came every three years, brought gold and silver, ivory, monkeys and peacocks. This ship, obviously, sailed to the famous Phoenician colony in Spain, Tartessus, which was a storage place for the best and richest works of Africa, from where they were transported on “Tarsis” (Tartessian) ships to all countries of the then civilized world. This extensive trade provided Solomon's state treasury with a huge annual income of 666 talents of gold. As a result, extraordinary luxury inevitably developed at court. Solomon's court shone with purely oriental splendor and exquisite splendor. All the vessels and accessories in the palace were made of pure gold; the “house of the forest of Lebanon” was decorated with many shields covered with chased gold. The throne, the royal robe of Solomon, the decoration of the palace - all this became a parable of wealth and exquisite splendor. If we add to this a brilliant cavalry with many expensive horses and chariots and the general welfare of the country, which enjoyed unbroken peace and wise governance, then it will be clear at what height of prosperity the kingdom of Israel was during the reign of Solomon. During this period of greatness, wealth and splendor, the glory of Solomon thundered throughout all neighboring countries. All the surrounding rulers hastened to express their surprise and respect to him. Sitting on his magnificent throne, Solomon solemnly greeted numerous embassies and graciously accepted all kinds of gifts from them - “silver vessels and gold vessels, and clothes, and weapons, and incense, horses and mules.” But his most remarkable visitor was the famous Queen of Sheba 202. She was the queen of one of the richest countries in southern Arabia, the queen of the Sabaeans, at the head of whose reign. women always stood (gyneocracy), and for the first time she could hear about the glory of Solomon thanks to the visit of his fleet to Arabia (Ophir). Struck by the stories about his extraordinary wisdom, about his wealth and glory, she wanted to personally verify the authenticity of these stories and went to Jerusalem with a brilliant retinue and the richest gifts. From a conversation with Solomon, as well as from observing all the orders of his life and management, she was convinced that the stories that reached her were not even half what she saw in reality, although these stories aroused in her the idea of ​​exaggeration. Touched by everything she had seen, she, with a blessing to the wise king and the entire people of Israel, went back to her distant country, leaving rich gifts for Solomon and taking with her not only mutual gifts from Solomon, but also a spark of true faith in her kind heart, which subsequently greatly contributed to her quiet vegetation in the vast steppes of the Arabian land. Solomon's visit to the Queen of Sheba marks the highest turning point in his reign. Greater elevation was no longer possible. Solomon could only hold on to the achieved height of greatness and glory; but maintaining this position turned out to be more difficult for him than achieving it. The oriental luxury that surrounded him was not slow to have a weakening effect on him, and he began to decline morally. His first sin, which led to his further fall, was the usual sin of eastern kings, namely polygamy 203. Over the years, in addition to immoderate voluptuousness, he developed a special eastern ambition, which forced him to surpass all neighboring kings not only in his recognized wisdom and wealth, but also in the number of his wives. In addition to Pharaoh's daughter, Solomon began to take wives from all neighboring nations: he “loved many foreign women - Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites, from those nations about which the Lord said to the children of Israel: do not go in to them, lest they turn your hearts to their gods; Solomon clung to them in love. And he had 700 wives and 300 concubines; and his wives corrupted his heart.” The reason for this illegal and disastrous hobby was much deeper than simple voluptuousness. It was only a natural and final expression of the general direction towards which Solomon’s entire policy apparently tended. Already earlier, he had largely retreated from the direct provisions of the Mosaic legislation, such as. entering into an alliance with Egypt, introducing cavalry and entering the field of extensive trading enterprises. As a result of this, the entire lifestyle of both the king and the people completely changed and lost its primitive patriarchy and simplicity, which should distinguish the life of the chosen people. In their place were invaded by foreign customs and orders of the ordinary life of the Asian peoples - with its immoderation and depravity. And polygamy was the completion of such a way of life, which ended in the complete moral fall of the once “wisest” king. “During Solomon’s old age, says the sacred historian, his wives inclined his heart to other gods, and his heart was not completely devoted to the Lord his God, like the heart of David his father. And Solomon began to serve Ashtoreth, the Sidonian deity, and Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as David his father did. Then Solomon built a church for Chemosh, the abomination of the Moabites, on the mountain that is before Jerusalem, for Molech, the abomination of the Ammonites. He did this for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and made sacrifices to their gods” 204. In Solomon’s policy, deviations from the principles of the Mosaic legislation had previously been noticed, but since they concerned only the external structure of life, they found oblivion in the all-forgiving mercy of God; but now the matter concerned the fundamental principle of the government itself. Solomon not only violated the law that prohibited entering into marriage relations with vile idolaters, but also allowed the very consequence of them: he allowed the vile abominations of idolatry in the very holy land, in its very center, in front of the very church of God! This fundamentally destroyed the covenant with God and destroyed the very purpose of choosing Israel as a “light for the nations.” Then the Lord was angry with Solomon. A strict sentence was pronounced upon him that the kingdom would be “torn away” from him and transferred to his servant. The first signs of God's wrath were soon revealed. Weakened by court pomp, Solomon did not pay enough attention to the internal state of his state. Some princes of the conquered peoples did not fail to take advantage of this and started an uprising 205. In the southeast, the rebellion was raised by the Idumaean prince Ader, who escaped to Egypt during the conquest of Idumea by David and now appeared again with the goal of regaining his then lost possessions, and in the northeast, a rebellion was raised by a certain Razon, a slave of King Adraazar, defeated by David. Having become the head of the gang, he took possession of Damascus and settled there as a sovereign prince, forming a strong Syrian kingdom with Damascus as its capital at the head. But these unrest on the distant outskirts were nothing in comparison with the danger that was being prepared for the throne of Solomon within the state itself. The Lord, in his anger, predicted to Solomon that his kingdom would be torn away from him and given to “his servant.” And this “slave” was Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, from the tribe of Ephraim 206 . He was a “courageous” man and stood out so much for his abilities that Solomon made him overseer of the quitrent laborers from his native tribe, along with others employed in the royal work. Here he became acquainted with the other side of state life, saw the burdens that the people had to bear to satisfy the immoderate whims of the tsar, heard the murmur of the workers, saw the pre-court troubles and the moral depravity of the tsar himself. At the sight of all this, the old pride of an Ephraimite awakened in him, and he was ashamed of his native tribe. In the blessing of Jacob, Ephraim was predicted to have a great future, which, in part, found fulfillment in the fact that such a great leader as Joshua came from his tribe, and in general it was the center and set the tone for the entire religious and state life of the people before the reign of the House of David; and now it had to slavishly serve the representatives of the hated tribe of Judah. This thought was a natural preparation for his upcoming assignment, and it was finally strengthened in him when it was confirmed to him by the Shiloh prophet Ahijah, who, having met him one day in the field, tore his cloak before him into twelve pieces and, giving ten of them to Jeroboam, said that in this way the Lord would tear apart the kingdom of Israel and that with Solomon’s successor, ten tribes of Israel would go to him, and only two tribes would remain behind the house of Solomon, and then only “for the sake of David, so that this lamp of Israel might remain before the face of God, and for the sake of the city of Jerusalem, which God chose for Himself to place His name there.” When the news of this reached Solomon, he wanted to use violence against Jeroboam to avert the judgment of God that threatened him; but Jeroboam fled to Egypt, was received by the pharaoh of the new dynasty, Susakim, and there awaited the death of Solomon in order to return to his homeland and begin to fulfill his destiny. In the midst of such worries and trials, Solomon approached his death. History does not say how all these trials affected him and whether they awakened in him sincere contrition and repentance. But the books he left behind, and especially the book Ecclesiastes, complement the story of his life. This last book takes a complete look at the entire experience of his life. Here we see a man who has experienced all the pleasures of life and drank the cup of earthly joys to the dregs, and yet remained unsatisfied, and, in the end, had to sadly exclaim: “vanity of vanities, all is vanity, and vexation of spirit!” From his great life experience, he came to the conviction that true life consists of obedience to God and fulfillment of His holy commandments. “Let us hear the essence of everything,” he concludes his book: fear God and keep His commandments, because this is everything for man. Solomon died in Jerusalem in the 40th year of his reign and was buried in the city of David. The history of his reign was described by the prophets Nathan and Ahijah, in the “visions of the seer Joel about Jeroboam” and in a special book of “the affairs of Solomon” 207. The first three writings probably formed the basis for the account of him in 1 Kings, and the essence of the last book is conveyed in 2 Chronicles. Despite his many wives, Solomon left behind only one son, Rehoboam, from Naamah the Ammonite, and he became the successor to his throne. XXXVIII. The internal state of the Israeli people during the time of the kings. Religion and worship. Enlightenment and divinely inspired books. Chronology The period of the reign of the three great kings of the people of Israel was the time of their greatest flowering, both politically and spiritually. After the disasters and turmoil of the period of the judges, it was a time of prosperity, power and splendor, when the people of Israel achieved the full realization of the great promises of God and, under the cover of firm power, could freely discover all the best qualities of their national genius, show with their state improvement a true example of “government of God,” and with the height of their religious and moral life, in all its splendor, justify their great calling - to be a light for the pagans. If the people of Israel did not justify their purpose even under such favorable circumstances and presented many sad facts of religious and moral decline even in their best representatives, in the person of their kings themselves, then this only shows how primordial evil took root in the moral nature of man and, like a millstone around his neck, uncontrollably pulled him into the abyss of evil, despite all his efforts in the pursuit of good. Such was the common fate of Old Testament humanity, which languished in slavery to sin, and the only consolation for it was the hope of future deliverance - in the person of that divine Deliverer, to be the keeper of the promises about whom the chosen people were destined. The promise of a Savior during this period found clear confirmation in the glorious promise to David that God would raise up for him his seed, whose throne would stand forever, and to this seed He would be the Father, and it would be His Son (2 Samuel 7:12–16). David could not attribute this promise to his successor and therefore understood it in the same sense as the apostle subsequently interpreted it. Paul, precisely in the sense of the promise of a spiritual successor and “Son of David,” the Son of God, the Savior of the world and the King of the universe, whose throne “will stand forever.” In addition to this promise, confirmed in the covenant with Solomon (1 Kings 9:5), the thought of the future Savior at this time permeates the entire life of the people: its very political power was a prototype of the spiritual power of the Messiah, and its very kings, especially David and Solomon in the best periods of their lives, were clear prototypes of the Savior - the first a prototype of Him as the King of victory, the second as the King of peace. Then all the psalms of David are filled with expressions of fiery expectation of the Messiah and the clearest prophecies about all the events of His earthly life, from birth to suffering and death, from resurrection to glorification at the right hand of the Father. The prophetic psalms of David provide clear evidence of how alive the great promise of God about the Savior of the world was in the best national consciousness and how the religious and moral spirit of mankind longed for the fulfillment of this promise. The internal revival of religious and moral feeling found its full expression in the development of worship and the rituals and institutions associated with it. In this regard, David rendered immeasurable services to the cause of true religion and the Old Testament Church with his ecclesiastical and religious institutions. Being himself a divinely inspired psalmist and prophet, he used all his efforts to streamline and elevate worship. By bringing the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem, he effected a complete transformation in the order of the Levitical service, establishing proper and permanent worship in the tabernacle. For this purpose, three families of brother singers were chosen so that “they would preach on harps, psalms and cymbals.” Under the leadership of these skilled singers (Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun, whose names appear in the inscriptions of many psalms), a large choir of 288 people was formed, which, together with the serving Levites and priests, “praised, thanked and exalted the Lord God of Israel” before the ark of the Lord. All the Levites were separated for the service of 4,000 people, and the remaining Levites, numbering 34,000 people, were distributed to the various services of the tabernacle as doorkeepers, bearers of the sacred vessels and other accessories of the tabernacle, assistants and novices to the priests in offering sacrifices and performing other duties of their service. The descendants of Aaron's two sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, were appointed to perform the highest duties of the priesthood. Although Aaron was, in fact, succeeded by his eldest son Eleazar, the honor of the high priesthood was in some way shared with him by Ithamar, to whose house the high priesthood sometimes completely passed (for example, in the person of Eli the high priest). In the time of David we see representatives of both these lines in the person of the great priests Zadok and Abiathar, one of whom was high priest in the old tabernacle in Gibeon, and the other in the new tabernacle in Jerusalem. But the house of Eleazar was twice as numerous as the house of Ithamar in the number of priestly families, since according to the census carried out by David, there were sixteen families in the first and only eight families in the second. The twenty-four heads of these families were made under David the leaders of twenty-four “orders,” i.e. regular services in the church, to which members of these priestly families consistently appeared. Both the Levites and the singers were divided into the same “orders,” who performed the service together with the corresponding orders of priests. The “series,” in all likelihood, began on Saturday and continued throughout the week, when it was replaced by the next series. This division was strictly observed until later times, as can be seen from the history of Zechariah, the father of St. John the Baptist, who was rewarded with a vision of an angel, “while he served in the order of his turn before God” (Luke 1:8). The order of service established in the tabernacle was transferred to the Temple of Solomon, where, however, in order to enhance the solemnity of the service, cases became more frequent when all twenty-four courses participated in the service simultaneously, as was especially the case during the consecration of the church. With the consecration of the church, all worship was concentrated in it, and the old tabernacle at Gibeon lost all significance; at the same time, with the ejection of Abiathar from the priesthood (for his participation in the political conspiracy of Adonijah), the high priesthood finally ceased in the branch of Ithamar and concentrated in the branch of Eleazar, in the person of Zadok, anointed to the high priesthood under Solomon. Church ritual during worship at this time received widespread development, but only from the outside, in the sense of pomp and grandeur. Essentially, it remained the same as it was established by Moses at the tabernacle, although at the same time, in accordance with new needs, new rituals appeared. This is especially the rite of anointing for the kingdom. It was private and solemn. The first, as a rule, was performed by the prophet, as an executor of the will of God, and the second was performed at a national meeting by the chief priest or high priest, as a mediator between the will of God and the will of the people. During anointing, oil was used as a visible instrument for communicating the grace of God. The initiate was given a book of the law, with which he had to conform in all his life and management. During this time, an important change took place in public administration, which consisted in the establishment of royal power. Its establishment was caused by the urgent need of people's life, since the absence of firm power during the time of the judges led to complete anarchy and the disasters associated with it. But its establishment at the same time was, in part, an expression of insufficient trust on the part of the people in the direct rule of God Himself and a desire to have a government similar to the surrounding nations. Therefore, to Samuel’s question, the Lord answered him: “They did not reject you, but they rejected Me, so that I should not reign over them” (1 Samuel 8:7). The very establishment of royal power in a theocratic state weakened the most essential principle of his life, since the people could become inclined to place their hopes more on the visible king, forgetting the Supreme and Invisible. Nevertheless, firm power was an urgent need in both the internal and external political life of the people, and therefore it was established with the restrictions that were set in the legislation of Moses, who had already foreseen this inevitable moment in the life of the chosen people. These restrictions consisted, first of all, in the fact that the people should not appoint a foreigner as their king, but certainly a natural Israeli, and, moreover, one “whom the Lord God will choose” (Deut. 17:15). This limitation of election is followed by laws that limit the very power of the king. And it is remarkable that these restrictions are mainly directed against what distinguished Eastern wagers, namely against the accumulation of personal wealth and the development of luxury, which always entail moral corruption and oblivion of laws and people. “Appoint yourself a king,” says the legislator, only so that he does not multiply horses for himself and does not return the people to Egypt to multiply horses for himself” (Deut. 17:16). The meaning of this law is that they are prohibited from entering into relations and an alliance with Egypt, which in ancient times was famous for its horse breeding. The desire to have the best horses - one of the main objects of vanity of eastern monarchs - would force them to enter into relations with the pharaohs, and then into a political union with Egypt, while such a union, due to the geographical position of Palestine, could be disastrous for the Jewish people, which was subsequently justified by history. In addition, the multiplication of horses, completely unnecessary in a mountainous country, would not serve to protect the interests of the people (for example, during war), but only to satisfy the vain pride of the king. - “So that he does not multiply wives for himself, lest his heart be corrupted” (v. 17). Harems in the east still constitute one of the most vile court institutions, in which despot monarchs lose their last moral and physical strength, plunging into the grossest debauchery. Therefore, the decree prohibiting having harems is understandable. “And so that he does not multiply silver and gold for himself excessively.” Excessive accumulation of wealth could give rise, as can be seen from the history of Solomon, to extensive trading enterprises that would be incompatible with the truly popular interests, would contribute to the development of inequality in wealth and thus would violate the fundamental law of Moses, which established socio-economic equality, would introduce luxury at court incompatible with the theocratic system of the state and thereby alienate the king from the people. “But when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he must write out for himself a copy of this law in a book kept by the priests and the Levites, and let him have it, and let him read it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to do all the words of this law and these statutes.” The king was not a legislator and had to rule the state not according to his personal arbitrariness, but according to the given law, from which he had to have a correct list, so that, constantly having it before him, he would not deviate either to the right or to the left (v. 20), therefore, in general he had to rule according to the law recognized by the people. This decree put a limit to the despotism into which eastern rulers so easily fall. Finally, the legislator gives a general definition of the relationship of the royal power to the people. In the ancient eastern monarchies the relationship between the rulers and the people was usually characterized by arrogant contempt on the part of the ruler and slavish subservience on the part of the people. In the state of the chosen people there should not have been such an attitude; Therefore, the legislator requires of the king “that his heart should not be puffed up before his brothers” (v. 20), or, in applying these words to government, that he should rule over his subjects with meekness and love,” not as slaves, but as brothers. The best kings were faithful to this rule. David, for example, in his address to the people called his subjects brothers: “And King David stood on his feet and said: Listen to me, my brothers and my people!” (1 Chronicles 28:2). Thus, the power of the kings of the Israeli people was limited by strict regulation - in the spirit of the ancient principles of divine rule and popular self-government. This is how she appears in history. To convey to her a greater obligation for the king, such a procedure was even established that upon ascending the throne, the king entered into an agreement with the people, in which, in all likelihood, he undertook to fulfill the laws defining the boundaries of his power (1 Kings 10:25; 2 Kings 5:3; 2 Kings 11:17). It is clear from history that kings did not always strictly implement these laws regarding royal power, and in the person of Solomon we see a king who even directly violated some of the basic provisions of the legislation, since he entered into an alliance with Egypt and started a cavalry, indulged in polygamy and immoderate luxury. But in this they were only exponents of the general spirit of disobedience of their people and suffered punishment in the very consequences of their violations of the law, as was especially the case with Solomon. But, in general, tsarist power was very useful for the development of civil virtues and the state life of the people. Thanks to her, the people of Israel achieved extraordinary political power and splendor, so that the entire modern civilized world was under its political influence. In case of more strict obedience of both kings and the people themselves to the holy laws of God, the people of Israel could combine with their political influence religious and moral influence and, thus, in the full sense, could become a great torch for humanity. But crimes against the law quickly undermined his power and his moral strength, and he began to uncontrollably strive for fall. With the limitation of direct government by God, as a result of the establishment of royal power, the will of God found direct exponents in the person of the prophets, whose activities during the time of the kings acquired very important significance in the state. These were living bearers of the will of God, which they courageously expressed to the kings and thereby called them to obedience to the law and to repentance. Some of the prophets, such as Nathan and Gad were close advisers to the king, directing his activities in accordance with the requirements of the will of God and the law. In case of any sin or crime of the king against the law, they were fearless avengers for the trampled law, as well as expressers of the will of God, which they personally expressed to the sinful kings. David owed the highest moments of his contrition and repentance for sins to the courageous and severe reproaches of Nathan. The prophets were also the main “writers”, i.e. historiographers who described the actions of the kings. The prophets, at the same time, were the main disseminators of enlightenment among the Israeli people at this time. By this time, prophetic brotherhoods or schools in which the law and sacred poetry and music were studied especially multiplied. The “hosts of prophets” were in several main cities, from where they moved to other neighboring cities, accompanying their prophecy, i.e. preaching about the law, solemn music on various musical instruments (psaltery, tympanum, flute and harp - 1 Samuel 10:5), and they had such a strong influence that those around them succumbed to their inspiration, as was the case, for example. with Saul, who, after his anointing, entered the host of the prophets, where he received the necessary preparation for the high appointment ahead of him. In the schools of the prophets, the great psalmist David undoubtedly received his education and, especially, his high art in poetry and music, under whom sacred poetry and music became a necessary accessory to worship. And in general, by this time the “hosts of prophets” had become completely schools of comprehensive education and enlightenment. The height and breadth of this education is evidenced by the example of Solomon, who, undoubtedly, in these same schools or from the court teachers-prophets, received his comprehensive education in all departments of scientific and artistic knowledge. Along with the spread of education, writing also spread, which at that time received such widespread development that it became a means of ordinary communication, and we find mention of letters through which correspondence was carried out between distant persons 208 . At the court, for state production, there were special scribes and even a court “writer” or historiographer. The court prophets kept their notes on the activities and lives of the kings, as is known, especially about Samuel, Nathan and Gad. The result of these notes were the sacred books relating to this time; the first and second books of Kings, of which the first contains the history of the Israelite people from the birth of Samuel to the death of Saul, and the second continues this story until the anointing of Solomon as king. The compilation of the book “Ruth” dates back to the same period, the appearance of which could have been caused by the need to historically clarify the genealogy of the greatest king of the chosen people - David. But besides these historical books, the best indicator of the height of enlightenment of this time are the books of the kings themselves - namely David and Solomon. David owns most of those divinely inspired songs or psalms that, together with the psalms of other singers of both his and subsequent times, made up the book of Psalms. In their content and presentation, these psalms are a truly great outpouring of a divinely inspired genius-poet, who in wondrous songs embodied the best content of the religious and moral worldview of his time - such a high worldview that it will not lose its inspiring interest until the end of the world, as long as the human heart beats with feelings of faith, hope and love. – Four sacred books are attributed to Solomon: The Stump of Songs, the book of Proverbs of Solomon, the book of Ecclesiastes or the Preacher and the book of the Wisdom of Solomon. These books are undoubtedly part of the 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs spoken of in the third book of Kings (9:32). According to Jewish tradition, the first of these books was written by Solomon in his youth, the second in adulthood, and the third in old age. The fourth book does not exist at all in the Jewish canon of books, and it is preserved only in the Greek translation of 70 commentators, from where it was translated into Russian. In the book of Song of Songs, i.e. a high, beautiful song, under the guise of the bride and groom, the mysterious union of Christ with the Church is depicted, under which symbol it is repeatedly depicted in other books of St. Scriptures of both the old and new testaments (see Ex. 44; Ezek. 16; Hos. 2:19; Matt. 25). The book of Proverbs, as its very name suggests, contains parables and wise moral teachings from a wise king who spoke deep everyday truths based on his own experience. The collection of proverbs was made partly by Solomon himself, and partly by subsequent collectors of the sayings of the wise king in later times. In the book of Ecclesiastes or Preacher we have, as it were, the last testament of a wise king, who, having experienced all the happiness available to man on earth, finally came to the sad conviction that everything on earth is “vanity of vanities, and all is vanity and languor of spirits.” The only thing in which a person can find satisfaction is in fulfilling the rule: “fear God and keep His commandments, because this is all for man” (Eccl. 12:13). During the period under review, the people of Israel were in all respects superior to the nations surrounding them. Politically, they were the most powerful people in Western Asia and had no rivals in arms in the east. Egypt at this time was extremely weakened by internal and external adversities; The XXI dynasty that reigned there had to direct all its efforts to protecting its country from attacks on it by the Libyans and other nomads of the African deserts, who, taking advantage of the weakening of Egypt, constantly made predatory raids on it. Another strong power, Assyro-Babylon, was also completely absorbed in the internal discord between its two halves (Assyria and Babylonia, which were constantly competing with each other) and, thus, lost its importance in international politics. Only small kingdoms remained, which were either subjugated by force to the kings of Israel and paid them tribute, or they themselves sought an alliance and friendship with them (for example, King Hiram of Tire) and thereby strengthened their power. Along with its political power, Israel stood high above the surrounding nations in spiritual terms. All these peoples, in comparison, did not possess any outstanding literary works. If the political dominance of Israel had been more durable and long-lasting, then the surrounding peoples would not have escaped its beneficial influence in both literary and religious-moral terms, as was the case with the Queen of Sheba, who returned to her country with a feeling of deep reverence for everything she saw. Unfortunately, Solomon's well-known weakness prevented this, and he allowed even in Jerusalem the free practice of those disgusting pagan cults that were in irreconcilable opposition to the sublime religion of Jehovah. The history of the fall of Solomon shows that in religious terms the neighboring peoples stood at the same low level as at the time of the Israelites’ entry into the Promised Land, and the wild immorality of their cults stood out even more strongly in the face of such an exalted expression of true religion, such as, for example, the psalms of David and other contemporary books included in the canon of Holy Scripture. Chronologically, the period of the king-monarchs covers a round figure of 120 years, since each of them reigned for 40 years. An important chronological indication lies in the remark of 1 Kings. 6, 1st Art., namely, that the construction of the church began in 480 “after the departure of the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,” which at the same time coincided with the 4th year of Solomon’s reign. Thus, the establishment of the monarchy was in 396 and the death of Solomon in 516 from the exodus from Egypt. According to generally accepted chronology, the death of Solomon falls on 980 BC. The anointing of Saul as king, 1 Sam. 9 and 10. War with the Philistines, I Sam. 13 and 14. Defeat of the Amalekites, 1 Sam. 15. Anointing of David, 1 Sam. 16. Duel between David and Goliath, 1 Sam. 17. David and Jonathan, 1 Sam. 18:1; 20. Saul's persecution of David and the latter's wandering life, 1 Sam. 22 et seq. Death of Samuel, 1 Sam. 28:3. The invasion of the Philistines and the death of Saul, 1 Sam. 31. The Sorceress of Endor, 1 Sam. 28:7–25. Death of Saul, 1 Sam. 31. Conquest of Jerusalem, 2 Sam. 5:6–10. Transferring the Ark, 2 Sam. 6. Conquests of David, 2 Sam. 8. The Ammonite War and the Fall of David, 2 Sam. 10–12 . The Fall of David, 2 Sam. 11–12.ch. David's Family Sorrows, 2 Sam. 13. The revolt of Absalom, 2 Sam. 14:25, 26; 15 et seq. Revolt of Sheba, 2 Sam. 19:41–43; 20. Numbering the people, 2 Sam. 24; Wed 1 Par. 21, The indignation of Adonijah, 1 Kings. 1:5–53. Death of David, 1 Kings. 2:1–11. 1 Kings 2nd seq.; 2 Par. 1 et seq. Building the Church, 1 Kings. 5–7; 2 Par. 2–7. Consecration of the Church, 1 Kings. Chapter 8 Vison is the finest white linen material, which in ancient times belonged to sacred and other high-ranking persons. Prayer of Solomon, 1 Kings. 8:23–53. Visit to the Queen of Sheba, 1 Kings. 10. The Fall of Solomon, 1 Kings. 11. Indulgence in idolatry on the part of Solomon, 1 Kings. 11:1–8. Revolt on the outskirts, 1 Kings. 11:14–25. Rebellion of Jeroboam, 1 Kings. 11:26–40. 1 Kings 11:41–43; 2 Chronicles 9:29–31. You might be interested in: