How do King Solomon’s actions relate with the refugee exodus or the Abortion Factor?
In my opinion, King Solomon received a blessing of wisdom. When he made use of it to serve his God, he managed to achieve great accomplishments to benefit his nation. His reputation for wisdom as a King and Judge spread over the world . His wisdom and fame led him to acquire vast wealth and a vast number of wives.
Wealth in ancient times made it possible for him to acquire a vast number of wives and concubines. Whether or not the number of 700 wives and 300 concubines was true or an exaggeration will probably never be known. The culture of polygymy in ancient times was considered a sign of wealth and stature for any man. As a King, it also had a religious connotation with the nation’s harvest and plenty. The greater the number of wives and children of a King, the greater more abundant would be the harvest for the nation.
The Bible states his downfall came about when his heart turned away from his God for allowing his foreign wives to worship pagan gods. The ancient Hebrew religious writers viewed this to be an abomination and sinful acts will lead to a downfall of any man or nation.
Near the end of his life he wrote his Ecclesiastes and recognized his personal folly for believing he could be as wise as his Creator. He realized he wasted a lot of time chasing after the wind to search and experience both righteous and evil. In other words, because of the acclaim he received about his wisdom and intellect, his vanity drove him to believe he could interpret and make decisions about the laws God gave to Moses.
In the USA, we have a First Amendment right in our Constitution to worship any religious beliefs we choose. Was Solomon ahead of his time and wiser than his contemporaries? Many questions that relate to religious beliefs are considered Divine Mysteries. My purpose is not to answer any religious faith beliefs, only to compare similarities he observed and wrote about in his life and how his wisdom still has a meaningful relationship to modern times.
What are these ancient similarities in regards to laws of men and our Constitution? How do issues in Ancient Times relate to the issues we are now reading or hearing about Today in the news in the USA and around the world? The following is a brief comparison of some issues..
War
In ancient times, a new King might decide to kill any potential enemies who posed a threat to their authority. When Solomon became King, his father King David warned him of potential enemies. Solomon decided not to kill them to signal his desire for a reign of peace and unity. When they later conspired against Solomon, he ordered the deaths of his enemies.
Today our Constitutions allows us to declare lawful war on our enemies to defend our nation. Some states have death penalties.
Slavery
In ancient times, a conquered people became the slaves or workers for the conquerors. Solomon used them as workers for his building projects.
Today, legal refugees and immigrants seeking asylum in a country may appy for citizenship and everyone needs to work.While workers are not considered slaves, many asylum seekers, depending on thier skills will work at menial tasks the richer or more affluent prefer not to do. Are minimum wages slave wages is a different subject.
Trade
In ancient times, trade brought prosperity, affluence and power to nations. Solomon used trade as a key means to instill peaceful relationships with other nations. His gained a reputation to be a shrewd and skillful trader by focusing on both producing goods and being a skilled middleman who profited by providing safe passage through the trade route of Israel.
One measurement of a shrewd trader nation is what is shown as the end balance that results from the countries trade. The higher the favorable trade balance amount, the shrewder the trader nation.
Today, trade is still being used as a means to bring nations to maintain peaceful relationships or be excluded from selling their goods in world markets. The measurement of USA shrewdness of our trade agreements in the past three decades has resulted in an average yearly trade deficit of one half trillion dollars. Government economists cannot agree with themselves whether this is a plus or minus while at the same time USA middle class wages have shrunk seven percent since 2008.
Abortion
In ancient times, a child was considered to be a blessing and an asset to a family. I surmise because of medical skills and knowledge back then, abortion of a child would have been a great risk to take by a very desperate mother.
Today there is a low medical risk of abortion in the USA. A mother has a lawful right to decide whether their bearing a child is a blessing, curse, or otherwise factor in their personal lives.
Taxes and Debt
In ancient times in Israel, tax collectors were hated. The Bible implies that Solomon ran up debts from his building projects and lifestyle and by doing so caused the nation to become divided after his death.
Today, in the USA, there is constant bickering about the fairness of tax rates for the rich and poor. The National Debt is currently around eighteen trillion dollars while the deficit spending continues on, and on, and on.
Laws
In ancient Israel, the Laws of Moses and the Ten Commandments were the main guidelines for attitudes and behaviour in that nation.
Today, in the USA, we have a Constitution and probably millions of federal, state, and local laws and ordinances on the books to guide our attitude, behaviors, breathing, taxes, compensation, rights, marriage, tort contracts, social welfare, health, war, peace, abortion, air rights, drilling rights, noise, voting, licenses, etc. etc. etc.
Leadership
In ancient times, Solomon was in the beginning of his reign revered for his compassion for the poorest, and his wisdom demonstrated by his judgement of fairness. In later times he was hated for taxation. During his reign peace prevailed for forty years.
Today we are listening to news commentators and debates for the next Presidential Election. Issues of war, peace, taxes, trade, poor, rich, debt, trade, abortion, gay marriage, rights, religious beliefs, immigration, health, pollution, etc. etc., all still prevail as issues. Some candidate are again beating on war drums.
Comments and Opinion
In my opinion, King Solomon’s statement three thousand years ago about nothing new under the sun and the next king will do the same thing as the previous king was a fairly accurate prediction or even a prophesy.
So what should USA voters be trying to decide who will be their leader? In my opinion, do not pay any attention to the paid political advertisements you will be bombarded with soon.
Instead, consider which candidate is both wise and compassionate. I have referenced a previous post for you to consider about the advice I offered Donald Trump. He apparently has not read it yet, but to his credit, at least he is sounding out the problems previous empty suit politicians promised to remedy over and over again at election time, only to forget about soon after they are elected.
In My Next Post
I will explore the laws and our Constitution. For anyone following this series of posts and perhaps becoming a little inpatient or frustrated, bear with me. I feel the same way, not about writing this series though.
My frustration is about the Same O, Same O lack of love and wisdom I read about every day in the news. Only a few more posts to go and I will explain my opinion why the Abortion Factor is the root cause of all folly. Then you decide whether the point I will try to make in my opinion, is wise or foolish.
Regards and goodwill blogging
Reference Post
KIng Solomon’s Advice for Donald Trump HERE
Previous Posts Links On This Series
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