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upon difficult and dangerous enterprises. But, although Hadad returned to his own
country in the beginning of Solomon's reign, it was only towards its close - when
growing luxury had enervated king and people - that his presence there became a
source of trouble and anxiety.^165 This we infer, not only from 1 Kings 4:24, but from
such a notice as that in 1 Kings 9:26.
But in the extreme northeast, as well as in the far southeast, a dark cloud gathered on
the horizon. At the defeat of Hadadezer by the troops of David (2 Samuel 8:3; 10:18)
one of the Syrian captains, Rezon by name, had "fled from his lord." In the then
disorganized state of the country he gradually gathered around him a band of
followers, and ultimately fell back upon Damascus, of which he became king. The
sacred text leads us to infer that, although he probably did not venture on open warfare
with Solomon, he cast off the Jewish suzerainty, and generally "was an adversary" - or,
to use the pictorial language of the Bible, "abhorred Israel."^166
Ill-suppressed enmity in Edom (far southeast), and more active opposition and intrigue
at Damascus (in the northeast) - in short, the danger of a combination like that which
had so severely taxed the resources of David, such, then, so far as concerned external
politics, were the darkening prospects of Solomon's later years. But the terms in which
Holy Scripture speaks of these events deserve special notice. We are told, that
"Jehovah stirred up" or, rather, "raised up" these adversaries unto Solomon (1 Kings
11:14, 23). The expression clearly points to Divine Causality in the matter (comp.
Deuteronomy 18:15, 18; Judges 2:18; 1 Samuel 2:35; Jeremiah 29:15; Ezra 34:23).
Not, indeed, that the ambitious or evil passions of men's hearts are incited of God, but
that while each, in the exercise of his free will, chooses his own course, the LORD
overrules all, so as to serve for the chastisement of sin and the carrying out of His own
purposes (comp. Psalm 2:1, 2; Isaiah 10:1-3).
But yet another and far more serious danger threatened Solomon's throne. Besides
"adversaries" without, elements of dissatisfaction were at work within Palestine, which
only needed favoring circumstances to lead to open revolt. First, there was the old
tribal jealousy between Ephraim and Judah. The high destiny foretold to Ephraim
(Genesis 48:17-22; 49:22-26) must have excited hopes which the leadership of Joshua,
himself an Ephraimite (Numbers 13:8), seemed for a time to warrant. Commanding,
perhaps, the most important territorial position in the land, Ephraim claimed a
dominating power over the tribes in the days of Gideon and of Jephthah (Judges 8:1;
12:1). In fact, one of the successors of these Judges, Abdon, was an Ephraimite (Judges
12:13). But, besides, Ephraim could boast not only of secular, but of ecclesiastical
supremacy since Shiloh and Kirjath-jearim were within its tribal possession. And had
not Samuel, the greatest of the Judges, the one outstanding personality in the history of
a decrepit priesthood, been, though a Levite, yet "from Mount Ephraim" (1 Samuel
1:1)? Even the authority of Samuel could not secure the undisputed acknowledgment
(^)