Chapter 6 THE REIGNS OF SAUL, DAVID, AND SOLOMON

SAMUEL, the last of the Judges of Israel, when very old, appointed his sons to judge the people-"But they took bribes and perverted judgment." The Israelites complained to Samuel of their injustice, and demanded a King, like other nations. Now, considering the unsettled state of the Jews for hundreds of years, "when there was no King in Israel, and every man did that which was right in his own eyes" the request was reasonable; for they were tired of the unsettled state of their national affairs.

Samuel inquired of the Lord what was to be done? The reply from the Lord was, that Samuel was to let them have a King, agreeably to their wishes; at the same time, it displeased Jehovah, who chose Saul without consulting the people. His choice is recorded to have been pleasing to the Lord, who gave Saul a good character. This kingly government seemed fair in the beginning, and we ought to expect it would have proved a change for the better, as it was by Jehovah's own appointment At the commencement of Saul's reign, he was ordered to go and fight against the Amalekites. The order was thus given:-"Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel; how he laid wait for him in the way when he came up from Egypt" This offence was given some hundred years before, when the Israelites were passing to the land of promise; when the Amalekites opposed them, and refused to let them go through their land. To us, this vengeance appears cruel and unjust. This was visiting the sins of the fathers on the children with a vengeance. At the present day, no tyrant could be found that would imitate such base conduct as is fathered on the all-wise, all-powerful Ruler of the World.

The following statement will serve to make the situation of Saul clearly understood by the readers of this work, and will show the nature of Saul's offence for which he and his family were so severely punished:-Some four or five hundred years before Saul was born, the Israelites were opposed by the Amalekites passing through their land; and when Saul was chosen King, by Jehovah, his first campaign was to go and destroy the then inhabitants of Amalek, for an offence committed by their forefathers long since dead and gone. Saul was ordered by Jehovah not to save old or young, but to kill (murder) all, from the suckling to hoary old age. He fulfilled his orders as he thought, excepting that of taking their King prisoner, and the best of the cattle to sacrifice to Jehovah's honor; and for this one act of mercy, Saul was deposed, and David chosen in his stead. Now, if Jehovah knew that Saul would not obey the orders given, why was he chosen to be their King at all? And if Jehovah was disappointed, where was his foreknowledge? Does that Power and Wisdom that rules the Universe, blunder in this way? What say you, Christian ministers?

According to what is written, the Jewish God repented that he made this choice! Did he repent? We are told that when Saul was put down, and David made King in his stead, that Jehovah could not, like man, repent in putting down David, though he had done so as it respected Saul. To father such inconsistency on the Author of Nature, is an outrage on justice and common sense. Again, to punish with fire and sword a whole nation, for what their forefathers had done five hundred years before; and to make the God of the Universe the author of such a command,-if blasphemy exists against God, this is it to perfection.

From the short reign of Saul, we cannot form a decided opinion as to his kingly character; but one thing is clear, from the Scriptures, that his act of mercy towards the King of Amalek, offended Jehovah, and both himself and family suffered grievously for it; for Samuel told Saul, that' in consequence of his sparing Agag, the King, his royal authority was taken from him, and given to a man better than he. Well might a poet, who wrote on this subject about forty years ago, call Samuel an impostor, and exclaim-:

"From haunts of men be that impostor driven,

Who thinks humanity incenses heaven."

In concluding this account of Saul, we may venture to affirm, that he was one of the best Kings on record; his only failing appears to have been his humanity.

We now come to the reign of David, "he man after God's own heart." It appears that his slaying Goliah, first brought him into notice; for which act David was to be rewarded by having Saul's daughter in marriage. Before this took place, however, it is recorded, in 1 Samuel xviii., 10, "And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul"; but David could play so well on some kind of a musical instrument, that his performance drove the Devil out of the old King. From this account it seems, if the evil spirit means a Devil, that Jehovah kept Devils ready to start off from heaven to do any dirty work; a very worthy practice to ascribe to the God of all! It appears that Saul's troubles, and the evil spirit sent to him from the Lord, had nearly made him crazy-and well it might: but I have no pity for him, because there is not one word of truth in the whole silly tale.

David now demands his wife, according to promise; but Saul puts a heavy tax on his intended son-in-law, before his daughter could be given up. The demand made by Saul on David, before he was permitted to marry his daughter, is written in 1 Samuel xviii., 25, an account showing how well cultivated Kings and Princes were in those days, but too filthy for me to detail. Notwithstanding Saul was deposed, and David anointed King, still Saul kept possession of the kingdom, and David was an object of jealousy. At this time, the Israelites were in an unsettled state; and David, although a King, had no resources. A part of the people were with David, but the bulk of the nation adhered to Saul.

Those two Kings, then, both of whom had been chosen by Jehovah, were still opposing each other. Now, what folly to suppose that either of them were appointed by the Governor of all the Earth! Even admitting the historical part to be true, who can believe that Infinite Wisdom had any part in so unsettled a form of government? it being like unto what England was at one time of her history, when two parties were contending for power. What a changeable, unsettled Being do the Scriptures make the Jewish God! and what folly to believe him to be the Sovereign Ruler of all! The regularity and order which is every where and at all times manifest in nature, proclaim to all nations that the Jehovah of the Bible is not Nature's God.

Although David had been anointed King, to the exclusion of Saul and his house, still the old King retained his authority, and David was compelled to be cautious how he proceeded, as Saul was jealous of him as a rival. Now David had recourse to the following expedient:-"And he collected every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, and he became a captain over them, and there were with him about four hundred men." David, in one of his flights from Saul, and being in want of bread, applied to Abimelech, the priest, for five loaves; and the priest answered David, and said, "There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread, if the young men have at least kept themselves from women." And David answered the priest, and said unto him, "Of a truth, women have been kept from us about three days, since I came out." The reader will now see how David began his reign, as the following incident, will also fully confirm. The above account may be found in 1 Samuel, chapter xxi.

The following account of the progress of David and his small army, is in 1 Samuel, chapter xxv.:-David fled into the wilderness, and while there, he heard of a rich man by the name of Nabal, who had, on a shearing, made a feast for his shearers and friends. David embraced this opportunity, to levy a tax on Nabal, and sent ten young men to ask for a part of the good things prepared for the sheep shearing: "And Nabal answered David's servants, and said, who is David? and who is the son of Jesse? there be many servants now-a-days that break away every man from his master. Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men whom I know not whence they be?" This answer so enraged David, that he exclaimed, "The time my army lay in the wilderness, near to the flock of Nabal, we took nothing from them, and also prevented others from stealing of the flock, and now I cannot get a dinner for me and my six hundred men." "And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword: and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men, and two hundred abode by the stuff." Now, to use David's own words, he intended to slay every man living; Nabal, sheep shearers, and all belonging to him. Don't forget this was the man after Jehovah's own heart!

But it happened that Abigail, Nabal's wife, heard of her husband's refusal to David's demands, and she loaded several asses with all kinds of the best provisions, and met David as he was advancing to take vengeance on Nabal. And when David saw her, he said, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me. For in very deed, as the Lord God of Israel liveth which hath kept me back from hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted, and come to meet me, surely there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light, any that pisseth against the wall." It is recorded after this, that in about ten days, "the Lord smote Nabal that he died." Christians, perhaps, will say, it served him right; because he would not give away his dinner to the Lord's anointed. But to complete this account of David, it is written that he married Nabal's widow, and then he had sheep, goats, and all, although he had many wives before; but, being "a man after Gods own heart" we Infidels must be silent.

After the death of Saul, David being in favor with the people, and strictly adhering to the worship of Jehovah, his reign bid fair to be happy to himself, and to the nation at large: but he had too many wives, and consequently his family troubles came on thick and fast. One son rebelled against him, and flew to arms; and Solomon usurped the throne after the death of his father, and put to death his elder brother by a former wife, under a pretence the most frivolous, to secure himself a safe possession of his usurped power. Another son ravished his half-sister by another mother; and in return, the ravisher was murdered by the brother of the violated virgin. In truth, if it is true as recorded, David's whole life was one continued scene of blood and slaughter; and on his death-bed he recommended Solomon to murder others-as his oath prevented him from doing it in his lifetime.

However strictly David obeyed Jehovah, and "turned not aside to worship other gods," in a moral point of view he was a wicked man. His conduct for licentiousness was notorious. In addition to the number of wives he had before the death of Saul, his royal master, Nathan the prophet says that "Jehovah gave him Saul's wives, besides"; but, not satisfied with all this, so contemptible was his conduct, he sneaked about to obtain a sight of an officer's wife while in the bath. Such low, cowardly curiosity would disgrace the driver of a dung-cart. A lady's bath not to be held sacred by this filthy, dirty animal, and yet to be called "the man after God's own heart"! His actions would disgrace the Devil, for Satan offered no insult to Eve: his worst crime was no more than saying-"Madam, the fruit is good, do taste, it will do you no harm, and you will be the wiser; after all."

Never let us forget the artifice the Lord's anointed made use of, in order to conceal his crime. When Uriah, his officer, came from the army with news of importance to David, after the seduction of Bathsheba, the cunning debauchee said, come, Uriah, do not hurry back to the camp; go home to Bathsheba, your wife; she will be happy to see you: go home, my faithful servant, and stay with your wife.

But Uriah refused, by saying, the officers and the army are in the open fields, and I will not go home to take comfort in my own house. So Uriah slept in the gate with the servants. And when David found that he had not been home, he made him tarry another day, and that night got him drunk. In the meantime the King wrote a letter to Joab, the Captain of the host, and sent it by Uriah, to place him in the front of the battle, where he would be killed. The unsuspecting Uriah then returned; to his duty, with his death warrant in his hand; and, according to the orders given to Joab, the commander of the host of Israel, Uriah was placed in that part of the engagement where he fell, covered with wounds and glory.

It will be seen by the orders sent to the Captain, concerning Uriah, by the King, what cowardly artifice was used to murder his noble officer, whose wife, unknown to him, had been seduced. David's words are, "Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him that he may be smitten and die." Such an act would disgrace the worst despot on earth, but it was done by "the man after God's own heart"! When Nathan was sent by Jehovah to David, to remind him of his wickedness, it was done, in the way of a parable. David did not at first discover its application: and it is recorded, that "David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said unto Nathan as the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die." "Thou art the man!" said Nathan; and David exclaimed, "Oh! Lord, I have sinned." In fact, he was found out, but for which he would not have made this acknowledgment.

After the death of Uriah, David took her (Bathsheba) to wife, and Jehovah made up the matter with him; first, by destroying the child, the innocent victim who had no part in the murder; and, secondly, by saving and pardoning David for crimes of the deepest dye: and, also, the Lord told him, that because of his wickedness he should have discord in his family:-"Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee, out of thine house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun." To destroy the innocent child, who had no participation in the crime of the father, is too shocking to be admitted, when it is recorded as the sentence of the just and impartial God. I know Christians will reply, that the ways of God are not as our ways, and that it is wicked in mortals to find fault with what is done by a Being of infinite power, wisdom, and Goodness. In reply, it is contended that the conduct pursued on this occasion by Jehovah, is shocking when ascribed to a God impartial and just, and that it is more becoming mortals, like ourselves, to reject the whole story as a vile falsehood, than to father it on that Being, or that Cause, who:

"Warms in the sun, refreshes in the breeze,

Glows in the stars, and blossoms in the trees."

To conclude these remarks on David's life and conduct, we ask, which is the more reasonable supposition, that the whole account, so far as it implicates a God of Justice, is, from beginning to end untrue? or, that a Being of unbounded power, wisdom and goodness, should in any way associate with so abandoned a character as King David? For myself, I prefer the latter. I have omitted another account in the life of David, that requires to be noticed. It is recorded in 2 Samuel, chapter xxiv., that David ordered the people to be numbered. One account says that Satan, and another account says that the Lord, moved David to number the people: no doubt it was done to get the number of the fighting men of Israel; for doing which, the Lord was angry with David; and three modes of punishment were submitted for the choice of the King:-"Seven years' famine, or to flee three months before his enemies, or to have three days' pestilence in the land." The last was chosen, and it is recorded that seventy thousand men died of the pestilence, as a punishment for the offence of David. It is a libel on the Supreme Being to charge him with the authorship of such injustice and cruelty. That thousands of persons may have been cut off by plague, or pestilence, at times, and in different nations, is highly probable-but not by a judgment for other men's sins.

In Homer's Iliad, we have a similar account, written, according to historians, about nine hundred years before the Christian era. In the account of the Trojan War, the commander of the Grecian army, in the sacking of different towns, took many female captives, among whom was one who was the daughter of the Priest of Apollo, one of the Grecian gods. The venerable Priest came to the General, clothed in his robes, bearing the sublime and awe-inspiring ensigns of his god, and demanded the liberation of his captive daughter. The General insulted the Priest by a positive refusal to give up his daughter, and he (the Priest) departed, and offered the following prayer:

"If e'er with wreaths I hung the sacred fane,

Or fed the flame with fat of oxen slain,

God of the silver bow, thy shafts employ,

Avenge my quarrel, and the Greeks destroy."

The second General in command inquired of the Grecian Priest the cause of such mortality among the soldiers; and the Priest returned the following answer:-:

"The King of men, the reverend Priest defied,

And, for the King's offence, the people died."

The similarity between the Jehovah of the Jews, and the Apollo of the Greeks, is very striking. Jehovah slew the Jewish army because David numbered the people; and the Grecian god slew the soldiers because the Priest had been insulted. The number is exactly the same, each being seventy thousand men. The God of the Jews is said to have been the author of the destruction of the army of the Israelites, and a heathen god the destroyer of the Greeks. The first is believed to be a part of Divine Revelation; the last is acknowledged to be but fiction.

From all the accounts recorded respecting David, to me he appears to have been a wicked man; much worse than Saul, whose worst action seems to have been his humanity in sparing Agag, whom he took prisoner. I cannot, therefore, believe, that the Universal Ruler of all Nature sanctioned his actions, directly or indirectly, any more than he does now, or ever has done, those of any other legal murderer.

A few remarks more will conclude the life and conduct of David. In 1 Kings, chapter i., it is recorded, that David being old and infirm, could get no warmth in bed, and a fair young damsel was sought for throughout the land of Israel, to wait on him by day, and sleep with him during the night, to keep the old King warm. With her he was much pleased, but the account states, that "David the King knew her not." This is a strange tale, for if the sole object was, to get a young woman to sleep with him, then not the fairest, but the fattest, plumpest girl to be found throughout the land, would have been the most proper person for such service; for at that time, David must have had half a score of wives living. It is therefore clear, that warmth was only a pretence for selecting a handsome young maiden to comfort the Lord's anointed; and we may safely infer that David was not cured of his former tricks.

The life and conduct of Solomon must now pass in review. When his father was on his death-bed, he gave his son Solomon instructions to put to death several persons who had been the subjects of David, but to whom he (David) had sworn while living, that he would spare their lives. And accordingly, Solomon, after the death of his father, put into execution the orders he had received, and slew the persons mentioned by David; so that his reign commenced in blood.

And here it is proper to notice, that Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, and the mother of Solomon, in order to disinherit the eldest son of David by his former wife, prevailed on David to have Solomon anointed King, in the lifetime of his father. So that Adonijah, the real heir, was set aside; and the better to secure the throne, Solomon had his half-brother put to death. The cause of this execution, as is recorded, was because Adonijah asked leave of Solomon, the King, to marry the damsel who kept David warm in his old age! Jehovah had chosen a strange family, after turning out Saul from the-kingdom, and Solomon was too pure to let a brother live, after being so wicked as to ask permission to marry the young virgin who had kept the back of his old father warm in a cold night!

After Solomon had slain those men according to the orders before given by his father, he added another to the list, viz., Adonijah, his half-brother. The Lord appeared to him in a dream, and said, "Ask what I shall give thee." Solomon then dreamed that he gave the following reply to the gracious permission:-"Give, therefore, thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad." This request is said to have pleased the Lord, who added to it "both riches and honor"; "and-Solomon awoke, and behold it was a dream." This account is written in 1 Kings, chapter iii.; and all that can be made of it is, that Solomon dreamed the Lord told him so, and we have nothing but his word for it.

The Bible record of Solomon's riches, and, in fact, the whole of his life, is not entitled to any credit whatever. We may say, however, that some allowance ought to be made for Solomon on account of the bad example under which he was brought tip in the family of his father; for if the Scripture history of the facts concerning Solomon is to be considered true, then the whole of his reign is the most extraordinary which ever happened in the world. Beginning with his riches, it exceeds every thing in ancient or modern times. The feast at the opening of the Temple was no small matter.

Scripture informs us, that at the dedication of the Temple, Scripture informs us, that at the dedication of the Temple, the sacrifice offered up, was twenty-two thousand oxen, and one hundred and twenty-two thousand sheep. This, when we consider the smallness of David's domains, and the general poverty of his family, is incredible; but as every thing is so wonderful, and the whole of the reign of Solomon is so extravagant, no dependence whatever is to be placed on any of its accounts.

As it regards Solomon's household, the provisions named for each day are the following:-"Thirty measures of fine flour, threescore measures of meal, ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep, besides harts and roebucks, and fallow-deer, and faited fowls." "And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen." Now, in so small, and in many parts barren land, where could they be raised? But Solomon had need of a plentiful table, for it is recorded that he had seven hundred wives, and three hundred concubines! If he had wisdom enough to regulate his house so as to live happy, it must be owned that the Lord had given him more than a common share; but as none but fools or madmen will believe this account, we may let it pass without comment.

The most astonishing inconsistency in the reign of Solo-man, is his continual departure from the worship of Jehovah, who had been his benefactor, and who had also repeatedly warned him of the consequences of a departure from the God of his father. If what is recorded of his riches be true, they were greater than those of any monarch on earth. The gold he is said to have possessed when he built the Temple, exceeds all calculation, and is in strict accordance, in point of magnitude, with his feast at the dedication of the Temple, and with his daily allowance of food for his household, and also with his seven hundred wives, and three hundred concubines. But when we consider the poverty of the Israelites up to the time of his father's reign, and also David's poverty until the death of Saul, when at times, David had neither food for himself nor army, neither had he gold nor silver wherewith to purchase it-it may be asked, how Solomon came into the possession of such an immense quantity of gold? and also from what vast extent of country did he procure his horses, when but a few years before, David, his father; could scarcely afford to keep a jackass? Again, where did he procure such numerous herds of cattle and flocks of sheep?

But as I have before said, the greatest inconsistency of all is, that Solomon should worship other gods, contrary to the express command of Jehovah, who had given him wisdom, riches, and honors. Leaving Christians, then, to settle with Solomon, how he, with all his wisdom, could so play the fool and madman in the face of his God, some attention will be directed to the God of Abram, Isaac, and Jacob. It will be recollected that Saul, the predecessor of David, had offended Jehovah by sparing the life of Agag, a captive King. In consequence, it is recorded that the God of Israel repented that he put Saul on the throne. He then chose David, and his family, to succeed the house of Saul; and having made this second choice, he declared he should not repent again.

If this last declaration had been made by man, in his choice, after having before been mistaken, the following mode of reasoning would aptly apply; and Jehovah would also thus reason:-"I made choice of Saul to be King over Israel. I sent him to smite Amalek, and not to spare any soul alive, old age and infancy not excepted; but Saul did not obey my orders, but spared the King and brought him a captive, which I did not expect As I took him from driving mules, and made him a King, he ought therefore to have obeyed my commands. I dethroned him and his family forever. I then appointed David, a man after my own heart. In this choice I was happy. He departed not from my worship or my law, but with a few exceptions. It is true, David committed adultery and murder, in the case of Bathsheba and Uriah; but he repented, and I caused the brat to die out of the way, which made room for Solomon. Now, who could ever have thought that Solomon would have turned out so bad? Why, the fellow, in addition to wisdom, riches, and honor, has now seven hundred wives, and three hundred concubines! and not content with this number, he marries the daughters of heathens, prostrates himself before their idols, and builds new temples to their gods; but I promised not to repent again, yet Solomon must be punished. I will not, therefore, depose him, but in his son's reign I will divide the kingdom, and give the greater part of it to one of mean birth. I will not wholly take it away from the seed of David, because I promised him that he should not want a man to sit on his throne; but I will, for the wickedness of Solomon, cause discord among the tribes, that will induce them to fight against each other. It is not for the thousand women that Solomon had, which would not fail to create discord and all manner of misery; neither for putting to death his brother: all that I could have tolerated-but he changed his religion, and worshipped strange gods; I will rend the nation asunder, never more to be united. It would have been more to my honor to have suffered Saul to continue on the throne, for he only disobeyed my Orders once, but the son of David built temples for idolatry, and worshipped false gods, setting my authority at defiance. In his son's reign, therefore, I will bring on trouble in his house, that all Israel may know how great is the sin of worshipping false gods, and thus rebelling against the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel."

I will now ask the Christian preachers, whether I dishonor the all-wise Sovereign of the Universe, in not believing him to be capable of such tomfoolery as this: in choosing, and again rejecting his former choice: in blundering, to rectify a former blunder, and falling into one much greater, to remedy the first: to be doing, and undoing: to have an end to accomplish, and to make use of means that fail in its accomplishment. Ye priests! if ye are not blind, look at the heavens above, and also on the earth beneath, and then ask yourselves, whether the God of all is the same personage as Jehovah, the God of Israel?

To conclude these remarks respecting the house of David and Solomon:-Even admitting that such personages had a real existence, I cannot so dishonor the Supreme Governor of Nature as for a moment to admit, that he dealt with either David or Solomon any otherwise than he deals with every human being, and I should stand before my fellow men a self-convicted hypocrite, were I to affect to believe.