Only at this point in Israel's history can historians assign accurate dates to events. Saul, who ruled from about 1020 to 1000 B. C., won a number of victories in battle against the Philistines and other enemies. On several occasions he disobeyed orders from God delivered through Samuel. God became increasingly displeased with him. Meanwhile, the Bible says, God was raising up a new and unlikely leader.
David, who ruled from about 1000 to 960 b. c., would be Israel's greatest king. Under his leadership, Israel's territory would reach its largest point, and David would win victory after victory. Though he started as a mere shepherd boy, from an early age he showed signs of future greatness. He is said to
Have killed a lion with his bare hands, and his victory over the Philistine giant Goliath caught the attention of King Saul.
At first Saul treated him almost like a son, and gave him one of his daughters as a wife. David also began a close friendship with Saul's son Jonathan, which would continue even after Saul turned against him. But Saul eventually became jealous of David, and for many years David was a hunted man. During this time, he wrote a number of the psalms (SAULMS), or songs to God, contained in the book of that name, and assembled a fighting force of his own that would become known as “the Mighty Men of David.”
Saul met his end in a battle that claimed three of his sons, including Jonathan. Saul himself committed suicide by falling on his sword. An aging Samuel then anointed David king. The new king distinguished himself with numerous victories over Philistines, Canaanites, and other hostile peoples. More important than these conquests, however, was his capture of Jerusalem, an ancient city that became the new capital of the Israelites. He celebrated its capture by giving the Ark of the Covenant, a sacred box containing the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, a place of honor in the new capital city. The Israelites considered the Ark sacred; stories were told of terrible things that happened to men who touched it. Later, during the conquest by other nations that led to the Captivity, the Ark was lost and has never been seen again.”
God made a covenant with David, promising that his descendants would rule forever. Christians have taken this as a promise regarding Christ, who descended from David. David composed many songs of praise to God, for example Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible. He was called “a man after God's own heart” despite occasional lapses into sin, as when he coveted another man's wife [see sidebar, “The Ten Commandments.”] That desire led him to break another commandment, against murder, when he sent the woman's husband to certain death in battle. He married the woman, Bathsheba (bath-SHEE-buh). Out of this union came his successor, Solomon; however, David had to pay heavily for his sins.
Because of David's checkered past, God denied him an honor that he gave instead to Solomon (reigned c. 960-922 b. c.): the building of a great temple in Jerusalem. The temple would house the Ark of the Covenant in a place called “The Holy of
Holies.” The Bible records a great deal about the building of the temple and about Solomon's legendary wisdom, in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes (ee-klee-zee-AS-teeze), biblical books attributed to him. Ecclesiastes is unusual among books of the Bible for its world-weary philosophical tone. Another unusual book is “Song of Solomon,” likewise traditionally attributed to the king. It is a love poem from a man to a woman and has no equal in ancient literature (certainly not in the Bible) for the intensity of the desire it expresses. Solomon, incidentally, is said to have had some 800 wives. According to legend he had a love affair with the Queen of Sheba from the African country of Ethiopia.
World History
