rvest, and the feast of tabernacles.

Solomon also built a wonderful house for himself, and another called
the "house of the forest of Lebanon," where he kept his armor. The
roof was upheld by cedars of Lebanon, standing like mighty pillars
beneath it. So famous did his work and his wisdom become that a queen
from a distant land called Sheba came to visit him. She came with a
caravan of servants and camels bringing costly presents of spices, and
gold, and precious stones. She asked him many things that she had
longed to know, and he answered all her questions, and told her strange
and wonderful things, so that after she had seen all his palace, and
his servants, and the service of his table, and the beautiful ascent by
which he went up to the temple, she said that the half had never been
told her in her own country. They exchanged costly presents, and she
went back to her own land.

[Illustration: The Queen of Sheba before Solomon]

Solomon had many ships upon the sea that brought riches from every land
He learned much of the world in this way, and as he grew older and from
his throne of gold and ivory judged his people, he dropped many wise
sayings that were written in a book by the scribes and are now called
the "Proverbs of Solomon."

But in Solomon's latter days his wives, who were daughters of heathen
kings, turned his heart from the Lord. When his father sinned he
repented at once, and his heart never turned to idols, but with all his
wisdom, Solomon was weak of will, and built temples for his wives to
worship idols in.

The Lord had made a promise to David that his sons should inherit the
throne, and He kept the promise, but he allowed the kingdom to be
divided. The two tribes who lived near to Jerusalem--Judah and
Benjamin--were left to Solomon's son Rehoboam, but the ten tribes chose
a man named Jeroboam to be their king. The men of Rehoboam, led by
their king, went out to fight with the ten tribes, but the Lord would
not let them. He spoke to them through a prophet and they went home.

So now there were two kings in Israel, and Rehoboam's kingdom was
called the kingdom of Judah, and that of Jeroboam was called the
kingdom of Israel; but after the kingdom was divided no kings ever
reigned who could be compared with David and Solomon.

CHAPTER XXVII.

ELIJAH THE GREAT HEART OF ISRAEL.

During the reign of Jehoshaphat, fourth king of Judah, and Ahab, sixth
king of Israel, after the divis