Envy. The woman who accidentally smothered her baby, was a bad woman with no conscience. She envied the happiness of the other woman whose child was living, and would have liked the innocent baby to be killed in order that the other woman might be childless as well as herself. This shows what a cruel and hateful sin envy is.
Lies. The envious woman told the most barefaced lies in order to gain possession of the living child.
Mortal sin. The envious woman lied about a serious matter; for her object was to rob a mother of her child; and therefore her lie was a mortal sin. She sinned not only against the eighth Commandment, but also against the tenth and fifth Commandments; for in the first place she coveted the child which was its mother’s dearest earthly possession, and then desired its death. All these sins proceeded from the hateful sin of envy.
The gift of wisdom. The first and highest of the gifts of the Holy Ghost, and the crown of all the others, is the gift of wisdom. God gave Solomon this gift in an extraordinary measure. Not only did he possess a knowledge of divine things, but he was versed in all human sciences, knowing the secrets of nature, the course of the stars, and the properties of beasts, plants &c. Moreover, he was gifted with the art of government; and the renown of his wisdom spread far and wide, as you will see in chapter LX.
Application. Do you pray mostly for spiritual or temporal gifts? In future pray more diligently for God’s grace and especially for the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost. Pray also for the gift of the virtue most opposed to your besetting sin.
Chapter LIX.
THE BUILDING AND CONSECRATION OF THE TEMPLE.
[3 Kings 6 — 8. 2 Paralip. 5.]
IN the fourth year of his reign Solomon began to build the Temple of the Lord on Mount Moria[1] in Jerusalem. He had ten thousand men employed cutting cedars[2] on Mount Lebanon
- ↑ Mount Moria. On which mountain Abraham had built an altar and prepared to sacrifice his son (chapter XIII). It is situated to the north-east of Mount Sion, being separated from it by a valley.
- ↑ Cedars. The cedar is the king of the pine-tribe; its wood is durable, sweet smelling and does not get worm-eaten. The great stones which were necessary for the building of the Temple also came from Lebanon. The materials for building were taken to the sea-coast, at either Tyre or Si don, there put on vessels or rafts, and taken to Joppe and thence to Jerusalem.
