The Last Days of Solomon

XXX
The Last Days of Solomon

1. THEIR SECRET

AFTER SOLOMON realized his son, Ibna Hakim, and the young noblemen, including Zadok's son, Azariah, had stolen the Ark and taken it away to Ethiopia, he returned to Jerusalem from Egypt.
Both he and Zadok wept bitterly in the Temple and they remained silent for a long time.
However, his elders tried to comfort him.
"Don't be sorrowful concerning this," said Adoniram, his former cabinet minister for public works and now a court adviser, "for we know, from first to last, that without the will of God, the Ark won't dwell anywhere."
Adoniram thought of his first meeting with Tamrin, and being in the mountains of Lebanon with the now crippled Chief Merchant and ambassador for Makeda. "If only we'd never met, then maybe, just maybe, the Ark would still be with us," he thought to himself.
Out loud, however, he continued with his words of comfort, recalling how the Philistines once carried it away, only to send it back to Israel because it carried such destruction.
Maybe this would happen to the Ethiopians, he thought.
"For it's impossibe," he continued, "to carry the Ark away unless she wanted to and God wanted it.
"When your father, Solomon, reigned over Israel he took the Ark from the city of Samaria and brought the Ark here to Jerusalem, dancing on her feet before her, and clapping his hands because of the joy for her. And the reason she wrent to the Ethiopian capital was because God willed it and she willed it."
Solomon seemed to be resigned to Adoniram's words when he said: "If the Ark doesn't return it will be God's good pleasure.

Although, they all had wept bitter tears, Solomon ordered them to cease with the words, "Cease so that the uncircumised people won't boast and won't say, 'Their glory is taken away and God has forsaken them.' Don't tell anything to alien people."
Then he told them of a secret plan.
"Let's take the boards Azariah and his henchmen set up in the Temple when they stole our Lady, and decorate them and cover with gold and let's put the Book of the Law inside it."
He assured his leaders that God hadn't abandoned them because of the covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the later covenant with his father, David, and the one with himself.
Solomon lived for 11 years after the Ark was stolen and then his heart turned aside from the love of God and he forgot his wisdom,. through the excessive love of women.