Did you know?

1.David gave the Jews Jerusalem; Solomon built for them the first Temple. David extended the kingdom considerably by war; Solomon preserved it by peace. David, with his spiritual sensitivity, composed the glorious Book of Psalms; Solomon, with his incomparable brilliance, left us the legacy of the Book of Proverbs.

2.From a distance, these two stars shine equally bright, and we are incapable of comparing their luminescence. What we do know with certainty is that they stand high above us and that the rays sent forth ages ago will continue to shine for generations yet to come. If our name is indeed our destiny, it's no wonder that the most beloved of all kings was David-for in Hebrew, David means "the loved on." And if ever a man deserved love, respect, adulation, and immorality, David was the man.

3.To this very day, when we want to speak of an uneven match-up, we use the example of David and Goliath. But sometimes, one well-placed shot can beat the school bully; the courage of David against a superior force remains the inspiration for the under dogs of all times. Just to prove that no good deed ever goes unpunished, David's great victory earned him King Saul's everlasting hatred. It couldn't have been easy for Saul to listen to the lyrics of the most popular song of his day, "Saul has slain his thousands/And David his ten thousands." But it didn't warrant throwing a spear at David while the young man was playing the harp for him. Nor did it justify Saul's other attempts to murder a national hero out of personal envy.

4.Yet even after this, David showed his greatness of character by holding back several times from slaying his pursuer when he easily could have done so. When David's sworn enemy, Saul, is finally killed in battle in an act of suicide to prevent public humiliation, David does not gloat but, filled with pity, weeps and utters a cry whose concluding line still has the power to move us "How are the mighty fallen in the midst of battle!"

5.Think of the paradox: A powerful warrior with the soul of a poet. A man who could master both the harp and the slingshot. It was also David who gave the holiest land on Earth its holiest city.

6 Unsure of himself at the start of his reign, Solomon had a dream in which he could make one wish of God. He prayed only for "an understanding heart to judge Thy people, that I may discern between good and evil." So God, according to tradition, granted him his wish, and Solomon became the epitome of a ruler with a wise and understanding heart, manifesting brilliance and compassion in the performance of his royal duties.

Solomon bought two great gifts to the Jewish people:

1. He lived up to his name Shlomo/Solomon, from the Hebrew word shalom, or "peace." His was a reign of unequaled and uninterrupted peace in the land, an age to which we still aspire as part of the messianic vision.
2. He created the supreme symbol of Jewish unity and submission to God, to be known, in recognition of his achievement, as Solomon's Temple, the first Temple in Jerusalem.

These six facts relate to.......Who was the greater: David or Solomon? .....

Come back next week for the next exciting slot of FACTS!

How did Solomon know where to build the Temple?...