Two of the instruments of Solomon’s chastisement are enumerated in this paragraph.

First, Hodad, the Edomite, vs. 14-22. Notice the importance of a little child. All the male representatives of the royal family of Edom had perished; but in this child, the line was preserved and perpetuated, to be, through long years, a formidable menace to Israel. Never neglect a little child. You never know what good or ill may be hidden in a tiny bud—an Ingersoll or a Garfield, a Paine or a Wilberforce. Mark in this man Hodad the trace of those strange impulses which determine destiny. He could not assign the reason that led him to leave Egypt, but he knew he must go, v. 22. Thus migratory birds feel the call of southern lands. :

Second, Rezon, also, hated Israel, vs. 23-25. It is an awful thing when such hatred arises between two peoples. We as Christians must use all our power to arrest and allay it. Only love and good-will can guarantee a lasting peace. It was by these two human ‘trods’’ that God chastened Solomon. Let us live in such conformity to his will that he may not need to chasten us as individuals or as a nation. ‘‘Our God is a consuming fire!”’