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1 Kings Chapter
Twelve
1 Kings 12
Chapter Contents
Rehoboam's accession
The people's petition
His rough
answer. (1-15) Ten tribes revolt. (16-24) Jeroboam's idolatry. (25-33)
Commentary on 1 Kings 12:1-15
(Read 1 Kings 12:1-15)
The tribes complained not to Rehoboam of his father's
idolatry
and revolt from God. That which was the greatest grievance
was none
to them; so careless were they in matters of religion
if they might live at
case
and pay no taxes. Factious spirits will never want something to complain
of. And when we see the Scripture account of Solomon's reign; the peace
wealth
and prosperity Israel then enjoyed; we cannot doubt but that their
charges were false
or far beyond the truth. Rehoboam answered the people
according to the counsel of the young men. Never was man more blinded by pride
and desire of arbitrary power
than which nothing is more fatal. God's counsels
were hereby fulfilled. He left Rehoboam to his own folly
and hid from his eyes
the things which belonged to his peace
that the kingdom might be rent from
him. God serves his own wise and righteous purposes by the imprudences and sins
of men. Those that lose the kingdom of heaven
throw it away
as Rehoboam
by
wilfulness and folly.
Commentary on 1 Kings 12:16-24
(Read 1 Kings 12:16-24)
The people speak unbecomingly of David. How soon are good
men
and their good services to the public
forgotten ! These considerations
should reconcile us to our losses and troubles
that God is the Author of them
and our brethren the instruments: let us not meditate revenge. Rehoboam and his
people hearkened to the word of the Lord. When we know God's mind
we must
submit
how much soever it crosses our own mind. If we secure the favour of
God
not all the universe can hurt us.
Commentary on 1 Kings 12:25-33
(Read 1 Kings 12:25-33)
Jeroboam distrusted the providence of God; he would
contrive ways and means
and sinful ones too
for his own safety. A practical
disbelief of God's all-sufficiency is at the bottom of all our departures from
him. Though it is probable he meant his worship for Jehovah the God of Israel
it was contrary to the Divine law
and dishonourable to the Divine majesty to
be thus represented. The people might be less shocked at worshipping the God of
Israel under an image
than if they had at once been asked to worship Baal; but
it made way for that idolatry. Blessed Lord
give us grace to reverence thy
temple
thine ordinances
thine house of prayer
thy sabbaths
and never more
like Jeroboam
to set up in our hearts any idol of abomination. Be thou to us
every thing precious; do thou reign and rule in our hearts
the hope of glory.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on 1 Kings》
1 Kings 12
Verse 1
[1] And
Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king.
Were come —
Rehoboam did not call them thither
but went thither
because the Israelites
prevented him
and had pitched upon that place
rather than upon Jerusalem
because it was most convenient for all
being in the center of the kingdom; and
because that being in the potent tribe of Ephraim
they supposed there they
might use that freedom of speech
which they resolved to use
to get there
grievances redressed. So out of a thousand wives and concubines
he had but one
son to bear his name
and he a fool! Is not sin an ill way of building up a
family?
Verse 3
[3] That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of
Israel came
and spake unto Rehoboam
saying
They sent —
When the people sent him word of Solomon's death
they also sent a summons for
him to come to Shechem. That the presence and countenance of a man of so great
interest and reputation
might lay the greater obligation upon Rehoboam to
grant them ease and relief.
Verse 4
[4] Thy
father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of
thy father
and his heavy yoke which he put upon us
lighter
and we will serve
thee.
Grievous — By
heavy taxes and impositions
not only for the temple and his magnificent
buildings
but for the expenses of his numerous court
and of so many wives and
concubines. And Solomon having so grossly forsaken God
it is no wonder if he
oppressed the people.
Verse 7
[7] And
they spake unto him
saying
If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this
day
and wilt serve them
and answer them
and speak good words to them
then
they will be thy servants for ever.
This day — By
complying with their desires
and condescending to them for a season
till thou
art better established in thy throne. They use this expression
fore-seeing
that some would dissuade him from this course
as below the majesty of a
prince.
And answer —
Thy service is not hard
it is only a few good words
which it is as easy to
give as bad ones.
Verse 8
[8] But he forsook the counsel of the old men
which they had given him
and
consulted with the young men that were grown up with him
and which stood
before him:
Young men — So
called
comparatively to the old men: otherwise they were near forty years old.
Verse 10
[10] And
the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him
saying
Thus shalt
thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee
saying
Thy father made our
yoke heavy
but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them
My
little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins.
Shall be thicker — Or
rather
is thicker
and therefore stronger
and more able to crush you
if you
proceed in these mutinous demands
than his loins
in which is the principal
seat of strength.
Verse 15
[15]
Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the
LORD
that he might perform his saying
which the LORD spake by Ahijah the
Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
From the Lord —
Who gave up Rehoboam to so foolish and fatal a mistake
and alienated the
peoples affections from him; and ordered all circumstances by his wise
providence to that end.
Verse 16
[16] So
when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them
the people answered
the king
saying
What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in
the son of Jesse: to your tents
O Israel: now see to thine own house
David.
So Israel departed unto their tents.
In David — In
David's family and son; we can expect no benefit or relief from him
and
therefore we renounce all commerce with him
and subjection to him. They named
David
rather than Rehoboam; to signify
that they renounced not Rehoboam only
but all David's family.
Son of Jesse — So
they call David in contempt; as if they had said
Rehoboam hath no reason to
carry himself with such pride and contempt toward his people; for if we trace
his original
it was as mean and obscure as any of ours.
To your tents —
Let us forsake him
and go to our own homes
there to consider
how to provide
for ourselves.
Verse 17
[17] But
as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah
Rehoboam
reigned over them.
Judah —
The tribe of Judah; with those parts of the tribes of Levi
and Simeon
and
Benjamin
whose dwellings were within the confines of Judah.
Verse 18
[18] Then
king Rehoboam sent Adoram
who was over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him
with stones
that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to
his chariot
to flee to Jerusalem.
Sent Adoram —
Probably to pursue the counsel which he had resolved upon
to execute his
office
and exact their tribute with rigour and violence
if need were.
Verse 19
[19] So
Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.
Rebelled —
Their revolt was sinful
as they did not this in compliance with God's counsel
but to gratify their own passions.
Verse 20
[20] And
it came to pass
when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again
that they
sent and called him unto the congregation
and made him king over all Israel:
there was none that followed the house of David
but the tribe of Judah only.
Was come —
From Egypt; which was known to them before who met at Shechem
and now by all
the people.
Was none —
That is
no entire tribe.
Verse 24
[24] Thus
saith the LORD
Ye shall not go up
nor fight against your brethren the
children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me.
They hearkened therefore to the word of the LORD
and returned to depart
according to the word of the LORD.
From me —
This event is from my counsel and providence
to punish Solomon's apostasy.
Verse 25
[25] Then
Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim
and dwelt therein; and went out from
thence
and built Penuel.
Shechem — He
repaired
and enlarged
and fortified it; for it had been ruined long since
Judges 9:45. He might chuse it as a place both
auspicious
because here the foundation of his monarchy was laid; and
commodious
as being near the frontiers of his kingdom.
Penuel — A
place beyond Jordan; to secure that part of his dominions.
Verse 26
[26] And
Jeroboam said in his heart
Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David:
Said
… —
Reasoned within himself. The phrase discovers the fountain of his error
that
he did not consult with God
who had given him the kingdom; as in all reason
and justice
and gratitude he should have done: nor believed God's promise
chap. 11:38
but his own carnal policy.
Verse 27
[27] If
this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem
then
shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord
even unto Rehoboam
king of Judah
and they shall kill me
and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.
Will turn —
Which in itself might seem a prudent conjecture; for this would give Rehoboam
and the priests
and Levites
the sure and faithful friends of David's house
many opportunities of alienating their minds from him
and reducing them to
their former allegiance. But considering God's providence
by which the hearts
of all men
and the affairs of all kingdoms are governed
and of which he had
lately seen so eminent an instance; it was a foolish
as well as wicked course.
Verse 28
[28]
Whereupon the king took counsel
and made two calves of gold
and said unto
them
It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods
O Israel
which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
Calves — In
imitation of Aaron's golden calf
and of the Egyptians
from whom he was lately
come. And this he the rather presumed to do
because he knew the people of
Israel were generally prone to idolatry: and that Solomon's example had
exceedingly strengthened those inclinations; and therefore they were prepared
for such an attempt; especially
when his proposition tended to their own ease
and safety
and profit
which he knew was much dearer to them
as well as to
himself
than their religion.
Too much —
Too great a trouble and charge
and neither necessary
nor safe for them
as
things now stood.
Behold thy gods —
Not as if he thought to persuade the people
that these calves were that very
God of Israel
who brought them out of Egypt: which was so monstrously absurd
and ridiculous
that no Israelite in his right wits could believe it
and had
been so far from satisfying his people
that this would have made him both
hateful
and contemptible to them; but his meaning was
that these Images were
visible representations
by which he designed to worship the true God of
Israel
as appears
partly from that parallel place
Exodus 32:4
partly
because the priests and
worshippers of the calves
are said to worship Jehovah; and upon that account
are distinguished from those belonging to Baal
1 Kings 18:21; 22:6
7
and partly
from Jeroboam's design in
this work
which was to quiet the peoples minds
and remove their scruples
about going to Jerusalem to worship their God in that place
as they were
commanded: which he doth
by signifying to them
that he did not intend any
alteration in the substance of their religion; nor to draw them from the
worship of the true God
to the worship of any of those Baals
which were set
up by Solomon; but to worship that self-same God whom they worshipped in
Jerusalem
even the true God
who brought them out of Egypt; only to vary a
circumstance: and that as they worshipped God at Jerusalem
before one visible
sign
even the ark
and the sacred cherubim there; so his subjects should worship
God by another visible sign
even that of the calves
in other places; and as
for the change of the place
he might suggest to them
that God was present in
all places
where men with honest minds called upon him; that before the temple
was built
the best of kings
and prophets
and people
did pray
and sacrifice
to God in divers high places
without any scruple. And that God would dispense
with them also in that matter; because going to Jerusalem was dangerous to them
at this time; and God would have mercy
rather than sacrifice.
Verse 29
[29] And
he set the one in Bethel
and the other put he in Dan.
Beth-el
… —
Which two places he chose for his peoples conveniency; Beth-el being in the
southern
and Dan in the northern parts of his kingdom.
Verse 30
[30] And
this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one
even
unto Dan.
A sin —
That is
an occasion of great wickedness
not only of idolatry
which is called
sin by way of eminency; nor only of the worship of the calves
wherein they
pretended to worship the true God; but also of the worship of Baal
and of the
utter desertion of the true God; and of all sorts of impiety.
To Dan —
Which is not here mentioned exclusively
for they went also to Beth-el
verse 32
33
but for other reasons
either because
that of Dan was first made
the people in those parts having been long leavened
with idolatry
Judges 18:30
or to shew the peoples readiness
and zeal for idols; that those who lived in
or near Beth-el
had not patience
to stay 'till that calf was finished
but all of them were forward to go as far
as Dan
which was in the utmost borders of the land
to worship an idol there;
when it was thought too much for them to go to Jerusalem to worship God.
Verse 31
[31] And
he made an house of high places
and made priests of the lowest of the people
which were not of the sons of Levi.
An house — Houses
or chapels
besides the temples
which are built at Dan and Beth-el; he built
also for his peoples better accommodation
lesser temples upon divers high
places.
Of the lowest —
Which he might do
either
1. because the better sort refused it
or
2. because
such would be satisfied with mean allowances; and so he could put into his own
purse a great part of the revenues of the Levites
which doubtless he seized
upon when they forsook him
and went to Jerusalem
2 Chronicles 11:13
14
or
3. because mean
persons would depend upon his favour
and therefore be pliable to his humour
and firm to his interest
but the words in the Hebrew properly signify
from
the ends of the people; which may be translated thus
out of all the people;
promiscuously out of every tribe. Which exposition seems to be confirmed by the
following words
added to explain these
which were not of the sons of Levi;
though they were not of the tribe of Levi. And that indeed was Jeroboam's sin;
not that he chose mean persons
for some of the Levites were such; and his sin
had not been less
if he had chosen the noblest and greatest persons; as we see
in the example of Uzziah. But that he chose men of other tribes
contrary to
God's appointment
which restrained that office to that tribe.
Levi — To
whom that office was confined by God's express command.
Verse 32
[32] And
Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month
on the fifteenth day of the
month
like unto the feast that is in Judah
and he offered upon the altar. So
did he in Bethel
sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed
in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.
A feast —
The feast of tabernacles. So he would keep God's feast
not in God's time
which was the fifteenth day of the seventh month
and so onward
Leviticus 23:34
but on the fifteenth day of the
eighth month. And this alteration he made
either
1. to keep up the difference
between his subjects
and those of Judah as by the differing manners
so by the
distinct times of their worship. Or
2. lest he should seem directly to oppose
the God of Israel
(who had in a special manner obliged all the people to go up
to Jerusalem at that time
) by requiring their attendance to celebrate the
feast elsewhere
at the same time. Or
3. to engage as many persons as possibly
he could
to come to his feast; which they would more willingly do when the feast
at Jerusalem was past and all the fruits of the earth were perfectly gathered
in.
Fifteenth day —
And so onward till the seven days ended.
Like that in Judah — He
took his pattern thence
to shew
that he worshipped the same God
and
professed the same religion for substance
which they did: howsoever he
differed in circumstances.
He offered —
Either
1. by his priests. Or
rather
2. by his own hands; as appears from
chap. 13:1
4
which he did
to give the more
countenance to his new-devised solemnity. Nor is this strange; for he might
plausibly think
that he who by his own authority had made others priests might
much more exercise a part of that office; at least
upon an extraordinary
occasion; in which case
he knew David himself had done some things
which
otherwise he might not do.
So he did — He
himself did offer there in like manner
as he now had done at Dan.
Verse 33
[33] So
he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the
eighth month
even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and
ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar
and burnt incense.
Devised —
Which he appointed without any warrant from God.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on 1 Kings》
Some Counterfeits (v.26~33)
1.
Counterfeit God (v.28)
2.
Counterfeit Priesthood (v.31)
3.
Counterfeit Sacrifice (v.32)
4.
Counterfeit Worship (v.32)
5.
Counterfeit Feast (v.33)
--
F. MCI.
12 Chapter 12
Verses 1-5
Verses 2-20
When Jeroboam
the son of Nebat
who was in Egypt heard of it . . . they
sent and called him.
The kingdom divided
1. This chapter reveals one of the turning-points in Israel’s
history
for it is as true in the history of Israel as in that of any other
people that there are periods comparatively insignificant
and hours as well
that are full
of great events.
2. It had seemed to be one of the chief purposes of God to make
Israel a great nation. That is the promise made to Abram. The nation seems to
have been essential to the carrying out of God’s purpose in giving a revelation
and establishing His kingdom in the world. Truth does not gather momentum while
it is propagated by an occasional teacher or prophet. Great institutions
educational
civil
and religious
such as can be developed only in a great
nation
are necessary to make truth mighty
to give it power among the masses
and that volume which sets it moving over wide areas. The revelation
which had
been sporadic in Israel throughout patriarchal times
now by means of the great
civil and religious institutions of Israel as a nation--prophecy and the school
of the prophets
the priesthood and the great religious festivals--gathers
momentum and moves grandly on toward the fulfilment of the promise made to
Abram.
3. But by this Scripture we are introduced to a condition of things
that is startling. The very chosen instrument essential to the carrying out of
God’s purpose to bless and save the world--the Israelitish nation--is
threatened with destruction. There is something violent in the very tones of
the cry
“To your tents
O Israel.” Where now is the nation through which God
is to bless the world? Can His purpose be accomplished by these fragments?
4. A study of the actual course of history among these tribes would
show that there were many natural causes leading to this division of the
kingdom. Rehoboam was weak and wicked. He who will rule others must first learn
to rule himself. The young men
probably sons of Solomon’s chief officers
who
had been trained at the royal court and were designed to be the officers of the
succeeding king
had inherited the bitter hostility that had long existed
especially between the tribes of Judah and Ephraim; thinking themselves strong
under the new king
they were ready to advise and help to carry out rash
measures. There was no lack of occasion for dissension on the side of Rehoboam.
On the other hand there can be little doubt that the taxes exacted of Israel
were oppressive. Ephraim had always been jealous of and restive under Judah’s
rule. “To the house of Joseph--that is to Ephraim
with its adjacent tribes of
Benjamin and Manasseh--had belonged all the chief rulers of Israel
down to the
time of David: Joshua
the conqueror; Deborah
the prophetess; Gideon
the one
regal spirit of the judges; Abimelech and Saul
the first kings; Samuel
the
restorer of the people after the fall of Shiloh. It was natural with such an
inheritance of glory that Ephraim always chafed under any rival supremacy.” And
when “the Lord refused the tabernacle of Joseph
and chose not the tribe of
Ephraim
but chose the tribe of Judah
” the old jealousy was intensified and
ready to burst forth on any pretext. Jeroboam had once lifted up his hand
against King Solomon
and Solomon had attempted to kill him
and had driven him
into Egypt. Weakness
wilfulness
and impetuosity on the part of the king and
his advisers
all of which served to intensify an inherited jealousy of
prerogative
were the influences at work on the one side. On the other a
powerful people fired with a sense of injustice
with a powerful
ambitious
and unscrupulous leader--these certainly afforded causes for a disruption deep
and irremediable.
5. But the prophet expressly tells us that this division is of God.
6. What was the real cause? The record makes it plain
and reveals at
the same time God
the long suffering and the holy One. It was not that the
king had fleeced them
as Samuel a century earlier had told them he would (1 Samuel 8:11-17). It was that they
had rejected God
as God told Samuel they had
when they asked a king (1 Samuel 8:6-8).
What are the lessons to be learned?
1. God gives opportunities to individuals and to nations even though
He knows that they will not improve them. Jeroboam was justified in taking
possession of the Ten Tribes. It was part of the Divine plan. He had been so
instructed. But Jeroboam departed from God
and he has gone down in the sacred
history as the man that made Israel to sin. Rehoboam had his opportunity also
both before and after the division of the kingdom. He wasted it wickedly.
Whether we use or abuse our opportunities they come to us
and God with and in
them all
to work out His righteous will through us if we will
and
if not
to
abandon us and to find a way for His will and purposes through others.
2. We may learn also that
however essential an institution may seem
to be for carrying forward the purposes of God
if it fail it is doomed. The
Israelitish nation
in order to express the Divine will and be a revelation of
Jehovah
must be conscious of its dependence on Him. But this Israel had lost.
There is no trace of the
confidence or of the sense of dependence that appears in the song of.Moses at
the Red Sea. The spiritual hold on Jehovah has relaxed.
3. God works in the actual condition of things. It is a mistake to
suppose that God must wait for either the ideal man or the ideal nation. The
ambitious Jeroboam and the weak Rehoboam are alike His agents. The revelation
which shapes the conditions under which the kingdom of God cannot flourish may
be as important as that which shows the conditions of its prosperity. “To your
tents
O Israel: see to thine own house
David
” is violent language. Jehovah
will find other means for propagating and perpetuating His truth. “The Arabian
traditions relate that in the staff on which Solomon leaned
and which
supported him long after his death
there was a worm which was secretly gnawing
it asunder.” The worm--idolatry--has done its work. (B. P. Raymond.)
The kingdom divided
God was in Israel’s history
but he is equally in all history. He
guided Israel with a very special purpose
yet no more truly or constantly than
He guides us. If from the study of this ancient record we learn to interpret
our own lives and the lives of all men and all nations in the spirit in which
the sacred historian wrote of Israel and Judah
we shall have learned its main
lesson: God rules in this world of ours. He exalts one
casts down another
and
makes the very wrath of man to praise Him.
1. Israel’s secession “was from the Lord.” From terrible
relentless
persistent tyranny
after due but vain remonstrance
subjects have a Divine
right to free themselves by revolution. “The powers that be are ordained of
God
” but no particular form of polity is so. Rulers exist for subjects
not
subjects for rulers. The government of a nation at any time presumably deserves
respect and support; but it may forfeit all claim to both by ceasing to fulfil
its function as a blessing to the people.
2. Observe the pusillanimity of pride. Pride seems a source of
strength: it is rather a source of weakness; it prevents one from acting
according to his best light. Rehoboam must in his first calm moment have felt
convinced of the superior wisdom of the course urged by the older counsellors.
But the words of the younger men appealed to his pride and momentarily blinded
him to their folly.
3. Consider how expensive such senseless pride may become. It cost
Rehoboam far the best part of his dominions. Israel rather than Judah fills the
chief place in the history of the next few centuries. Henceforth until the fall
of Samaria Israel is ever upon the historian’s page. Judah occupying a
subordinate place. The history of Israel is that of a nation--Judah consisted
of but a single great and splendid city. Rehoboam’s pride was an expensive
luxury--it cost him the richest jewels in his crown.
4. Mark the peril of disregarding the wisdom of age. Had Rehoboam
consulted only his seniors
he would have taken the right course. This his
pride forbade. Was he not king? Old men
fogies
the Bismarcks and the
Gladstones
had carried on the State long enough. Like William of Germany
he
would show what wonders fresh blood and brain could do. Besides
was he not
getting all the light he could inquiring of all rather than of few? Many a
youth has thus cheated himself into the belief that he was proceeding with
great prudence
when in fact he merely wished an excuse for some darling folly.
5. Notice
that serving is the only way to win true fortunes. How
numerous are the applications of this principle in the household in the
workshop
in society
in government! If employers only treated their employees
in this spirit
how it would assuage the friction between the two
to the
advantage of both! If labourers always acted in this temper of love
what added
strength it would assure to labouring men’s organisations! How perfectly did
the course of our Divine Lord and Saviour illustrate this! He came to win the
world. How was it to be done? Had He been a mere man
He would never have
sought to attain His end in the way He did. Instead of appearing as a grand
monarch
ministered unto
courted
and flattered
He came as a servant
ministering ever unto others. Instead of being rich
He had not where to lay
His head. Instead of courting the great and wise
He sought the poor and lowly.
And He has in this world a Name which is above every name
at whose mention
millions of hearts rise and millions of heads bow in loving adoration. (J.
B. G. Pidge
D. D.)
Revolt of the Ten Tribes
The son of Solomon began his reign with a blunder
assuming that
the throne was his by Divine right of succession and ignoring the ratification
of the people. In this particular he is a good type of many young men at the
present day
who think they see in the wealth and social position of their
parents the claim to society’s unquestioning homage to themselves. Real
kinghood is personal. The true king
as Carlyle put it
is the canning--the man
who can. The endorsement of a wealthy parent may carry a son’s cheque; it will
not carry him. Society recognises drafts on personal deposits only. Rehoboam
fancied that the son of Solomon could pass to the throne unchallenged. Not so
thought the proud and jealous Ephraimites; not so thought nine other tribes:
and the young aspirant’s self-complacency was
rudely checked by the refusal of
these tribes to come to Jerusalem and pay him homage
by their summoning him to
Shechem
the tribe-centre of Ephraim
and by their meeting him there
not with
submission
but with a bill of rights. This very check was an opportunity for
Rehoboam to show whether he was made of true kingly stuff. The crisis which
exposes a man’s mistake often develops his wisdom
if he has any. The crisis
proved him to be lacking in one of the prime qualifications of a king. “He
lived
” as one has remarked
“in a fool’s paradise
blind and deaf to what
would have arrested the attention of a sensible ruler. At any rate
the
emergency was one which he could not meet alone
and therefore he sought
counsel. There are
however
different motives for asking advice. That a man
consults with others does not disprove his self-conceit. Men often seek advice
only to have their own opinion or their own course confirmed
and consequently
choose their advisers from among their sympathisers; and a sympathiser is not
usually
the best adviser. Decency required that Rehoboam should advise with
the old counsellors of his father
but he evidently did so merely for
propriety’s sake. In the first place
the old counsellors clearly discerned the
issue in Rehoboam’s mind. It was between two ideals of sovereignty
the
despotic and the paternal. Should sovereignty mean being served or serving?
Evidently
as the result showed
Rehoboam’s ideal was the former. Christ rules
more than Caesar because He put Himself at the world’s service. The world’s
real rulers are invariably those who have served it. The world’s thought is
that power absolves from obligation; Christ’s thought is that power emphasises
obligation. One of the most impressive pictures of history is that of the young
Edward the Black Prince of England
after the victory of Poitiers
serving the
captive king of France at table and soothing the mortification of defeat with
praises of his bravery and with kindly assurances; and the spirit of that scene
is condensed into his favourite motto interwoven with the faded ostrich-plumes
about his tomb at Canterbury
“Hen mout; Ich dien:” “High spirit; I serve.”
Well says Dean Stanley
“To unite in our lives the two qualities expressed in
this motto--high spirit and reverent service--is to be indeed not only a true
gentleman and a true soldier
but a true Christian also.” Liberty is
essentially a social principle
and every social principle imposes limitations on
the individual. Love brings the two ideas of liberty and service into their
true relation. Love uses its free choice to choose service
and so makes
service the very highest expression of liberty. The young king could not
appreciate this lofty ideal of sovereignty. He could not read in service any
higher meaning than servility. This advice appealed to a packed jury. He wanted
encouragement rather than counsel
and therefore
having satisfied the
proprieties of the occasion
he turned to another and more congenial class of advisers
the
young men that were grown up with him--young men as proud
as shallow and as
hot-headed as himself. There is nothing uncommon in chat. It is a fact of our
time no less than of Rehoboam’s--a fact that carries with it a strange
inconsistency
for one does not always nor often reject what is ripe.
Crudeness
in most eases
is a reproach. One wants ripe fruit on his table and
seasoned timber for his house or his carriage. One does not trust a law student
with the management of a fortune
nor put his child’s life into the hands of
yesterday’s graduate in medicine. Youth seems to prefer the route through the
shoals and rocks to that through the open sea to which ripened wisdom stands
ready to direct it. Those shoals are strewn with wrecks. How few escape! The
Bible
it is to be noticed
will not let the old past entirely lose its hold
upon us. Enoch and Abraham and Moses appear as counsellors of the nineteenth
century
which in so many respects is far in advance of them; and for the
reason that they represent principles of life and character which are eternal.
The consequences of Rehoboam’s decision are familiar. We are indeed told that
the cause was from the Lord
and that the catastrophe came about in fulfilment
of his promise to rend the kingdom from Solomon’s house; but it was in
Rehoboam’s power to have escaped all responsibility for that terrible result.
God’s decrees never relieve us of the duty of obedience. And this is a fair
ground of appeal. The popular proverb is profoundly true: “A man is known by
the company he keeps.” Only let us be sure and emphasise the last word
“the
company he keeps.” We keep only what we like. The man is not truthfully indexed
by the company in which he happens to be found at any particular time
not by
the accidental contact of society
not by the circle into which he may have
dropped in order to satisfy some conventional demand or to win some social
prestige. That kind of company he does not keep; he only touches it. (M. R.
Vincent
D. D.)
Revolt of the Ten Tribes
The fault of the prince lay not in consulting younger men--for
they are often most favourable to progress--the error was in allowing his
action
as a ruler
to be governed by private considerations. The young man’s
failing was a kingly one
but also a very common one. The great landowner
cannot see the advantage of yielding his game-preserve to the uses of
hard-worked tenants. The manufacturer does not frequently pay the sowing-women
he employs more than the market price for their labour. Power and wealth men
are as slow to give up as Pharaoh was the Israelite slaves.
I. An early
illustration of an attempt to adjust difficulties by conference. Though the
people might not have remained for a long period loyal to the house of David
they made an attempt to adjust the difficulties between them and their
hereditary prince. They did not go into open rebellion. They asked that their
rights and their complaints might be considered Kings who exercise despotic
power
and their defenders
are wont to base their claims on the authority of
the Bible. As Englishmen
we point with pride to the Barons at Runnymede as
they demand the Great Charter from King John. This right of petition
exercised
by Israelites and Englishmen
is not one that has always been conceded. Charles
II. endeavoured to secure the passage of a bill limiting this right of his
subjects so late as 1680. In early Bible times we find free speech
free
petition
and methods of arbitration. This right of petition must be conceded
before any adjustments can he made between sovereigns and their subjects
or
between men and their fellows. We must be willing to hear men’s causes and
defence
before any result can be obtained that will be satisfactory. Before
conference can begin
there must be this openness of discussion. There is one
phase of this matter that is very practical. Do we not often condemn persons
before giving them any opportunity to explain their action? We nurse fancied
wrongs and bear ill-will toward those who ought to be dear to us. Have we ever
told them of our grievances? Are we sure they are aware of fault or sin? We say
too often
“Let them find out for themselves.” Thus friends are alienated and
homes made unhappy. Christ emphasised the adjustments of wrongs between men as
individuals. In the Old Testament
we have the same duty enforced by example
and precept. We have
also
an illustration of a proper method of righting
public wrongs. This lesson is for labourers and capitalists
for servants and
masters
as well as for kinsfolk and friends.
II. The inevitable
transfer of power from him who serveth not
to him who will
serve the
interests of others. The power of the house of the beloved David must be
diminished when his descendants no longer served the people. Jeroboam
the rival claimant for the
throne
was a man of few good qualities
but he professed to be willing to
serve the people. He certainly attempted to please them
though he finally
degraded them
as is seen in the subsequent chapter. Even into the hands of
demagogues
power will often pass
with God’s permission
from selfish and
despotic princes. God calls the world to witness the humiliation of greatness
that is supported by injustice. There is continually a redistribution of power
and wealth that goes on in the world with the Divine sanction. Where men may
gamble and become suddenly rich
they may as suddenly lose their wealth. A
house or family founded on unrighteousness has in it the elements of its own
destruction. Drink may ruin the son of the millionaire. His wealth goes to
strangers. Often the transfer of power is sudden
and proud men in their own
lifetime behold their sceptre “wrenched by an unlineal hand
no son of theirs
succeeding.” Power that has not lifted the world’s burdens will pass.
III. Great revolutions
may take place under God’s guidance without violence. We are told that this
revolt was of the Lord. The people failed in their conference
but they
succeeded in accomplishing a great change quietly. They had begun right to end
well. Thenceforth the cause was in God’s hands. Prayer is one of the means by
which great changes are accomplished silently. God is always on the side of the
earnest prayer
and any good that results is from Him. The history of the
revolutions wrought by prayer must remain unwritten till the great day of
revelation. (Monday Club Sermons.)
Tribal causes of schism
The first cause of the schism to be noted
from the human
point of view
was the deep cleft between the northern and southern tribes. It
arose from geographical and economical differences
accentuated probably by
longstanding tribal jealousies. From the days of Deborah
at latest
the cleft
had been visible
and the unity which had been achieved
largely under the
pressure of the Philistine wars
that crushed the loose organisation into a
more compact whole for self-preservation
and held the kingdom together under
Saul and David
would have been hard to keep up
even with skilful and
beneficent kingship. Both America and England know how deep the gulf between
“North” and “South” may be
and how hard it is to cast the encircling bond of a
common nationality round them. England and Scotland are not perfectly fused
together even now
and there are other broad lines of separation than “the
colour line” on the other side of the Atlantic. (A. Maclaren
D. D.)
Verses 6-20
Verse 7
If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day . . . then
they will be thy servants for ever.
A royal servant
These words are of deep-reaching import
and contain a principle
of universal application. They especially apply to starts in life. When the son
leaves the parental home for his new calling
for foreign land
to make his way
in the world
our text contains a sentence which the father may
at the last
moment of departure
whisper in his ear as an expression of the deepest
thoughts in his heart for the guidance of the young beginner. To fulfil these
words beautifies life
to have fulfilled them softens death. They contain a
prescription which one can never repent of following.
I. The folly of
Rehoboam. In the ancient
town of Shechem
a town that recalls to the Israelite
memories of patriarchal limes
a king is about to be crowned. Solomon the Great
has gone the way of all his fathers
and by right of succession the crown falls
to Rehoboam his son. All Israel assembled at Shechem to make him king. For ages
that old city had retained traces of its ancient dignity
just as Rheims
the
old capital of France
continued to be the scene of coronations long after it
had ceased to be the national capital. There was a time when Amsterdam was
threatened to be deprived of its right of Royal Coronation
but since the
severance of Belgium and Holland
the New Church here holds that honour
undisputed. Shechem was full of representatives from all parts of the country.
The king came down in royal state from Jerusalem. No opposition was offered to
Rehoboam’s succession. He was the only son of Solomon
and the people were prepared
to receive him as such. They had
however
many grievances which they wished to
have redressed. Solomon had not been everything that a king should be.
II. The prerogative
of service. A wise king would have at once acceded to such a request. But
Rehoboam
although the son of a wise father
had not the common sense to do so.
Wisdom is not inherited. “Who knoweth whether his son will be a wise man or a
fool?” He was the king. The people had no rights but what he chose to give
them. They were his servants
not he their servant. His will was their law. He
knew nothing and would hear nothing of the rights of the individual. According
to the mind of Jesus
he is the greatest who renders the greatest service to
others. “They assert that the strength
of a monarch’s throne is service for and sympathy with his people.” A throne
built on such a foundation will last unshaken for ever. Oh
happy king to have
such counsellors! Oh
foolish man to turn aside from them! The consequence of
this incredibly foolish reply was such as might have been expected. “The work
of two generations was undone in a moment.” Under the leadership of Jeroboam
who promised them the reforms they wanted
the Ten Tribes revolted.
III. Selfish
autocracy. It is the old story of the consequence of selfish and inconsiderate
autocracy. It is a lesson which makes but slow progress in the minds of men.
The old heathen idea of forcible dominion is still largely the governing one of
politics--that to be great is to receive much service
not to render it. Politics
has too often been a game of ambition rather than a sphere of service. (W.
Thomson
M. A.
B. D.)
The king as a servant
The honour of service is emphasised by Solomon in the title
he gives to his father. He speaks of him by a more honourable name than that of
king--“Thy servant David.” Solomon recognised that he owed his exalted.position
entirely to God. The most universal function in nature is that of service.
Nothing in creation is serving itself
but every element is intended to serve
some other. The flowers bloom in beauty
but soon serve us by
transformation into seed. The winds purify the earth. The clouds carry moisture
across all regions. The sun is regal in majestic splendour
but this monarch of
the planets is
in reality
far more their servant
as their light and heat
bearer. Above all
the idea of service is ennobled by Jesus
who as minister to
His disciples was “servant of all.” So are we to seek to serve God and man. (Christian
Commonwealth.)
Verses 10-14
My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins.
Rehoboam’s foolish answer
These were the words of an infatuated fool--a fool led on
to his own destruction by the “irony of destiny.”
I. Wisdom is not
hereditary. The question is often asked
as this kind of phenomenon comes under
notice
how does it happen that great men seldom have great children? Does
genius wear itself out? We incline to think that the gross neglect which
geniuses manifest towards their children has much to do with it. Still
it
cannot be denied that the descendants of many of our greatest men have been
little better than “drivelling idiots.”
II. Curse of evil
company. We could not find a more painful instance than the one under
consideration
either in profane or sacred history. It was fraught with
terrible consequences.
1. It is a curse to the man himself. Do evil
unholy
foolish
companions make a person happy? Does it not rather bring trouble
sorrow
regrets
and present inconvenience? It is expensive
humiliating
degrading.
2. It is a curse to the man’s influence. Character is assimilated
with those with whom we associate. And even if the evil influence does not
produce evil results
the name of the evil clings to him who mixes with it.
3. It is a curse to his future. It will ultimately bring him ruin. No
person was ever yet
strong enough in his integrity to resist the united influence of boon
cornpardons. Their influence sows a seed which will ultimately produce an
abundant harvest.
III. Stupidity of
despotism. A despot uses his power for the mere sake of using it
and not to
effect any good purpose
or to bring about any desirable end. There are many
minor despots in the world--persons put into little offices
who love to
manifest and to parade their brief authority.
IV. The overruling
power of God. He maketh even the wrath and the folly of man to praise Him. Had
Rehoboam acted wisely
we do not know whether the Judgment might not have been
still further postponed; but as it was
this act precipitated God’s wrath and
effected His purposes. (Homilist.)
The character of Rehoboam
I. The
circumstances in which Rehoboam commenced his reign were unusually hazardous.
II. The manner in
which this demand on the part of the people was met by the king.
III. The final reply
of Rehoboam to the demand of his people. It was nothing else
we cannot but
say
than downright infatuation.
IV. The cause was
from the Lord. And this is one among many proofs of God’s absolute predestination
and of the perfect freedom of human actions. The division of the kingdom from
Rehoboam was absolutely certain; it was determined by God; it was positively
predicted by a prophet of God.
V. Those points in
the character and history of rehoboam
which may be calculated to convey
suitable instruction. And let me remark:
1. Talent and piety are not inherited by birth. No part of Solomons
far-famed wisdom descended to his son. He was even more than usually deficient
in common prudence
and in the capacity for government. A father may convey to
his heirs the riches he has accumulated; but there is a nobler wealth
which
cannot be bequeathed
and which cannot be transferred. Knowledge
mental
opulence
talent--these are the result of individual application
of laborious
industry
and of perseverance. Without these
no fancied gifts of nature can
avail; and with these there is scarcely any extent of acquisition
which it is
not possible to secure. But it is yet far more important to notice
that true
piety does not descend by birth: Religion is a personal and individual thing;
it is not transferred like property
it does not descend like any civil
privilege. Religion is an individual matter; it is a change wrought upon the
individual’s mind; it is a living principle and energy within the individual
heart and the individual nature. Talent and piety are not inherited by birth.
2. The king’s rejection of wise counsel. The aged are not always
wise
and they are often too cold and too calculating to be safe guides; and
sometimes also their manner is unfortunate and repulsing; they are unamiable
they are
irmpatient of the habits and feelings of youth
and they pronounce too
magisterially to be very easily borne. But these are exceptions
and beyond all
doubt
a multitude of years should teach wisdom. It was one of the laws of
ancient Sparta (a heathen State)
that whenever an old man appeared
the young
in the assembly should rise up in token of their reverence. Reverence for age
lies at the foundation of a sound moral character; it is not only becoming
it
is not only beautiful
but it is essential; and where it is wanting in measure
it shows there is something utterly wrong
utterly unsound
in the moral
constitution.
3. His arbitrary disposition. Instead of soothing
and gradually
quenching the spirit of revolt
Rehoboam sought to cut down the clamours of his
subjects
by arbitrary measures. The saying of the wise man cannot be too often
repeated
“A soft answer turneth away wrath.”
4. Rehoboam’s imprudent choice of his associates. We cannot question
that the ruin of this prince is to be ascribed to those whom he selected as his
companions. Had it not been for the young men who grew up along with him
the
kingdoms of Israel and Judah bad been undivided
and he had retained the crown.
And
in connection with this
“Evil communications corrupt good manners.” There
is nothing
so far as personal piety is concerned
so far as the salvation of
the soul is concerned
of so much importance as the choice of your associates.
(J. Young
M. A.)
Dangerous counsellors of James II.
But there was at the court a small knot of Roman Catholics whose
hearts had been ulcerated by old injuries
whose heads had been turned by
recent elevation
who were impatient to climb to the highest honours of the
State
and who
having little to lose
were not troubled by thoughts of the day
of reckoning. These men called with one voice for war on the constitution of
the Church and the State. They told their master that he owed it to his
religion and to the dignity of his crown to stand firm against the outcry of
heretical demagogues
and to let the Parliament see from the first that he
would be master in spite of opposition
and that the only effect of opposition
would be to make him a hard master. (Macaulay’s England.)
Verses 21-23
Verse 24
This thing is from me.
This thing is from me
I. Some events are
specially from God. God is in events which are produced by the sin and the
stupidity of men. This breaking up of the kingdom of Solomon into two parts was
the result of Solomon’s sin and Rehoboam’s folly; yet God was in it. God had
nothing to do with the sin or the folly
but in some way
which we can never
explain
God was in it alL The most notable instance of this truth is the death
of our Lord Jesus Christ; that was the greatest of human crimes
yet it was
foreordained and predetermined of the Most High
to whom there can be no such
thing as crime
nor any sort of compact with sire How
then
was “this thing”
from God?
1. First
it was so as a matter of prophecy.
2. And
secondly
“this thing” was from God as a matter of
punishment. God setteth evil against evil that He may destroy evil
and He uses
that which cometh of human folly that He may manifest His own wisdom.
II. When events are
seen to be from the Lord
they are not to be fought against. Rehoboam had
summoned his soldiers to go to war against the house of Israel; but
inasmuch
as it was from God that the ten tribes had revolted from him
he must not march
into the territories of Israel
nor even shoot an arrow against them.
1. The thing that is happening to you is of the Lord
therefore
resist it not
for it would be wicked to do so. If it be the Lord’s will
so may it
be.
2. But
next
it is also vain
for what can we do against the will of
God?
3. Next
it would be mischievous
and would be sure to bring a
greater evil upon us if we did resist.
III. This general
principle has many special applications. I believe it often happens that events
are most distinctly from the Lord
and when it is so
our right and proper way
is to yield to them.
1. A case in which this principle applies is when severe afflictions
arise.
2. Sometimes
also
we are troubled by certain disquieting plans
proposed by our friends or our children.
3. A very pleasant phase of this same truth is when some singular
mercy comes. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Tracing events back to the final cause
The scribe is more properly said to write than the pen
and he
that maketh and keepeth the clock is more properly said to make it go and
strike than the wheels and poises that hang upon it
and every workman to
effect his works rather than the tools which he useth as his instruments. So
the Lord
who is the chief agent and mover in all actions
may more fitly be
said to bring to pass all things which are done in the earth than any
subordinate causes
as meat to nourish
clothes to keep us warm
the sun to
lighten us
friends to provide for us
etc.
seeing that they are but His
instruments. (T. Downame.)
God’s overrule of national events
Those who care to watch the hand of God in history may soon
discern this truth in this incident. The attempts of France to acquire the
sovereignty of the British Isles
and the corresponding efforts of the earlier
English kings to become what their coins so long styled them
“King of France
”
have all been marvellously foiled by the Almighty Ruler of nations to the true
welfare of both. Sir A. Alison has described the scene on the French coast in
1804
when the first Napoleon surveyed the flotilla which was to carry an
invading army across the Channel
and saw them broken and dispersed by Him who
rules the waves. God will not suffer the might or the cunning of man to wrest
the sceptre from His hands.
God in history
The Old Testament “philosophy of history” regards all events as at
once the results of human forces and of God’s purposes
and finds no
contradiction in the double aspect. Rehoboam was no less a criminal fool
Jeroboam no less a crafty traitor
because they were both working out God’s
purpose. The possible co-existence of freedom of action
necessarily involving
responsibility
and God’s sovereignty
is inexplicable
and as certain as it is
inexplicable. Metaphysicians and metaphysical theologians may fumble at
or cut
the knot till
doomsday
but it will not be untied or denied. Rehoboam ran the ship on the
rocks
but God willed that it should be wrecked. But another mystery emerges
for the Divine resolve to shatter the kingdom was due to the thwarting of the
Divine purpose in establishing it. Sovereign as that Divine will is
man has
power to oppose it and to block its course
and lead to changes of its
direction
as we sometimes hear of an army of caterpillars stopping a train.
God’s methods vary
but His purposes remain the same. The ship tacks as the
wind shifts
but it’s always steering for the one port. The unifying of the
tribes into a kingdom
and the disruption of the kingdom
were equally in the
Divine plan
and were both
in a real sense
also the direct results of men’s
sin and opposition to God. Hence it follows that “the history of the world is
the judgment of the world.” The “natural” consequences of national acts are the
punishments or rewards of these acts. Solomon’s tyranny
Rehoboam’s folly
the
rebels’ indifference to the unity of the nation worked out the catastrophe
which was both a political effect
produced by political causes
and a Divine
judgment
and was the latter just because it was the former. For nations
and
for individuals
God “makes whips to scourge” them of their “vices
” and in the
mighty maze of human acts
has so ordered the issues of things that “every
transgression and disobedience receives its just recompense of reward.” So the
“undevout” historian “is mad.” (A. Maclaren
D. D.)
Verses 26-33
And Jeroboam said in his heart.
Idolatry in Israel
“History is God teaching by example.” All history is that. But the
annals of the Hebrew race possess a peculiar interest
because in them the
divine tuition is divinely interpreted. In the historical books of the Old
Testament we have the record of a revelation rather than the revelation itself.
The real revelation lies in the national life
of which the books are partly an
account
partly an interpretation. Jeroboam became king. Born in humble
circumstances
he had risen by dint of his energy and genius to a place so
prominent in public affairs that he was suspected of aspiring to royalty. In
every age
in spite of custom
caste
or condition
the men who are determined
to rise will rise.
I. Opportunity.
Seated at last firmly on his throne
Jeroboam was face to face with the
opportunity of his life. It was a decisive hour in the young ruler’s career.
His future and the fate of a kingdom hung in the balance. Should he determine
to serve God
work righteousness
lighten oppression
promote religion--should
he prove strong to do all that Jehovah his God commanded--he might easily make
himself the mightiest monarch
and his people the foremost nation of the age.
God would then be with him. But if he disregarded these high ends
his kingdom
would come to nought
and his name be a hissing and a by-word. God would be
against him. Strange that Jeroboam did not comprehend this. No lesson was more
clearly taught in the history of his country. Jeroboam is not alone in this
fault. For nations and rulers to meet and lose such crucial chances is not at
all uncommon. Not
“once
” as Lowell hath it
but often-
To
every man and nation comes the moment to decide
In
the strife of Truth with Falsehood
for the good or evil side.
Some
great cause
God’s new Messiah
offering each the bloom or blight
Parts
the goats upon the left hand
and the sheep upon the right
And
the choice goes by forever
‘twixt that darkness and that light.
One
immortal precept Jeroboam’s case vividly illustrates--the only safe path is the
right path. Our salvation from failure and shame lies in being absolutely true
to our deepest convictions of right
unswervingly loyal to what we know of
God’s will.
II. Expediency
versus righteousness. Before his great opportunity Jeroboam failed. The causes
of his downfall were all the more seductive because they seemed to be justified
by the soundest maxims of governmental policy. It would never do
he reasoned
to have the centre of the national religion in a foreign city
and especially
in the chief city of the country from which his subjects had just seceded. They
might as safely have the seat of government in the capital of a rival nation as
to have the seat of religion there. If the people continued to go up to the
prominent feasts at Jerusalem
there was danger of a revolution backward. The
old ties might prove too strong. Religious scruples knight overcome political
considerations. It was necessary to isolate the nation religiously as well as
governmentally. The secession must be complete. To this end Jeroboam now
devoted his energies. Having fortified some of the chief cities of his realm
he set to work to create a public sentiment favourable to his scheme. “It is
too much
” he said to the people
“for you to go up to Jerusalem.” There was
plausibility in this plea. Devices to lighten the stress of duty
or give a liberal
interpretation to moral obligations
are apt to be popular. The new arrangement
seems to have sprung into general favour at once. Following up the advantage
thus gained
the king established two centres of worship--one at Bethel
a
place already sanctified by many sacred events; the other at Dan
on the
northern frontier. So
for mere political ends
the national connection with
the religion which God had ordained was broken off. Jeroboam had made a fatal
mistake. He had set politics before religion
chosen convenience instead of
duty
made expediency take the place of righteousness. Disastrous consequences
always follow a choice like that. Keen-sighted men are often short-sighted.
They see vividly
but only at close range
like those party leaders whose
foresight does not extend beyond the next election. But the immutable laws move
relentlessly on to exact in due season their last ounce of penalty. “They
enslave their children’s children who make compromise with sin
” saith the
Delphic Oracle. Thousands of Esaus are all the time peddling their birthrights
for messes of pottage. For the sake of temporary gain
or the gratification of
a present desire
or to tide over an immediate crisis
they put in pawn their
manhood
purity
and honour
and mortgage their future to the Devil. This evil
tendency is greatly increased by current sentiments about success. Success is a
cardinal virtue with most of us. We worship the goddess of victory. Having
exalted to a superlative rank the matter of gaining our end
the severity with
which we criticise the means is inversely as the degree of success hoped for.
The great thing nowadays is to get ahead--by honourable courses if one can; but
to get ahead. Herein he is a warning to us. Whoever puts policy before
religion
chooses convenience before duty
or makes expediency a greater thing
than righteousness
has foredoomed his career to ultimate failure
and his name
to certain shame.
III. Idolatry. One
false step necessitates a second. Having adopted his policy
the new king must
needs devise suitable means for carrying it out. An evil aim and end calls for
evil devices. The results of Aaron’s experiment
however
would seem sufficient
to have deterred any one from imitating it. Common sense should have perceived
the advisability of making as few changes as need be
and of introducing
gradually such as were imperative. The religious sense of the worthiest classes
was sure to be shocked at any radical alterations in the established order. But
the king
having entered upon a wrong road
went rashly on. It is argued by
some commentators that this was not idolatry in the strict sense
but only the
worship of Jehovah under the form of a calf. And indeed the phrase may read
“This is thy God
O Israel
that brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.” Be
that as it may
Jehovah had expressly forbidden men to worship him in that
fashion
for the wise reason that worship by the aid of sensuous forms
invariably degenerates among the masses into actual idolatry. The making of
images results in the worship of false gods. Fifty years later
in the days of
Elijah the reformer
we find the nation wholly given over to idols. The worship
of Jehovah had almost entirely ceased. Baal
Astarte
and Moloch were the
reigning deities. ‘Tis ever thus. Idolatry involves also the sin of
disobedience. God had said
“Thou shalt not.” This Jeroboam well knew. He ought
to have remembered the hot displeasure with which in the history of his nation
infractions of God’s will had been punished. What a strange infatuation
possesses men who suppose that they can please God while doing the very things
which He has sternly forbidden! Yet men are guilty of this folly all the time.
But the crowning iniquity of Jeroboam
for which more than for all else he was
condemned
was that he used the public power
the Divinely bestowed authority
of the state
for the furtherance of ungodliness. There is a warning here for
legislators who legalise a nefarious traffic
give respectability to lotteries
and gambling-dens
or load unjust taxes upon the poor and weak
and for rulers
who wink at bribery
theft
and other wickedness in high places.
IV. Doom. In his
procedure Jeroboam overlooked a universal law. Consequences are inevitable.
Effects follow their causes. Every road has its proper terminus
every seed its
peculiar harvest. Choose your course
and you will come to the end of it. Sow
your seed; you must reap the sort of grain which you have sown. Flesh and
corruption
wind and whirlwind
spirit and life
obedience and blessing
transgression
and ruin: these things go in these pairs. The two names in each pair are but
two names for the selfsame thing. In natural matters
in physical science
this
principle is everywhere respected; in spiritual it is almost universally
ignored. Since the foundation of the world men have been doing evil that good
might come
seeking blessedness by the way of the transgressor
sowing tares
and watching for wheat. (F. W. Ryder.)
Idolatry in Israel
I. The man--Jeroboam.
The man inaugurates the policy. The idolater precedes the idolatry. The sin
does not force itself into Israel
but is introduced by the king. Jeroboam was
the son of Nebat. Dean Stanley says his mother had been a woman of loose
character. The son had courage
ability
and industry. He held an important
office
under Solomon
and “was known as the man who had inclosed the city of David.”
II. The
people--Israel. The people followed their king. (There is a tradition that one
family held out against calf-worship.) The national conscience was not sensitive
the national faith not vigorous
the sense of loyalty not strong
the spirit of
obedience not quick. The people
though knowing better
were easily led into
disobedience. They knew the law
and the history of Aaron’s golden calves.
Their eyes were open
but they lacked the moral fibre and high spirit that will
refuse to follow a false leader in his wrong plans. Many of them must have
surrendered conscience in following this apostate king. Let us not be too
severe in our judgment of them. Hosts of informed people are being led in evil
ways by modern Jeroboams. Men like him still frequently decide public policy
even in matters of morals and religion
and the multitudes follow even into the
ditch. Conscience goes to the wall. The king
the government
or the party
chooses the policy
offering plausible excuse for violating God’s law
and the
people follow. The result is certain. A nation surrendering conscience loses
conscience. A people disobedient to God suffers His wrath. Israel did.
III. The sin--Idolatry.
This evil surrounded the Jews. They knew the nature and results. God was
training them for pure worship. The spiritual God was trying to get a spiritual
people. He had always to resist a tendency to idolatry. His word is full of
warnings against it and woes upon it. He knew its nature and deadly result.
Evermore He tries to prevent it
not in petty jealousy
but for the love of His
children. Worship is love. God does not so jealously guard mere forms and
ceremonies. He does guard the love of His people. Worshipping Him is loving
Him. And that is the deepest relation between God and man. His supreme
expression toward man is the utterance of His love. Man’s supreme response is
love. Love brooks no divided heart. Love needs no images. “God is a spirit.”
Love is spiritual. Worship
in its essence
is love. He “seeketh such to
worship Him as worship Him in spirit and in truth.” “For two hundred and
fifty-seven years this terrible indictment
‘he made Israel to sin
’ follows
Jeroboam and his kingdom through all the pages of this sacred record
until the
kingdom was utterly destroyed and the Ten Tribes blotted from the map of human
history
even as Moses and the prophets had predicted.” Why does this result
follow idolatry? Because right relation to God is the root of character. If
that relation be wrong life itself is wrong. This is fundamental. Error or
fault here is fatal. There are not two centres to this circle. Men cannot keep
the first commandment and break the second. In idolatry men satisfy their religious
feeling by a false worship which pretends to be true. The essence of it is
disobedience; self-choice instead of self-surrender. It denies God by choosing
other ways than His. It looks religious; it is the essence of sin. It begins
with materialism and ends in polytheism or atheism. A close student has said:
“Idolatry does not begin as idolatry.
There is evolution down as well as up. The argument for image-worship is
specious
and it is always in essential spirit the same. Every tendency toward
materialisation is a backward tendency in religion. The golden calves which
Jeroboam sets up as a representation of God lead naturally and speedily to the
horrible pagan rites which come in with Ahab and Jezebel.” “Idolatry in the
ancient Church
” says the Britannica
“was naturally reckoned among
those magna crimina or great crimes against the first and second
commandments which involved the highest ecclesiastical censures.” The danger of
idolatry has not ceased.
St. John’s message is still to men: “Little children
keep yourselves from
idols.” The golden calf still exists in “covetousnesst the which is idolatry.”
It exists to destroy. (W. F. McDowell.)
Idolatry established
It is no less man’s highest duty than his supreme blessedness to
know and love and serve the true and living God: to know Him is life eternal;
to be ignorant of Him is death for evermore. The character of the God who is
worshipped reproduces itself in the characters of the worshippers; if He is
vile
His worshippers will be vile; if He is pure
they will be pure. The
essential nature of idolatry renders it
of necessity
one of the vilest and
most debasing of sins. The worship of false gods has been almost universally
associated with the use of idols
images
and pictures. Where you find the false
god you find his image
and where you find the image there also is the false
god; hence Jehovah forbids the use of material objects that have always been
used in connection with the worship of false gods. He is a spirit
and His
worship must be pure and spiritual. But the connection between worshipping the
true God by images and the worship of other gods than the Lord is most
intimate; and two generations later
and after Jeroboam had corrupted the
worship of Jehovah
Ahab
instigated by his wicked heathen wife Jezebel
formally established the idolatrous worship of other gods
Baal
Ashtoreth
and
Moloch
in the capital of his nation. The enormity of Jeroboam’s sin is seen in
the light of Jehovah’s peculiar relations to him and to his people. God entered
into the most solemn covenant relations with them. He was to them not only
Creator and Lord and Judge
as He was to all other nations
but He was their
Friend
their Guide
their Protector. Had Jeroboam been pious as he was brave
had he received the kingdom as a sacred trust from the Lord
had he ruled as
theocratic king
had he relied upon the promises and protection of Jehovah
then indeed would the Lord have built him a sure house
and his kingdom would
soon have absorbed the two other tribes and have endured for generations; but
alas! he took counsel of his own wisdom
not of the wisdom of God; he trusted
to human power rather than to the protection of Jehovah
and proceeded promptly
to organise and
consolidate his kingdom. Four important measures received his immediate
attention: a capital
a worship
a festival and a priesthood. He selected
Shechem in the great tribe of Ephraim
and built there a city as the capital of
his kingdom. But the worship of the people was the matter of greatest importance
in the establishment of his kingdom. The children of Israel brought with them
from Egypt many of the customs and idolatrous manners of their masters. During
the period of their sojourn and bondage they had become contaminated by their
daily contact with Egyptian idolatry
and the animal-worship of this ancient
and august civilisation had made on their minds a most profound and lasting
impression. So deeply rooted was this foul idolatry in the hearts of Israel
that in sight of Mount Sinai
and while Moses was receiving the law from God
and delayed to come down
the people gathered themselves unto Aaron and said
“Up! make us gods which shall go before us
” etc. Jeroboam doubtless remembered
this incident in the history of his people; he had this venerable precedent for
his guide--a precedent established by the first high priest of Israel;
whereupon he took counsel and made two calves of gold
and said
It is too much
for the people to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods
O Israel
which brought
thee up out of the land of Egypt. And this thing became a sin
for the people
went to worship before the golden calves
and it gave colour and direction to
the whole subsequent history of the northern kingdom of the ten tribes. And
thus idolatry was established by the king himself as the national religion of
the ten tribes
constituting the northern kingdom of Israel.
1. The wise Solomon saw the many abilities of Jeroboam
and made him
when a young man
ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph; he was a
man of decision
discretion
industry and valour. But he was destitute of faith
and devoid of that fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom.
2. Jeroboam in thus establishing idolatry in order to strengthen the
throne and consolidate his kingdom ignored the living God as a potent factor in
the problem. The Divine element
which was the all-controlling one
found no
place in his plans
his calculations or his conduct.
3. In the establishment of idolatry he did not openly reject the
Jehovah of Israel
but corrupted His worship--with what far-reaching evil let
Israel’s shameful history and ignominious end proclaim.
4. The corruption of the people proceeded
pars passu
with
the corruption of the worship of God. The life of the nation began with
flagrant violations of the Divine law and with an idolatrous worship
and the
effects of these sins are seen in all the subsequent history of Israel. The
national life was polluted at its very fountain
for the religion and worship
of any people are the very innermost springs of being
development and
civilisation; and so Israel passed from bad to worse with frightful rapidity
and momentum
and her history is red with blood and dark with defilement.
5. Israel’s idolatry led not only to her decay
but to her death. The
wages of sin is death
no less for the nation than for the individual. The soul
that sinneth and the nation that sinneth shall die. (A. W. Pitzer
D. D.)
Ecclesiastical policy of Jeroboam
read in the light of our own
day
I. Jeroboam’s
difficulty. The difficulty was a religious one. In the northern kingdom which
he had founded there was no temple--no place consecrated for offerings and
sacrifices. The temple was the crowning glory of Jerusalem
the capital of the
southern kingdom
“Whither the tribes went up
the tribes of the Lord
unto the
testimony of Israel.” The only place of sacrifice
the only place in which the
highest religious duties could be discharged
was in the rival kingdom over
which Rehoboam reigned. The hour had not yet come when “neither in this
mountain nor yet at Jerusalem should men worship the Father.” It was the hour
in which every devout Jew felt compelled to offer the appointed sacrifices in
the appointed place. No provision could be found in Jeroboam’s kingdom for the
religious wants of the people. He had to rule a nation (which was nothing if it
was not religious--a nation which
in former times
had been ruled by Jehovah
without the aid of kings) without any of the signs of His presenced no ark
no
shekinah glory
no tables of stone
no altar
no priest
no temple. Jeroboam
knew full well that these were essential to the nation--that unless these
religious needs were met within his own borders the people would go up to
Jerusalem
they would be found within the temple of Solomon. He feared that
they would be fascinated by the glory both of the city and temple; that their
hearts would be drawn thither; that the rival kingdom of Judah would acquire
new glory in their eyes; and that
sooner or later
they would forsake their
allegiance to him and his throne
and return to the dynasty which they had so
recently forsaken.
II. Jeroboam’s
remedy. The difficulty was very evident. The remedy was not easily to be found.
It probably gave the king much anxious thought
and
when it was found
was of
the kind to be expected both from his character and antecedents. Altars were
reared
objects of worship were devised after the model afforded by the sacred
calf of Heliopolis. The cry heard long before beneath the granite crags of
Sinai was repeated: “These are thy gods
O Israel
which brought thee up out of
the land of Egypt.” The feast times were altered to suit the later harvest of
the more northern climate. To borrow the felicitous historical illustrations of
Dean Stanley
just as Abder-rahman
Caliph of Spain
arrested the movements of
his subjects to Mecca by the erection of the holy place of the Zeca at Cordova
or as Abdelmalik
because of his quarrel with the authorities at Mecca
built
the dome of the rock at Jerusalem
so Jeroboam sought to rear rival seats of
sacrifice in his kingdom to keep the heart
of the people from Jerusalem
and
bind them more closely to his person and his throne.
III. Lessons
suggested by this policy of Jeroboam.
1. The inconvenience of the State busying itself with religious
matters. The true policy of Jeroboam would have been to have left religion
alone. He had been called to the throne for political purposes. After all
the
root of the whole mischief is to be found in want of faith. Assuredly it was
thus with Jeroboam. On two distinct occasions
by symbolic but most expressive
methods
he had received the assurance that over the ten tribes he would be
called to be king. He knew that “the thing was from the Lord.” This religious
difficulty met him
it is true
at the very opening of his reign. Why could he
not leave it in Jehovah’s hands? Why could he not fill the throne assured that
God would provide for the Church? Why could he not believe that called to the
throne he would be preserved therein
although the people did go year by year
to sacrifice in the rival kingdom? It is thus in our day. Men are filled with
all manner of fear if this union be not preserved. Why cannot we believe that
God will provide for His Church
and that the more she trusts in Him and the
less in men
the stronger she will be for her work?
2. The evil of preferring policy to principle. Policy lay at the root
of Jeroboam’s mischief Although he hid lived in Egypt
he belonged to the
chosen race
and was ignorant neither of its history nor laws. Policy is a word
too often on men’s lips. The very commonness of its use is significant of the
prevalence of the thought. To many minds it is quite sufficient to dissuade
from a course of action to say it is not good policy. If right go with policy
all is well; if right part company with policy
right pleads in vain. The men
who range themselves fearlessly under the banner of truth
who adopt the motto
of our great English orator and statesman
“Be just
and fear not
” are
regarded as dangerous men. The cry needs to be heard
“Let integrity and
uprightness preserve me
for I wait on Thee.” The conviction needs to take
strong hold of our spirit
“Thou desirest truth in the inward parts.” We need
to.listen to the words of our great Poet
words which sound like an echo of the
voice of prophet and apostle
words filled with the spirit of Him who came to
bear witness to the Truth--
To
thine own self be true
And
it must follow
as the night the day
Thou
canst not then be false to any man.
(W. G. Horder.)
Idolatry established
I. The king made
use of the church to serve his political ambitions. Historical illustrations of
success in a similar line to that entered upon by Jeroboam are abundant. The
Roman Church has this sad record to face
of its having been a support or cover
to all the personal ambitions that throb in a human breast. The important
thing
however
is that
under all forms of church establishment or order
these influences are liable to manifest themselves. The dangers to the church
arise not merely from the desires of prominent individuals to exercise undue
control in ecclesiastical affairs; the false sentiments of men within and
without the church are the sources of peril. Pressure is brought to bear upon
the Christian community to declare itself positively on difficult or doubtful
questions. Political motives often mingle with those that are personal in
leading men thus to antagonise the church into a position favourable to their
views.
II. The people
sacrificed their religious principles to their love of ease. If a young man who
has been taught secret prayer neglects that duty and privilege till bedtime
and delays still further till he retires
that prayer will not be a vital
faithful prayer. Frederick W. Robertson used to say
“Begin the day with a sacrifice.”
He rose quickly. He engaged his mind
instead of allowing it to wander in the
precious morning hours. It was his habit to learn a verse of Scripture while
dressing. Some vigorous mental and moral effort is necessary to bring one into
a proper state for worship.
III. The
introduction of old errors made idolatry more acceptable. Jeroboam took
advantage of an incident in the early history of the people of Israel in
setting up the golden calves. The old sin of the tribes
in worshipping the
calf made by Aaron in the absence of Moses
was yet to bear fruit. The new
ritual is made more acceptable by being linked with an old sin. The people fell
again into the pit from which they were digged. The results
however
were
those that universally followed disobedience to God’s commands. Moab and
Damascus were soon as near as Bethel and Dan
and their worship as acceptable
to deceived Israel.
IV. A servile
priesthood aided in accomplishing the enslavement of the people. We need not
understand
by the lowest orders of the people
the worst of the population of
the ten tribes. The king chose his priests where it pleased him
outside of the
tribe of Levi. This would undoubtedly be a popular measure. Probably tile king
did not choose all bad men. It does not appear a matter of great importance to
many in this day that a man be called of God to the ministry; it is
however
a
most vital matter. If he does not recognise God’s call upon him
he will not
feel responsibility to God. He is only
or chiefly
responsible to men. We obey
the master that elevates us. The priests
out of the lowest
orders of tim
people
served the king. Men will treat lightly the word of God unless an
inward voice has declared to them its sacredness and their commission in regard
to it. The servility begotten of a feeling of responsibility to men expresses
itself in formalism. It recognises custom and tradition as tile law by which
men are to guide their lives. A ministry that the world calls will obey its
master. Let us have a consecrated and called ministry. (Monday Club Sermons.)
A Man-made religion
Jeroboam sought to satisfy the people’s longings.
I. Much of our
religion to-day is man-made. This is seen
1. In work done in the churches from wrong motives.
2. In accepting doctrines which are merely pleasing to us.
3. In modifying God’s Word to suit the times.
4. In making our standard the standard for testing salvation.
II. But true
religion has God for its Author. Only the God-made religion
──《The Biblical Illustrator》