But as time passed, the king put his trust in the power of position and in the strongholds he had fortified. Little by little he gave way to inherited weakness, until he threw his influence wholly on the side of idolatry. It came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself, he forsook Page 94 the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him. The people whom God had chosen to stand as a light to the surrounding nations were turning from their Source of strength and seeking to become like the nations about them. No man liveth unto himself.
None perish alone in their iniquity.
Every life is a light that brightens and cheers the pathway of others, or a dark and desolating influence that tends toward despair and ruin. We lead others either upward to happiness and immortal life, or downward to sorrow and eternal death. And if by our deeds we strengthen or force into activity the evil powers of those around us, we share their sin. God did not allow the apostasy of Judah's ruler to remain unpunished. And he took the fenced cities which pertained to Judah, and came to Jerusalem.