Evansville daily journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1863-1866, 1864-11-26
THAxgsaITIsa. sEaxaS..
Del sssss By Rev. B. T. RAWBTEs stf5a E.ooast
street NJ Z. Church, Evansville. Ga Th1rsdays
Nov. "a 1885,
:. And also in. Jud0A things tcesf vel
r. Chronicles XII. T.

terminated a distinct era Of history the
other opened new one. On the day Of
me inauguration Of Rehoboam, It vas
demanded By representatives, Of the va
rious tribes that the severity OF ms tath-ff'
ers policy should be relaxed, and upon
this condition alone, il was AYerred,
would they be his dutifnl subjects The
response to this demand vas whoslyHn-
expected. They supposed very iDatu-.
raily that the incoming administrator
would be marked By spirit OF coneiils-
ton but il was different Ny father
made your yoke heavy, and / will add to
your yoke; my father chastsed yoa with
ghips, / will ehsstise you with seor-
pions." Upon the announcements OF this
policg. ten of the tribes revolteag and
Judah stood alone. Benjamin. Ken
tueky-like, for time stood neutEal, gnt-
finally eIaag TO the parent government.
The policy Of Rehobosm was rash and
unreasonable The people had only pre-
ferred a modest and earnest plea Tor
greater leniency in the administration
Of affalrs. he result, as ANNOUNCED bg
q prophet, was revolt, extensive aud
successful The bitterest sanimosities
were enkiDdled; and when the collector
Of taxes went forlhso receive the assess
ments from these tribes, they stoned him
TO DEATH This was firing apon samter
the iBaasdralion OF civil war whose
desolaiions and duration the eye Of IN
SEPARATION alone could depict. Instantly
the newly inaaguratsd king issued his
proclamation, and as il by magic
1900 chosen troops we're assembled
Al Jerusalem to reduce to obedienee the
revolted States; and il is im possible
to see how the refractory tribes in their
unPrepared state could have resisted
such an organized aud numerous force.
They had not the ken of modern revolt
ers, who seize government weapons and
arAenslsa. beforehand. But God inter
poses aud foFbids The King going to war,
upon the ground that the division Of the
kingdom was previdential and judicial
punishment for their indebtedness To-
wards him.
How different, my friends. is this re-
volt from the one to which the services
Of this hour relate, Look, for instance,
at the demands that were made In either
case, upon the non complisncs with
which, war was commenced Ia the one
case, relief from the pressure Of the gov
eminent upon the people was demanded.
The exactions which Solomon had made
in the vast expenditures occasiOned hy
the erection Of the temple and The royal
palaces, and the completion OF the de.
fences OF the country, bad weighed the
people down. TIE demand was natural
a wise and benevolent ruler would 1t
least have given il respectful cousidera.
ton, aud il relief gas possible Il would
have been promised at rsoa
What now was the demand ia the other
case2 Was it alleged that the g0vera-
nent was oppressive2 No. so light
was It's pressure upon the people thai
they scarcely knew that they had GOV
eminent II was far different from this.
Il was simply this--comipg. too, from
more than tan tribes OF our isrAel-tha,
our god, Slavery, be the god Of the States
and Territories, and that the whole ma.
| ton and people bow down 10 him, AID
| that oil who viii not do this shall be lei,
out IN the cold. How diverse the rebel
lions in their eaasesi In our case no
grievances we're alleged, no remon-
strauces were presented In auswet to
all efforts to pacify them and avert tia
| dread catastrophe Of var, fhey only re-
spouded, II they were presented with. g
sheet Of clean papsr to write their own
terms, they would not doit. iA
There might have been SEINE aualogy
in the two cases. If the cause Of Israel !
| revolt had been this, Tor instance: We
demand, o, Rehoboan, that the worship
OF Jehovah be abolished; that in all the
tribes ldolatry be established; that a
Jerusalem and in the capital no Other
| religion be knowA
| Here there might have been aualogies
in the causes OF the two great rebsllions
OF the world; and bad such beeulthe de
mand of Israel, Providence as in our
case, would, doubtless, not have forbid
them going TO war 70 snbsngata. sael
sinners 81 @ 80
WhateSer may have been thought o
Rehoboam, prior 10 the revolt, aud IN
provoking II, he certainly displayed areal
skill and energy afterwards. The lane
vas At once plneed ooir a. war FOOTING
cities were fortified, garrisons erected
provisioned and equipped, with veteran
troops, and tide Of prosperity set 10 on
every hand, increasing Is the war in
creased in fury aud duration 49,
The Priests and Scribes'sa large aud
Influential ciSxs OF citizens. en- s,sasse
forsook the revoitgei tribes and cams
home TO the parent government, ans
strengthened the hands OF the Chief .Ex
l.ecutiye. Doubtless there WIS a gFsai
cry then, as now, among rebels aaainsf
the preachers, for they were nearly all il
favor Of The gevernmenl and iGs. consli
tutional heed For ahree ,yeass judah
remained in security and prosperity, ia
the midst OF terrible civil war Alas
il was this prosperity, not her enemies
that rnined her In the midst of all, tbs
people began to provoke the Lord viii
sins more heinous than any their father.
had committed In households, IN
temples, in groves, on every hill,s i
every valley, under every green tree
idolatry, their hesetting sin, was again
visible At last the tide reached the
throne; the King tofsook fhe Lord, and
the fearful detection became general
To the devoRt aud patriotic heart wa.
there ever such o. spectacle; q countrs
corrupt under the sefy influences OF the
prosperity enjoyed in time of war NJ
wonder that the scene. contributed to The
grief of the weeping prophet Chas,ise
/ ment was near at hand. God beheld
and remembered, and was now come 10
| DO avenged for this gross return for his
| goodness and mercy A foreign power
is brought to. bear upon them, and be the
instrument of the divine Establishments.
Ere they were aware, as if they had
atighsed from the passing clouds, the
King Of Egypt, with sa4vast army, was
upon their borders. And see how God
musters to battle In aha ran Of that
army were 1900 chariots, as fearful as
Merimacs and MonitorsA Behind these
were 10000 dauntless cavalry; aud then
| to push the battle 10 the gates, there fol-
lowed on q host more coaatlsss than the
forces Of the Cumberland or Potomac,
not Of Tanks, hut of Lubims and Suk.
k,'rns aud Ethiopians. The cities lying
along the border which Rehoboam had
strongly fortified, we're as powerless 70
resist the invaders. and more so, as Lees