The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1885-08-01
Written for the CHIEF.
REGAL GOVERNMENT OF THE

JEWS.
(Continued.l
The policy of Jeroboam produced q re-
ligious as we'll as political separation.
While the kings of Judah held the temple
where the sacrifices were offered and whith-
er all the people were obliged to resort at
stated times, they would always have an
ascendancy over the kingdom Of Israel.
Jeroboam THEREFORE thought it necessary to
adopt some measures to prevent the fre-
quent visits Of his subjects to Jerusalem,
the metropolis of the kingdom of Judah.
The priests, tho Levites and all who were
concerned in the ministry of religion, we're
firmly attached to the house Of David, and
Jeroboam supposed that they would natural
ly exert the influence which religion gave
them over the minds Of the people, to alienate
their affection from his government and to
bring them back to their allegiance to their
lawful sovereign. To prevent the obvious
consequences of the continuance of his sub
jects In religious communion with the
house of David and the kingdom of Judah,
Jeroboam sacrificed the interest of religion
TO his political motives. He built new
temple and instituted new priesthood,
and thus produced new schism among
the followers of the Mosaioal laws which
was never extinguished. Soon after this
separation, the religion Of the ten tribes
under Jeroboam deviating more and more
from the original institutions of Moses be-
came mixture of Judaism and Pagan
idOlatry. After this memorable epoch in
the history of the Israelites we find little
more in their annals than such transactions
and events as constitute the ordinary sub
jects of political records. The kingdom of
Judah adhered with infexible attachment
to princes of the house of David, but usur-
pations of the kingdom of Israel were COM
mon. The history of the kingdom of Isra-
81 and Judah during period of almost 400
years, till the burning of Jerusalem by Neb-
uchadnezzar may, with the exception of
few intervals, be called the annals of dis
union, vice, wars, servitude, famine and
pestilence. In this long period of general
wickedness and misery, one of the most re-
markable events is great battle fought
between Jeroboam and Abijam, the success
sor of Rehoboam. The army of the former
numbered eight hundred thousand men,
that of the latter four hundred thousand.
Jeroboam was defeated and five hundred
thousand of his men were killed in battle.
At last the kingdom of the ten tribes was
extinguished. The people were transported
into Assyria and dispersed into different
parts of the country, whence they never re-
turned. The common people we're left in
Canaan and were mixed with strangers,
and from that mixture of different nations
sprung the motley race which were after
wards known by the name of Samarltans.
The sad catastrophe of the kingdom of
Israel is described by the prophets in very
pathetic terms. The infants and pregnant
women we're murdered with horrid barbar-
ity. The men who had not been slain in
battle nor escaped by flight were dragged
into bondage, and their country was di-
vided among the colonies of the conquerors.
This event happened about 72O B. c., after
the kingdom had subsisted about 254 years.
The tottering kingdom of Judah still con-
tinued to enjoy precarious existence, in
vaded at different times by the Babylonians,
rendered tributary and finally subjugated,
it's metropolis and temple razed to their
foundations by that mighty conqueror Neb-
uchadnezzar, 584 B. c., and all the prin-
cipal persons and the most skillful artists
of every kind removed to Babylon. Thus
ended the kingdom of Judea, after it had
subsisted 46s years from the beginning of
the reign of David and 3S8 years from the
of Judah and the ten tribes.
RESTORATION OF THE JEWS TO THEIR LIBERTY
AND COUNTRY.
The privations of liberty and the miseries
of bondage seem to have brought the peo-
pie of Israel and judah to sense of their
past trangressions. Unable to resist the
power of man, they placed their sole conf
dence in the goodness and mercy of God.
Neither promises nor threats could induce
them to abandon their duty and worship