Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1889-12-27
REVIEW OF THE QUARTER.
LESSON KIN, FOURTH QUARTER, IN
TERNATloNAt SERIES, DEC. 20.
In All History There Is No other Lesson
in Government so Awful and Impress
sive-From David to Jeroboam-
From Gods Service to Idolatry.

FROM GODS Service TO luolatry.
In the lessons terminating with Sept 90 are
given the thrilling details of that momentous
transition period in lsraelitish history-the
change from a commonwealth ruled by
judges to a centralized monarchy, the errors
and follies of Saul, the first monarch, and
then his melancholy failure and destruction.
Following in natural order, the lessons of the
quarter now closing tell Of the consolidation
Of power in David, the rise Of the Jewish
kingdom and its marvellous glory under Solo
mon, followed, alas all too soon by apostasy,
idolatry, division and the beginning of long
decay.
In all the histories written by man there is
no such instructive lesson in government as
is contained in these chapters. Each succeed
ing age, since the civilized world became
Christian, has studied this history with new
light as events taught wisdom, and successive
governments have prospered or decayed as
they obeyed or neglected the teachings of
these chapters. Even If we could lay aside
the purely moral lesson and study this his
tory a guide in the science of government,
we should still find i'll every chapter Of it a
prophecy OF what painful experience has so
often shown modern nations, namely, that
all tho nations which forget God shall be
given over to destruction. Israels kings
obeyed God and received wisdom and guild
ance; wisdom and the favor of God brought
national freedom and glory; prosperity and
glory corrupted ruler and people and they
apostati2ed; apostasy brought division, decay
and destruction, and that right speedily.
Shall the divine lesson be lost in our own be-
loved nationt
The quarter opens with the union of the
tribes under David. 1t was the final act in
the construction Of a nation. Seven years
and a half he had reigned in Hebron, and he
was to reign thirty-three years in Jerusalem;
but his first duty was to complete its con-
quest from the Jebusites 1t then became the
capital Of the nation, and, despite the later
division between the tribes, it remained the
great ISraelite center for Jig yea IS, for
David conquered the Jebusites 1916 B. G.. and
Titus destroyed Jerusalem 20 \. d. But dur
ing some fifty years of this period Jerusalem
lay desolate, the people having been dispersed
or taken into Babylon. Little by little in
the first six centuries Of the Christian era
new and inferior Jerusalem rose upon the
ruins of the old and today, 1855 years after
David's conquest, Jerusalem remains the hope
Of the Israelites and place of pious pilgrim
age to Christians-a continuing witness of
the fulflllnent Of prophecy.
The successive lessons of the quarter tell
us of the national union under David, the
bringing of the ark to Zion, the triumphs of
David by which he secured peace to the pao-
| pie, his sin, punishment, repentance and
death. The scene then suddenly changes
| The man of war has cleared the way and
| partially collected the materials, now the
man of peace is to build the temple and usher
| in the golden age of Jerusalem. Solomon
| takes the kingdom, adds vastly to its wealth
receives from God special gift of wisdom
| builds and dedicGtes the temple, and the
| fame of his wisdom is great among all the
nations of the east. This was the golden age
| of Judaism, and here the devout Christian
and the patriotic lsraeite alike would fam
pause and dwell lovingly on such situation
| But the time was short. Solomon sinued
against light and knowledge. He had before
him tho divine command not to "multiply
wives lest his heart turn away But he
| transgressed the law, and soon it was said of
him that 'his heart was not perfect with the
Lord his God, as was the heart Of David, his
father" He took wives of the neighborng
nations, though expressly forbidden to do so
Deut win, and they led him into dolatry.
For solomon went after Ashtoreth (or
Astartcl, tho goddess of the Zidoninus, and
after Milcom, the abomination Of the Ammo
Mites imaginary deites, worshiped with OBJ
scene and disgusting ceremonies.
Then did Solomon build high place for
! Chemosh, the abOmlnation of Moab. = Il
! And likewise did he for all his strange that
is foreign wives, which burnt incense and
sacrifice unto their gods, and the punish
ment came swiftly God spared him for his
| time but told him his son should lose most OF
/ the kingdom. And SO Improved, for ,Ieroboam
| stirred up a rebellion against Eeloboam. son
and successor Of Solomon, and all Israel fol
! lowed Jeroboam except the tribe of Judah
and the tribe Of benjamin.
Then began the decline of Israel. and for
about 250 years the kingdom of Judah and
the kingdom Of Israel continued side by side,
sometimes at peace, often at war, ever ieal-
Gus Of each other and in condition Of per-
petual decay At length the condition of Is-
rael became Wretched 10 an extreme, usui'pa-
ton, conspiracy, revolt and murder Of kings
became common. Elasha massacred the or
spring of Jeroboam; his son, Elah. was muir
dered while drunk by Zmri, and Zimri was
in few days overthrown by Tirzah. Ziniri
being burned in his own palace. And so the
regime Of murder, tyranny and idolatrv
went on til the Assyrians camo, and about
III E. c. utterly destroyed the remains of
the miserable kingdom and scattered the de-
graded inhabitants through Asia. These are
the Ten Lost Tribes. whose location was
long matter OF speculation TO the learned;
but it Is now known that they never gath
cred into one place, but remained "a kissing
end a byword,n and fragments of them are
| found To this day III ali the east even to the
BLACK Jews Of China and India
The Bible docs not give particulars, but we
can easily see how the miserable Israelites
| looked back with mingled pride and sorrow
TO those days when Solomon still enjoyed the
favor Of God and the glory of the Lord wa,
visible on Mount Zion, when the nation was
one, when the Almighty Vas Himself its law
giyer and His choice was their anointed king.
How often must they have shed bitter tears
at thought Of the apostasy of their fathers
and the idolatry of their great king, how
Of N did al