The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1891-01-07
IOOlATRY IN ISRAEL.
international Sunday School Lesson for
January IL, 1891.

international Sunday School Lesson for
January IL. 1891.
Especially Arranged from S. s. QUARTERLY
LESSON TEXT Kings l2:a5-S3.
GOLDEN TExT-Thou shalt not make unto
thee any craven image 0.4
CENTRAL TRUTH--The brightest hopes are
ruined by disobedience.
TIME-B. C. 975. Jeroboam reigned twenty.
two years, till b. c, 954.
PLACE Kingdom Of Israel. The capital Of
Shechem, and Tuzah; the centers Of worshipat
Bethel and Dan.
PARALLEL ACCOUNTS Chron. chaps, II, Io.
HELPS OVER HARD PLACEs-25. Built"
built up, fitted for his capital. "Shechem:" the
largest town in Epbraim, his own tribe; cen
trally situated for his capital. "Mount Eph-
raim:" the hill country of Ephraim. "Pcnuew
face OF Cod: east of the Jordan on the brook
Jabbok 1t was for defense Of his eastern
borders. Here Jacob had wrestled with the
angel Gen. 32:243s.) 81. III this people do
sacrifice" etc: II Jerusalem should continue
to be the religious capital, and the people went
up there three times year as commanded
there would soon be reunion Of the kingdoms.
XIII me-: Jeroboam; to make the reunion
possible. 2S. 1.-Two calves" probably oxen
with wings, limitations Of the cherubim over
the ark, and the colossal ones in Solomon's
temple II Kings 6:23-2s), one of whose four faces
was that OF an OK. He allied his worship to the
old. They were not intended to be false gods,
but symbols of jehovah. Co. Bethel" (honse
Of Cod: an ancient place Of worship on the
southern borders Of Ephraim, twelve miles
north Of Jerusalem DAN: an old heather
shrine in the extreme north, at the sources of
the jordan. (See Judg 1s:l:29.) 80. Became
sin:" r) it broke the second commandment;
C) 1t led to idolatry; (3) 1t made the people
irreligious; ~ 1t led to the immoralities of
idol worship. 81. Lowest Of the people:"
rather all classes Of the people. The priests OF
the Levites had gone over to Rehoboam. e
Chron lll3-H) 80. Feast in the eighth
MONTH" November, instead of feast of Taber.
nacles, their thanksgiving day, in the seventh
month as ordained by God Their harvest was
later than the harvest of Judah
LESSON COMMENTS.
Jeroboam was afraid lest his people,
If they went to Jerusalem to worship,
would revolt against him. So to avoid
this result he committed greatsin. If
Jeroboam had only had more faith in God
he would never have adopted so wicked
a course. For God had promised him If
he evercame to His throne that ''If thou
wilt hearken unto all that l command
thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do
that is right in my sight, to keep my
statutes and my commandments, as
David, my servant did, then will l be
with thee and build thee sure house,
as built for David, and will give Israel
unto thee" Il Kings 1883. But the
wicked King thought he knew better
than God, and so he forsook Gods law
and established idolatry.
Did Jeroboam's evil device for estab-
fishing his kingdom really help him?
No; for "though hand join in hand, the
wicked shall not 60 unpublished" prov
1l:2D. In the very next chapter but
one we are told how the anger of God
burned against this wicked King. God
said: 81 will bring evil upon the house
of Jeroboam" because Of his iniquity.
That sin, which Jeroboam thought
would help him. in reality was the
stumbling block over which he fell into
ruin.
Jeroboam's sin consisted in "doing
evil. that good might come therefrom,"
and just here lies the sin of great
many people in modern days. There
are many people, for example, who deal
dishonesty in their business, and then,
as an excuse, they say: "We must live"
That they must earn living is true,
but it is not true that in order
to do this they must be dis
honest. For the same bad reason
many break the Sabbath day,
and keep their stores open, plead
ing the excuse that, unless they do
this, competition will ruin them. This
same excuse leads others into telling
lies. Then there are many more who
have not even as good an excuse as this
to offer. They sin openly, merely so
that they may 'get on" faster in this
life. So Satan deludes them as he de-
luded Jeroboam. In the very face of
Gods solemn warnings, Satan promises
them success in their sinful undertake
ings.
Are such evil courses ever successful?
Yes; for a time many of them seem to be
very prosperous. Many, indeed, fail
very soon, for he must have a long men,
DRY, who is to be successful liar; and
many a thief or dishonest man ends his
days in Jail. But some seem to succeed.
This thought made the Psalmist very
sad once. He said: 81 was envious at
the foolish, when saw the prosperity
of the wicked. Behold these are the
ungodly who prosper in the world; they
increase in riches" He could not at
first understand this, and was tempted
to think that it did not pay as well to
be honest as to be dishonest. So Satan
leads many young man to think to-day.
But the Psalmist saw it all in its true
light, whom he went to Gods house.
Then "he understood their end" Thus
he was led to exclaim in awe and won.
der: "How are they brought into desola'
ton, as in moment! They are utterly
consumed with terrors" Cps. 73). God
does not square all his accounts with
sinners on this side of the grave. Blu
his warnings will none the less prove
true; and the punishments He ha:
threatened upon evil-doers will be full
filed in eternity, as surely as Jeroboan
was punished, or as Rehoboam had the
kingdom torn from him. 1.-The mills o.
God grind slowly, but grind exceeding
SMALL" and though hand join in hand
the wicked shall not go unpublished. -
Rev. A. T. Schauffler, d. d.
PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS.
l. God gives us many bright prospect.
and blessed hopes for this life and fol
that to come.
9. We can receive the fulfillment o
them only on condition Of obedience Il