Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1891-01-09
IDOLATRY IN ISRAEL.
LESSOR Il, FIRST QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, JAN. II.

Text of the Lesson, 1 Kings xii, 1888.
Commit Verses, 2S-3O-GoIden Text,
Ex. XIX, documentary by Rev. ID. NJ.
stearns.
compiled from Lesson Helper Quarterly by per-
mission of II. S. Hoffman, publisher, Philadel-
phia.l
25. "Then Jeroboam built Shechem in
Mount Ephraim and dwelt therein"
Rehoboam having been warned by Shemi-
ah, the man of God, not to go against the
revolving tribes to subdue them, returned
home with his army and contented himself
to be king of Judah only, according to the
word of the Lord Tvs. 1924. Thus the
twelve tribes became two nations, not to be
united again till the coming of the son of
David in power and glory CEzek. xxxvii,
21-2S) Shechem became for time the
capital of the kingdom of the ten tribes.
And went out from thence and built
Penuel."
Here the angel of the Lord wrestled with
Jacob and changed his name to Israel ia
cob called the name of the place Penuel
(the Face of Cod, for, said he, | have seen
God face to face and my life is preserved
Gen. xxi, IS, 30). Jeroboam's building
these places may be explained by the fact
that in the days of the Judges they had
been destroyed (Judg. viii, II; tx, 45).
%. "And Jeroboam said in his heart,
Now shall the kingdom return to the house
of David"
He evidently did not know in his heart
anything of the meaning of either Shechem
(shoulder) or Penuel (the face of Cod. His
heart had not received the precious prom
Use of Deut. xxXiii, IL, nor did he know
Him of whom it is written "the govern
ment shall be upon His shoulder"
81. eff this people 90 up to do sacrifice
in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then
shall the heart of this people turn again
unto their Lord, unto Rehoboam, king of
Judah, etc"
There is no gratitude to God in this, nor
any confidence in Him, but there is
thought of direct disobedience; for Jero-
boam knew that God had commanded that
sacrifice should be offered only in the city
and at the place which he had chosen
CDeut. xii, 5, 14).
%. "Whereupon the king took counsel
and made two calves OF gold"
1t was not the counsel of God, it must
have been the counsel Of the ungodly. He
must have known the story of the golden
calf in the wilderness and of the thousands
who fell because of that sin; but if any one
| had reminded him of that, and had sug
gested that his present course was a dan
gerous one, he might have replied: "Oh,
that was 800 years ago, and we do not know
whether there was any truth in it or not;
that is an Old story and perhaps only a
tradition. Then look ut those idol groves
and high places on Olivet which the great
Solomon built for his wives, and where he
worshiped also q KINGS ri, 5-S), and yet
he prospered and died peacefully"
ut is too much for you to go up to Je-
rusalem; behold thy gods, o Israel, which
brought thee up out of the land of Egypt"
He talked like the devil in the garden of
| Eden when he suggested to Eve that God
demanded too much when he told them
not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil, or when he suggested to
Achan that it was too much self denial not
to take that garment and that gold, or
when he suggested to Jesus through ST
mon that it was too much to think of dy
ing at Jerusalem.
90. And he set the one in Bethel, and
the other put he in Dan"
What II desecrator of holy places! Bethel
(house of Cod, where God gave to Jacob
such n glorious vision of heavenly things
and such promises for the future Gen
xviii, lilo; where God set up a ladder
that reached to heaven and Jacob dedi
Gated pillar to God. here this rebel sets
up an idol and establishes idolatry.
80. "And this thing became n SIM"
Not only a sin against God, but sir
against himself and all his house to cut ii
off, and to destroy it from off the face OF
the earth xiii, 34). He that sinneth against
God wrongeth his own soul, and all they
that hate Him love death prov. viii, 36)
Moses, when speaking to Israel of the call
which Aaron made, said, Il took your sin
the calf which We had made, and burnt il
with tire Deut. iN, %.
"The people went to worship before the
one, even unto Dan"
1t would be such worship as Cain offered
the worship of disobedience, and therefor,
hateful to God. They were breaking tn,
first and second commandments of thu
law, besides all the other commands which
God had given concerning the only plac,
of worship There is no particular plac,
now where we are to worship God, but a
Jesus taught the woman of Samaria, Goo
seeketh true worshipers who will WORSHIP
Him in spirit and in truth.
81. And he made an house of hgl
places, and made priests of the lowest o
the people which were not of the sons o
Levi"
Notwithstanding the command '"Thol
shalt give the Levites unto Aaron, and Il
his sons, and the stranger tina
cometh nigh shall be put to death" (Num
Iii, 8, 10), this man takes any one and set
him apart as priest. 1t is not enough t.
despise the only true God, the God of Is
rael, and the Holy City, and the Temple
the only appointed place of sacrifice, bu
he also despises Gods chosen priesthoo,
and sets up one of his own. We do no
need to seek far, even in our own day, TO
a man made priesthood, many of whom
to judge by their conduct, are among TIN
lowest of the people, and If they do no
worship golden calves they cert .inly d.
worship golden eagles Nor need we stel
outside the Protestant church, nor evei
enter the Episcopal church, to find them
for they may be found in all
81. "And Jeroboam ordained feas
like unto the feast that is in Ju
dab, and he offered upon the altar,
Moses did not ordain feasts; everything
connected with the tabernacle and temple
and worship and feasts was appointed b.
God; but this man takes the place of Co
and initiates God He reminds us of on
described in ii Thess. ii, 4, "who opposed
and exalteth himself above all that
called God or that is WOrSlln so tina