The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1904-07-07
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
INTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMENTS
FOR JULY 10.

I. Improvements made ". 25). %.
"1hen Jcroboam built. After ne was
made king Jeroboam Immediately took
measures to establish himself in his king
! dom. There were bright prospects before
him. "Shechem." This city was enlarged
and fortified and thus made fit to be the
| royal residence. But he soon removed his
capital to Tirzah, a few miles north II
Kings l4:l7; Is, 2l), and this remained the
capital until Omri removed it to Samarla.
"Mount Ephraim." See K. V. Not sin:
gle mountain, but the hill country OF
| Ephraim, extending from Bethel to the
plains of Jezreel. 1t is the richest and
most beautiful part Of the land. Went
out from thence" Shechem was the base
| of operations in the building and fortlfy1ng
other cities. "Penuel." The place east Of
] the Jordan, near the fords of Jabbok,
where Jacob wrestled with the angel (Gen.
32:3O), and whose tower and inhabitants
in the time of the Judges Gideon had de-
stroycd (Judg. SID. Jeroboam probably
, regarded it as an imnortant position, COM
/ manding the great caravan road to the
farther East, and accordingly fortified it.
II. Idolatrous worship established Tvs;
| 26-3I). 26 "Said in his heart" He did
not speak out his real motives. He would
have been ashamed to have done that, and
]
| reasons were in LIS heart, but ne used an
other argument to the people. Return to
David" Jeroboam was exalting policy
above principle. Josephus says the idea
was forced on the kings mind by the ap-
proach of the feast of Tabernacles, at
which time it had been usual for the peo-
ple to 20 up in great numbers to Jerusa-
lem, and to live there for some days. q.
"To offer sacrifices" (R. W. His keen eye
saw at once that the religious element IN
mans nature is great power to be taken
into account in politics. Humanity speak
ing, Jeroboam' S fear was, it must be con,
fessed, well founded. Shall kill me"
| When they ave had time to repent of the
not uncommon. Uneasy lies the head
that wears crown" Jeroboam had for
J tilted himself so he did not fear war, but
now another danger seems to arise which
throws a gloom over his prospects. In re-
2 ality, however, there was no such danger,
for God had promised to establish his
kingdom on condition that ne would serve
/ Him q Kings 1883, and Gods promise
was sure.
IS. "Took counsel" With his counsel.
lors, or the heads of the nation who had
helped him to the throne. They were evl,
IDENTIFY like the king in worldly policy and
plans. Made two calves" Jeroboam's s
residence in Egypt had made him familiar
with the calf worship so largely practiced
there, and this, doubtless, had much to do
with the erection of these golden shrines;
besides, the people had already become ac.
customed to the sight of the figures OF
oxen in their religious ceremonial by their
presence as supporters of the molten sea
at the temple IN Jerusalem. These calves
were not set up to be worshiped as idols
any more than were the ark and other sa-
cred shrines at Jerusalem, but Jeroboam
saw that he must provide for the religious
instincts of his people, and at once intro
| duced a system of his own creation. AL
though he did not design to lead the peo-
pie into idolatry, yet he deliberately broke
! the second commandment, and from wor-
; Shipping God under a false and unauthor-
lied form, the people gradually learned to
worship other gods altogether. and the
sanctuaries at Bethel and Dan prepared
the way for the temples of Ashtaroth and
Baal at Samaria and Jezreel" "Of gold"
1t was probably overlaid with gold. Too
much" The sense intended is probably
given in the margin of the Revised Yer
sion, aye have gone up long enough. Je-
roboam's argument was, you have chosen
a new king. choose also new places for
worship" This was an appeal to the flesh
ly love of ease.
20. Bethel" A city IN the extreme
southern part OF the new kingdom. Dan"
Formerly called LaisA, situated in the
northern part of the kingdom There was
policy in choosing these places, as they
had been associated with religious worship
in ancient times See Gen. 1913; 2s:ll-22;
! Sam. 1913; Judg. 1880. 80. Became a
SIM" The first and second commandments
were both broken; the service of God was
| Ii 4ha loA tnfn
idolatry, including the obscene rites prac..
ticed at idol shrines. Even unto Dan." -"
There are different views as to the mean
ing hc:e. Q) 1t may mean that the people
went there to worship at once; or W 1t
may be intended to show that the people
preferred to turn from all associations with
Jerusalem and therefore went to far away
Dan on the northern frontier. 81. Made
an house" He built temple or sanctuary
at each of the two cities where the calves:
were set up. "Of high places" Houses of
worship were originally built on high
places and in groves on hill tops. Made
priests, etc. See r. V. Jereoboam' sin was
not that he selected persons of low birth
he selected them from among the people
without reference to tribes, thereby an
nulling the divine plan that they should be
OF the tribe of Levi. "Sons of Levi Jer-
oboam would no doubt have been glad to
have retained the Levitical priests, but
they probably opposed his devices, for,
evidently banished by Jeroboam, they
went over in body to Rehoboam.
III. A feast instituted Tvs. 80, 33). 32
'In the eighth month" November. This
was to take the place Of the feast OF Taber'
nacles, one of the three great Jewish teasts
which, by divine appointment, was he'd on
the 18th of the seventh month in Jerusa'
lem. Had Jeroboam provided no counter
attraction many of his subjects would have
visited Rehoboam's capital at this time
TIE reason generally given for changing
the time from the seventh to the eighth
month, in defiance of the law ucv. 1884
80, 4l), is that 'in the northern district:
of his kingdom the grain ripened at least a
month later than in southern Judah, and
this festival was to be kept at the ingather
ing Of the fruit OF the land" He offered,
etc. "He went up into the altar" r. V
Affairs were assembled either by steps or al
inclined plane. The king assisted in the
dedication, thus initiating Solomon at the
dedication OF the tempe. SO. He had dc
vised" The entire system of Jeroboa:r