The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1904-07-06
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
INTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMENTS
FOR JULY TO-
Subject: Jeroboam's Idolatrv, 7 King,
Kill, 25-33--Goiden Text. I John, XIV.
21-Memory Verses, 2S-3O-Commen
tary on the Days Lesson.

/
| tary on the Days Lesson.
]. Improvements made ". 2D. 25.
"1hen Jeroboam built" After he was
/ made king Jeroboam Immediately took
measures to establish himself in his king
! dom. There were bright prospects before
! him "Shechem." This citr 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 u
Kings l4:l7; l5, 2l), and this remained the
cantal until Omri removed it to Samaria
mount Ephraim" See r. V. Not sin.
gle mountain but the hill country OF
! Eohraim, 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 fortifyine
| other cities. "Penuel." The place east Of
the Jordan, near the fords OF JabbolS,
where Jacob wrestled with the angel (Gen.
32:2D), and whose tower amt inhabitants
/ in the time OF the Judges Gideon had de
stroyed (Judg. SAID. Jeroboam probably
regarded it as an imnortant position, com
manding the great c7ravan road to the
farther East, and accordingly fortified it.
III. Idolatrous worship established Tvs
! 26-3l). 26 Said in his heart" He did
not speak out his real motives. He would
have been ashamed to have done that, and
it would have been poor policy. His real
! TBuSOHS were III ..sS Htull, Dul ustu
other argument to the people. Return to
! David Jeroboam was exaltng policy
above principle. Josepnus says the idea
was forced on the kings mind by the ap'
I proach OF the feast of Tabernacles, at
which time it had been usual for the peo'
| pie to go up in great numbers to Jerusa.
lem, and to live there for some days. q.
"To offer sacrifices" Or. W. His keen eye
saw at once that the religious element in
mans nature is great poSer % be taken
into account in politics. Humanity speak.
ing, Jeroboam' $ fear was, it must be con
fessed, well founded. 'Shall kill me-
When they we had time to repent of the
not uncommon. Uneasy lies the head
that wears crown" Jeroboam had for.
titled himself so he did not fear war, but
now another danger seems to arise which
throws a gloom over his prospects. In re-
ality, however, there was no such danger,
for God had promised to establish his
kingdom on condition that he would serve
Him Il Kings 1883, and Gcd's promise
was sure.
2S Took counsel" With his counsel
lors, or the heads OF the nation who had
helped him to the throne. They were evi:.
IDENTITY like the king in worldly policy and
plans Made two calves" .Jerobodm's 8
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 alreatiy 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 system of his own creation. Al
though he did not design to lead the peo
pie into idoatry. yet he deliberately broke
the second commandment, and from wor
Shipping God under a false and unauthor
ized form, the people gradually learned tc
worship other gods altogether. and the
sanctuaries at Bethel and Dan prepared
the way for the temples of Ashtaroth and
1t was probably overlaid with gold. Too
much" The sense intended is probably
given in the margin of the Revised Yer
sion, "Ye have gone up long enough Je'
roboam's argument was, You have chosen
new king, choose also new places for
worship This was an appeal to the flesh
49, Bethel" A city in the extreme
southern part of the new kingdom. Dan
Formerly called Laish, 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. l2:S; 2S:ll.22;
sim" The first and second commandments
were both broken; the service Of God was
degraded, and the people were led into
idolatry, including the obscene rites prac
ticed at idol shrines. Even unto Dan. "
There are different views as to the mean
ing here. Q) 1t may mean that the people
went there to worship at once; or (2) il
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
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 II. V. Jereoboam 5 sin was
not that he selected persons of low birth
or bad character to act as priests, but that
he selected them from among the people
without reference to tribes, thereby an
nullng the divine plan that they should be
Of the tribe of Levi. SONS OF Levi Jer'
oboam would no doubt have been glad ia
have retained the Levitcal priests, but
they probably opposed his devices, for
evidently banished by yeroboam, 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 Tabsr
nacles, one OF the three great Jewish feasts
which, by divine appointment, was held 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
The reason generally given for changing
the time from the seventh to the eighth
month, in defiance of the law (Lev. 23:4
80, Az, is that "in the northern districts
of his kingdom the grain ripened at least q
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" X. V
/ Affairs were ascended either by steps or an
inclined plane. The king assisted in the
dedication, thus initiating Solomon at the
dedication OF the temple. 80. He had de
vised.' The entire system of Jeroboam
receives its condemnation in these words
His main. fault was that he left ritua
and worship where all was divinely au
siorized for ceremonies and services which
were wholly of his own devising, He was
placed in difficult circumstances. but h
mes them with the arts OF politician, nc,
witn the single-mindedness OF a saint.