The Tupelo journal., 1904-05-13

n HE shield was symbolic and sug-
l. gestive of the Divine protection, and
the gold from which they were made was
indicative of that purity which God de-
sired in His people. Mere display is
never pleasing to God. He is not to be
fattered and appeased by glitter and
show. The flashing of those magnifi-
cent gold shields in the sunlight as the
king passed in royal state to pay his
VOWS unto his God was not pleasing and
acceptable to God, unless every blazing
shield proclaimed the protection GOD
gave to His children who were pure and
sincere in their worship. AS every part
of the temple service and worship was
significant and symbolic, so we are war
ranted in believing that Solomon in maxi
ing these shields of gold for the dec
Grafton of the walls OF the beautiful
house of Lebanon, and for carrying when
he went to the temple, desired to con-
vey the thought of purity and the Divine
protection. And these were the shields
which came into the possession Of Re-
hoboam, and which we have reason to
suppose he took delight in displaying and
using because his vanity was gratified.
Although he had forsaken the law of
Jehovah and drawn all the people away
with him in heathenish and idOlatrOus
practices, nevertheless it is to be pre-
sumed that he continued his stately and
magnificent professionals to the tenn
pie, fanked on either side by the splen-
didly caparisoned guard bearing the 300
glittering. golden shields. So it contin-
ued through five years. Five years of
glorious display, but meaningless wor-
ship. Five years in which God patiently
waited, and then the judgment fell and
the king was stripped of all his treasure.
D UT although Rehoboam had lost the
~ golden shields, he was not to be de-
MED the vainglorious pleasure of his
parade to the temple and return. The
300 shields must flash in the sunshine
as of yore and dazzle the eyes of his
people. The 300 shields in the hands
of the guard must circle the temple
door and must tell a waiting people
that their king was within worshiping.
The 300 shields must open to receive
him as he r%eappeared and must move
in stately magniicence back to the pal
ace. And to crafty this passion for
display, having lost the gold shields, he
made in their stead shields of brass"
This may appear on the surface like a
very innocent and proper procedure on
the part of the king. 1t may seem
that in so readily and quickly adapting
himself to the circumstances of his
misfortune he displayed skill and wis
dom, but when we consider what these
shields signified, and the circumstances
which eliminated in their confiscation
by a heather king, we shall begin to
understand the real meaning Of the
making of the brass shields and be
able to make deductions that will teach
important lessons.
THERE are three periods or epochs
i in this experience of Rehoboam--
the possession of the gold shields; the
loss of the gold shields, and the max
ing of the brass shields. And under
these three divisions we wish to con-
slider our topic: Spiritual Counterfeit
ing. Rehoboam was a counterfeiter,
and people to-day are prone to commit
the same error and sin. Losing Gods
gold, there is the temptation to substi-
tute for it the worlds brass. We put
the base for the pure, the false for the
true, the counterfeit for the genuine.
The glitter and display of externalities
are of more real concern to us than the
spirit and purpose which should lie be-
hind them. The Scribesa and Pharisees Of
Jesus day had learned the art of coun-
terfeiting. They had lost Gods gold,
and unwilling to lose the glamour of
the outward display of their religion
they substituted the base metal OF their
own fusing. They made for themselves
shields of brass that they might make
the same show and appear to have lost
nothing. They cared more for what
the eyes of man saw than for what