The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1910-12-27
THE KINGDOM
DIVIDED
Sunday School Lesson for Jan. l, 1911
Specially Arranged for This Paper

/ Pe~hAOh Va AOuhS SHAH DC ucStTOyeO.s
TIME-The time of solomon's death
| and the division Of the Kingdom, B. c.
| 9S2.
PLACE-Rehoboam' capital was at
/ Jerusalem The Disruption occurred at
| Shechem, which was the first capital Of
| the northern kingdom, and the metropolis
| OF Ephraim. 1t was 80 miles directly north
| OF Jerusalem, between Mounts Ebal and
Gerizin. Here were located incidents in
the lives of Abraham, Jacob Joseph. and
Joshua. Close by, doubtless as a part OF
the larger town, were Jacobs we'll and
| Sychar where Jesus talked with the Sa-
maritan woman. And there is now the
seat of the Samaritans. the smallest re-
ligious sect in the world.
This lesson covers the story of Re
hoboam and how he lost kingdom
It is the story of reckless, untrain.
ed, conceited young man, and his com
ing into the real business Of his life.
He was the heir to throne, and his
name means "Enlarger of the people,"
expressing the hope OF his father for
his son. The son disappointed these
hopes, and became the "Diminisher of
his people" Alas for such boys to-
day!
His father was Solomon. His moth.
or Naamah, young heather princess
of the kingdom of Ammon on the bor-
der of the desert east of the Jordan.
She was one Of many wives of solo
mon.
Rehoboam seems to have been the
natural heir to the throne. Judah ac-
pvr< In, 4In -
Saul. David and Solomon, at least in
Jerusalem, the people had voice in
the selection of their king Accord
ingly the tribes were summoned to
meet at the old northern capital, She
chem, to confirm the successor of Sol
onion. The northern tribes were de-
termined to obtain charter of rights
that would relieve them from their
burdens, as the price of their submits
sion. For Solomon had forced them
to give their unpaid labor upon his
great buildings, and these free and
independent Ephraimites were re-
minded Of their ancestors slavery in
Egypt. They were shrewd enough to
send for their brilliant sympathizer
Jeroboam, whom Solomon had ban
ished to Egypt. They were ready to
enforce their just demands.
Rehoboam. apparently attended by
a small force goes to confer with
them. Jeroboam is their spokesman.
Rehoboam answered the people
roughly. One Of the most foolish
things he could do. Rough words do
one of two things. they wound or they
madden"
And Israel saw that the king heark-
ened not. Josephus says that they
were struck by his words as by an
iron rod" What portion have we
in David? What have we of the north
ern tribes to do with Davids son, Re-
hoboam, or David's tribe, Judah? To
your tents, o Israel. Back to your
homes and prepare for war
Every young man has kingdom IA
his own soul. He may throw it away
half of 1t or all Of 1t, in the same
way Rehoboam did, foolishly follow
ing his headstrong will. Or, he may
take the advice of wise men and the
Bible, and become monarch of all
the royal possibilities God has placed
in his life.
Ones character, already formed,
is a powerful factor In all emergen-
Giles of choice and decision. There Is
no time to prepare new character.
Rehoboam had formed the habit of
taking bad advice when 1t fitted his
inclination, and SO he took it at his
LIES crisis.
On his return to Jerusalem Reho-
boanl assembled an army of 10000
men to compel the seeding tribes to
return. But prophet forbade the
movement in the name of the Lord.
Rehoboams goodness was but the
early cloud and the morning dew AS
soon as he was firmly established, he
returned to his old ways, and ''forsook
the law of the Lord" The deteriora-
ton Of his character and his king
dom was symbolized by the change
from the shields of gold which Solo
mon had made for his palace armory,
but which Shishak took away, and
which Rehoboam replaced by shields
Of brass.
This deterioration continued two
years, when God used another instru-
mentality for making Rehoboam
good. In his fifth year Shishak, the
Pharaoh of Egypt, came up with
1900 chariots, 10000 horsemen, and
an uncounted number of common sol
diers. They captured the city of
Judah. devastated the country, and
carried away the treasures Solomon
had stored in the temple and in his
palace, and the golden shields in his
armory. Shishak left an inscription
on the walls Of Karnak in Egypt CIV
ing an account of this invasion. The
prophet Shemaiah interpreted the
meaning of this calamity; and king
and princes humbled themselves, con-
fessed their sins, and promised to do
better
The Lord therefore delivered them.
Rehoboam continued to reign; and
though his kingdom was not destroy
ed, yet it was far from what 1t might
have been, for "he did evil because
he prepared not his heart to seek the
Lord"
Gods principles are everlasting, but
the forms OF their application vary
with every variation Of clrcum-
stance.
| AS patriots, what is there in our
I. 4 ~.