The Detroit times., 1911-01-14

The Omri dynasty OF Israel was
successful one according TO worldly
standards, but failure from the d.
vine standpoint Omri, a great gen
eral, succeeded to Israels throne al
ter the death of Jeroboam He was
very successful and conquered the
Moabites to the East OF the Jordan,
putting them under an annual tribute
OF the fleece of two hundred thou
sand sheep. He built a new Capital,
the city of Samaria. and SUCCESSFUL
ly outranked Jeroboam as mislead-
er OF his people, along religious lines.
According to Israel's Covenant with
the Almighty there was but the one
Levitical priesthood and the one holy
temple of Jehovah's presence for the
whole people of Israel. and 1t was at
Jerusalem AS worldly wisdom guild
ed Jeroboam TO completely separate
the ten tribes from the two tribes by
establishing new places OF worship
and simplifying the worship and sym
bolizing God by a golden calf, so the
same spirit of worldly wisdom sug
gested to Omri a still further depar
ture from God and still closer APP
proach TO the customs and idolatry
of surrounding nations.
Omri died. or, according to the rec
ords, "Omri slept with his fathers.
We are not from this declaration TO
draw the inference that as wicked
man he went TO eternal torment and
that the nature of the torment is
sleep. Neither are we to think OF
Omri as sanity and going to heaven
and TO imagine that those In heaven
are asleep. Neither are we TO think
Of him as having gone TO Purgatory
and that the experiences there are
drowsy. We must leave all such I'M
scriptural notions respecting the dead,
good and bad We must come back
to the Bible and from it learn that
all who die. like st. Stephen (Acts
7:60), fall asleep to await the morn
ing OF the resurrection, when the Re-
deemer will call all forth from the
tomb John 5:28, % Rev. Ver).
Ahab and JezebeI.
Ahabs name signifies, Like his
father" And surely he was His
name was appropriate. His was a
reign still more successful in I'M
righteousness. For twenty-five years
he devoted himself to the further un-
dermining of true religion and to the
introduction of the worst forms OF
hcentious, heather idolatry. He was
greatly assisted in this course by his
@lfe-Jezebel, the daughter OF the
King OF the Sidonians. Her name
signifies chaste; yet she used her
great influence with her husband
and throughout the nation for the
furtherance of unchastity in connec-
ton with the orgies known as the
religious rites and ceremonies, con-
nected with the worship of Baal and
OF "Ashtoreth," the female divinity
worshipped.
Lessons Here For Us.
All civilized people are deeply In
terested In earthly governments and
their success. We all crave social
and financial prosperity Neverthe-
less Il Is still true that prosperity is
injurious in proportion as IL separ-
stes the people from the Divine ar.
rangements and the blessings which
thereto attach. Only righteousness
can truly exalt nation. Every
form OF iniquity is injurious, however
IL may at the time seem contrary TO
this. Ours Is the day of the great
est worldly prosperity this earth has
ever known. But alas, IL Is not a
day OF religious prosperity. On the
contrary, there never was time
when unbelief In a personal God and