The Topeka state journal., 1911-01-21
Ry WILLIAM T. ELLIS.

BY WILLIAM T. ELLIS.
-uE-split kingdom of Solomon
H. al is being studied in its MS
tory side by side by the sun
daV schools of the world
I'D Last week we observed Asa
- the good king of Judah; TINS
week we turn to the northern klngooIl
Of Israel Both nations had their ups
and downs, but Israel was more ooM ff a
than up, until finally it was wiped on
the record and the map, by the WraIli
of Jehovah. ,,,,,
Big. bad men seemed to get the helIl
of the ten tribes that revolted from
Solomon's son. There was J@ero @ oo,,le po@,l.,
the shrewd politician, VINO has COitt i4t
down through the ages tagged wiz
the appellation. Jehovah VINO nau+ a+
Israel to sin" What an end for great
talents and vaulting ambition.
Oriental Palace Politics.
few contentious little kings fol-
lowed Jeroboam, making slght IN =
sions upon the record. There was ms
son Nadab. against whom Baasha, III
the cruel fashion of Oriental rnonarcnss; s
DESTROYED Jeroboam's family, root anu anu
branch, thus quickly ending tne IoSIi s1,i
line which that monarch ha1 mac Io1tutG ,oot t0
hoped to establish. Baasha "leIt not ~
Jeroboam any that breathed. ,.,
There is a Nemesis that 1olloWS
murder. Baasha's son Elah succeeoeu
to his fathers throne. put WIiIie nv, nv
was ignobly drunk he wa sian, slain ~
Zimri who treated the fanny "a
Baasha even as the latter had treat
ed the house of Jeroboam ,,
Short was the triumph of this uSurp
er He was only seven days klHs' n!
when the army elected its captain
Omri. king of Israel. Poor. plotting
faint hearted Zimri burned his palace p.C.
over his own head, thus dying as COW
ards die. The ugly record does hot otlnI en-
here, for one Tibni disputed the eIeS- llt'.
InRTR
a division of the people. put 'He epat- pd
tender and his followers were deIeal-
ed by the warrior Omrl
\ Strong Man to the Fore.
The foregoing record of swift pass
ing kings of Israel is tedious Nopouy
remembers their names. Ihey were
wicked weaklings. But with the ac-
cession of Omri, a personality appears
on the scene His is the first name
to be recalled after that of Jeroboam'
Both were bad but strong.
Travel through Palestine today ana
Won will be shown a mud village on
hill which is all that remains OF ga
maria, a city with a great history me
archaeologists are now olgglhs liiC4
its debris and finding many remains OIL
value. This is the city that was made
such by Omri. He found it a field ana
left it capital of kings. His name IS
forever associated with this northern
capital. for ne was builder.
What shall we say about the strohg
men who are bad? The Omri type is
found everywhere. He was worse than
any of his pred ecessors and did evil
in proportion to his strength He may
stand in the extreme type of the WICK
ed man in politics. Parties ana CIT
les and states are debauched today,
even as he still further debauched
Israel The corruption in the politics
of the United States may be traced
almost directly to the malign influence
e., T71a
tempted to name.
why should the evil so often be
strong and the good so often weak
How are we to explain thu frequent
spineIessness of the pious. and that the
good are so often only "little fellows?
The fault is not with Christianity but
with the Interpretation OF it. The pas
sive aspects Of the teachings of the
strong Son of God are overstressed.
Men pass over the scourga of cords,
and the "woe unto you" The man
illness of Jesus is almost new idea
to many Unconsciouslv, the church
IS trying to be sugar when God meant
her to be salt The pitiful pettiness
of many so-called religious leaders"
the frightened conservatism" of &c
clesiastical officialdom, and the
strange fear of incurring anybody's
i1l-wi1l which seems to possess so
many Christians all tend to promote
the lack of strength in those whose
gospel bids them over and over
again. "Be strong!'
A Worse Son of Bad Father.
If things do not go better they
surely grow worse. Either the chill
dren must be an improvement upon
their parents as in the case of Asa
or else they will drag the family name
still lower down. One generation may
be merely lax in the affairs of religion;
the next is likely to be loose in the
matters of morals. A father swears
when he is provoked; his son becomes
profane by habit. Parents make light
of the church and preacher: sons be-
come open scoffers at religion.
Omri was strongly evil. He set
new mark for wickedness in Israel
He out-Jeroboamed Jeroboam Now in
his stead comes his son Ahab, for a
long reign of twenty-five years. and
he goes his father several degrees
worse. He never hesitates at acts
which would have given Omri pause.
His name comes down through dra-
matte pages as the bitter antagonist of
Jehovah and his prophet.
When a Man Marries.
The first and most significant fact