again to Roboam, and the kingdom of Israel would surely return to the house of David.
To avoid this danger he made two golden calves, which he placed at the two extremities of his kingdom, one at Dan [1] and the other at Bethel [2], and told the people that they should not go up to Jerusalem to worship, for that these were the gods which had brought them out of Egypt. In this way[3] he led the people into idolatry, for they repaired to the places pointed out to them by their king, and worshipped the golden calves.
On the other hand Roboam, king of Juda, who had seen with grief the defection of the ten tribes, was all his life making war on Jeroboam. This state of continued warfare was kept up by their successors on both sides, and more than once the aid of foreign nations was called in by one or the other. In this way did these wicked kings cause much sin and misery among their people.
Even the kings of Juda soon fell into idolatry, and the people, following their example, forgot the worship of the true God and gave themselves up to all manner of wickedness. Thus it went on till destruction overtook both kingdoms[4].
COMMENTARY.
The Faithfulness of God. See how the punishment threatened in chapter LX was now brought to pass. Roboam’s arrogance led to the accomplishment of God’s designs, by alienating the ten tribes. It was not that God willed the sin, but that He permitted it, in order that Solomon's faithlessness should be punished as He had said.
Arrogance and flattery. Roboam’s conduct towards his subjects was very unwise; for it was his harsh answer to their appeal which drove them into rebellion. How could Roboam, the son of the wise Solomon, commit such a folly? He spoke and acted thus foolishly,
- ↑ Dan. See Map, cast of Tyre.
- ↑ Bethel. See Map, north of Jerusalem.
- ↑ In this way. i. e. by this false policy, arguing that if the people went up to Jerusalem to offer sacrifice in the Temple and thus maintained a spiritual union with Juda, they would before long be wishing for a national union and separate themselves from him.
- ↑ Both kingdoms. The kingdom of Israel lasted for 253 years (from 975 (?) to 722 B. C.), and during that time it had nineteen kings, belonging to ten different families, who all did evil in the sight of God. The kingdom of Juda lasted 387 years, till the year 588 B. C. It had twenty kings, all of the family of David, of whom the greater number were wicked.
