Chapter 34 jewish national division

So Solomon started building a lot. Of course, there have been other monarchs who have bankrupted their subjects because of their obsession with grandeur, but no country has been stripped of gold and silver by "moderate monarchs" like Israel and Judah. The Israelites didn't object at first.They feel that working for the glory of the Lord requires a sacrifice.But when the king himself squandered court revenues on building temples to Molech, Chemosh, and a dozen other pagan gods, and Jerusalem was transformed into a splendid barbarian capital, their dissatisfaction expressed itself in murmurs .

Finally, when they were effectively enslaved, even serfs, to bring Solomon gold from Ophir and ships of silver from Tarshish, they threatened rebellion. But before their rebellion broke out, a prophet expressed the nation's outrage. An official in the government of Solomon, named Nebal (he belonged to the tribe of Ephraim), had a son named Jeroboam.He was an overseer on the temple site.One day, on his way to work, he met the prophet Ahijah who had moved from Shiloh to Jerusalem.He is wearing a new dress.This is very unusual.The prophets were usually very poor and could only wear worn camel wool sweaters.

When Ahijah saw Jeroboam, he took off his good clothes, tore them into twelve pieces, and gave ten pieces to Jeroboam.This meant that Yahweh would hand over the ten tribes of Israel to the rule of Jeroboam. A group of spies under Solomon knew of this, and Solomon ordered Jeroboam to be killed.However, in a small place like Jerusalem, word traveled quickly that Jeroboam fled to Egypt, where Shishak, the twenty-second pharaoh, sheltered him. Shishak was a shrewd diplomat who did not want a strong Jewish state outside his borders. No doubt he considered using Jeroboam to claim the throne after Solomon's death.

That's exactly what happened.As soon as Pharaoh heard that Solomon's son Rehoboam had succeeded him, he funded Jeroboam to return to Jerusalem to fight for the throne of Judea.The Jewish state has been a hereditary monarchy for two generations.But some form of "election" left over from the period of the Judges was still at work.Therefore, after the death of the king, the tribes held a general meeting to "elect" the new king. Representatives of the various tribes discussed state affairs.They are willing to recognize Rehoboam as king, but before that, they insist on a "Magna Carta" or "Constitution" to ensure that there will be no excessive tax laws.

Rehoboam, who had grown up in the harem of the king's palace and had no contact with his subjects, sent for some of his father's aged ministers. The old people said that the people of the country were suffering from excessive burdens, and the king should agree with the representative. However, Rehoboam wanted a comfortable life and didn't like people talking about cutting the court's expenses. He approached the young men he had grown up with at court and asked them what they thought of the public demand for "savings." They scorned the mob and encouraged Rehoboam to give a strong answer.This answer has been passed down to this day because of its folly, and is inseparably connected with Rehoboam's name.

Rehoboam said this: "My father gave you a heavy burden. Well done. I, as your new king, intend to give you an even heavier burden. My father whipped you, and I will whip you with a barbed whip .” This is really notorious answer. The ten tribes refused to recognize Rehoboam and elected Jeroboam as king instead. Only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin remained loyal to Solomon's son. Thus the Jewish nation split into two parts, never to be united again. The Jewish people lost forever their chance to build a strong, centralized kingdom.The whole world has learned from the untimely death of the Jewish Empire.The Kingdom of Judah (an area the size of the modern Kingdom of Belgium) could have grown to be the most important state in West Asia.

Both small nations are too weak to stand up to their powerful neighbors to the east. In 722 BC, Israel was conquered by the Assyrians. A century later, Judah met the same fate and was conquered by the Chaldeans. Jews were exiled.Far from temples and homes, priests remain scrupulously faithful to the ancient covenant. They haven't forgotten anything, and they haven't learned anything. But the prophets took full advantage of this rare opportunity to broaden their horizons. They studied the Jews and other races of the world, which gave them the opportunity to enrich and modify their religious concepts.

The stern and supreme Yahweh, worshiped by Moses, Joshua and David, has always been the tribal god of small farmers and herdsmen villages living in obscure corners of Western Asia. But thanks to the courage and foresight of the exiled prophets, this ancient Hebrew god became the eternal concept of the Holy Spirit for the whole world, into the highest expression of truth and love in the modern world.