At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. 1 Kings 14:1-18 A good boy and a bad family A. McAuslane, D. D. One beautiful flower in a desert; one lovely rose amongst thorns; one fruitful branch on a corrupt tree. We are going to speak of a boy who was like that flower, rose, or branch. I. This boy's father was very wicked. God had been kind to this man. Instead of remembering God's kindness and obeying Him, he tried to put away all thoughts of God from his mind, and disobeyed Him. He caused two calves of gold to be made. One he placed in Dan and the other in Bethel These he worshipped himself. Sin is like descending a hill, a river in its course, a tree in its progress. This was seen in his life. Some of the kings who preceded him were wicked, but he was the worst. II. THIS BOY'S MOTHER WAS A DECEIVER. III. ALTHOUGH THIS BOY HAD A WICKED FATHER AND A DECEIVING MOTHER, HE WAS GOOD. We are told that in him there was found some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel. 1. This good thing was religion. It is called good for four reasons: (1) It comes from the good God. (2) It makes those good who truly receive it. (3) It leads them to do good to others. (4) It prepares them for the good place, heaven. 2. Religion was in this boy: (1) In his mind. (2) In his heart. (3) In all his words and actions.Religion was found in this boy. (1) It was found by God, for He sees all things. (2) It was found by the boy himself. It made him happy, strong and hopeful. (3) It was found by all who knew him. To them he was a shining light, or as a city on a hill. 3. How could he be so unlike his father and mother? (1) He believed what was written in the sacred Scriptures. (2) He prayed to God. (3) His win was the king of his circumstance.Imitate him in these three things. If some of you have ungodly homes, you will then learn, as he did, that you can be godly there. IV. THIS BOY DIED. ( A. McAuslane, D. D. ) Why feignest thou thyself to be another? 1 Kings 14:6 A cheat exposed T. De Witt Talmage, D. D. I. WICKEDNESS INVOLVES OTHERS, TRYING TO MAKE THEM ITS DUPES, ITS ALLIES, AND ITS SCAPEGOATS. Jeroboam proposed to hoodwink the Lord's prophet. Iniquity is a brag, but it is a great coward. It lays the plan, gets some one else to execute it — puts down the gunpowder train, gets some one else to touch it off — contrives mischief, gets some one else to work it — starts the lie, gets some one else to circulate it. Jeroboam plots the lie, contrives the imposition, and gets his wife to execute it. Stand off from all imposition and chicanery. Do not consent to be anybody's dupe, anybody's ally in wickedness, anybody's scapegoat. II. ROYALTY SOMETIMES PASSES IN DISGUISE. The frock, the veil, the hood of the peasant woman hid the queenly character of this woman of Tirzah. Nobody suspected that she was a queen or a princess as she passed by; but she was just as much a queen as though she stood in the palace, her robes encrusted with diamonds. Glory veiled. Affluence hidden. A queen in mask. A princess in disguise. When you think of a queen you do not think of Catharine of Russia, or Maria Theresa of Germany, or Mary Queen of Scots. When you think of a queen you think of a plain woman who sat opposite your father at the table, or winked with him down the path of life arm in arm — sometimes to the thanksgiving banquet, sometimes to the grave, but always side by side, soothing your little sorrows and adjusting your little quarrels. "Mother, mother!" Ah! she was the queen. Your father knew it. You knew it. She was the queen, but the queen in disguise. The world did not recognise it. III. HOW PEOPLE PUT ON MASKS, AND HOW THE LORD TEARS THEM OFF. It was a terrible moment in the history of this woman of Tirzah when the prophet accosted her, practically saying, "I know who you are; you cannot cheat me; you cannot impose upon me; why feignest thou thyself to be another?" She had a right to ask for the restoration of her son: she had no right to practise that falsehood. It is never right to do wrong. IV. HOW PRECISE, AND ACCURATE, AND PARTICULAR, ARE GOD'S PROVIDENCES. Just at the moment that woman entered the city the child died. Just as it was prophesied, so it turned out, so it always turns out. The sickness comes, the death occurs; the nation is born, the despotism is overthrown at the appointed time. God drives the universe with a stiff rein. Events do not just happen so. Things do not go slipshod. In all the book of God's providences there is not one "if." God's providences are never caught in deshabille. To God there are no surprises, no disappointments, and no accidents. The most insignificant event flung out in the ages is the connecting link between two great chains — the chain of eternity past and the chain of eternity to come. ( T. De Witt Talmage, D. D. ) A hearer in disguise I. We have before us THE OCCASIONAL HEARER. Jeroboam and his wife did not often go to hear Ahijah. They were not people who went to worship Jehovah; they neither feared God nor regarded His prophet. 1. This occasional hearer was totally destitute of all true piety. Most occasional hearers are. Those who have true religion are not occasional hearers. 2. The second remark about these occasional hearers is, that when they do come, they very generally come because they are in trouble. When Jeroboam's wife came and spoke to the prophet, it was because the dear child was ill at home. 3. This woman would not have come but that her husband sent her on the ground that he had heard Ahijah preach before. It was this prophet who took Jeroboam's mantle and rent it in pieces, and told him he was to be king over the ten tribes. That message proved true; therefore Jeroboam had confidence in Ahijah. 4. They had one godly member of their family, and that brought them to see the prophet. Their child was sick and ill, and it was that which led them to inquire at the hands of the Lord. 5. But there is one sad reflection which should alarm the occasional hearer. Though Jeroboam's wife did come to the prophet that once, and heard tidings, yet she and her husband perished after all. II. THE USELESS DISGUISE. Jeroboam's wife thought to herself, "If I go to see Ahijah, as he knows me to be the wife of Jeroboam, he is sure to speak angrily, and give me very bad news." Strange to tell, though the poor old gentleman was blind, she thought it necessary to put on a disguise. There was a Judas among the twelve; there was a Demas among the early disciples; and we must always expect to find chaff on God's floor mingled with the wheat. After the most searching ministry, there are still some who will wrap themselves about with a mantle of deception. III. THE HEAVY TIDINGS. Sinner, unrepenting sinner, I have heavy tidings for thee. The wrath of God abideth on thee. ( C. H. Spurgeon . ) David kept my commandments... thou hast gone and made thee other gods. 1 Kings 14:8, 9 Servitude or service -- which? The people of God had left their God, and He had left them, so that Shishak, the King of Egypt, came against them; and though the Lord had respect to their humble prayer, and would not suffer Shishak to destroy Jerusalem, yet He brought them into subjection to the Egyptian king. Our text tells us the reason for this servitude: "They shall be his servants; that they may know My service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries." I. THERE ARE SOME WHO HAVE ALREADY CHOSEN THE SERVICE OF THE KINGDOMS OF THE COUNTLESS. We have many round about us who have deliberately chosen not to serve God, but to serve other masters. 1. Some choose to be the slaves of open sin. 2. There are many persons who are not the worshippers of vice, but they are the votaries of money-making. They are the slaves of the thirst for wealth. 3. There are some others who do not try to get much money, but they are lovers of fashion, lovers of society, admirers of the world. 4. Then there is another cult that has lately come up, which some have chosen, so that they have become the devotees of "culture." 5. I will only refer to one more class of those who have chosen the service of the kingdoms; these are the seekers of self-righteousness. This is an old-fashioned and very respectable deity whom many still worship. II. SOME SEEM TO BE PINING TO GIVE UP THE SERVICE OF GOD, AND TO GO TO THE SERVICE OF THE KINGDOMS. It is a strange thing; but this evil is always breaking out even among the people of God. 1. Some want to change out of sheer love of change. 2. Some want to be off to their idols, because of the outward aspect of the new thing. 3. Sometimes men turn aside because of their loss of joy in the service of God. They are not serving the Lord as they used to do; they are doing but little for Him. 4. Then there are many who are led to want a change from the service of God by the flagging of others. 5. There are some who turn aside because religion now has brought them to a point where it entails some extra self-sacrifice. III. THERE IS A GREAT CONTRAST BETWEEN THE SERVICE OF GOD AND ANY OTHER SERVICE. 1. If you are about to engage in the service of God, there is nothing demanded of you that will harm you. There Is no commandment of God which, if you keep it, will injure either your body or your soul. 2. Next, notice that there is nothing denied you, in the service of God, that would be a blessing to you. The promise is, "No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly" 3. Once more observe that in the service of God strength will always be given according to your day. 4. And all the while that you are the servant of God, you have a sweet peace in reflecting upon what you have done. As George Herbert said, when he helped a poor woman with her load, and men wondered that the parson of the parish should carry a poor woman's basket for her, "The memory of this will make the bells ring in my heart at night," so the service of God makes the bells ring in our hearts. 5. Lastly, there is above all this a hope of the eternal reward which is so soon to come. ( C. H. Spurgeon . ) And all Israel shall mourn for him. 1 Kings 14:13 Early cut off, but long remembered J. T. Davidson, D. D. That the grace of God may convert a man in the prime of life, ay, and bring even a grey-headed sinner to the foot of the cross, is a truth of which, happily, examples can easily be found. But, while this is true, let it never be forgotten that the great majority of conversions take place in early life. I. THIS DESCRIPTION OF HIS PIETY. "In him there is found some good thing towards the Lord God of Israel." What, think you, might this "good thing" be? Certainly, it was not his rank, nor wealth, nor power, nor intellect. And, as this "good thing" was not any mere material endowment, so neither was it any mere moral excellence, It does not mean simply that Abijah was what the world calls good-hearted, "a good-living lad"; that he was amiable and well-behaved; that, in the midst of abounding debauchery, he preserved his virtue unstained. This, indeed, would be much, but it would not be expressed in the peculiar language of the text; the "good thing" was a "good thing towards the Lord God of Israel," a gracious, a spiritual, a Divine, a holy thing. It was a something that sprang not out of nature, nor of the flesh, something that his father did not give him, something that he never learnt from the royal but dissolute court of Israel. 1. There are two things which, when found in a man, are good and acceptable to God. The first Is true repentance, or what the Bible calls the "broken and contrite heart." A second thing on which God specially sets the seal of His approbation is "faith in that one sacrifice which doth for sin atone." Amongst all the princes of the royal house, Abijah alone refused to worship the golden calves which his father had made. Jewish writers tell us that Abijah would not bow down to the idols, but insisted on worshipping the true God at Jerusalem. His faith might have been but a little spark, but that secured his acceptance before God. But without these two things, "repentance from dead works, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, there is nothing m you that God can approve. II. BUT NOW THERE ARE ONE OR TWO SPECIAL LESSONS TO BE DRAWN FROM THE CASE OF ABIJAH 1. Real piety may exist under most adverse and unfavourable circumstances. Here was a youth, all of whose surroundings were of the worst possible character. An ungodly home, an idolatrous court, parents both wicked, every relative he had under the curse of God: why, you would say, piety could not live a day amid such conditions as these. The brightest diamonds have been found in the darkest mines, and the richest pearls in the deepest seas. Satan sometimes outwits himself. Sin is used to secure its own defeat. Even unconverted men are shocked by wickedness which exceeds their own, 2. Even a young and brief life may be fruitful in blessing. Young as he was, the whole nation mourned for him. In the highest view of it, the length of life is not to be judged by the number of its years. It is possible for the longest life to be briefer than the shortest; and the smoothcheeked youth may die older, that is, with more of life crowded into his brief history, than he whose stagnant and profitless existence drags on to an inglorious old age. That life is the longest — however limited the number of its years — in which God has been best served, and the world most benefited. 3. Piety in life is the only guarantee of peace in death. An early departure from this world is not a thing to be dreaded, provided your heart is right with God. ( J. T. Davidson, D. D. ) Abijah's grave W. F. Bishop. I. We have here a BEAUTIFUL DESCRIPTION OF RELIGION. It is "some good thing in the heart toward the Lord God of Israel." Religion is "some good thing in the heart" (not merely towards our fellow-man, but) "towards the Lord God of Israel." II. GENUINE PIETY MAY EXIST UNDER VERY UNFAVOURABLE CIRCUMSTANCES. Men need not say, their surroundings in life are sufficient excuse for their ungodliness. III. Again, TRUE PIETY OF ONE WHO WAS A CHILD. Abijah is always mentioned in the context as a child. IV. TRUE PIETY COMMANDS THE RESPECT AND REVERENCE OF THE UNGODLY. The subjects of Jeroboam were wicked men, who had repudiated the temple at Jerusalem, and had gone from bad to worse. Yet, when the death of this pious child was announced, these wicked men evinced for him a reverential affection, which the context touchingly records. "All Israel shall mourn for him," was the prediction of the blind prophet: and so it was. ( W. F. Bishop. ) In him there is found some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel. Abijah; or, the pious youth in an ungodly family H. P. Bowen. This young prince was greatly respected in life, and in death he was highly honoured. He alone out of the house of his father died a natural death — he alone came to the grave in peace. Indeed, he only came to the grave at all. I. THAT RELIGION IS A "GOOD THING." It is good in itself — in its very nature. What is true piety? It is a right state of the heart in regard to God. 1. Religion is a "good thing" because it comes from a good God. As to its origin, its first principle — it comes directly from Him. He is the fountain of all goodness. 2. Religion is a good thing, for it is good in its influence. Piety has the most beneficial influence upon the whole of our being; upon the faculties and ideas of our mind; upon the love and affections of our heart; upon the whole life and conduct. 3. Religion is good, because it leads into a good place. As all rivers run into the sea, whence they came, so the streams of goodness flow to the great ocean of love. God, like a mighty magnet, attracts the heart of the good man, and ere long He will draw him to the bosom of eternal love. II. THAT RELIGION IS A GOOD THING IN MAN. "There is found in him," etc. Piety is an inward principle. "The kingdom of heaven is within you." "Christ in you the hope of glory." Religion is essentially a matter of the heart. It proceeds from the centre to the circumference. III. THAT RELIGION IS A GOOD THING TENDING TOWARDS GOD. "Toward the Lord God of Israel." There are people who have nothing good in them either towards God or man. Selfishness is their ruling principle. They never act from principle; they never ask, What is right, what is true? but "Will this course answer my purpose? — will it be of advantage to me personally?" They "live to themselves, and they die to themselves." There are others who have something good in them towards man, but nothing towards God. The religious man seeks God's glory in all things. The bias of his soul is also towards God; he moves Godward. IV. THAT RELIGION IS A GOOD THING EVER MANIFEST. "There is found in him," etc. True religion always manifests itself where it exists; it is seen and felt. "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things." 1. This "good thing" is "found "by the Searcher of hearts. He sees it first. He can see it when no one else can. 2. This "good thing" is "found" too by the man himself. He cannot remain ignorant long of the real state of his own heart. At first he may not possess a "full assurance of faith," yet he must know his own moral state. He must know whether he is a hypocrite, or whether he is a true Christian. 3. It is "found" also by his fellow-creatures. Such a character tells powerfully upon a neighbourhood. He is influential. His "light is not hid under a bushel." Religion is not a dead, worthless thing; no, it is a living principle. ( H. P. Bowen. ) Abijah, or some good thing towards the Lord I. LET US HERE ADMIRE WHAT WE CANNOT PRECISELY DESCRIBE. 1. There was in this child "some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel"; but what. was it? A boundless field for conjecture opens before us. We know there was in him some good thing, but what form that good thing took we do not know. It was not merely a good inclination which was in him, nor a good desire, but a really good, substantial virtue. 2. Let us admire, also, that this "some good thing" should have been in the child's heart, for its entrance is unknown. We cannot tell how grace entered the palace of Tirzah and gained this youthful heart. God saw the good thing, for He sees the least good thing in any of us, since He has a quick eye to perceive anything that looks towards Himself. 3. This "good thing" is described to us in the text in a certain measure. It was a good thing towards Jehovah, the God of Israel. The good thing looked towards the living God. 4. In this dear child that "good thing" wrought such an outward character that he became exceedingly well beloved. We are sure of that, because it is said, "All Israel shall mourn for him." 5. The piety of this young child was every way of the right kind. It was inward and sincere, for the "good thing" that is spoken of was not found about him, but "in him." He did not wear the broad phylactery, but he had a meek and quiet spirit. II. LET US HEARTILY PRIZE WHAT WE ARE TOO APT TO OVERLOOK. 1. Let us heartily prize "some good thing" towards the Lord God of Israel whenever we perceive it. All that is said of this case was that there was in him "some good thing"; and this reads as if the Divine work was as yet only a spark of grace, the beginning of spiritual life. There was nothing very striking in him, or it would have been more definitely mentioned. 2. Further, I am afraid we are too apt to overlook "some good thing" in a child. "Oh, only a child!" Pray, what are you? You are a man; well, I suppose that a man is a child who has grown older, and has lost many of his best points of character. A child is at no disadvantage in the things of God from being a child, for "of such are the kingdom of heaven." 3. Another thing we are apt to overlook, and that is, "some good thing" in a bad house. This was the most wonderful thing of all, that there should be a gracious child in Jeroboam's palace. The mother usually sways the house, but the queen was a princess of Egypt and an idolater. III. LET US CAREFULLY CONSIDER WHAT WE CANNOT FULLY UNDERSTAND. 1. I want you first to consider the very singular fact which you cannot understand, that holy children should be often placed in ungodly families. God's providence has arranged it so, yet the consequences are painful to the young believer. 2. The next thing that we cannot understand is this, that God's dear little children who love Him should often be called to suffer. We say, "Well, if it was my child I should heal him and ease his sufferings at once." Yet the Almighty Father allows His dear ones to be afflicted. There is a meaning in all this, and we know somewhat of it; and if we knew nothing we would believe all the same in the goodness of the Lord. 3. There is something more remarkable still, and that is that some of God's dearest children should die while they are yet young. 4. Once more, it is a very singular thing that such a child as this should die and yet produce no effect whatever on his parents; for neither Jeroboam nor his wife repented of their sins because their child was taken home to God. ( C. H. Spurgeon . ) The history of Abijah J. H. Evans, M. A. I. THERE IS "SOME GOOD THING" SPOKEN OF "TOWARDS THE LORD GOD OF ISRAEL." I suppose that all who spiritually read their Bibles will acknowledge, by this "good thing" is not to be understood any mere external good thing, such as rank, title, influence, or his prospects. We cannot say these are good things; only as they are sanctified to us, they become good things. It is evidently a description of a righteous man. This young man was one that feared God and loved God; he knew God savingly. Nothing else can come up to the expression of there being "some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel"; nothing short of that can be a "good thing toward the Lord God of Israel." It must be the new creation in the soul; it must be the principle of grace in the heart. II. BUT THIS "GOOD THING" WAS FOUND IN A PLACE WHERE IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN BUT LITTLE EXPECTED. It was found in a place little calculated for its nourishment. If there is a spot on earth uncongenial to the life of God in the soul, it is within the precincts of a palace. The self-importance, the self-indulgence, the self-deception, the want of honesty so mark it. Yet here was the grace of God displayed. I see too the sovereignty of God's grace in it. I see too the invincibility of His grace. Here is everything to impede, the most unlikely of all situations. One might as reasonably expect to find the most beautiful flower that seems to require great depth of earth, growing on the bare rock, as one might expect to find one of the Lord's lilies growing in such a soil as this. Yet what can the grace of God not achieve? what can it not conquer? III. WHO IT WAS THAT NOTICED IT — who took notice of this "good thing"! Observe, it is spoken of as "some good thing." Our translators have been so honest as to put the word "some" in italics; but there being no other word between "found" and "good thing," the sense is this, "some good thing," "a good thing." When the Lord says "some good thing," it gives one this idea. It might have been a very feeble work. Here was but " some good thing," a good thing; and that too was in a child; yet God the Spirit noted it. Why did He? Because it was His child; jeroboam's child, Jeroboam's after the flesh — His by adoption and by grace. ( J. H. Evans, M. A. ) Abijah; or, early piety and evil parentage F. Hastings. Abijah was the good son of a bad father. His name meant "Jehovah is his father." This name had probably been given before Jeroboam broke away from the service of Jehovah. The name and the character of the youth agreed. Abijah was possessed of real piety. To have religion is to possess the best thing possible. It is called a "good thing." Similar descriptions of religion are given in other parts of Scripture. "That good thing which was committed to thee, keep." Again, "Being confident that He who hath begun a good work in you will carry it on till the day of Christ." "It is a good thing that the heart be established with grace." "Mary hath chosen that good part that shall not be taken away." Religion, is, undoubtedly, a "good thing," in that it draws man near to God, leads to good actions, gives good aims. It has a good influence on a man's companions, on the family, and on society. The possession of a real piety by Abijah brought him honour from men. He had found a deep place in the affections of the people. When he died all Israel mourned for him. Men would not have cared so much for him if he had been an indifferent, callous, wilful, cruel, passionate, self-indulgent youth. God, as well as man, honoured this early piety in Abijah. Christians should be earnest in seeking to lead others to early decision for Christ, remembering that youth is the most suitable because the most impressionable time. Religion is the best check to the weeds of evil, and it cannot be implanted too soon in the heart. As well forbear to teach the alphabet, or figures, or principles of science, or the customs of trade until manhood is reached, as forbear to instil in youth the principles of morality and the doctrines of Christ — doctrines which are the embodiment of the highest morality. No; these are flimsy objections. They are out of harmony with the Divine will and revelation. Abijah became pious none too soon. He died early. "Briers and thorns wither not so soon as lilies and roses." Anyhow, Abijah was prepared to pass away, prepared to meet death. ( F. Hastings. ) The piety of Abijah T. Kidd. Concerning the piety of Abijah, observe: I. ITS EARLY EXISTENCE. Piety, at any period of life, is pleasing. In old age, it is venerable. We cannot look on a Christian advanced in years, and more advanced in holiness, without feeling peculiar respect. In early youth, piety is chiefly amiable. It is the image of God restored on the soul, when its powers are most vigorous, when its passions are most warm, when its prospects of life are most fair and flattering. II. ITS SINCERITY. It was piety "in him," not appended to him, or merely professed by him — "in him was found some good thing." Of Job it is asserted, "the root of the matter" was found in him. That is not genuine piety which regards, with religious respect, any other but Jehovah; or which falls short of the one living and true God. III. ITS SECRECY. This is what we cannot altogether commend. His goodness was real, but was in a great measure concealed. mall as might be his advantages of education, the Lord by His Spirit had taught him, had renewed his heart, and formed him for Himself. However secret a good work may be in the soul, however hid from the observation of men, it is visible to God: He beholds it with acceptance and pleasure. Yet remember, where "some good thing" exists, it is desirable it should more than exist — it ought to appear in corresponding fruits and effects. Good principle is valuable, but let it be seen in practice: good desires are laudable, but these should be attended with active efforts: good designs and resolves are entitled to commendation, but worthy deeds and useful service are much more beneficial. IV. ITS DECISION. There was evidently in his family much to oppose the spirit and practice of piety. 1. Rank opposed it. Men in elevated stations are rarely eminent for religion. 2. Idolatry opposed it. The insult offered to Jehovah which false worship implies, the absurdity and iniquity which it always involves, were directly inimical to spiritual devotion. 3. And wickedness opposed it. This doubtless prevailed in its varied forms, and to a serious degree, in the court of Jeroboam; for when men are alienated from the true God, none can say to what lengths they will run. V. ITS RECOMPENSE. Abijah died, was buried, and all Israel mourned at his funeral. This may appear a singular recompense of piety; but the circumstances of the case must be considered. The Lord had threatened the utter destruction of the family of Jeroboam, on account of their sin. "Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat, and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat; for the Lord hath spoken it." But Abijah was exempt from the threatening, and saved from the calamity. Is it nothing to attain in youth, fixedness of character? When a young man's character is fixed, he sets out in life as he means to proceed; he acts on such principles and adopts such conduct as create no regret, and are followed with advantages of the utmost importance. Is reputation nothing? Most people profess to prize it; and, in early life, to be devoted to God, secures it. Is it nothing to be useful? In such a world as this, is it not of acknowledged importance to live to some good purpose? They, surely, are most likely to be thus honoured, who are the subjects of early and decided piety. Opposite characters are at best indolent and heedless; but, in general, their example and efforts are pernicious in a very serious degree. And is it nothing, when you quit the world, to leave behind a fair example? You feel it desirable that survivors have the recollection that in you was exemplified, though with lamented imperfections, a disciple of Jesus, a lover of His truth and of His ways. "The memory of the just is blessed." ( T. Kidd. ) Unexpected goodness D. Thomas. I. THE SCENE OF ITS DEVELOPMENT. It grew in very uncongenial soft. There are several stimulating instances where godliness has been pursued under difficulties. There were a "few names even in Sardis which had not defiled their garments." These, in common with the one of the text, go to prove that religion can be practised under all imaginable circumstances. There are situations which make it very hard to be good, but none which make it impossible. II. THE SEAT OF ITS POWER. "In him there is found," etc. Out of the heart are the issues of life, keep it then with all diligence. Dwellers in the Isle of Anglesea say that they have a wonderful pool at the bottom of one of their native hills, into which if you throw pieces of old iron, or worthless tin, they will all come out in the course of time as precious copper. "All things work together for good, to them that love God." Most assuredly then religion is the chief good — a good within, that overcomes all evils without — good for all, in all places, at all times, under all circumstances. III. THE SUM OF ITS QUANTITY. It was not large by any means, but under such an inhospitable roof we are only astonished at finding any at all. "In him there is found some good thing." ( D. Thomas. ) Abijah; a good child in a bad home Henry Smith. 1. What was the good thing referred to? The grace of God, or true religion. Religion is in itself a good thing — good for this life: (1) in school, (2) in situations, (3) in home; and good for the life to come. 2. This good thing was in him. It was not a mere matter of outward show or of words. 3. This good thing had been put within him. We are not told how or when. But it certainly had been imparted to him. The gardener who wants to get very fine roses, first gets up the roots of the briar and plants them. The briar is then pruned and prepared for the rosebud. In a very skilful way the bud is inserted into the stem of the briar. The rosebud and the briar become one. But the rosebud rules, and makes the briar good. It is very likely St. James had seen some one doing this before he exhorted his hearers to receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. As the rosebud saves the briar from its degraded state, so the Word saves the soul that receives it. Abijah received the word of God's grace, and it was in him a living power. 4. But this good thing went out toward God who gave it — towards the Lord God of Israel, not towards the gods his father had set up. 5. Some good was found. Not every good thing. Well is it not to despise the day of small things. Some good thing, however small, is the promise of greater. We cannot tell how much good may come of one word. 6. The good thing within him did not die when he was buried. The life of grace is one which the hand of death cannot touch. The memory of this good thing was a power for good in the lives of others who outlived him. All Israel mourned for him. Child though he was, he had exerted an influence for good.Two or three lessons may be learned from this narrative: — 1. It is possible God may in His wise providence raise up in a bad family at least one true witness. 2. Such a witness may be but a child. 3. Such a youth may be alone in his testimony. 4. How much more possible is it to be a true witness in a good fami

Benson Commentary 1 Kings 14:1 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. 1 Kings 14:1 . At that time — Presently after the things related in the foregoing chapter, which, though apparently connected with the beginning of his reign, yet might possibly be done a good while after it, and so Ahijah the prophet be very old, as he is described to be, 1 Kings 14:4 . It is probable this Abijah was Jeroboam’s eldest son. 1 Kings 14:2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get thee to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people. 1 Kings 14:2 . Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, &c. — “He most probably sent his wife to consult the prophet at Shiloh, because this was a secret not to be intrusted with any body else; a secret which, had it been divulged, might have endangered his whole government; because, if once his subjects came to understand that he himself had no confidence in the calves which he had set up, but in any matter of importance had recourse to true worshippers of God, it can hardly be conceived what an inducement this would have been for them to forsake these senseless idols, and to return to the worship of the God of Israel, whom they had imprudently forsaken. The queen then was the only person in whom he could have confidence. As a mother he knew she would be diligent in her inquiry; and as a wife faithful in her report.” — Dodd. Disguise thyself — Change thy habit and voice, and go like a private and obscure person. This caution proceeded, first, from the pride of his heart, which made him unwilling to confess his folly in worshipping such helpless idols, and to give glory to the God whom he had forsaken: secondly, from jealousy and suspicion, lest the Prophet Ahijah, (who he knew was greatly offended at him for the idolatry he had introduced,) if he knew her to be his wife, should either give her no answer, or make things worse than indeed they were. 1 Kings 14:3 And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse of honey, and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of the child. 1 Kings 14:3 . Take with thee ten loaves, &c. — It was usual for those that went to inquire of a prophet to make him some present as a token of their respect for him, 1 Samuel 9:7 . The present which she was here directed to take, was of such things as suited the disguise in which she was to go, and were calculated to make Ahijah think her a country woman rather than a queen. And go to him — To inquire the event of this sickness, as the following words imply. It would have been more pious to have inquired why God contended with him; to have desired the prophet to pray for him, and to have cast away his idols; then the child might have been restored to him, as his hand was: “but most people,” says Henry, “would rather be told their fortune, than told their faults, or their duty.” 1 Kings 14:4 And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age. 1 Kings 14:4 . But Ahijah could not see — He not only lived obscure and neglected in Shiloh, but was blind through age: yet he was still blessed with the visions of the Almighty; which require not bodily eyes; but are rather favoured by the want of them, the eyes of the mind being then most intent and least diverted. His eyes were set, &c. — Hebrew, ??? ?????? , kamu misheibo, stood for his hoariness — No longer performed their office, by reason of his great age. Perhaps the fibres and muscles by which the eyes and eye-lids are moved, were contracted and withered, the optic nerves become effete, or film or cataract was grown over his eyes. 1 Kings 14:5 And the LORD said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her: for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman . 1 Kings 14:6 And it was so , when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings . 1 Kings 14:6 . Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam — He called her aloud by her name before she entered the house, doubtless to her great surprise, and thus not only showed that he knew her, notwithstanding the disguise in which she had come, but discovered to all about him who she was. By which discovery he both reproved their folly, who thought to conceal themselves from God, and withal gave her assurance of the truth and certainty of that message which he was to deliver, that she might give the greater credit to his words. 1 Kings 14:7 Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel, 1 Kings 14:8 And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes; 1 Kings 14:8 . Thou hast not been as my servant David — Who, though he fell into some sins, yet, 1st, He constantly persevered in the true worship of God; from which thou art revolted; 2d, He heartily repented of, and turned from all his sins, whereas thou art obstinate and incorrigible. 1 Kings 14:9 But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back: 1 Kings 14:9 . But hast done evil above all that were before thee — Above all the judges and former kings of my people, none of whom set up images, and persuaded the people to worship them. For thou hast made thee other gods, and molten images — Namely, the golden calves: not as if they thought them to be other gods in a proper sense, but only representations of the true God; for it is apparent they still pretended to worship the God of their fathers; but because God rejected their whole worship, and, howsoever they accounted it, he reckoned it a manifest defection from him, and a betaking themselves to other gods, or devils, as they are called 2 Chronicles 11:15 , whom alone they served and worshipped therein, whatsoever pretences they had to the contrary. To provoke — Whereby thou didst provoke me. For otherwise this was not Jeroboam’s design in it, but only to establish himself in the throne. And hast cast me behind thy back — Despised and forsaken me, and my commands, and my worship, as we do things which we cast behind our backs. 1 Kings 14:10 Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone. 1 Kings 14:10-11 . Will cut off him that is shut up — Those who had escaped the fury of their enemies invading them, either because they were shut up in caves, or castles, or strong towns: or, because they were left, overlooked, or neglected by them, or spared as poor, impotent, helpless creatures. But now, saith he, they shall be all searched out, and brought to destruction. As a man taketh away dung — Which they remove as a loathsome thing, out of their houses, and that thoroughly and universally. Shall the fowls of the air eat — So both sorts shall die and lie on the ground unburied. 1 Kings 14:11 Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the LORD hath spoken it . 1 Kings 14:12 Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die. 1 Kings 14:12 . When thy feet enter into the city — Or, rather, when thy feet have entered: that is, presently upon thy entrance into the city; when thou art gone but a little way in it, even as far as the threshold of the king’s door, ( 1 Kings 14:17 ,) the child shall die — And by this judge of the truth of the rest of my prophecy. 1 Kings 14:13 And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. 1 Kings 14:13 . All Israel shall mourn for him — For the loss of so worthy and hopeful a person, and for the sad calamities which will follow his death, which possibly his moderation, and wisdom, and virtue, might have prevented. So they should mourn, not simply for him, but for their own loss in him. He only shall come to the grave — Shall have the honour of burial. In him is found some good — Pious intentions of taking away the calves, and of permitting or obliging his people to go up to Jerusalem to worship, if God gave him life and authority to do it, and of trusting God with his kingdom. In the house of Jeroboam — Which is added for his greater commendation; he was good in the midst of so many temptations and wicked examples; a good branch of a bad stock. 1 Kings 14:14 Moreover the LORD shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now. 1 Kings 14:14 . The Lord shall raise him up a king — This king was Baasha, 1 Kings 15:27 . Who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day — When he is so raised up, in the very beginning of his reign. But what? — Do I say he shall raise, as if it were a thing to be done at a great distance of time? The man is now in being, if not in power, who shall do this: this judgment shall be shortly executed. Sometimes God makes quick work with sinners. He did so with the house of Jeroboam. It was not twenty-four years from his first elevation to the final extirpation of his family. 1 Kings 14:15 For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger. 1 Kings 14:15-16 . For the Lord shall smite Israel — For consenting to that idolatrous worship which Jeroboam set up. As a reed is shaken in the water — Hither and thither, with every wind. So shall the kingdom and people of Israel be always in an unquiet and unsettled state, tossed to and fro by foreign invasions and civil wars; by opposite kings and factions, and by the dissensions of the people. The emblem expresses very forcibly the ease with which God could punish the Israelites and overturn their state, notwithstanding all their greatness, even as easily as a reed is shaken with the wind. He shall root up Israel out of this good land — Which God began to do first by Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, 2 Kings 15:29 ; and then finished it by Shalmaneser, 2 Kings 17:5-6 , &c. And shall scatter them beyond the river — That is, Euphrates, so called by way of eminence, they being carried, as the forenamed places tell us, into the country of the Medes. Because they have made their groves — For the worship of their idols. God having before condemned the making and worshipping of the calves, by which they pretended to worship the true God; he now takes notice that they were not contented with the calves, but (as it is in the nature of idolatry, and all sin, to proceed from evil to worse) were many of them fallen into a worse kind of idolatry, even their worship of the heathenish Baals, which they commonly exercised in groves. Who made Israel to sin — By his invention, and making the occasion of their sin, the calves; by his example, encouraging those and only those that worshipped the calves; and by his authority requiring and compelling them to do it. This is mentioned as a monstrous aggravation of his wickedness, that he was not content to sin himself, but was a great author of drawing others into sin, and of corrupting and undoing the whole kingdom; which therefore God would never forgive him, but upon all occasions mentions him with this eternal brand of infamy upon him. 1 Kings 14:16 And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin. 1 Kings 14:17 And Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died; 1 Kings 14:17 . And come to Tirzah — An ancient and royal city, in a pleasant place, where the kings of Israel had a palace, whither Jeroboam was now removed from Shechem, either for his pleasure, or for his son’s recovery, by the healthfulness of the place. When she came to the threshold — Of the king’s house, which probably was upon or by the wall of the city, and near the gate. 1 Kings 14:18 And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah the prophet. 1 Kings 14:18 . All Israel mourned for him — And justly: not only for the loss of a hopeful prince, but because his death plucked up the flood-gates at which an inundation of judgments broke in. According to the word of the Lord by Ahijah — Thus by accomplishing the predictions of his prophet concerning the death and burial of the child, and the lamentation which the people made for him, God confirmed all the rest of his threatenings against the house of Jeroboam and the people of Israel. 1 Kings 14:19 And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. 1 Kings 14:19 . Behold, they are written in the book of the Chronicles — Not that canonical book of Chronicles, for that was written long after this book; but a book of civil records, the annals, wherein all remarkable passages were recorded by the king’s command from day to day; out of which the sacred penman, by the direction of God’s spirit, took those passages which were most useful for God’s honour, and men’s edification. 1 Kings 14:20 And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead. 1 Kings 14:20 . Jeroboam reigned two and twenty years — So he lived till the second year of Asa, chap. 15. He slept with his fathers — He died as his fathers did, or perhaps the expression also implies, that he was buried with his ancestors. Their sepulchre, however, may appear too mean for a great king. It is probable that he died soon after his son: and we read, ( 2 Chronicles 13:20 ,) The Lord struck him; probably with some sudden and sore disease, which soon cut him off. He left his crown to Nadab his son, who lost it, and his life too, and the lives of all his family, within ten years after. The triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment, Job 20:5 . 1 Kings 14:21 And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess. 1 Kings 14:21 . Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign — Although many learned men are of opinion that there is an error in the text here in regard to the age of Rehoboam when he began to reign, and some think the reading should be twenty-one, while Houbigant, following the Seventy, reads sixteen years; yet as they do not seem to give sufficient reasons for the alteration, it is certainly safest to abide by the Hebrew text. According to this, he was born in the last year of David’s life, and certainly had his education, and the forming of his mind, in the best days of Solomon; and yet, with all the advantages he enjoyed, he was a weak and inconsiderate prince, who, instead of being a blessing, proved a curse to his kingdom. Probably Solomon’s defection, in the latter part of his life, did more to corrupt him than his prior wisdom and devotion had done to render him wise and virtuous. He reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city, &c. — Where he had opportunities in abundance to know his duty, had he but had a heart to practice it. His mother was Naamah an Ammonitess — She was probably the daughter of Shobi, the Ammonite, who was so kind to David in Absalom’s rebellion. And as there is reason to think Shobi had become a proselyte to the true religion, it is likely that gratitude, for his kindness moved David to take his daughter, though an Ammonitess, to be the wife of his son Solomon. It is very doubtful, however, whether ever she cordially embraced the religion of the Israelites, and as Solomon worshipped the gods of the Ammonites, among his other idols, it is not improbable that she was concerned in seducing him. None can imagine how lasting and how fatal the consequences may be, of being unequally yoked with an unbeliever. 1 Kings 14:22 And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done. 1 Kings 14:22-23 . Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord — In contempt and in defiance of him, and the tokens of his special presence. They provoked him to jealousy — By joining other gods together with him, as the adulterous wife provokes her husband by breaking the marriage covenant. They also built them high places — Followed the example of the Israelites, although they were better instructed, had the temple in their kingdom, and liberty of access to it, and the privilege of worshipping God in his own way; together with the counsels, sermons, and examples, of the priests and Levites, and the dreadful example of Israel’s horrid apostacy, to caution and terrify them. High places — Which were unlawful, and now especially when the temple was built, and ready to receive them, and unnecessary, and therefore in building them they expressed a greater contempt of God and his express command. Groves — Not only after the manner of the heathen and Israelites, but against a direct and particular prohibition. Under every green tree — The people were universally corrupted, which is prodigious, all things considered, and is a clear evidence of the greatness and depth of the original corruption of man’s nature. 1 Kings 14:23 For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree. 1 Kings 14:24 And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. 1 Kings 14:24 . There were also sodomites in the land — The kind of wickedness here referred to often attended idolatry, 1 Kings 15:12 ; 2 Kings 23:7 ; for among the heathen the most filthy things were practised in these shady, dark places, their groves: and such wickedness, it appears from the passages now quoted, existed at this time among the Israelites, who, out of devotion to some false god or other, prostituted their bodies, contrary to nature, to be abused in honour of those gods, in direct opposition to the law, Deuteronomy 23:17 . They did according to all the abominations of the nations, &c. — They dishonoured God by the sin of idolatry, and therefore God left them to dishonour their own bodies in this abominable manner. 1 Kings 14:25 And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem: 1 Kings 14:25 . In the fifth year of King Rehoboam — Presently after his and his people’s apostacy, which was not till his fourth year; while apostate Israel enjoyed peace, and some kind of prosperity; of which difference two reasons may be given: first, Judah’s sins were committed against clearer light, and more powerful means and remedies of all sorts, and therefore deserved more severe and speedy judgments. Secondly, God discovered more love to Judah in chastising them speedily, that they might be humbled, reformed, and preserved, as it happened; and more anger against Israel, whom he spared to that total destruction which he intended to bring upon them. Shishak — He is thought to be Solomon’s brother-in-law; but how little such relations signify among princes, when their interest is concerned, all histories witness: besides, Rehoboam was not Solomon’s son by Pharaoh’s daughter, and so the relation was in a manner extinct. Came up — Either from a desire to enlarge his empire; or by Jeroboam’s instigation; or from a covetous desire of possessing those great treasures which David and Solomon had left; and, above all, by God’s providence disposing his heart to this expedition, for Rehoboam’s punishment. 1 Kings 14:26 And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made. 1 Kings 14:26 . And he took, &c. — Rehoboam, according to Josephus, delivered up the city to him without striking a stroke; which may seem strange, considering the great strength of it, and how much time it took Nebuchadnezzar and Titus to become masters of it. But it is probable that David and Solomon, in their building and altering the city, had more respect to state and magnificence than to its defence, as having no great cause to fear the invasion of any enemies: and it is certain that after the division between Judah and Israel, the kings of Judah added very much to the fortifications of it. Add to this, that this Shishak had a vast army, as we read 2 Chronicles 12:2 , and so powerful, that as Herodotus, who calls him Sesostris, tells us, with it he conquered Asia. He took away the treasures of the Lord’s house — Within twenty-five years after it was finished, he plundered it, as also the king’s house, of all the wealth which they contained, and which had been amassed by David and Solomon. This, it is probable, had tempted Shishak to make this descent, and this Rehoboam lamely resigned to him, to prevent still worse consequences. Who that had seen the glory, the riches, the magnificence, the power of Solomon, would not have concluded, as the queen of Sheba seems to have done, that a long and lasting state of security and happiness was entailed on this people? But the Holy Scriptures inform us, that at the very time when every one was admiring and extolling Solomon’s glory and happiness, it was denounced unto him by the Lord himself, that if either he or his children should turn aside from following the Lord, and go after other gods, they should certainly and soon fall from their glory, and be a proverb and by-word among all people, 1 Kings 11:6 , &c. and that even that house, which was viewed by all the nations around as a prodigy of magnificence and strength, should be so reduced and brought to desolation, that every one that passed by should be astonished and hiss at it. Human foresight, doubtless, then perceived no likelihood of any such change taking place; but the event soon showed that its security and continuance depended on something more than human means. 1 Kings 14:27 And king Rehoboam made in their stead brasen shields, and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of the king's house. 1 Kings 14:27 . Rehoboam made in their stead brazen shields — This was an emblem of the diminution of his glory. Sin makes the gold become dim: it changes the most fine gold, and turns it into brass. And committed them into the hands of the chief of the guard — Hebrew, ???? ????? , saree haratsim, the rulers, or chiefs, of the runners, so called, because they ran, some before and others behind the king, and were what we now call a body-guard. 1 Kings 14:28 And it was so , when the king went into the house of the LORD, that the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber. 1 Kings 14:28 . When the king went to the house of the Lord — It appears from this, that he had not quite forsaken the worship or God; but still, at least occasionally, attended at the temple: or, if he had forsaken it, the chastisement he had received by the instrumentality of the king of Egypt had done him some good, and brought him back to that worship. 1 Kings 14:29 Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 1 Kings 14:29-30 . Are they not written, &c. — A register was kept of the acts of the kings of Judah, as well as of those of the kings of Israel. And there was war, &c. — But how does this agree with 1 Kings 12:23 , &c., where God forbids Rehoboam and his people to go up and fight against their brethren? We must observe, that though the Jews were forbidden to make war upon the Israelites, they were not forbidden to defend themselves, in case the Israelites should make war on them. “And considering that they were now become two rival nations, they might, upon the borders, be continually endeavouring to gain ground upon each other, and so run into frequent acts of hostility, without ever once engaging in a pitched battle.” — Dodd. 1 Kings 14:30 And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. 1 Kings 14:31 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary 1 Kings 14:1 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. DOOM OF THE HOUSE OF NEBAT 1 Kings 14:1-20 "Whom the gods love die young." -EPICTET. THE other story about Jeroboam is full of pathos; and though here, too, there are obvious signs that, in its present form, it could hardly have come from a contemporary source, it doubtless records a historic tradition. It is missing in the Septuagint, though in some copies the blank is supplied from Aquila’s version. Jeroboam was living with his queen at Tirzah when as a judgment on him for his neglect of the Divine warning, his eldest and much loved son, Abijah, fell sick. Torn with anxiety the king asked his wife to disguise herself that she might not be recognized on her journey, and to go to Shiloh, where Ahijah the prophet lived, to inquire about the dear youth’s fate. "Take with you," he said, "as a present to the prophet ten loaves, and some little cakes for the prophet’s children, and a cruse of honey." Jeroboam remembered that Ahijah’s former prophecy had been fulfilled, and believed that he would again be able to reveal the future, and say whether the heir to the throne would recover. The queen obeyed; and if she were indeed the Egyptian princess Ano, it must have been for her a strange experience. Through the winding valley, she reached the home of the aged prophet unrecognized. But he had received a Divine intimation of her errand; and though his eyes were now blind with the gutta serena , he at once addressed her by name when he heard the sound of her approaching footsteps. The message which he was bidden to pronounce was utterly terrible; it was unrelieved by a single gleam of mitigation or a single expression of pity. It reproached and denounced Jeroboam for faithless ingratitude in that he had cast God behind his back; it threatened hopeless and shameful extermination to all his house. His dynasty should be swept away like dung. The corpses of his children should be left unburied and be devoured by vultures and wild dogs. The moment the feet of the queen reached her house the youth should die, and this bereavement, heavy as it was, should be the sole act of mercy in the tragedy, for it should take away Abijah from the dreadful days to come, because in him alone of the House of Jeroboam had God seen something good. The avenger should be a new king, and all this should come to pass "even now." This speech of the prophet is given in a rhythmical form, and has probably been mingled with later touches. It falls into two strophes ( 1 Kings 14:7-11 , 1 Kings 14:12-16 ) of 3+2 and 2+3 verses. The expressions "thou hast done above all that were before thee, for thou hast gone and made thee other gods" ( 1 Kings 14:9 ) hardly suits the case of Jeroboam; and the omission by the LXX of the prophecy of Israel’s ultimate captivity, together with the treatment of the prophecy by Josephus, throw some doubt on 1 Kings 14:9 , 1 Kings 14:15 , and 1 Kings 14:16 . They seem to charge Jeroboam with sanctioning Asherim, or wooden images of the nature-goddess Asherah, of which we read in the history of Judah, but which are never mentioned in the acts of Jeroboam, and do not accord with his avowed policy. These may possibly be due to the forms which the tradition assumed in later days. The awful prophecy was fulfilled. As the hapless mother set foot on the threshold of her palace at beautiful Tirzah the young prince died, and she heard the wail of the mourners for him. He alone was buried in the grave of his fathers, and Israel mourned for him. He was evidently a prince of much hope and promise, and the deaths of such princes have always peculiarly affected the sympathy of nations. We know in Roman history the sigh which arose at the early death of Marcellus:- " Ostendent terris hunc tantum fata neque ultra Esse sinent. Nimium vobis, Romana propago, Visa potens, superi, propria haec si dona fuissent, Heu miserande puer, si qua fate aspera rumpas Tu Marcellus eris ." We know the remark of Tacitus as he contemplates the deaths of Germanicus, Caius, and Drusus, Piso Licinianus, Britannicus, and Titus, breves atque infaustos Populi Romani amores . We know how, when Prince William was drowned in the White Ship, Henry of England never smiled again; and how the nation mourned the deaths of Prince Alfonso, of the Black Prince, of Prince Arthur, of Prince Henry, of the Princess Charlotte, of the Duke of Clarence and Avondale. But these untimely deaths of youths in their early bloom, before their day, " Impositique rogis juvenes ante ora parentum. " are not half so deplorable as the case of those who have grown up like Nero to blight every hope which has been formed of them. When Louis le Bien-Aime lay ill of the fever at Metz which seemed likely to be fatal, all France wept and prayed for him. He recovered, and grew up to be that portent of selfish boredom and callous sensuality, Louis XV It was better that Abijah should die than that he should live to be overwhelmed in the shameful ruin which soon overtook his house. It was better far that he should die than that he should grow up to frustrate the promise of his youth. He was beckoned by the hand of God, "because in him was found some good thing towards the Lord God of Israel." We are not told wherein the goodness consisted, but Rabbinic tradition guessed that in opposition to his father he discountenanced the calf-worship and encouraged and helped the people to continue their visits to Jerusalem. Such a king might indeed have recovered the whole kingdom, and have dispossessed David’s degenerate line. But it was not to be. The fiat against Israel had gone forth, though a long space was to intervene before it was fulfilled. And God’s fiats are irrevocable, because with Him there is no changeableness neither shadow of turning. "The moving finger writes, and having writ, Moves on; nor all thy piety nor wit Shall lure it back to cancel half a line, Nor all thy tears wash out a word of it." But the passage about Abijah has a unique preciousness, because it stands alone in Scripture as an expression of the truth that early death is no sign at all of the Divine anger, and that the length or brevity of life are matters of little significance to God, seeing that, at the best, the longest life is but as one tick of the clock in the eternal silence. The promise to filial obedience, "that thy days may be long," in the Fifth Commandment is primarily national; and although undoubtedly "length of days" then, as now, was regarded as a blessing, {See Job 12:12 Psa 21:4 Pro 3:2-16} yet the blessing is purely relative, and wholly incommensurate with others which affect the character and the life to come. This passage may be the consolation of many thousands of hearts that ache for some dear lost child. "Is it well with the child? It is well!" The story of Cleobis and Biton shows how fully the wisest of the ancients had recognized the truth that early death may be a boon of God to save His children from being snared in the evil days. "Honorable age, says the Book of Wisdom, is not that which standeth in length of time, nor that is measured by number of years. But wisdom is the grey hair unto men, and an unspotted life is old age. He pleased God, and was beloved of Him: so that living among sinners he was translated. Yea, speedily was he taken away, lest that wickedness should alter his understanding, or deceit beguile his soul. He, being made perfect in a short time, fulfilled a long time: for his soul pleased the Lord: therefore He hastens to take him away from among the wicked." It is the truth so beautifully expressed by Seneca: " Vita non quam diu sed quam bene acta refert "; by St. Ambrose: " Perfecta est aetas, ubi perfecta est virtus "; by Shakespeare:- "The good die early And they whose hearts are dry as summer dust Burn to the socket"; and by Ben Jonson:- "It is not growing like a tree In bulk, doth make man better be: Or standing long an oak, three hundred year, To fall, a log at last, dry, bald and sere"; "A lily of a day Is fairer far in May, Although it fall and die that night- It was the plant and flower of Light. In small proportions we just beauties see, And in short measures life may perfect be" It is recorded also on the tomb of a gallant youth, in Westminster Abbey, "Francis Holles, who died at eighteen years of age after noble deeds":- "Man’s life is measured by the work, not days; Not aged sloth, but active youth, hath praise." 1 Kings 14:21 And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess. THE EARLIER KINGS OF JUDAH 1 Kings 14:21-31 ; 1 Kings 15:1-24 THE history of "the Jews" begins, properly speaking, from the reign of Rehoboam, and for four centuries it is mainly the history of the Davidic dynasty. The only records of the son of Solomon are meager records of disaster and disgrace. He reigned seventeen years, and his mother, the Ammonitess Naamah, occupied the position of queen-mother. She was, doubtless, a worshipper in the shrine which Solomon had built for her national god, Molech of Ammon, who was the same as the Ashtar-Chemosh of the Moabite stone-the male form of Ashtoreth. Whether her son was twenty-one or forty-one when he succeeded to the throne we do not know. His attempted expedition against Jeroboam was forbidden by Shemaiah; but ineffectual and distressing war smoldered on between the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. If Jeroboam sinned by the erection in the old sanctuaries of the two golden calves, Rehoboam surely sinned far more heinously. He not only sanctioned the high places-which in him may have been very venial, since they held their own unchallenged till the days of Hezekiah-but he allowed stone obelisks ( Matstseboth ) in honor of Baal, and pillars ( Chammanim ) of the Nature-goddess ( Asherah ) to be set up on every high hill and under every green tree. Worse than this, and a proof of the abyss of corruption into which the evil example of Solomon had beguiled the nation, there were found in the land the Kedeshim, the infamous eunuch-ministers of a most foul worship. In spite of Temple and priesthood, "they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord drave out before the children of Israel." Since Rehoboam thus sinned so much more heinously than his northern compeer we can hardly admire the conduct of the Levites, who, according to the chronicler, fled southward in swarms from the innovations of the son of Nebat. The Scylla of calf-worship was incomparably less shameful than the Charybdis of these heathen abominations. Such atrocities could not be left unpunished. Where the carcass is the eagles will gather. In the fifth year of Rehoboam, Shishak, King of Egypt, put an end to the short-lived glories of the age of Solomon. Of his reason for invading Palestine we know nothing. It was probably mere ambition and the love of plunder, stimulated by stories which Jeroboam may have brought to him about the inexhaustible riches of Jerusalem. He is the first Pharaoh whose individuality was so marked as to transcend and replace the common dynastic name. He was astute enough to seize the opportunity of self-aggrandisement which offered itself when Jeroboam took refuge at his court; but the conjecture that former friendly relations induced Jeroboam to invite the services of Shishak for the destruction of his rival, is rendered impossible if Egyptologists have correctly deciphered the splendid memorial of his achievements which he twice carved on the great Temple of Amon at Karnak. There the most conspicuous figure is the colossal likeness of the king. His right hand holds a sword; his left-grasps by the hair a long line which passes round the necks of a troop of thirty-eight mean and diminutive Jewish captives. The smaller figure of the god Amon leads other strings of one hundred and thirty-three captives, and the third king from his left hand bears a name which Champollion deciphered Yudeh-Malk, which he took to mean King of Judah. If the interpretation were correct, we should here have a picture of the son of Solomon. On the other figures are the names of the cities of which they were kings or sheykhs. Among these are not only the names of southern towns, like Ibleam, Gibeon, Bethhoron, Ajalon Mahanaim, but even of Canaanite and Levitic cities in the Northern Kingdom, including Taanach and Megiddo. Shashonq (as the monuments call him) came with a huge and motley army of many nationalities, among whom were Libyans, Troglodyte and Ethiopians. This host was composed of twelve hundred chariots, sixty thousand horsemen, and a numberless infantry of mercenaries. Such an invasion, though it was little more than an insulting military parade and predatory incursion rendered resistance impossible, especially to a people enervated by luxury, Shishak came, saw, and plundered. His chief spoil was taken from the poor dishonored Temple and the king’s palace. Judah specially grieved for the loss of the shields of gold which hung on the cedar pillars of the house of the forest of Lebanon, {1Ki 10:17} #NAME?Rehoboam had many sons, and he "wisely" {2Ch 11:23} gave them, by way of maintenance, the governorship of his fenced cities. That "he sought for them a multitude of wives" was perhaps a stroke of worldly policy, but an unwise and unworthy one. But their little courts and their little harems may have helped to keep them out of mischief. They might otherwise have destroyed each other by mutual jealousies. Rehoboam was succeeded by his son Abijam. There is a little doubt as to the exact name of this king. The Book of Chronicles calls him Abijah, 1 Kings 15:1 ; 1 Kings 15:7-8 , he is called Abijam. As the curious form Abijam seems to be unmeaning, it has been precariously conjectured that dislike to his idolatries led the Jews to alter a name which means "Jehovah is my Father." Some doubt also rests on the name of his mother. She is here called "Maacha, the daughter of Abishalom," but in Chronicles "Michaiah, the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah." Maachah was perhaps the granddaughter of Absalom, whose beautiful daughter Tamar (named after his dishonoured sister) may have been the wife of Uriel. In that case her name, Maachah, was a name given her in reminiscence of her royal descent as a great-granddaughter of the princess of Geshur, who was mother of Absalom. All sorts of secrets, however, sometimes lie behind these changes of names. She was the second, but favorite wife of Rehoboam; and Abijam, who was not the eldest son, owed his throne to his father’s preference for all that we are here told of Abijam is that "his heart was not perfect with Jehovah his God," and that "he walked in all the sins of his father"; though "for David’s sake his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem"; and that, after a brief reign of three years- i.e. , of one year and parts of two others-he slept with his fathers. For "the rest of his acts and all that he did," the historian refers us to the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah: he does not trouble himself with military details. The chronicler, referring to the Commentary of Iddo, {2Ch 13:22} adds a great deal more. Jeroboam, he says, went out against him with eight hundred thousand men. Abijam, who had only half the number, stood on Mount Zemaraim in the hill country of Ephraim, and made a speech to Jeroboam and his army. He reproached him with rebellion against his father when he was "young and tender-hearted," and with his golden calves, and his non-Levitical priests. He vaunted the superiority of the Temple priests with their holocausts and sweet incense and shewbread and golden candlestick, which priests were now with the army. Jeroboam sets an ambuscade, but at the shout of the men of Judah is routed with a loss of five hundred thousand men, after which Abijah recovers "Bethel with the towns thereof," and Jeshanah and Ephron (or "Ephraim") completely humbling the northern king until "the Lord smote him and he died." After this Abijah waxes mighty, has fourteen wives, twenty-two sons, and sixteen daughters. If we had read two accounts so different, and presenting such insuperable difficulties to the harmonist, in secular historians, we should have made no attempt to reconcile them, but merely have endeavored to find which record was the more trustworthy. If the pious Levitical king of 2 Chronicles 13:1-22 be a true picture of the idolater of 1 Kings 15:3 , it is clear that the accounts are difficult to reconcile, unless we resort to incessant and arbitrary hypotheses. But the earlier authority is clearly to be preferred when the two obviously conflict with each other. As it is we can only say that the kings of whom the chronicler approves are, as it were, clericalised, and seen "through a cloud of incense," all their faults being omitted. The edifying speech of Abijah, and his boast about purity of worship, sounds most strange on the lips of a king who-if he "walked in all the sins of his father"-suffered his people to be guilty of a worship grossly idolatrous, including the toleration of Bamoth, Chammanim, and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree; and of all the abominations of the neighboring idolaters, -a state of things infinitely worse than the symbolic Jehovah-worship which Jeroboam had set up. Yet such was the strange syncretism of religion in Jerusalem, of which Solomon had set the fatal example, that (as we learn quite incidentally) Abijah seems to have dedicated certain vessels-part of his warlike spoils-to the service of the Temple. {1Ki 15:15} They were perhaps intended to supply the gaps left by the plundering raid of Shishak. After this brief and perplexing, but apparently eventful reign, Abijah was succeeded by his son Asa, whose long reign of forty-one years was contemporary with the reigns of no less than seven kings of Israel-Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, Omri, Tibni, and Ahab. We are told that-aided perhaps by such prophets as Hanani and Azariah, son of Oded (or Iddo)-"he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord." Of this he gave an early, decisive, and courageous proof. When he succeeded to the throne at an early age his grandmother Maachah still held the high position of queen-mother, This great lady inherited the fame and popularity of Absalom, and was a princess both of the line of David and of Tolmai, King of Geshur. She was, and always had been, an open idolatress. Asa began his reign with a reformation. He took away the contemptible idols ( Gilloolim ) which his fathers had made, and suppressed the odious Kedeshim ; or he at least made a serious, if an unsuccessful, effort to do so. As to the high places we have a direct verbal contradiction. Here we are told that "they were not removed," whereas the chronicler says that "he took them away out of all the cities of Judah," but afterwards that "the high places were not taken away out of Israel," in spite of Asa’s heart being perfect all his days. The explanation would seem to be that he made a partial attempt to anticipate the subsequent reformation of Hezekiah, but was defeated by the inveteracy of popular custom. He did, however, take the great step of branding with infamy the impure idolatry of the queen-mother, and he degraded her from her rank. She had made an idol, which is significantly called "a fright" or "a horror" ( Miphletzeth ), to serve as an emblem of the Nature-goddess. It was probably a phallic symbol which he indignantly cut down, and burnt it, where all pollutions were destroyed, in the dry wady of the Kidron. In the fifteenth year of his reign he dedicated in the Temple "silver and gold and vessels," consecrated by his father and himself for this purpose. He also restored the great altar in the porch of the Temple, which in the course of more than sixty years had fallen into neglect and disrepair. For ten years the land had rest under this pious king, though war was always smouldering between him and Baasha: In the eleventh year, however, according to the chronicler, "Zerach the Ethiopian" attacked him with an army of a million Sushim and Lubim and three hundred chariots, and suffered an immense defeat in the Valley of Zephathah, "the watch-tower" at Mareshah. It was the sole occasion in sacred history in which an Israelite army met and defeated one of the great world powers in open battle, and it was deemed so remarkable a proof of Divine interposition that Asa, encouraged by the prophet Azariah, invited his people to renew their covenant with God. More alarming to Asa was the action of Baasha in fortifying Ramah in the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign. This was a veritable of the most dangerous kind, for Ramah, in the heart of Benjamin, was only five miles north of Jerusalem. In Abijah’s signal defeat of Jeroboam and capture of Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron be historical, these towns must not only have been speedily recovered, but Baasha had even pushed towards Jerusalem, five miles south of Bethel. Had Ramah been left undisturbed it would have been a thorn in the side of Judah, as Deceleia was in Attica, and Pylos in Messenia. Ash saw that the demolition of this fortress was a positive necessity. Since he was too weak to effect this, he stripped both his own palace and the Temple of the treasures with which he had himself enriched them, and sent them as a vast bribe to Benhadad I, King of Damascus, begging him to renew the treaty which had existed between their fathers, and to invade the kingdom of Baasha. This step shows to what a depth of weakness Judah had fallen, for Benhadad was a son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion (probably Rezon) of Damascus; so that here we have the great-grandson of Solomon stripping Solomon’s Temple of its consecrated vessels wherewith to bribe the grandson of the petty rebel freebooter, whose whole present kingdom had once been a part of Solomon’s dominions! The policy was successful. It is easy for us now to condemn it as unpatriotic and short-sighted, but to Asa it seemed a matter of life or death. Benhadad invaded Israel, and mastered its territory in the tribe of Naphtali, from Ijon and Abel-beth-maachah on the waters of Merom down to Chinnereth or the Lake of Gennesareth. {See Num 34:11; Jos 8:27} Baasha in alarm abandoned his attempt to blockade Jerusalem, and retired to Tirzah for the protection of his own kingdom. Thereupon Ash proclaimed a levy of all Judah to seize and dismantle Ramah, and with the ample materials which Baasha had amassed he fortified Geba to the north of Ramah {Jos 21:17; 2Ki 23:8} and Mizpah (probably Neby Samwyl, to the north of the Mount of Olives), where he also sank a deep well for the use of the garrison. He thus effectually protected the frontier of Benjamin. He built, as Bossuet says, "the fortresses of Judah out of the ruins of those of Samaria," and thus set us the example of making holy use of hostile and heretical materials. We should have thought that the invitation of Benhadad was, in a worldly point of view, brilliantly successful, and that it saved the kingdom of Judah from utter ruin. It involved, however, a dangerous precedent, and Hanani rebuked Asa for having done foolishly. After a powerful and useful reign Asa was attacked with gout in his feet two years before his death. The chronicler reproaches him for seeking "not to Jehovah but to the physicians" in his "exceeding great disease." If this was a sin, it is one of which we are unable to estimate the sinfulness from this meager notice, it has been conjectured that it may have some reference to the name Asa, which, if written Asjah, might mean "whom Jehovah heals." It belongs, however, to the theocratic standpoint of the chronicler, who condemns everything which bears the aspect of a worldly policy. He slept with his fathers in a tomb which he had built for himself, and was buried with unusual magnificence, amid the burning of many spices. We are not surprised that the historian should not mention the invasion of Zerah, since he refers us for the wars of Asa to the Judaean annals. It is much more remarkable that he wholly omits all reference to the prophetic activity of which the chronicler speaks as exercised in this reign. He had evidently formed a very high estimate of Asa, with none of the shadows and drawbacks which in the later annalist seemed to point to a marked degeneracy of character in his later days. On the favorable side the historian does not mention the high and eulogistic encouragement which the king received from Azariah, the son of Oded; nor the multitude which joined him out of Israel; nor the cities which he took from the hill country of Ephraim; nor his restoration of the altar. He even passes over the solemn league and covenant which he made with Judah and Benjamin and many members of the Ten Tribes in his fifteenth year, at a festival celebrated with an immense sacrifice, and with shouting and trumpets and cornets and a great exultant oath. {2Ch 15:1-15} On the unfavorable side he does not tell us that Hanani the Seer rebuked him for summoning the help of the Syrians instead of relying on Jehovah; and that Asa was in a rage because of this thing, and shut up Hanani in the "House of the Stocks," and "oppressed some of the people at the same time," apparently because they took part with the prophet. {2Ch 16:9-10} For none of these events does the chronicler refer us to any ancient authority. They came from separate records, perhaps written in prophetic commentaries and unknown to the compiler of the Kings. But whatever may have been the failings or shortcomings of Asa it is clear that he must be ranked among the more eminent and righteous sovereigns of Judah. 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