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in mount Ephraim, and said, Hear me, thou Jeroboam, and all Israel.

1

Ought ye not to know, that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?

Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Soldmon the son of David, is risen up and hath rebelled against his lord.

And there are gathered unto him vain men, the children of Belial, and have strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tender-hearted, and could not withstand them. And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David; and ye be a great multitude, and there are with you golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods.

Have ye not cast out the priests of the LORD the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made you priests after the manner of the nations of other lands? so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, the same may be a priest of them that are no gods.

But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him and the priests which minister unto the LORD are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites wait upon their business.

And they burnt unto the LORD every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense: the shew bread also set they in order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening for we keep the charge of the LORD our GOD, but ye have forsaken him.

And behold, Gon himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm

against

against you. O ye children of Israel, fight ye not against the LORD GOD of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper.

But Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come about behind them: for they were before Judah, and the ambushment was behind them.

And when Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind and they cried unto the LORD, and the priests sounded with the trumpets.

Then the men of Judah gave a shout; and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijam and Judah.

And the children of Israel fled before Judah : and God delivered them into their hand.

And Abijam and his people slew them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men.

Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon the LORD GOD of their fathers.

And Abijam pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Beth-el with the towns thereof, and Jeshanah with the towns thereof, and Ephraim with the towns thereof.

Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of Abijam, and the LORD struck him, and he died. But Abijam waxed mighty, and married fourteen wives, and had twenty and two sons, and sixteen daughters.

And the rest of the acts of Abijam, and his ways and his sayings, are written in the story of the prophet Iddo.

And Abijam slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and Asa his son reigned in his stead.

ANNOTATIONS AND REFLECTIONS.

In the speech which Abijam addressed to Jeroboam and

the

the Israelites, calling upon them in the name of the LORD to forsake idolatry, and return to their duty, he spak agreeably to the will of God, and as became the descendant of David: 'Jeroboam, on the contrary, presumptuously opposed the LORD, and, depending on his superior army, he resolved to attempt the destruction of Judah, though he had formerly been forbidden by a divine command to lift up his hand against the race of David; the LORD, therefore, not only delivered Judah, but enabled Abijam, by His Almighty power, to obtain a wonderful victory over the Israelites; and we are taught to regard the DIVINE interposition, on this occasion, as a proof of God's remembrance of David, to whom he had promised, that his fidelity should be finally rewarded by blessings on his posterity, though for reasons, which must appear just, they would be afflicted for a time.

If Abijam and the people of Judah had continued steadfast in the principles which seemed to have actuated them on this occasion, the favour of the Loa D would have remained with them for their own sakes; but we are told, that this king walked in all the sins of his father, for he removed not the high places, neither did he destroy idolatry, as he might have done, when he had Beth-el in his power; and he found by experience, that not only his people would stand by him in the attempt, but that he had the greatest reason to expect that the LORD would Himself assist him in the vindication of his honour: for this neglect, it is likely, that the LORD shortened the days of Abijam.":

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THE REIGNS OF NADAB AND BAASHA, KINGS OF ISRAEL.

From 1 Kings, Chap. xv, xvi.

AND Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over

Israel,

Israel, in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned over Israel two years.

And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.

And Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him; and Baasha smote him at Gibbethon, which belongeth to the Philistines, (for Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon.)

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And Baasha did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.

And it came to pass when he reigned, that he smote all the house of Jeroboam, he left not to Jeroboam any that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according unto the saying of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite.

Because the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made Israel to sin, by his provocation wherewith he provoked the LORD GOD of Israel to anger.

And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days..

Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani, against Baasha, saying, Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel, and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins:

Behold, I will take away the posterity of Baasha, and the posterity of his house and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

:

Him that dieth of Baasha in the city, shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth of his in the fields, shall the fowls of the air eat.

So

So Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in Tirzah, and Elah his son reigned in his stead.

And also by the hand of the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani, came the word of the LORD against Baasha, and against his house, even for all the evil that he did in the sight of the Lorn, in provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam, and because he killed Nadab.

ANNOTATIONS AND REFLECTIONS.

:

Nadab's wicked reign was of short duration, för he shut himself totally out from the LORD's favour by idolatrous practices and hardened obduracy; therefore the treachery of Baasha was suffered to succeed against him. The cruelty of this ambitious man in destroying so many of his predecessor's relations proceeded from his own bad heart, and was therefore reckoned amongst the crimes for which he was cut off. Baasha did not, in this matter, act in consequence of any express command from God to destroy the posterity of Jeroboam, but in order to usurp the throne he was therefore guilty of murder. We must not suppose, therefore, that he was instigated by GoD, but only that he was not restrained, as he would have been, if Jeroboam and his family had endeavoured to secure the Divine protection. We have already met with instances, in the course of this history, of the LORD's taking compassion on repentant sinners, and withholding that destruction which would have fallen on them if they had persisted in their sin, particularly in the case of David. Jeroboam and his race would have been preserved in like manner if they had imitated David's example: so that the LORD might justly say to Baasha, by the mouth of his prophet, Forasmuch as Lexalted thee out of the dust, and made thee

prince

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