Chapter 8.
HOW, UPON THE DEATH OF SOLOMON THE PEOPLE FORSOOK HIS SON
REHOBOAM, AND ORDAINED JEROBOAM KING OVER THE TEN TRIBES.FJAJ 8.63
1. NOW when Solomon was dead, and his son Rehoboam (who was born of
an Amntonite wife; whose name was Naamah) had succeeded him in the kingdom,
the rulers of the multitude sent immediately into Egypt, and called back
Jeroboam; and when he was come to them, to the city Shethem, Rehoboam came
to it also, for he had resolved to declare himself king to the Israelites
while they were there gathered together
So the rulers of the people, as
well as Jeroboam, came to him, and besought him, and said that he ought
to relax, and to be gentler than his father, in the servitude he had imposed
on them, because they had borne a heavy yoke, and that then they should
be better affected to him, and be well contented to serve him under his
moderate government, and should do it more out of love than fear
But Rehoboam
told them they should come to him again in three days' time, when he would
give an answer to their request
This delay gave occasion to a present
suspicion, since he had not given them a favorable answer to their mind
immediately; for they thought that he should have given them a humane answer
off-hand, especially since he was but young
However, they thought that
this consultation about it, and that he did not presently give them a denial,
afforded them some good hope of success.FJAJ 8.64
2. Rehoboam now called his father's friends, and advised with them what
sort of answer he ought to give to the multitude; upon which they gave
him the advice which became friends, and those that knew the temper of
such a multitude
They advised him to speak in a way more popular than
suited the grandeur of a king, because he would thereby oblige them to
submit to him with goodwill, it being most agreeable to subjects that their
kings should be almost upon the level with them
But Rehoboam rejected
this so good, and in general so profitable, advice, (it was such, at least,
at that time when he was to be made king,) God himself, I suppose, causing
what was most advantageous to be condemned by him
So he called for the
young men who were brought up with him, and told them what advice the elders
had given him, and bade them speak what they thought he ought to do
They
advised him to give the following answer to the people (for neither their
youth nor God himself suffered them to discern what was best): That his
little finger should be thicker than his father's loins; and if they had
met with hard usage from his father, they should experience much rougher
treatment from him; and if his father had chastised them with whips, they
must expect that he would do it with scorpions.FJAJ 8.65
(24)
That by scorpions is not here meant that small animal so called, which
was never used in corrections, but either a shrub, furze bush, or else
some terrible sort of whip of the like nature see Hudson's and Spanheim's
notes here.
The king was pleased with this advice, and thought it agreeable to the
dignity of his government to give them such an answer
Accordingly, when
the multitude was come together to hear his answer on the third day, all
the people were in great expectation, and very intent to hear what the
king would say to them, and supposed they should hear somewhat of a kind
nature; but he passed by his friends, and answered as the young men had
given him counsel
Now this was done according to the will of God, that
what Ahijah had foretold might come to pass.FJAJ 8.66
3. By these words the people were struck as it were by all iron hammer,
and were so grieved at the words, as if they had already felt the effects
of them; and they had great indignation at the king; and all cried out
aloud, and said, "We will have no longer any relation to David or
his posterity after this day." And they said further, "We only
leave to Rehoboam the temple which his father built;" and they threatened
to forsake him
Nay, they were so bitter, and retained their wrath so long,
that when he sent Adoram, which was over the tribute, that he might pacify
them, and render them milder, and persuade them to forgive him, if he had
said any thing that was rash or grievous to them in his youth, they would
not hear it, but threw stones at him, and killed him
When Rehoboam saw
this, he thought himself aimed at by those stones with which they had killed
his servant, and feared lest he should undergo the last of punishments
in earnest; so he got immediately into his chariot, and fled to Jerusalem,
where the tribe of Judah and that of Benjamin ordained him king; but the
rest of the multitude forsook the sons of David from that day, and appointed
Jeroboam to be the ruler of their public affairs
Upon this Rehoboam, Solomon's
son, assembled a great congregation of those two tribes that submitted
to him, and was ready to take a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men
out of the army, to make an expedition against Jeroboam and his people,
that he might force them by war to be his servants; but he was forbidden
of God by the prophet [Shemaiah] to go to war, for that it was not just
that brethren of the same contry should fight one against another
He also
said that this defection of the multitude was according to the purpose
of God
So he did not proceed in this expedition
And now I will relate
first the actions of Jeroboam the king of Israel, after which we will relate
what are therewith connected, the actions of Rehoboam, the king of the
two tribes; by this means we shall preserve the good order of the history
entire.FJAJ 8.67
4. When therefore Jeroboam had built him a palace in the city Shechem,
he dwelt there
He also built him another at Penuel, a city so called.
And now the feast of tabernacles was approaching in a little time, Jeroboam
considered, that if he should permit the multitude to go to worship God
at Jerusalem, and there to celebrate the festival, they would probably
repent of what they had done, and be enticed by the temple, and by the
worship of God there performed, and would leave him, and return to their
first kings; and if so, he should run the risk of losing his own life;
so he invented this contrivance; He made two golden heifers, and built
two little temples for them, the one in the city Bethel, and the other
in Dan, which last was at the fountains of the Lesser Jordan (25)
Whether these "fountains of the Lesser Jordan" were near a place
called Dan, and the fountains of the Greater near a place called Jor, before
their conjunction; or whether there was only one fountain, arising at the
lake Phiala, at first sinking under ground, and then arising near the mountain
Paneum, and thence running through the lake Scmochonitis to the Sea of
Galilee, and so far called the Lesser Jordan; is hardly certain, even in
Josephus himself, though the latter account be the most probable. However,
the northern idolatrous calf, set up by Jeroboam, was where Little Jordan
fell into Great Jordan, near a place called Daphnae, as Josephus elsewhere
informs us, Of the War, B. IV. ch. 1. sect. 1: see the note there.
and he put the heifers into both the little temples, in the forementioned
cities
And when he had called those ten tribes together over whom he ruled,
he made a speech to the people in these words: "I suppose, my countrymen,
that you know this, that every place hath God in it; nor is there any one
determinate place in which he is, but he every where hears and sees those
that worship him; on which account I do not think it right for you to go
so long a journey to Jerusalem, which is an enemy's city, to worship him.
It was a man that built the temple: I have also made two golden heifers,
dedicated to the same God; and the one of them I have consecrated in the
city Bethel, and the other in Dan, to the end that those of you that dwell
nearest those cities may go to them, and worship God there; and I will
ordain for you certain priests and Levites from among yourselves, that
you may have no want of the tribe of Levi, or of the sons of Aaron; but
let him that is desirous among you of being a priest, bring to God a bullock
and a ram, which they say Aaron the first priest brought also." When
Jeroboam had said this, he deluded the people, and made them to revolt
from the worship of their forefathers, and to transgress their laws
This
was the beginning of miseries to the Hebrews, and the cause why they were
overcome in war by foreigners, and so fell into captivity
But we shall
relate those things in their proper places hereafter.FJAJ 8.68
5. When the feast [of tabernacles] was just approaching, Jeroboam was
desirous to celebrate it himself in Bethel, as did the two tribes celebrate
it in Jerusalem
Accordingly he built an altar before the heifer, and undertook
to be high priest himself
So he went up to the altar, with his own priests
about him; but when he was going to offer the sacrifices and the burnt-offerings,
in the sight of all the people, a prophet, whose name was Jadon, was sent
by God, and came to him from Jerusalem, who stood in the midst of the multitude,
and in the 'hearing of' the king, and directing his discourse to the altar,
said thus: God foretells that there shall be a certain man of the family
of David, Josiah by name, who shall slay upon thee those false priests
that shall live at that time, and upon thee shall burn the bones of those
deceivers of the people, those impostors' and wicked wretches
However,
that this people may believe that these things shall so come to pass, I
foretell a sign to them that shall also come to pass
This altar shall
be broken to pieces immediately, and all the fat of the sacrifices that
is upon it shall be poured upon the ground." When the prophet had
said this, Jeroboam fell into a passion, and stretched out his hand, and
bid them lay hold of him; but that hand which he stretched out was enfeebled,
and he was not able to pull it in again to him, for it was become withered,
and hung down, as if it were a dead hand
The altar also was broken to
pieces, and all that was upon it was poured out, as the prophet had foretold
should come to pass
So the king understood that he was a man of veracity,
and had a Divine foreknowledge; and entreated him to pray to God that he
would restore his right hand
Accordingly the prophet did pray to God to
grant him that request
So the king, having his hand recovered to its natural
state, rejoiced at it, and invited the prophet to sup with him; but Jadon
said that he could not endure to come into his house, nor to taste of bread
or water in this city, for that was a thing God had forbidden him to do;
as also to go back by the same way which he came, but he said he was to
return by another way
So the king wondered at the abstinence of the man,
but was himself in fear, as suspecting a change of his affairs for the
worse, from what had been said to him.FJAJ 8.69