(5) Religion In the Kingdom of Israel.
(I) Ahijah of Shiloh was at the moment of Rehoboam's coronation the leader of the pro phetic party. Ile had already set himself to the work of fomenting rebellion, and had opened his plans to a young officer of Solomon's building force—Jeroboam, the son of Nebat of the tribe of Ephraim. Promising him success in his efforts, Ahijah had induced him to take up arms against the king (I Kings xi:26-4o) ; but the first attempt was not successful, and Jeroboam was obliged to take refuge in Egypt. Returning, however, in answer to the summons of his friends at the death of Solomon, he placed himself at the head of the malcontents from the northern tribes, who de manded lighter taxation (t Kings xii:1-2o). The request was refused, and the breach between the two sections, which had always been apparent, was now widened into a chasm that was never closed, by the election of Jeroboam to the kingship of the northern tribes. Much was naturally ex pected of the new king by the prophets who had been his advisers in the important steps already taken. But statecraft was stronger than religion in Jeroboam's character, and the prophets were bitterly disappointed. Fearing that the old sanc tuaries would not be attractive enough to keep his people away from the new temple at the capi tal of his rival, he organized two sanctuaries at the extremes of his kingdom, Bethel and Dan, and, instead of the imagcless worship which had been thc only officially recognized order of things hitherto, he set up two images of Jahveh in the form of bulls (t Kings xii :26-33). The repre sentation of dcity in this manner was not new. As the symbol of strength arid creative power the bull was regarded as sacred in Egypt and among other nations; and perhaps in remembrance of Egyptian customs, the Israelites once before fell into the practice (Exod. xxxii :1-6). It is to be noticed that in neither case was Jahveh set aside as the national God. It was simply an effort to gratify the craving for a visible symbol of deity, a craving which had manifcsted itself in thc use of images in previous periods. but against which
the purer idealism of prophets like Moses and Samnel bad set itself like a flint. With this re version to a lower type of religion came other de partures from the form of worship recogni7ed in the period, such as the appointment of non-Levit ical priests and the designation of other feasts than those already celebrated.
(2) The prophets were always the advocates of the policy of national seclusion. All that tended to bring Israel into contact with other nations, whether war or commerce, met with their disap proval. The secret of this feeling was their fear of foreign religious ideas gaining a foothold by such means. To kings like Solomon, intent upon the.enrichment of his realm, this seemed a narrow policy. National prosperity was to be attained only through friendly relations with other peo ples, and to this end alliances by marriage were secured with foreign courts. But the purity of the religion of Jahveh was dependent upon in sulation until it should have time to take firmer hold on the people. The two principles are ad mirably represented by Ahab and Elijah. The former reigned over Israel from 875 to 853.B. C. He entered into alliance with Ethbaal of Zidon, and married his daughter Jezebel, giving her re ligion, the worship of Baal and Astarte, official sanction beside the religion of Jahveh, in his cap ital, Samaria (t Kings xvi :29-34), the prophets of Astarte being supported by the queen (1 Kings xviii :to). While it is improbable that Ahab went so far as to renounce the faith of his nation, yet the worshipers, and especially the prophets, of Jahvch were subjected to ill-treatment and, per haps, actual persecution (t Kings xviii :3, 4). Under the favor of the court the foreign cult made rapid progress, till it might have seemed that the whole nation had been swept away by the seductive Phcenician worship (t Kings xix 14).