To Take Small percentage II: "The Declare of Solomon", bang clothed in
Small percentage III
"The Reforms of Jeroboam "
Solomon's fervent and beneficial policies generated faraway suffering in Israel and caused the division of the monarchy overpower normal lines. The tribes of Judah and Benjamin were strong electorate of David's throne and in the rear the death of Solomon, they were in shape to adapt Rehoboam, Solomon's son, as his successor.
The northern tribes, nevertheless, downcast with Solomon's ancestry of obligatory trek, did not shabby to avert the agreement with David's protect that created the similar monarchy. Then, the division of the disembark came basically equally of the scorching policies of Solomon. Quieten, the Deuteronomic Historian presents the division of the disembark in fervent conditions.
According to the Deuteronomic Historian, the northern tribes revolted equally stage were groups of contest within the Northern tribes who were contemplative for fervent reforms and for the return of the good respect of Yahweh. This yearning for reformation can be gleaned from Ahijah's words to Jeroboam:
"Next Ahijah... intended to Jeroboam:... so says the Peer of the realm, the God of Israel: "Watch, I am about to cut the disembark from the hand of Solomon... equally he has forsaken me, and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the Ammonites, and has not walked in my ways, function what is point in my scrutiny and keeping my statutes and my ordinances, as David his dawn did... And I ghoul take over you, and you shall directive complete all that your individual wants, and you shall be king complete Israel. And if you ghoul hearken to all that I top you, and ghoul speed in my ways, and do what is point in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I ghoul be with you, and ghoul build you a sure protect, as I built for David, and I ghoul medal Israel to you" (1 Kings 11:30-38).
Ahijah probably engaged to the traditional view that Israel's move necessity be favored by Yahweh. Then, by fomenting a sprit of spin opposed the Southern Soil, Ahijah saw in Jeroboam's kingship an accidental for reformation and the subtraction of Solomon's syncretistic policies.
To the same extent Jeroboam became king of the ten tribes that formed the Northern Soil, the sensitivity of respect was in Jerusalem. Jeroboam feared that the contest would go up to Jerusalem to blot the foul festivals and to have enough money sacrifices in the temple. Jeroboam came to the conclusion that if the contest returned to respect in Jerusalem, stage was a invite they would cleave to their loyalty to Rehoboam and so propose the certify of his disembark.
In order to sermonize this cape, Jeroboam typical two centers of respect, one at Dan, the northernmost local in the Northern Soil, and the other at Bethel in the southern hurdle with Judah. He above and beyond built two golden calves or bulls to give support to as the symbol of the respect of Yahweh.
To territory the cultic centers in Dan and Bethel, Jeroboam definite contest who were not from the battle of Levi to become priests in these temples and in the high sitting room that were typical give or take a few the disembark.
According to the Old Shrine, the above-board errand of the priesthood was assigned to the battle of Levi. Jeroboam's outcome to delicate non-Levites to give support to in the temple arose because the Levites opposed the cultic practices that Jeroboam typical. It is possible that Jeroboam's outcome to move the reserves from Shechem to Tirzah was aggravated by the jealousy of the Levites who lived in Shechem.
In accrual, Jeroboam motivated the celebration of the Holiday of Tabernacles to fifteenth day of the eighth month practically than the seventh month as it was horrible in Judah (1 Kings 12:32). This swap has been seen as an gamble to return to old tribal traditions.
There is faraway strive about the symbolism of the calves or bulls to be found in Dan and Bethel. The bull was the symbol of El and Baal, the fruitfulness god of the Canaanites. It has been suggested that in establishing the bulls as symbols of Yahweh, Jeroboam was not promoting idolatry, but practically benevolent above-board response of the traditional way the contest of Israel worshiped Yahweh as El. Then, the bull would be considered to be a figure of Yahweh's creative powers and war mettle.
Many scholars today have a row that the bulls were pedestals on which the camouflaged Yahweh was presumed to stand. In some Semitic religions the gods were represented as standing on the backs of plants. Quieten, previously Yahweh's image in the temple was camouflaged, the contest of Israel finally began to respect the symbols as if they were gods.
Jeroboam's reforms were not seen in a benefit light by the writers of the book of Kings. The Deuteronomist saw Jeroboam's reforms as a forswearing of Yahweh. As a belief, Jeroboam is condemned by the Deuteronomist equally he set up golden calves, which became the roll of Israel's respect, and equally he typical centers of respect casing Jerusalem.
The respect of Yahweh in the form of a bull opened the doors for the expression of Canaanite culture and religion to go on board the life of the Northern Soil. Doesn't matter what intentions Jeroboam may well hold tight had, the commingling of Yahweh respect with Baal symbolism was unsuccessful for Israel's have confidence in and bent hypercritical admonition from an unnamed "man of God" (see 1 Kings 13).
Hosea was the most basic farsighted who inoffensively criticized the respect of the calf. In Hosea 8:5-6 the farsighted criticizes the respect of the calf on behalf of Yahweh: "I hold tight spurned your calf, O Samaria. My annoyance burns opposed them. How hope ghoul they be helpless of innocence? For it is from Israel; a craftsman prepared it; it is not God. The calf of Samaria shall be disciplined to pieces."
Once upon a time the death of Jeroboam, the kings who followed him continued the fervent practices typical by Jeroboam, leading to the general censure of every king of Israel. Each king was condemned for function what was evil in the scrutiny of the Peer of the realm, for walking in the way of Jeroboam, and by allowing the respect of the golden calf to platform in place (see 1 Kings 15:34).
Wryly, Ahijah, the farsighted who prophesied Jeroboam's climb to power, is the one who above and beyond predicts the extension of his disembark. Somewhat of bringing the tribes back to the respect of Yahweh, Jeroboam typical fervent reforms that, from the tilt of the Deuteronomic Historian, brought the nation to the boundary of flop.
In the end, the Deuteronomic Historian has a stern censure of the Northern Kingdom:
"The contest of Israel had sinned opposed the Peer of the realm. They abhorrent his statutes and his pact that he prepared with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went in the rear untrue idols and became untrue, and they followed the nations that were on them, concerning whom the Peer of the realm had commanded them that they necessity not do be fond of them. And they abandoned all the commandments of the Peer of the realm their God, and prepared for themselves metal images of two calves; and they prepared an Asherah and worshiped all the swarm of paradise and served Baal. And they burned their sons and their daughters as aid organization and second hand foretelling and omens and sold themselves to do evil in the scrutiny of the Peer of the realm, disgusting him to annoyance. Hence the Peer of the realm was very furious with Israel and unworldly them out of his scrutiny "(2 Kings 17:7, 15-18).
Yet, the Peer of the realm gave the contest an accidental to swap their ways. He warned Israel put on the right track the ministry of the prophets, but the contest were unenthusiastic to go to. As a belief, the Northern Soil was beaten by Assyria and hard at it within outsider in 722 BC.
Next: The Syncretism of Judah and Israel
Claude Mariottini
Educationalist of Old Shrine
Northern Baptist Seminary
Tags: Syncretism, Jeroboam, Golden Calf
Source: magical-poetry.blogspot.com
