ver which all the
caravans passed first to Damascus and then on east to the countries of
Babylon and Nineveh.

A fortress here would defend the kingdom of Israel from the attacks of
Assyria on the east and north, and from Judah on the south.

THE KING'S APPREHENSION.

"And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the
house of David.

"If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at
Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their
lord, even unto Rehoboam, King of Judah, and they shall kill me, and
go again to Rehoboam, king of Judah."

Now that Jeroboam is king, his troubles begin. Having settled the matter
of protection against invasion by the building of the strongholds as
just noticed, a more serious danger arose before him. It would seem that
the people had no thought when they separated from the government of
Rehoboam that they would also give up their religion. It was expected
that Jerusalem should be still the religious capital, and the temple the
place for all the people of both nations to worship.

But Jeroboam reasoned with himself that if the people of his kingdom
went up to Jerusalem three times a year, as the law directed (Deut. 16:
16), to worship there, they would by this become alienated from him as
their ruler, would learn to reverence the king who was of David's line
as more rightfully their sovereign, and the result would be not only
that they might change, such was the fickle temper of people in the
east, but they might expel him and perhaps take his life.

It was a very natural course of reasoning, but he should have trusted in
God. In I Kings 11: 38, the promise had been expressly made to him that
on condition of his obedience, he should be protected and his throne
should be firmly established. But he forgets this and goes on in the
foolish fashion of all doubt and unbelief.

FALSE GODS SET UP.

"Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and
said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold
thy gods, oh, Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt,

"And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan."

He reasoned that if there were to be two kingdoms, there must also be
two religions: at least, the citizens of one kingdom should not get
their religion from the worship and service held in another kingdom. On
the face of it this looked like the very e