BRAGADAYJAH 1043

BRAGADAYJAH 1043

        Elijah Summoned Ahab in his wrath, would slay him.  So Elijah assured him that he would indeed show himself unto Ahab.  And the prophets of Baal to Mount Carmel

        Elijah perceived that Obadiah’s fear was that Elijah would disappear after he would have told Ahab he had seen him, and so thus assured, Obadiah went and told Ahab he had seen Elijah and Ahab went out to meet him. And when Ahab came face to face with Elijah, he asked him if he was the one that had been troubling Israel. And Elijah answered and said. “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and has followed after Baalim.  Now, therefore send and gather together all Israel and let them come to me at Mount Carmel. The four thousand and fifty prophets of Baal including the four hundred prophets of the groves who eat at the table of Jezebel your wife.”  So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel.  

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BRAGADAYJAH 1042

BRAGADAYJAH 1042

        Tell Ahab, “Behold Elijah is here.”

        And after that the word of the Lord came to Elijah and told him to go and show himself unto Ahab and He will send rain upon the earth. And Elijah went to show himself unto Ahab at a time when there was a great famine in Samaria. And Ahab called Obadiah the governor of his house, a man who feared the Lord, and who had, at a time when Ahab’s wife Jezebel was killing the prophets, took one hundred of them and hid them in a cave by fifties and fed them with bread and water. And Ahab told Obadiah to go into the land and to seek out all fountains and brooks in search of grass to feed the horses and mules, so that all the animals would not die. So Ahab divided the land between himself and Obadiah to go in search each going a separate way. And as Obadiah was on his way he met Elijah; and he fell on his face and said “Art you my lord Elijah?” And Elijah acknowledged that he was and told Obadiah to go and tell Ahab that he was there. But Obadiah was afraid that if he went and took a message from Elijah to Ahab, he would kill him. He informed Elijah that there was no place, no nation or kingdom where Ahab had not sent to look for him. And when he was told he was not found, he made every nation and kingdom take an oath they had not seen him. “And now,” said Obadiah, “you expect me to walk up to Ahab and tell him, Behold Elijah is here.”

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BRAGADAYJAH 1041

        BRAGADAYJAH 1041

        Elijah restores the Widow’s Son.

        And so it happened that in the course of time, the widow’s son fell ill; and his illness was so severe that he was near death and there was no breath left in him. And in desperation the widow asked Elijah if he had come to punish her for her sins by killing her son. And Elijah told her to give him the child, and she did so.  And Elijah took the boy and carried him up to the high loft of the house where he dwelt and laid the child upon his bed. And Elijah cried unto the Lord and said, “O Lord, my God, has thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I reside by slaying her son?” And Elijah stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, “O Lord my God, I pray thee let this child’s soul come to him again.” And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah and the soul of the child came into him again and he revived. And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother, and told her, “See thy son liveth.”  And the woman said to Elijah, “Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.”

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BRAGADAYJAH 1040

BRAGADAYJAH 1040
The Barrel of Corn and Cruse of oil
In response to Elijah’s request for a morel of bread, the widow said, “As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in the barrel, and a little oil in a cruse; and behold I am gathering two sticks to dress it for me and my son that we may eat it and die.” And Elijah told her to fear not, but go and do as she had said, but to make him a little cake first and give it to him, and afterwards make for herself and her son. For thus says the Lord God of Israel, “The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail until the day the Lord sends rain upon the earth.” And the widow went and did as Elijah told her to do and she and her house ate for a full year. And the barrel of meal did not run out, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah.

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BRAGADAYJAH 1039

BRAGADATYJAH 1039

Elijah Flees from Ahab.

At that time Elijah the Tishbite, who was a man of Gilead, told Ahab, that as the Lord before whom he stood lives, there shall be neither rain nor dew according to his word. And having spoken thus to Ahab, the Lord told Elijah to leave and go Eastwards and hide himself by the brook Cherith that is near Jordan. The Lord told him also that he should drink water from the brook and that He had commanded a raven to feed him while he was there. So Elijah went and did according to the Lord had advised him, and dwelt by the brook Cherith by the Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and fish in the morning and bread and fish in the evening; and he drank water from the brook. And it came to pass that after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah again and told him to move on, and get himself to Zarephath which is in Zidon and to remain there, where he had instructed a widow woman, to sustain him. And so he rose up and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the city gate he saw a widow woman gathering sticks; and he called to her and asked her to fetch him a little water that he may drink; and as she was going to fetch the water, he asked her to fetch him also a morsel of bread in her hand.

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BRAGADAYJAH 1038

·         BRAGADAYJAH 1038

        Ahab marries Jezebel

                Now Ahab began to reign in the thirty eight year of the reign of Asa king of Judah. And Ahab reigned over Israel twenty two years. And Ahab did evil in the sight of the Lord even over and above all those who reigned before him. And it came to pass that it was but a light thing for him to do, to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. And he took to be his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal and worshipped him. And he raised up an altar unto Baal in the house of Baal which he built in Samaria. And Ahab made a grove and did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel that were before him. And it was during Ahab’s reign that Hiel, the Bethelite built Jericho; he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his first born and set up the foundations thereof in his youngest son. Segub according to the word of the Lord which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.

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BRAGADAYJAH 1037

BRAGADAYJAH 1037

The Ascent of Ahab

And Zimri went up from Gibbethon and all Israel with him; and they besieged Tirzah. And when Zimri saw that the city was taken that he went into the palace of the king’s house and burnt the King’s house upon himself and died. His death was as a consequence of his sins which he sinned against the Lord in walking in the ways of Jeroboam, and in the sin which he did on causing Israel to sin. Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts; half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath to make him king; and the other half followed Omri.   But the people that followed Omri prevailed against the people that followed Tibni the son of Gibnath; so Tibni died and Omri reigned in his stead. In the thirty first year of king Asa, of Judah did Omri began to reign over Israel. And he reigned over Israel twelve years and six years in Tirzah. And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver; and built on the hill and called the name of the city which he built after the name Shemer owner of the hill Samaria. But Omri did evil in the eyes of the Lord and did worse than all the kings before him. For he walked in all the ways of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and in his sin wherein he caused Israel  to sin and provoked the anger of the Lord by all his vanities. And Omri died and was buried with his fathers in Samaria and Ahab his son reigned in his stead. 

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BRAGADAYJAH 1036

BRAGADAYJAH 1036
The Ascent of Zimri
Then the word of the Lord came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha saying, “Forasmuch as I have exalted you out of the dust, and made you prince over my people Israel, and you have walked in the ways of your father Jeroboam, and have made my people Israel to sin, and to provoke me to anger, behold I will take away your posterity, and the posterity of your house, and will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. Such of your posterity that die in the street, shall the dogs eat, and those that die in the forest shall the fowl of the air eat.”  So Baasha died and was buried at 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 because of all the evil that he did in the sight of the Lord, in provoking him to anger with the work of his hands in being like the house of Jeroboam, and because he killed him. It was in the twenty and sixth year of Asa’s reign did Elah the son of Baasha began to reign over Israel in Tirzah. And his servant Zimri captain of half of his chariots conspired against him; and while he was in Tirzah drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza steward of his house in Tirzah. And Zimri went in and smote him and killed him in the twenty second year of king Asa of Judah and reigned in his stead.

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BRAGADAYJAH 1036

BRAGADAYJAH 1036
The Ascent of Zimri
Then the word of the Lord came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha saying, “Forasmuch as I have exalted you out of the dust, and made you prince over my people Israel, and you have walked in the ways of your father Jeroboam, and have made my people Israel to sin, and to provoke me to anger, behold I will take away your posterity, and the posterity of your house, and will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. Such of your posterity that die in the street, shall the dogs eat, and those that die in the forest shall the fowl of the air eat.”  So Baasha died and was buried at 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 because of all the evil that he did in the sight of the Lord, in provoking him to anger with the work of his hands in being like the house of Jeroboam, and because he killed him. It was in the twenty and sixth year of Asa’s reign did Elah the son of Baasha began to reign over Israel in Tirzah. And his servant Zimri captain of half of his chariots conspired against him; and while he was in Tirzah drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza steward of his house in Tirzah. And Zimri went in and smote him and killed him in the twenty second year of king Asa of Judah and reigned in his stead.

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BRAGADAYJAH 1035

BRAGADAYJAH 1035
Destruction of the house of Jeroboam
Now during the reign of Asa in his second year, Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign, and he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and followed in the evil ways of his father; and after he had reigned two years, Baasha the son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired against him and smote him at Gibbethon in the land of the Philistines for Nadab and Israel had laid siege to Gibbethon. And in the third year of Asa king of Judah Baasha slayed Nadab and reigned in his stead. And during his reign Baasha smote all the house of Jeroboam and left not to Jeroboam, a single soul alive according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by the mouth of His servant Ahijah the Shilonite. And Baasha reigned over all Israel twenty four years, and did evil in the sight of the Lord all his days, as Jeroboam his father did. And Asa king of Judah died and was buried in the city of David his father; and his son Jehoshaphat reigned in his stead. 

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BRAGADAYJAH 1034

BRAGADAYJAH 1034

King Asa’s pact with the King of Syria.

Then Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Raamah to prevent any to go out from or come in to Asa king of Judah. So then King Asa took all of the silver and the gold from the house of the Lord and the treasuries of the king’s house, and delivered them into the hands of his servants, and sent them to Benhadad the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria and reminded him of the league between their fathers, and told him that he had sent him silver and gold, that he may break the pact he the king of Syria had made with his enemy Baasha king of Israel. So king Benhadad accepted king Asa’s gifts, and complied with the king’s request, and sent the captains of his hosts against Israel, and smote the cities of Ijon, Dan, Abelbethmaachah and all the land of Naphtali. And it happened that when Baasha heard what had happened to his cities, he left off building Raamah and dwelt in Tirzah. Then King Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah that without exception, all would set about taking away the stones and the timber at Raamah which Baasha had erected, and used the stones and the timber to build the city of Geba of Benjamin of Mizpah.    

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BRAGADAYJAH 1033

BRAGADAYJAH 1033

Abijam died Asa reigned in his stead.

Abijam reigned in Jerusalem after the death of his father Rehoboam. And he walked in all of the ways of his father and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God.  Nevertheless for David his father’s sake the Lord gave him a lamp in Jerusalem to set up his son after him and to establish Jerusalem. And the war started between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continued during the reign of Abijam who rules in Jerusalem, and Baash, king of Israel continually. And eventually Abijam died and was buried in the city of David. And he was succeeded by his son Asa, who reigned in his stead. And Asa did that which was right in the sight of God as David had done.  And he put away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his father had made. Also he removed his mother Maachah from being queen because she had made and worshipped idols. And Asa destroyed the idols she had made and burnt them by the brook Kidron.  And although he had not broken down all the high places, his heart was nevertheless perfect before God all his days. And he returned to the house of the Lord all the things which his father had dedicated and the things which he himself had dedicated, silver and gold and vessels.

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BRAGADAYJAH 1032

BRAGADAYJAH 1032

The Death of Rehoboam

So after he had reigned twenty two years he died and his son Nadab reigned in his stead. And Rehoboam, the son of Solomon reigned over Judah. Now Rehoboam was forty years old when he began to reign and he reigned seventeen years over Jerusalem the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Judah to put His name.  And Nadab’s_{_} mother’s name was Naamah who was an Ammonitess. And Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provokes Him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed above all that their fathers had done. For they built high places, and images, and groves on every high hill and every green tree. And there were also sodomites in the land and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord cast out in favor of the children of Israel. And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam’s reign that Shishak king of Egypt rose up against Jerusalem and he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house, including the shields of gold which Solomon had made. And king Rehoboam made in their stead brazen shields and committed them to the care of the guards of the door of the king’s house. And it was the practice that these brazen shields were taken back and forth when the king went into the Lord’s house and back again into the custody of the guards when he came out. And there was constant war also between them during the days of Jeroboam. And Rehoboam eventually died and was buried with his father in the city of David and Abijam his son reigned in his stead. 

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BRAGADAYJAH 1031

BRAGADAYJAH 1031
Death of Jeroboam’s Child
God’s judgment on Jeroboam compared the memory of him as dung. “And him that dies of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat, and him that dies in the field shall the birds of the air eat,” saith the word of the Lord.  And so the prophet told Jeroboam’s wife to return to her home. “For as soon as her feet entered into the city the child would die. Besides, the prophet told her all Israel would mourn for the child and bury him; and he shall be the only kin of Jeroboam who shall come to the grave; for he alone of all of his kin had a modicum of goodness in him. And moreover the Lord shall raise him up a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam. And the Lord shall smite Israel as a reed shaken in the water; and He shall root up Israel out of this good land which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river because they built groves thereby provoking the Lord to anger. And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam who caused Israel to sin along with him. And so after the prophet of the Lord spoke to Jeroboam’s wife, she rose up and returned to her city; and as soon as she set foot within the city, the child died according to the word of the Lord.  And all Israel mourned the death of the child and buried him.

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BRAGADAYJAH 1030

BRAGADAYJAH 1030
Jeroboam told the fate of his Line
And at that time, Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell ill.  And Jeroboam told his wife to disguise herself that no one would recognize who she was, and go to Shiloh and see Ahijah the prophet who had told him he was to be king over Israel. He instructed his wife to take with her ten loaves and some cakes and honey and give them to the prophet, who would then tell her what would happen to the child. And the woman did so and took with her the bread and cakes and honey; and she went to the prophet whose eyes were at that time dimmed by reason of age.  And the Lord told Ahijah that the wife of Jeroboam was on her way to see him to enquire about her son who was ill. The Lord told him she would disguise herself as another woman; so as soon as the prophet heard the footsteps of the wife of Jeroboam approaching he said, “Come in thou wife of Jeroboam.  Why are you coming to me disguised as another woman?  For I have sad news for you.  Go tell Jeroboam thus saith the Lord God of Israel.” “Forasmuch as I exalted you from among the people and make thee prince over Israel, taking the kingdom out of the hands of the house of David and gave it to you, and you are not as my servant David who kept my commandments and who followed me with all his heart to do that only that which was right in my sight. Now you have done evil above everyone that was before you, having gone and made other gods and molten images to provoke me to anger, and cast me behind your back. Therefore I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam and will cut off from Jeroboam he that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam as a man takes away dung until it is all done.

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BRAGADAYJAH 1029

BRAGADAYJAH 1029

The Man of God buried by the Old Prophet.

So hearing the report of the death of the man of God, the old prophets told his sons to saddle his ass and they did so.  And the old prophet rode upon his ass and went to where the carcass of the man of God lay.  And he marveled at the fact that the lion was just standing there, did not eat the carcass of the man of God, nor did he attack the ass of the man of God which was still standing there over the body of the man of God.  And the old prophet took the body of the man of God upon his ass and took it to the city where he mourned over the death of the man of God, and then he buried his body there. And as he laid the body into a sepulcher that he had prepared for himself, the old prophet continued to morn over the death of the man of God and uttered the words, “Alas my brother!”  And the old prophet told his sons that when he himself died, he wanted his bones to rest in the sepulcher beside those of the man of God.   And at that time Jeroboam returned not from his evil ways, but again made priests of the lowest order of the people, and built high places for them to worship And Jeroboam’s sin was so grievous to the Lord, that his house and all his descendants were forever cut off from the face of the earth.   

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BRAGADAYJAH 1028

BRAGADAYJAH 1028

False Prophets

Whenever someone tells me that some prophet or the other has told him or her that “God has told me to tell you,” my question would invariably be, “Are you a child of God? Do you commune with God on a regular basis?”  If the answer to these questions is yes, then I would advise, without a shadow of doubt that so called prophet is a false prophet; a lying prophet.  My biblical rationale being, if you are a child of God who are in regular communion with Him, then  God would speak with you directly and not through some third person.  If God has not told you directly then He has not said. And don’t forget that Jesus has warned us about latter day false prophets of which there are many going around claiming to be prophets and prophetesses. Liars they are says the word.  Be aware and careful of them. Looking at the way God dealt with the man of God in the previous two blogs, one may for a moment opine that God was a little sever e with him  After all he did not deliberately disobey God in that he was deceived by the old prophet; but as we have seen the old prophet lied to him.  But on the other hand as has been seen God specifically told the man whom he sent, “Do not eat or drink in that place.” And so beguiled or not, he disobeyed God, and paid the supreme penalty. Finally just as God punished his own messenger for disobedience, even more so He shall reward all the false prophets when He shall say unto them, “Depart from me, you workers of iniquity, I never knew you.”  But the bottom line is, do not be deceived by them.

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BRAGADAYJAH 1027

BRAGADAYJAH 1027

The Man of God Slain.

And it came to pass that as the men were eating at the old prophet’s table, that the word of the Lord came to him; and he cried out to the man of God that came from Judah and said, “Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou disobeyed the mouth of the Lord, and has not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee, but came back and has eaten bread and drunk water in this place, of which the Lord said to thee eat no bread and drink no water, thy carcass shall not come again into the seplulchre of thy fathers.” And it came to pass that after he had eaten bread and had drunk, he saddled his ass and went his way; and while on his way, a lion met him and slew him. And his carcass was left in the way; and his ass and the lion stood by the carcass.  And men passed by and saw the carcass in the way, and the lion standing by the carcass. And they went into the city and told the old prophet. And when he heard it he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the word of God. Therefore the Lord has delivered him unto the lion which has slain him in according with the word of the Lord.

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BRAGADAYJAH 1026

BRAGADAYJAH 1026

The man of God met a lying Prophet

At that time there was an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came to him and told him all the things that the man of God and done that day in Bethel, including the words he had spoken to the king. And their father asked them what way the man of God went; for it happened that the sons had seen the way the man of God had gone and they told their father.  And the old prophet told his sons to saddle his ass which they did; and the old prophet left upon his ass. And following after the man of God, the old prophet found him sitting under an oak tree. And he asked him if he was the man of God that came from Judah.  And the man of God answered him and said he was. And the old prophet invited the man of God to go home with him and eat bread. And the man of God told him that he could not go with him to his house, not eat bread, nor drink water with him; for the Lord had told him not to eat bread or drink water in that place. But the old prophet told the man of God that he too was a prophet and that an angel had spoken to him by the word of the Lord and told him to bring him back with him to his house and that they should eat bread together there. So the man of God went with the old prophet to his house and they ate and drank together; but the old man had lied when he told the man of God that he was told to take him to his house and eat and drink with him there. 

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BRAGADAYJAH 1025

BRAGADAYJAH 1025

Jeroboam’s arm withered and restored by the man of God.

And when King Jeroboam heard the words of the man of God who had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar and told his men to lay hold on the man of God; and immediately, the hand he held out dried up. So that he could not pull it in to him again. The altar also was rent and the ashes poured out from it. Just as the sign of the man of God said it would. And the king answered and said to the man of God, “Entreat now the face of the Lord your God, and pray for me that my hand may be restored me again.” And the man of God besought the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him again as it was before. And the king invited the man of God to go home with him, and have food and a change of clothes and a reward; but the man of God refused and told him he would not go home with him for half his house, neither would he eat or drink water in his house. For the Lord had charged him not to eat or drink in the king’s house. So the man of God departed and went away using a different way from the one he used to go to Bethel.

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BRAGADAYJAH 1024

BRAGADAYJAH 1024

The Prophesy of the man of God from Judah

Then Jeroboam made a house of high paces, and made priests of the lowest of the people which were not of the sons of Levi. And he ordained a feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feasts that were being celebrated in Judah; and he offered upon the altar. And he offered sacrifices on the altar in Bethel unto the golden calves that he had made, and he placed in Bethel the priests which he had made of the high places which he had made. And there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord, and came to Bethel where he found Jeroboam offering sacrifices of burnt offerings. And the man of God cried against the altar before which Jeroboam was worshipping and said, “O altar, altar thus saith the Lord, Behold a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name, and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee.” And he gave a sign the same day and said, “This is the sign which the Lord has spoken; behold the altar shall be rent and the ashes which are upon it shall be poured out.”

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BRAGADAYJAH 1023

BRAGADAYJAH 1023

Rehoboam forbidden to war against Israel.

After that it came to pass that when Israel heard that Jeroboam had come up again, they sent and called him unto the congregation and made him king over all Israel, so that there was none that followed the house of David other than the tribe of Judah.  And when Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem he assembled all the house of Judah with the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand men who were warriors, to fight against Israel to return the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.  But the word of God came to Shemaiah, the man of God, telling him to tell Rehoboam and the house of Judah and Benjamin not to go to battle against their brethren the people of Israel, but to return every man to his house; and Rehoboam and the houses of Judah and Benjamin listened to the voice of the prophet of the Lord.

After that Jeroboam went and built Shechem in mount Ephraim and lived there for a while; and from there went out again and built Penuel. Then said Jeroboam in his heart, “Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David, if the people go up to Jerusalem to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord. For then their heart will turn again unto their lord Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and return to the king of Judah.” So king Jeroboam took counsel and decided to make two calves of gold, and he told the people that it was too much to have to go to Jerusalem to worship.  Therefore, he persuaded them that the gods he made were the gods that brought them up out of the land of Egypt. And he set one in Bethel and the other in Dan.  And this thing became a sin; for the people went and worshipped before the golden images.

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BRAGADAYJAH1022

BRAGADAYJAH 1022

Israel Rebelled against Rehoboam.

So on the third day Jeroboam and all the people of Israel went to Rehoboam to hear from him his answer to the people’s request that he eased the burdens imposed on them by his father Solomon. And Rehoboam answered the people roughly contrary to the advice of the old men, and following the advice of his young men, and said to them in the words of the young men. “My father made your burdens heavy and I will add to yoke; my father also chastised you with whips; but I will chastise you with scorpions.” Thus not listening to the complaints of the people; for the cause was of the Lord that He might perform His saying which He spoke by His prophet Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son the son of Nebat.  So when all Israel saw that the King hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king and said, “What portion have we in David? Neither do we have any inheritance in the son of Jesse?  To your tents, O Israel! Now see to thine own house!”  And so Israel departed unto their tents.  But as regards the children of Israel who dwelt in in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram who was in charge of the tribute and all Israel stoned him with stones and killed him   Therefore Rehoboam fled in his chariot to Jerusalem. So Israel rebelled against the house of David and there would never again be a union between the two, Israel and Judah.

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BRAGADAYJAH 1021

BRAGADAYJAH 1021

Rehoboam’s conflicting Advice

Based on his request for time to think, Rehoboam consulted the old men who had served his father David, and asked them how they thought he should answer the people.  And they replied to him and said; “If thou be a servant of the people this day, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever. “  But Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men which they gave him, and instead turned to the young men who grew up with him, and who stood before him, and asked them what advice they would give him to give to the people who had spoken to him and asked him to make their burdens lighter.” And the young men who were his companions told him to speak unto the people and tell them, “My father made your yoke heavy; but you are asking me to make it lighter unto you; but I say to you that my little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins.  And now whereas my father did lay a heavy yoke upon you, I will add to your yoke; my father had chastised you with whips; but I shall chastise you with scorpions.”  

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BRAGADAYJAH 1020

BRAGADAYJAH 1020

King Solomon dies and is buried.

So the Lord was wroth with Solomon and declared that he would remove the kingdom from him only allowing to him one of the twelve tribes and even then, not for his own, but because of his servant David his father. Not only then did the Lord raise up opposition against Solomon but he promised to afflict the seed of David though not forever. As a result, Solomon sought to kill Jeroboam as a result of which Jeroboam fled to Egypt and remained there until the death of Solomon. Let us not forget, however, that it was God who told his prophet Ahijah, that he was going to wrest the kingdom out of the hands os Solomon and give ten of the twelve tribes to Jeroboam.  So Solomon reigned over all Israel for forty years, and after that he slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father. After the death of Solomon, Rehoboam his son began to reign in his stead.  And Rehoboam went to Shechem where all Israel was gathered together to make him King. And it happened that when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, heard that Israel was gathered together at Shechem to make Rehoboam king, they sent and called him and Jeroboam and all the host of Israel spoke to Rehoboam and said, “Your father made our yoke grievous and our burdens heavy; therefore if you will make our yoke lighter, we will serve you.” And Rehoboam bade them to go away and give him three days to think about.

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BRAGADAYJAH 1019

BRAGADAYJAH 1019

Jeroboam promised Ten Tribes

Jeroboam’s cause against King Solomon was that Solomon had built Millo and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father. And at the time Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor, and Solomon seeing him as a young man that he was industrious made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph. And it happened that at a time when Jeroboam was out of Jerusalem that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way clad in a new garment; and they were both alone in the field. And Ahijah caught the new garment that Jeroboam was wearing and tore it in twelve pieces and gave ten to him and said to him, “For thus saith the Lord God of Israel I will take the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and give ten tribes to thee. But there shall be one tribe for my servant David’s sake and for Jerusalem’s sake the city which I have chosen out of the tribes of Israel. Because they have forsaken me and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways to do that which is right in mine eyes and to keep my commandments, my statutes and my judgments, as David his father did. Nevertheless I will not take the whole kingdom put of his hand but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant sake whom I have chosen, because he has kept my statutes and my commandments; but I will take the kingdom out of his hand and give it to thee even ten tribes. And unto his son will I give one tribe that David my servant shall have a light always before me in Jerusalem the city which I have chosen to put my name in.  

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BRAGADAYJAH 1018

BRAGADAYJAH 1018

Men began to rise up against Solomon

When Hadad and his protectors arrived in Egypt, the Pharaoh had taken them in and gave them help and protection, and also a house and land. And as Hadad grew he found great favor in the sight of the Pharaoh who gave him the sister of his own wife Tahpenes the queen to be his wife.  And Hadad’s wife bore him a son Genubath who was weaned and brought up in Pharaoh’s household. And when Hadad while still in Egypt heard that King David was dead, and that Joab the captain of the hosts was also dead, Hadad asked the Pharaoh to let him depart and return to his own country. And the Pharaoh asked him what he needed, or what he lacked, that would induce him to depart Egypt; and Hadad explained that there was nothing he lacked but, howbeit he still wanted to return to his own country. And God also stirred up another adversary to Solomon, Rezon the son of Eliadah, who had fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah. And he gathered men unto him and became the captain over a band at the time that David had slain them, after which he had taken up refuge in Damascus where he remained. And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon; and he hated Israel and reigned over Syria. In addition Jeroboam the son of Nebat an Ephrathite of Zereda , a widow, Solomon’s servant, even he lifted up his hand against King Solomon. 

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BRAGADAYJAH 1017

BRAGADAYJAH 1017

Solomon angers God

And Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, in the hill between Jerusalem; and for Molech, an abomination for the children of Ammon; and he did the same for all his strange wives who burnt incense and made sacrifices to their gods. And the Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from the Lord God of Israel who appeared unto him twice, and had commanded him concerning the very thing he was doing, to wit that he should not go after other gods; so he was not doing as the Lord God commanded him. Therefore the Lord said unto Solomon, “For as much as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenants, and my statutes which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee and give it to thy servants. But I will not do it in your day, because of my servant David your father; but I will rend it out of the hand of your son. Only I will not rend all of the kingdom, but will give one tribe to your son for David your father’s sake and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen.” And the Lord stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, namely Hadad the Edomite being the king’s seed of Edom. For it came to pass when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the host had gone up to bury the lain after he had slain every male in Edom, where he had remained for six months, that Hadad then a little child was taken away to Egypt where he remained. .   

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BRAGADAYJAH 1016

BRAGADAYJAH 1016

Solomon’s heart turned towards pagan gods.

Without a doubt Solomon had more than any man could hope for.  He had wisdom and riches of gold and silver, precious stones and an abundance of woods and spices.  In addition to his great wealth, more wealth was piled upon him. Horses were brought out of Egypt laden with linen yarn and spices. Besides, chariots came out of Egypt laden with hundreds of shekels of silver and other valuable from the Hittites and the Kings of Syria among others.  But in spite of all the wisdom, and all the riches, Solomon was not satisfied; for he turned his attention towards and loved foreign women together with the daughters of the Pharaoh as well as women of the Moabites, Ammonites the Edomites, the Zidonians and the Hittites, nations which the Lord forbade them His people Israel to marry, lest they turned their hearts away from the Lord.  But Solomon ignored the Lord’s prohibition and loved these women nonetheless. And he had seven hundred wives, besides princesses and 300 concubines and these women turned away his heart to seek other gods.  So that by the time Solomon was old, his heart was turned away and his heart was not in the right place as was his father David’s. And he sought after other gods such as Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. So as the Lord God warned, Solomon’s heart was turned away and his heart was no longer fully turned unto the Lord as was his father David’s.

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BRAGADAYJAH 1015

BRAGADAYJAH 1015

Solomon’s Riches and Wisdom

As described before, King Solomon did not just store up the gold and left it in his coffers. He turned it to making objects of beautification as well as armour. He made two hundred targets of beaten gold and each target consisting of six hundred shekels of gold. He also made three hundred shields of beaten gold each shield containing three pounds of gold; the targets and the shields were then placed in a house in the forest of Lebanon.  And the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with the best gold. The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind, and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat with two lions beside the stays. And twelve lions stood there on each side of each of the steps.  And the king made drinking vessels of gold and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were made of pure gold, and none of those was made of silver. For the king had at sea a navy of ships at Tharshish, as well as the navy of Hiram bringing to him gold and silver and birds and other animals from afar. So King Solomon was then the richest and wisest king on earth. And everyone was keen to visit Solomon to see his riches and to hear his wisdom which God had given him.  And all the visitors when they came to Solomon brought him gold and silver and vessels of gold and garments and armour year after year.

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BRAGADAYJAH 1014

BRAGADAYJAH 1014

King Solomon acquired much gold.

And also the king’s navy returned from the Ophir laden with gold and of almug trees and precious stones. And the king used the almug wood to make pillars for the house of the Lord and his own house, and also musical instruments such as harps, and psalteries for singers. And King Solomon gave to the Queen of Sheba all that her heart desired, whatever she asked and also of his own desire according to all his bounty; and eventually the Queen and her retinue returned to her own country. In one year alone, King Solomon received six hundred and sixty six talents of gold, in addition to what he received from the merchantmen, and the spice merchants, and from kings and rulers and governors from all over the world.. According to modern calculations 666 talents of gold would be approximately 50,000 lbs. or 22,000 kg., equivalent to 800,000 ounces of gold valued on today’s market at approximately over a billion dollars. The king of course did not just put this gold in a vault and store it away. He used it to make items to adorn the temple dedicated to the worship of the Lord as well as other uses, as we shall see shortly.     

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BRAGADAYJAH 1013

BRAGADAYJAH 1013

Solomon and he Queen of Sheba

When the Queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she visited Solomon intending to ask him difficult questions in order to test his famed wisdom. She arrived at Jerusalem with a large company consisting of camels loaded with spices, and gold and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon she asked him all the questions that she had purposed in her heart to ask him.  And Solomon amazed her with his answers to her many questions.  And when the Queen of Sheba saw all the things that Solomon had built and his great wisdom, including the meat of his table and the dispositions of his servants, the attentions of his ministers, their dress, the demeanour of his cup-bearers, and the ascent by which he went up to the house of the Lord, she was much overwhelmed, and she had no more questions.  And she said to the king, “It was a true report that I heard concerning you when I was in my own land.  Nevertheless, I had doubts about some of the things I heard.  But now I have come and I have seen and now I believed. Your wisdom and your prosperity exceed everything I have heard. Happy are your men, happy are these your servants who are continually before you, and. blessed be the Lord your God, who delight in you, to set you on the throne of Israel, because the Lord loves Israel forever. Therefore he made you king to do judgment and justice.”  And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold and a very large store of spices and of precious stones which was the largest gift given to the king by any one person so far.     

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