1 Kings 12:28

AN EASY RELIGION

‘It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem.’

1 Kings 12:28

These were the words of Jeroboam, to whose name is attached the awful record, ‘who made Israel to sin.’ Doubtless his scheme as a piece of policy appeared admirable; nothing seemed more fatal to his new state than that the people should go up to Jerusalem and give their allegiance to Rehoboam, King of Judah. But in truth this policy resulted in failure and disaster. And who can be surprised at the result?

This is an appeal made to the people’s sense of ease and comfort. These long pilgrimages were burdensome, and therefore was it said, ‘It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem.’ What is there, then, that you cannot have here? Still for us there is Jerusalem here on earth, where the soul may be brought into true union with God; still is there a place where God will come to the soul if only the soul will come to God; and still is there the tempter, who says it is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem.

And so it comes to pass that the means whereby we obtained peace are laid aside, or changed, or modified—the study of our Bible, prayer, Holy Communion.

I. The study of our Bible.—Oh! it is too much to go up to Jerusalem. The Bible is hard to read and understand. ‘It is too hard for you,’ says the tempter, ‘to make its pages all your own. You have not the leisure, the mental capacity.’ So it may be, and the very word ‘Bible-student’ seems an old-fashioned word, and books which touch lighly on the subject are substituted. That is the theological study of the many in the present day. It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Oh! how can true peace be thus found? Oh! how can men’s souls touch Jehovah’s? The wells of salvation from which we might draw all that we require are neglected, because it is hard work to draw the same, and from brooks we may lap with our hands as we halt on our journey.

II. It is too much to go up to Jerusalem in the spirit of prayer.—You are so busy, so tired, that you cannot give much time to prayer. Just some brief form which you commit to memory. ‘That will do,’ says the tempter; and the Lord’s Prayer and our short petition for what we want is all that some offer up. Oh! how do we fulfil the command, ‘Pray without ceasing’? Souls that must die if they be not united to God, how can true union be thus sustained? It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem, and attain the peace which comes from union with God before the mercy seat. If work is so hard and so pressing that we have no time to pray, then the great God has given us such work to do as will crush us down. Can that be? Nay.

III. And at Holy Communion.—Is it not true that hundreds stay away from this Jerusalem? It makes too great demand upon you; if you become a communicant, your whole life must be changed. Thus, though the many hear the sermon preached, only the few come to the altar. It is too much for the others to go to Jerusalem.

We know this is so; we see it around us. But the many go forth again into our clattering streets, into their comfortable homes, where loving faces greet them, into society, with its pleasant life and easy goal, and the spiritual fades and the masterful present rises again, and hearts that were touched with a desire to reach the true Jerusalem, the hearts that felt it was worth living, and Oh! worth dying for, once more hear the voice of the text, ‘It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem.’

Brethren, the golden city is a reality over all those worldly forces which press so strongly upon us, and will reign over all. We are living, but we are dying; and it is now for us in time to gain such an insight into that which makes for our hereafter and for the day of God’s presence and the new Jerusalem.

Canon Kelly.

Illustrations

(1) ‘Thus God’s service became a matter of personal convenience and social enjoyment, rather than a religious obligation and a spiritual privilege; and it was not long before the sanctuary at Dan, the farthest removed from Jerusalem and all of its hallowed associations, became the fashionable resort of the multitude.

To be sure, all this did away with the great altar and its sacrifice for sin, with the laver at its side, and the need of “renewing by the Holy Ghost” in order to enter into God’s service. It ignored all need of “the bread” and “the light” and “the intercession,” taught by the tables of shewbread and the candlesticks and the altar of incense; and it had no place for an ark, wherein was kept the law, and which was covered by a mercy seat, and whereat forgiveness was obtained because an atonement had been made. None of these things were needed in the new theology of Jeroboam.’

(2) ‘Jeroboamism did not die with Jeroboam. For more than two hundred years after its originator was buried it was fostered by each of his successors, and essentially the same epitaph as his own fitly belonged on the tombstone of each. It is seed which takes very kindly to the soil of human nature in all ages, and among all people. It is springing up even in our own day, and its beauty is greatly admired. The same kind of intellectual, worldly-wise, but religious men are busy scattering the seed more and more widely.’

(SECOND OUTLINE)

I. Jerusalem shall no longer be the centre of worship for the Ten Tribes, but they shall sacrifice at the shrines of two golden calves, placed in convenient positions, so as to make religion easy, and save people the trouble of a journey.—Thus gradually the danger of their desiring to rejoin Judah and Benjamin will die out. Such was the clever policy of Jeroboam. Having lived in Egypt he was acquainted with the worship of Apis, the sacred Bull of Memphis. The dedication festival of the Golden Calf in Bethel was to be a red-letter day in the life of the usurper, and would create an enthusiasm for the new king—so it was vainly thought—which would make his throne secure.

II. Nothing shall be neglected which may render the ritual worthy of the occasion.—It is the grand inauguration of the new religion; it is the high day of idolatry; it is the installation of a fresh Church as well as being a political celebration. It is the crowning of the hopes of the adventurer, as well as a precaution for the security of his crown. It is the climax of his plans, and the realisation of his earlier dreams. Imagine Jeroboam’s feelings on the morning of the day. Would he not say to himself something like this? ‘At last I grasp success. After to-day there will be no more wavering in my followers. I have provided new gods for the crowd; I have appointed new clergy of a low type who will be completely under my thumb; I have altered the dates of festivals, so as to break entirely with the past; I have established myself as head of Church and State; behold in me the union of King and Archbishop.

‘Then how wisely I have selected Bethel as the scene of to-day’s function. It has around it a holy atmosphere. It breathes religion. Here Abraham builded an altar in the olden times; here Jacob saw the vision of the ladder and the angels; here Samuel came annually to offer sacrifice; here Deborah lived, who gave freedom to her oppressed people. So that historical and religious memories cluster round Beth-el; indeed the very name—the House of God—seems to sanction it as a centre of religious worship. The service there will be a kind of set-off to the dedication of Solomon’s Temple; and all will be well.’ Such may have been the musings of Jeroboam, as he arrayed himself in royal and priestly garments, ready for the grand ceremony.

III. Beware of a religion which appeals to your love of ease.—Jeroboam knew what he was doing when he said, ‘It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem.’ The golden calf is accessible and will save you trouble and expense. Men like religion made easy and which is kind to their vices. It is not too much to go by train to the theatre, the dance, the cricket match, the football match, or the golf links, but to walk a quarter of a mile to church is ‘too much for you.’ Very often also as men grow rich they learn the worship of the golden calf. An income of £200 attends church, but an income of £2000 stays away. Men need God’s help till they grow rich and then they feel independent of Him. The passbook from the bank and the shares and stocks in the paper are more studied than the Bible; and the summer-house in the garden is the shrine of a little quiet Mammon-worship while the wife and children ‘have gone up to Jerusalem.’ London bows down to the golden calf and carefully observes the ritual of money-making.

Rev. C. H. Grundy.