Page 249 - Bible History

222 GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE UNDER KINGS
state religion. He built two temples in which he set up golden calves, one in the northern part of his king­ dom, in the city of Dan; the other, in the south, in the city of Bethel. The priests came from the lowest ranks of the people. Any man who could furnish a bullock and seven rams for sacri ce could be made a priest. Jeroboam permitted many altars of sacri ce to be erected throughout his kingdom.
Nation, and appealed to the patriotism of the pepple. There Abraham had settled when he rst came from Ur into the Land of Promise. Jacob too had lived there for some time after his return from the house of Laban. Both Abraham and Jacob had built altars in Sichem and Jacob had dug a well nearby. It was in the elds of Sichem that Joseph looked for his brothers, and there his bones were buried when the Israelites returned from Egypt. Later Jeroboam moved his
capital to the city of Thersa.
Shortly after the institution of the state religion,
Jeroboam made Sichem his capital. This city was
Jero-
::jrt closely connected with the founders of the Jewish
Josias'
war
Jeroboam worshiped before the golden calf at Bethel. On this occasion, a prophet from the kingdom of Juda prophesied to him. He foretold that a future king, Josias, would burn the false priests upon an altar. He gave them a sign that the people might know that his prophe would be ful lled. He said that the altar of worship was about to be b oken and the ashes scat­ tered about on the ground. On hearing these words, Jeroboam pointed to the prophet with his hand, and ordered him to be taken captive. The hand with which