people of mine go up to Jerusalem to keep their feasts," he said to himself, "they will see Rehoboam reigning there, and it will not be long before they will want Rehoboam for their king. I must keep them here with me, separate from the tribes of Rehoboam." So he said to his people, "It is too far to journey to Jerusalem to worship. Let us build altars of our own, offer our own sacrifices, and worship in our own way."

So Jeroboam set up two golden images, and said to his people again, "Worship these; for it was these that brought our fathers forth from the wilderness." Then Jeroboam built beautiful temples for the idols, one at Bethel and one at Dan; and to these the people came with their offerings. He made feasts also for the people, to be kept at Bethel; instead of the feasts which the Lord long ago com

manded the Israelites to keep at Jerusalem. More than all these:— Jeroboam chose wicked men for his priests, and these were to dwell in the houses of the idols, and to offer up sacrifices to them; for he would allow no priests of the Lord to offer sacrifices to God.

Because of this, all the priests and the Levites who were living in the land of the ten tribes, went away to Jerusalem to live; and many others who would not worship the idols went with them, and served Rehoboam as their king. Jeroboam sinned deeply in preventing the people of the ten tribes from going to Jerusalem, where God had commanded them to worship, and in teaching them to worship the golden calves that he had set up. But the people also sinned with him; for many of them willingly obeyed him, and worshipped the idols, caring not to go to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.

One day Jeroboam was standing in the temple of his idols. On the altar, incense was burning to the idol which was at Bethel. There came to him a prophet out of the land of Judah, who said, " Behold, a king shall be born in Judah, named Josiah, who shall come and burn men's bones upon this altar. Then shall it be defiled, and spoiled, and made unclean. This may not happen for many years; but that Jeroboam may know it will surely come true, this altar shall be broken and its ashes emptied out upon the ground this very day."

Jeroboam was angry at the prophet. He stretched out his hand to take hold of him; but as it was stretched out, the Lord made it grow so stiff and withered that he could not draw it back again. The altar was broken also, even as the prophet had said, and its

ashes were scattered on the ground. When Jeroboam saw what the Lord had done, he was terrified, and begged the prophet to pray that his hand might be made well. The prophet did pray for him, and his hand was made well.

Then Jeroboam said to the prophet, “Come home with me and rest thyself, and I will give thee great rewards." But the prophet answered, "Though thou thou wouldst give me half of all the riches in thine house, I cannot go with thee, neither can I eat bread nor drink water in this place. For the Lord has commanded me, saying, 'Eat no bread, and drink no water there; nor come back by the same way that thou goest.'"

So the prophet turned and went back by another way, to his own land of Judah. Now, there was living at Bethel an old man whọ

also was a prophet. And when his sons came and told him what the prophet from Judah had done, the old prophet at Bethel asked them which way he went. When he heard, he said to them, "Saddle the ass for me." And they saddled it, and the old man followed after the prophet. When, after a long, long ride he came up with him, he found him sitting under an oak. "Art thou the prophet that came from Judah?" he said to him. He answered, "I am."

Come home

Then the old man said, with me and eat bread." But the prophet from Judah said, "I may not go with thee, nor eat bread nor drink water in this place, for the Lord has commanded me, saying, 'Thou shall not eat bread nor drink water there, nor come back by the way that thou goest.' Then the the old man said to him, "But I also am a