horses, his servants great and small, his singing men and singing women? He knew that wisdom exceeded folly, as far as light exceeded darkness; that the wise man's eyes were in his head, but the eyes of the fool were in the ends of the earth: and yet to him it was all vanity, for one thing happened alike to the wise man and the fool-they must both die, and be like water spilled upon the ground. Wise Solomon had grown weary of his wisdom; glorious Solomon was tired of his glory; and he felt that the day of death was better than the day of one's birth; that sorrow was better than laughter; that wisdom was vexation of spirit, and merriment the crackling of thorns under a pot. There is something very painful in the consideration of the weariness of this old man; he was marked out as the type of the highest style of wisdom to all succeeding ages, to all countries and to all times, and there in his dotage he sat, amongst a thousand women, and forgot the God who made him. He felt his wisdom, as the shadow of death came over him, to be all folly, and that better is a poor and wise child than an old and foolish king; that all the display in the world, all the wealth that can be accumulated, is but vanity and vexation of spirit. As to the women who in his aged-infancy led him into idolatrous practices-what of the whole thousand that called him Lord! what could he say, but that, "Behold this have I found, counting one by one to find out the account, one man among a thousand have I found faithful, but a woman among a thousand I have not found."

The glory of Solomon painfully disappears, and a fool sits on the throne.

CHAPTER X.

JUDAH AND ISRAEL.-FROM B.C. 975 TO B.C. 914.

Rehoboam ascends the Throne, and by his folly loses Ten of the Tribes, who form themselves under Jeroboam into the Kingdom of Israel-Jeroboam turns the People to Idolatry-The Golden Heifers--Shechem made the Capital of Israel-Description of Nablous-Invasion by Shishak of Judah-His Wonderful Successes-Capitulation of Jerusalem-Abijam succeeds Rehoboam, and defeats Jeroboam-Baasha kills Nadab and seizes the Crown-Concerning King Asa of Israel—Timri's Treachery-Capital of Israel transferred to Samaria-Baal Worship-Ahab and Jezebel-The Sacrifice at Carmel-Benhadad the Syrian-Jehoshaphat forms an Alliance with Ahab-Naboth's Vineyard-Death of Ahab.

REHOBOAM the son of Solomon, by an Ammonite wife named Naamah, succeeded to his father's throne-at the least he laid claim to it, but he had in one Jeroboam a powerful adversary. This Jeroboam was a man of very considerable ability, and Solomon had placed him in an honourable post; but when Solomon went astray and turned to idolatry, it was predicted that his kingdom should be taken from him-not in his days, but in those of his son. An aged seer had met with Jeroboam and foretold this thing to him, "Thou shalt be king hereafter;' the seer had taken off his own garment and torn it into twelve pieces, ten of which he gave to Jeroboam, thereby intimating that ten of the twelve tribes would one day be under his rule.

Intelligence of what had occurred appears to have reached the ears of Solomon, and he attempted to take the life of Jeroboam, who found a safe asylum in Egypt. Thence, on the death of Solomon, he was summoned by several of the principal men, and with them waited on the new king to ascertain what line of policy he intended to adopt. They complained in strong terms of what they had suffered in the late king's reign. "Thy father made our yoke grievous."

The fact seems to be, that it was under Solomon that the Israelites first strongly experienced the consequences which Samuel had long before told them would result from their determination to have a king to reign over them. It is clear that Solomon's vast establishments and expensive undertakings required a very large revenue, and that no means were left untried