Metaphysical Bible Interpretation of I Kings Chapter 12
Metaphysically Interpreting I Kings 12:1-19
12:1And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king. 12:2And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was yet in Egypt, whither he had fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt, 12:3and they sent and called him), that Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying, 12:4Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee. 12:5And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed.
12:6And king Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, What counsel give ye me to return answer to this people? 12:7And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever. 12:8But he forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and took counsel with the young men that were grown up with him, that stood before him. 12:9And he said unto them, What counsel give ye, that we may return answer to this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke that thy father did put upon us lighter? 12:10And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou say unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou speak unto them, My little finger is thicker than my father's loins. 12:11And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
12:12So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king bade, saying, Come to me again the third day. 12:13And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him,12:14and spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. 12:15So the king hearkened not unto the people; for it was a thing brought about of Jehovah, that he might establish his word, which Jehovah spake by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
12:16And when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying,
What portion have we in David?
neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse:
to your tents, O Israel:
now see to thine own house, David.So Israel departed unto their tents. 12:17But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. 12:18Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the men subject to taskwork; and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. And king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. 12:19So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.
January 1, 1910: I Kings 12:6-16
A divided mind is to be deplored. It may end in division of soul and body. Those who get into their minds the idea that they have enemies who are plotting against them usually become mentally unbalanced. In order to develop harmoniously, the mind must have some central idea around which it builds its kingdom. This central idea should be of the highest, in other words, God. When man has centralized his kingdom in God, he becomes true, pure, honest, righteous in all ways, and just in thought and deed.
Solomon in his early reign was all this, but he did stand up under prosperity. The sensuous nature became dominant, and he had to levy heavy taxes upon his people to keep up the expenditure of substance. When man revels in the sensuous nature, as did Solomon, the vitality of the whole organism is drawn upon. Thus all the people of the kingdom are taxed. When this is carried to a point where the God-loving man loses his original character and becomes a conceited, profligate, we are informed in Scripture that Solomon died and his son Rehoboam reigned in his stead. It has been said that “Solomon had a thousand wives, but only one son, and he was a fool.”
Rehoboam is the selfish ignoramus that a thousand sensuous thoughts has brought forth in the man. Give yourself up to the sense side of your mind wholly and you will eventually find your kingdom divided. No man can divorce himself from God and be sane. He will sooner or later develop some phase of mental aberration.
But the natural unity of the system seeks to sustain itself. There is always a strong natural tendency toward unity and homogeneity in the man constitution. This is innate in its very being.
The ten tribes that have revolted, and set up a separate kingdom in the mountains of Israel under Jeroboam, represent a certain intellectual rebellion against sensual excesses. These strive to harmonize and unify the nature, but the thoroughly sensualized Rehoboam will have none of it. Listening to the young men of his realm, who represent the inexperienced, he meets all advances with a wild threat of further tyranny and greater burdens.
Judah represents the central faculty of consciousness. It may be roughly described as the focal point of body organization. Its physical expression is the spinal cord, yet this is but the visibility of an invisible energy. This energy or mind-substance at the very center of the man is susceptible of the highest and the lowest. It is the serpent that may resist Divine Wisdom and crawl upon its belly in the dust of materiality, or it may be lifted up and exalted to the most high place among the faculties of man. When it is sensualized, it becomes Judas, who had a devil. It is related that the only tribe that followed Rehoboam was Judah. Thus persistent sensuality vitiated the very core of the man, and he lost complete control of his other faculties. This is often observed in people who have lived on the sense plane until they are animals in human forms.
Yet it is hinted in verse 15 that this division of the kingdom was “brought about of Jehovah, that he might establish his word.” “God works in a mysterious way his wonders to perform,” and it is not for us to say that those in the depths of sense consciousness will not work out their salvation in due season.
- UNITY magazine
November 17, 1918: I Kings. 12:6-16
Who was “Rehoboam”? “Rehoboam” was the son of Solomon, and king of Israel.
What is the meaning of “Rehoboam” and what does “Rehoboam” represent in consciousness? “Rehoboam” means “who frees the people.” “Rehoboam” is that in man's consciousness which exalts the senses.
Why did “Solomon” (Wisdom) bring forth a son who was considered evil and a fool? “Solomon” (Wisdom), one who was mighty in his understanding and use of God-given riches, appropriated the wealth of Israel (body-consciousness) for his own selfish and sensuous pleasures. “Rehoboam” is the fruit of many sensuous and insane thought habits. “Solomon had a thousand wives, but only one son, and he was a fool.”
What takes place in Israel (body-consciousness) during the reign of “Rehoboam” (sense side of mind)? When sense thoughts and personal will dominate, the kingdom is divided. This results in various forms of insanity, weaknesses, and inharmonies throughout the mind and body.
What is the meaning of “Jeroboam”? “Jeroboam” means “who opposes the people.”
What in consciousness does Jeroboam's withdrawal of the ten tribes of Israel from the kingdom of Rehoboam represent? Here is represented man's withdrawal into intellectual realms of consciousness, thus leaving the life forces to express after the dominant ideas in body-consciousness.
Why did the ten tribes of Israel fail to prosper and grow spiritually under the leadership of Jeroboam? States of consciousness not founded upon Principle must be broken up and reorganized. The ten tribes (faculties of mind) had withdrawn from “Judah” (the central faculty of consciousness). This faculty operates in body-consciousness through the spinal cord, and finds its outer expression through the life center, which, unregenerated, is “Judas,” who had a devil. When life is separated from the other faculties, and endeavors to express without their cooperation, man gives himself over to his animal nature.
How does man work out his salvation, even when he has broken the natural laws of Being? Man's salvation comes through remembering his innate spirituality. The Israelites are God's chosen people, and there is ever at the center of consciousness a Divine urge to return to God, and a sure feeling that the fullness of good is man's birthright. The Spirit of Truth is ever present seeking to reveal the Son to man, and man will receive the Word, when he has convinced himself of the nothingness of mortal efforts to set up a personal kingdom.
January 1, 1922: I Kings 12:12-17
The division of the kingdom of Israel was the separation between the objective and subjective planes of consciousness, “which continues to this day” in those who live in sense consciousness. This break has not yet been united, and the “middle wall of partition” still continues. But “these twain” are made one through Christ. When we take up the study of Truth, our first revelation is of the unity of all things in God. This unity includes mind and body, and we begin at once to make the at-one-ment through Christ the Truth. This, in its simplest aspect, brings about a uniting of the intellect, which is the objective, or Jeroboam, kingdom, and the natural life force of the organism, which is the subjective, or Rehoboam, kingdom. This lesson shows how the intellect, or objective, plane of consciousness sets up a separate government and system of religious worship.
Jeroboam, whose name means “adverse are the people,” perceives that, in order to preserve the separation of the people, or thoughts of an external character, from the realm within, he must establish objects of worship. Man is inherently religious, and when he turns away mentally from the Divine Mind, he makes some object of sense his god.
July 16, 1939: I Kings 12:1-5
What is symbolized by the journey of Rehoboam to Shechem to be made king? Shechem means “a burden,” “shoulder.” Until man realizes that he is responsible for the orderly action of his subjective forces (Rehoboam) and undertakes to discharge that responsibility, he cannot be said to control his religious convictions(Israel) but rather loses them.
What does the recall of Jeroboam from Egypt by the Israelites signify? The adverse consciousness or intellect (Jeroboam) separates itself from sense consciousness (Egypt) in the man whose ambition is aroused to the point of ruling his convictions (Israel) and turning them to his temporal advantage.
Rehoboam's father (Solomon) represents peace. How can peace put a heavy yoke on man? Peace at the cost of freedom is too heavy a burden to be borne long. Only Truth makes man wholly free. Peace may be imposed from without instead of springing up spontaneously within man. Its quality and value are always subject to reappraisal in the light of the specific facts of each case.
Rehoboam sent the assembly of Israel away with instructions to come to him again the third day. What does this mean? When man fails to develop his subjective consciousness so as to express his innate wisdom, he finds himself unqualified for coming to a decision even when his religious convictions (the assembly of Israel) are involved. Inexperience does not make for stability of faith or depth of conviction.
Has the three-day interval that Rehoboam fixed any significance? The three days refer to the three phases of life, physical, mental, spiritual. One of the three is uppermost in every decision.
July 16, 1939: I Kings 12:12-17
What is represented by the old men and the young men whose advice Rehoboam sought? The old men represent the voice of precedent or experience, of which inexperience may avail itself. The young men represent the rashness of untrained impulse, when given free rein and the pride of personality hungering to be put to the test.
What phase of man's being got the ascendancy in Rehoboam's answer to the people? The rashness of the physical man dominated all the rest. “The king answered the people roughly, and forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him.”
How is Jehovah concerned in a choice between two evils, one the cunning op selfish ambition, the other pride of position and the rashness of inexperience? Jehovah, the divine law, gives preference to discipline and training. Jeroboam had weighed his chances of success, knew his people and understood how to lead them. He had controlled them at their work and felt equal to governing them in all matters. Rehoboam had net profited by the proverbs of his father Solomon, and was without qualifications for rulership.
May 4, 1947: I Kings 12:1-5
Jointly considered, what do Rehoboam and Jeroboam represent? They represent the divided mind. Both names refer to the people, the name Rehoboam meaning “He enlarges the people” and Jeroboam “adverse people.”
In an individual sense what are our “people”? People represent thoughts. Our people are therefore the thoughts that we entertain.
Is the meaning of the name Rehoboam connected in any way with the senses? Yes, with that in us which exalts the senses. Consequently it implies lack of good judgment. Rehoboam was forced to ask counsel of others before deciding the first matter submitted to him.
Why did the kings go to Shechem to be crowned? Shechem (“shoulder,” “a burden”), signifying a burden-bearing attitude of mind, was a fitting place to assume the responsibility of a kingdom. The responsibilities of rulership are heavy and should be assumed in a spirit of humility and devotion.
May 4, 1947: I Kings 12:12-15
When we assume responsibilities that we are not fitted to discharge, what is the outcome? Unless we act on the counsel of those who are well qualified to give advice, we fail. Rehoboam was not qualified even to recognize the wisdom of the counsel that he received or to know wisdom from folly. Failure was therefore inevitable for him.
What requirement must be met before we can have universal harmony or agreement? We must learn to work with others and realize that our good consists in co-operation rather than in discord, dissension, or unfair advantage seized and held.
Metaphysically Interpreting I Kings 12:20-24
12:20And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was returned, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.
12:21And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, and the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, that were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 12:22But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 12:23Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying, 12:24Thus saith Jehovah, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is of me. So they hearkened unto the word of Jehovah, and returned and went their way, according to the word of Jehovah.
April 6, 1924: I Kings 12:12-20
What does Rehoboam represent in this lesson? Rehoboam represents the will ruling in sense consciousness.
When man gives up his will to the sense side of his nature, what follows? When man wills to live for the pleasures of sensation alone, his higher thoughts segregate and form a state of consciousness under another leader, represented in this lesson by Jeroboam.
What is the meaning of Rehoboam’s increasing the tax on the Israelites? Taxation is the burden that falls upon man as the result of unwise use of substance, Solomon was extravagant, and his son Rehoboam was profligate, so the people rebelled.
It is generally accepted that the division which took place between the tribes of the children of Israel is typical of the division between the spiritual and the material consciousness in the human family. Has the breach ever been mended? The separation between the spiritual and the material in the race thought was never more pronounced than at the present time. The ten tribes sat still scattered and lost to history, and the one tribe, Judah is reigning in material affairs with but very little spiritual light, represented by Benjamin (faith).
What is the remedy for this condition, and how are the ten tribes to be gathered together and unified with Judah and Benjamin? According to Scripture the reunion is to take place by the reign of Christ, “and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.”
Where may the ten tribes be found? The ten tribes are scattered throughout the worlds worshiping God as Christians, but divided into many sects; they are not unified, because they lack spiritual understanding of what Jesus Christ taught.
How will the real teaching of Jesus be revealed that all Christians may be unified and the twelve tribes be combined under one head? A new revelation of the Scripture is now being broadcast in the world, a revelation that teaches the spiritual character of God, of Christ as the divine idea and of man as the manifestation of that idea.
Will the Christian nations rule the world? Yes, the Christian nations will rule the world just as the spiritual nature of man rules his mind and his body, when the Christ mind is established in his consciousness.
September 18, 1927: I Kings 12:12-20
What is the central theme of today’s lesson? The central theme of today’s lesson is a divided mind, with the causes leading up to it and the results.
What does Rehoboam represent? Rehoboam signifies the selfish, sensuous ego which Solomon's sensuous thinking had evolved, until it had become the ruling thought in consciousness, hence the will of man, or the king.
Why should Solomon, the wise, have brought forth the ignorant profligate, Rehoboam? The Bible tells us: “Solomon loved many foreign women ... of the nations concerning which Jehovah said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go among them, neither shall they come among you; for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.”
What is the [meaning] of the foreign women that Solomon loved? The foreign women that Solomon loved signify the carnal thoughts and desires that wisdom has failed to discipline and raise to spiritual consciousness. Emerson once advised that we turn our passions into poems.
When man gives himself up to the sense side of his nature, what results? When man gives himself wholly to the sense side of his mind, he eventually finds his kingdom divided. When he has divorced himself from God, he cannot continue to be sane; sooner or later he develops some mental aberration. Spirit, soul, and body, under divine law, are one and their unity of system ever seeks to sustain itself.
What is represented by the ten tribes that revolted against Renoboam? The ten tribes that revolted and set up a separate kingdom under Jeroboam represent intellectual rebellion against sensual excess. These ten strive to harmonize and unify the nature, but the thoroughly sensualized ego will have none of it.
What is represented by Judah? Judah represents the central faculty of consciousness. This faculty may be roughly described as the focal point of the body organization. The energy, or mind substance, at the very center of the man is susceptible to the highest and to the lowest impulses. The tribe of Judah followed Rehoboam; thus persistent sensuality vitiates the very core of the selfish ego and causes it to lose control of the other faculties.
Under what power will the reconciliation between man's Judah faculties and the rest of his Israel faculties take place? The Scriptures teach that all the children of Israel shall be gathered to Christ, who will reign to the end of the ages. Christ represents the divine ego in man. This ego, or supermind, is to become the central will in all persons who acknowledge the divine law: “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
July 16, 1939: I Kings 12:20
Only Judah remained loyal to Rehoboam. What does this pact imply? The tribe of Judah here represents the central faculty of consciousness. Its intensive development could have redeemed the subjective consciousness which Rehoboam represents, but for the fact that he allowed persistent sensuality to vitiate the very core of his nature, until he lost control of his other faculties. He lived exclusively on the sense plane.
– UNITY magazine.
May 4, 1947: I Kings 12:19-20
Can international concord be learned or practiced by peoples who are themselves disunited? No. Each nation must learn to act as a political, economic, and social unit, coordinating its powers and joining its forces to achieve internal peace and prosperity.
What makes national unity possible? Citizens who have learned to integrate their powers, avoid the divided mind, and devote themselves to the discharge of their duty as citizens out of regard for the welfare of the whole people rather than for personal profit.
How may we achieve one world? By working toward that end with a common will and an understanding of the factors involved, as well as an understanding of the interests of others as at least equal in importance to our own.
May 13, 1951: I Kings 12:20
What does the division of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah represent? It represents the divided mind. Israel represents the intellect or the objective consciousness; Judah represents the natural or life forces of the organism, the subjective consciousness.
Metaphysically Interpreting I Kings 12:25-33
12:25Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and he went out from thence, and built Penuel. 12:26And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now will the kingdom return to the house of David: 12:27if this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem, then will the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me, and return to Rehoboam king of Judah. 12:28Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold; and he said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 12:29And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other put he in Dan. 12:30And this thing became a sin; for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. 12:31And he made houses of high places, and made priests from among all the people, that were not of the sons of Levi. 12:32And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he went up unto the altar; so did he in Beth-el, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Beth-el the priests of the high places that he had made. 12:33And he went up unto the altar which he had made in Beth-el on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart: and he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and went up unto the altar, to burn incense.
January 8, 1911: I Kings 12:25-33
The division of the kingdom was the separation between the objective and subjective planes of consciousness, “which continues to this day,” to those who live in sense consciousness. This break has hot yet been united, and the “middle wall of partition” still continues. But “these twain” are made one through Christ. When we take up the study of Truth our first revelation is of the unity of all things in God. This unity includes mind and body, and we begin at once to make the at-one-ment through Christ the Truth. This in its simplest aspect brings about a uniting of the intellect, which is the objective or Jeroboam kingdom, and the natural life forces of the organism, which is the subjective or Rehoboam kingdom. But this lesson shows how the intellect or objective plane of consciousness set up a separate government and system of religious worship.
Jeroboam, whose name means “adverse are the people,” perceives that, in order to preserve the separation of the people, or thoughts of an external character, from the realm within, he must establish objects of worship. Man is inherently religious, and when he turns away mentally from the Divine Mind, he makes some object of sense his god.
Gold is, and always has been, the god of the intellect. The worship of the golden calves is not merely a Bible story of what once took place in a small kingdom of the East, but it has today a significance of tremendous import. An official of experience in governmental affairs once said that with money, he could buy the influence of any kingdom on earth. This universal bowing down to wealth is abnormal, and has its foundation in a divided mind.
Centers of consciousness have been established at Bethel and Dan. Bethel is the intellectual heart, and Dan the intellectual head, one in the north and the other in the south. Houses of worship are established all over the land, called the “churches of God,” and priests officiate therein “which are not of the sons of Levi.”
All observances of the true worship are imitated, and the “feasts” of soul are carried out in cold formality. This sin of idolatry has its ramifications in every department of intellectual life. It places a greater value upon material things than upon spiritual; thus the whole creative process is stopped, so far as man's individual well-being is concerned.
The remedy for all this lies in a unification of the within and the without, through spiritual understanding and power. Jesus showed the way to make this unity, and he is our only safe guide.
- UNITY magazine.
November 24, 1918: I Kings 12:25-33
What phases of consciousness do the “Rehoboam” and “Jeroboam” kingdoms stand for? The “Rehoboam” kingdom stands for the natural life forces of the organism, or the subjective consciousness. The “Jeroboam” kingdom is the intellect, or the objective consciousness.
What in consciousness is represented by the division of the “Israelites” into the two kingdoms under the rulership of “Rehoboam” and “Jeroboam?” The division of the “Israelites” into two kingdoms represents the separation between the subjective and objective planes of consciousness.
What causes this separation in consciousness? In the subjective consciousness is stored the memory of past experiences, also the “book of the law” as given by Moses. Through recognition of these stored up treasures, and constant looking to the one true God for help, man comes surely, step by step, into his Divine birthright: Sonship. The intellect perceives powers and possibilities beyond its present demonstration and endeavors to make a “short cut” in the attainment and use of these possessions. “Jeroboam took counsel with the young men.”
What is the state of man while this separation in consciousness lasts? Man lives in sense consciousness so long as he fails to unify the intellect and its activities with the wisdom of the subjective mind, wherein is also the life force of the organism.
Why does “Jeroboam” make false gods to worship? Man is inherently religious, and when he turns away mentally from the Divine Mind he becomes restless. If he is being ruled by his intellect he naturally turns to the objective world and makes some house of worship, a personality, material things, or an object of sense, his god.
What is the true worship? The true worship is the recognition of God as omnipresent Spirit, and the realization and identification of man as spiritual Being.
What is the result of true worship? When man takes up the study of Truth he begins to feel the quickening of the Spirit. Spiritual understanding shows man that mind and body must be united, and both thoughts and acts come under the dominion of the spiritual I Am, or the Christ Mind. As the mind is opened to receive this Truth, it flows into consciousness, a cleansing, purifying, strengthening, illuminating stream of life and light.
January 1, 1922: I Kings 12:26-30
Gold is, and always has been, the god of the intellect. The worship of the golden calves is not merely a Bible story of what once took place in a small kingdom of the East, but it has today a significance of tremendous import. An official in governmental affairs once said that with money, he could buy the influence of any kingdom on earth. This bowing down to wealth is abnormal, and has its foundation in a divided mind.
Centers of consciousness have been established at Bethel and Dan. Bethel is the intellectual heart, and Dan the intellectual head, one in the north and the other in the south. Houses of worship, called the “churches of God,” are established all over the land, and priests officiate therein “which are not of the sons of Levi.”
All observances of the true worship are imitated, and the “feasts” of soul are carried out in cold formality. The sin of idolatry has its ramifications in every department of intellectual life. It places a greater value upon material things than upon spiritual; thus the whole creative process is stopped, so far as man's individual well-being is concerned.
The remedy for all discord lies in a unification of the within and the without, through spiritual understanding and power. Jesus showed the way to make this unity, and he is our only safe guide.
- UNITY magazine.
May 13, 1945: I Kings 12:26-30
What divided the kingdom over which Saul, David, and Solomon had ruled? Rehoboam's failure to understand that all men are one and that the individual has certain inalienable rights that are interfered with or abrogated at one's peril.
What two kingdoms or realms within the individual are represented by Rehoboam and Jeroboam, respectively? The subconscious and the conscious mind, the former by Rehoboam and the latter by Jeroboam. The two should blend in one.
Where is the conscious mind centered? In the intellect. More often than not it is governed by motives of policy. Jeroboam introduced the worship of Baal into Israel to keep the people from returning to Jerusalem and to insure their continued loyalty to himself.
Why were golden calves used to represent gods? The calves were intended as symbols of the vigor and power of God, but these forms represented also the lowest degree of mentality, so low that God as mind or Spirit was lost sight of altogether and the form worshiped instead. The gold represented the pricelessness of the Creator in the mind of His creatures, but the images soon became the objects of worship to the exclusion of their underlying symbolism.
Is idolatry altogether a thing of the past? No, it is still found in all forms of materiality, such as the worship of wealth or material success, worldly honor or power, and personality in all its phases.
May 13, 1945: I Kings 12:26-30
He who is master of his faculties and in control of the inner powers that give him dominion over his life is one whose mind is not a divided mind but a unified and indivisible one. His objective and subjective natures are fused one with the other and act in complete unison. His condition is represented by the Hebrew kingdom under the reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon. The divided mind is represented by the kingdoms of Israel and Judah from the time of Jeroboam and Rehoboam onward. The objective consciousness is Jeroboam, the subjective Rehoboam.
The objective consciousness is centered in the intellect and looks to outer sources for its inspiration and guidance. Jeroboam introduced idolatry into Israel as a matter of policy, in order to make his own position secure. From that time onward, possibly for two hundred years, the people worshiped Baal.
The religious nature of man demands satisfactions and If the divine Spirit is hidden from him, he worships some material concept of God: Those who are ruled by the intellect naturally turn to the objective world for an object of worship. Some worship material success, others a personality, still others wealth or some other object of sense. Baal has many worshipers today; the name Baal means “lord” and all concepts of the Lord, as that which has form rather than as formless universal mind, are Baal.
– UNITY magazine.
Transcribed by Lloyd Kinder on 02-07-2014
