No. 2.
THERE was of old a sanctity attached to places by God Himself. “Loose thy shoe from off thy foot, for the place whereon thou standest is holy.” The presence of the Lord, before whom Joshua stood, rendered it holy ground. Place was an essential element in Israel’s worship of the true God. “Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt-offerings in every place that thou seest; but in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of thy tribes; there thou shalt offer thy burnt-offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee.” (Deut. 12:13, 1413Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest: 14But in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee. (Deuteronomy 12:13‑14).)
But history has shown that man is willing to honor a place, above the God who hallowed it by His presence, and strenuously to contend for the sanctity of a place, whilst living in open sin, and ignorance of God. Sanctity of place was the essence of the religion of the woman of Samaria, when the Lord Jesus so graciously taught her the connection between salvation and worship, and that the name of the Father being revealed, place was no longer an element in the true worship of God.
The early history of Bethel, so connected with the grace and faithfulness of God, has been considered in a former paper. Its latter history is sorrowful, yet instructive. In the days of Samuel, Bethel was an honored place. “Samuel went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places.” But Bethel follows the path of Israel’s declension; and its history proves how the policy of man has ever used even the sacred things of God to elevate himself, and to corrupt the truth of God. In the declension which began in the latter years of Solomon, and which speedily issued in rending the kingdom of Israel into two parts, Jeroboam acted on the true principle of political expediency―making the things of God subservient to his own interest. “And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: if this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord ... . Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and 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. And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.....So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel.” (1 Kings 12:26-3326And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: 27If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. 28Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and 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. 29And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other put he in Dan. 30And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. 31And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. 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 offered upon 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 which he had made. 33So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Beth-el the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense. (1 Kings 12:26‑33).)
There was much “fleshly wisdom” in Jeroboam fixing on Bethel as the chief place of his State-religion. Bethel was indeed hallowed in its tradition. The ten tribes who revolted from the house of David, would look back to their common father, Jacob, with veneration, and gladly recognize the visions and the promises of Bethel. So in after-time, the woman of Samaria held the tradition of Jacob’s well, and spoke of “our father Jacob,” when she was in utter ignorance of Jacob’s God. Again later, the zeal of Christendom was called forth to rescue “the holy places” hallowed by the footsteps, ministry, and death of the Lord Jesus Christ, from the pollution of Mahomedanism; when, with the largest stretch of charity, we are forced to conclude, that the vast majority of those engaged in this so-called holy warfare were as ignorant of the person, the grace, and the work of the Lord Jesus, as the woman of Samaria. Sanctity of place, and traditions of history, they maintained, but of a present salvation, as the ground-work of true holiness, they were alike ignorant. Bethel, from the days of Jeroboam, became the fountain of corruption to Israel. Thus, though Jehu “destroyed Baal out of Israel, howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan.” (2 Kings 1:28, 29.) The positive worship of another god, as that of Baal, might be overthrown; but the corruption of the truth of God still remained. And this corruption issued in the judgment of God on Israel.
The contemporary prophets to Hosea and Amos alike raised their testimony against Bethel. Gilgal, an honored place indeed, where the Lord had rolled away from Israel the reproach of Egypt, is coupled by both these prophets with Bethel, significantly changed by Hosea from Bethel, the house of God, to Bethaven, the house of wickedness. (Hos. 4:1515Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Beth-aven, nor swear, The Lord liveth. (Hosea 4:15).) And Amos thus taunts those to whom he speaks: “Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years: and offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven.... for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord God.” (Amos 4:4, 54Come to Beth-el, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years: 5And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord God. (Amos 4:4‑5).) Yes, man liketh to make religion subservient to his own interests and lusts. What are baptismal and wedding festivities, for the most part, but the transgressions of Bethel and Gilgal? ―God only thought of to sanction human convenience. But Bethel had a strong hold on the mind of Israel; it was intimately connected with state policy, and with priestly influence; and the testimony of Amos against the idolatry of Bethel was mixed up with his testimony against the sin of the king and of the people. “Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent to Jeroboam, king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words. For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led captive out of their own land. Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there: but prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king’s chapel, and it is the king’s court.” (Amos 7:10-1310Then Amaziah the priest of Beth-el sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words. 11For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land. 12Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there: 13But prophesy not again any more at Beth-el: for it is the king's chapel, and it is the king's court. (Amos 7:10‑13).)
The history of Bethel is, in fact, the history of the tendency of man to turn the blessing of God into corruption―a fearful principle―but one to be more fully and fearfully illustrated in the corruption and judgment of Christendom. Take another place, Shiloh; and hear the Lord’s testimony by the mouth of Jeremiah: “But go ye now unto My place which was in Shiloh, where I set My name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of My people Israel.” But was it better when the Lord set His name at Jerusalem, and so solemnly took possession of the Temple which Solomon had raised for His house? Let the prophet be heard: “Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by My name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.” (Jer. 7:12, 1412But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. (Jeremiah 7:12)
14Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. (Jeremiah 7:14).) The Lord Jesus, the Prophet so long expected, found that the house of God had become a den of thieves, and leaves it as their house under the curse of desolation. All this is solemnly instructive, and should lead to much searching of heart. Is it God Himself we have to do with? or are we content to take up with a place and persons, accrediting them, and in return being accredited by them? It is easy to see the principles of corruption at work in the great professing body, but it is profitable to detect the working of them in our own hearts. The sin which does so easily beset us is unbelief. We are solemnly warned to take heed lest there be in any of us an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. This tendency shows itself in various ways. Our wily adversary will take advantage of anything to make us depart from the living God. It is into nearness with God that we are brought by the blood of Jesus, and we do well to see that this nearness be realized by us. One Christian may be occupied with his gifts, another with his graces, another with his zeal and devotedness, so that these things come in between him and the living God. It is whilst we realize the power of the cross in bringing us to God that we are kept in our right place―a place of entire dependence on God. Such is the deceitfulness of our hearts, that things, truly valuable in themselves, become our object, instead of God Himself. Bethel displaces the God of Bethel; the Temple, the Lord of the Temple; and an object, laudable in itself, displaces Christ from His rightful supremacy. How much do we need the eye-salve from Him who can anoint us, that we may see dearly. O Lord, give to us a single eye, that our whole body may be full of light!