Thematic Bible: Statecraft


Thematic Bible



And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David if this people go up to sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem; for the heart of this people shall turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam, king of Judah, and they shall kill me and go again to Rehoboam, king of Judah. And having taken counsel, the king made two calves of gold and said unto the people, 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. read more.
And he set the one in Bethel and the other he put in Dan. And this became an occasion for sin, for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. And he made a house of high places and made priests of the lowest of the people, who were not of the sons of Levi. Then Jeroboam ordained a solemnity in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the solemnity that was celebrated in Judah; and he sacrificed upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made. He also ordered in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. So he sacrificed upon the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, the month which he had devised of his own heart, and made a feast unto the sons of Israel; and he climbed up on the altar to burn incense.

Then the people said unto Samuel, Who were those that said, Shall Saul reign over us? Bring the men, that we may put them to death. And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day, for today the LORD has wrought salvation in Israel. Then Samuel said to the people, Come, and let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there. read more.
And all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal, and there they sacrificed sacrifices of peace offerings before the LORD, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

And Nathan spoke unto Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah, the son of Haggith, reigns without David our lord knowing of it? Now, therefore, come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel that thou may deliver thine own life and the life of thy son Solomon. Go and enter in unto King David and say unto him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear unto thy handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon, thy son, shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? Why then does Adonijah reign? read more.
And while thou art yet speaking there with the king, I also will come in after thee and finish thy words.

And when money failed in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph and said, Give us bread, for why should we die in thy presence for the money fails? And Joseph said, Give your livestock, and I will give you for your livestock if the money has failed. And they brought their livestock unto Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses and for the sheep and for the bovine livestock and for the asses, and he fed them with bread for all their livestock that year. read more.
When that year was ended, they came unto him the second year and said unto him, We will not hide it from my lord how that the money is gone; my lord also has our herds of cattle; there is not nothing left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies and our lands. Why shall we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be slaves unto Pharaoh, and give us seed that we may live, and not die, that the land not be desolate. Then Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for each one of the Egyptians sold his field because the famine prevailed over them; so the land became Pharaoh's. And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end thereof. Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had a portion assigned them of Pharaoh and ate their portion which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their lands. Then Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh; behold, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land. And it shall come to pass in the increase that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own for seed of the field and for your food and for those of your households and for food for your little ones. And they said, Thou hast saved our lives; let us find grace in the sight of my lord that we might be Pharaoh's slaves. And Joseph made it a statute over the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part; except the land of the priests only, which did not become Pharaoh's.

And the king spoke unto Ashpenaz the prince of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the sons of Israel of the royal lineage of the princes, young men in whom there was no blemish whatsoever but who were good looking and taught in all wisdom and wise in knowledge and of good understanding, and that had strength in them to stand in the king's palace, that they might be taught the letters and speech of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's food and of the wine which he drank, so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.

By the rebellion of the land, many are its princes, but by the man of understanding and wisdom the land shall remain stable. Verse Conceptsethics, socialGovernmentCivic RighteousnessRulersWisdom, Human ImportanceUnsuitable Rulerebellionapostasy