themselves to the kingdom which contained the great national sanctuary,
and to the royal family whose chapel it was. The disruption of the
monarchy necessarily brought with it the fall of the empire; Moab,
however, continued to be tributary to the northern kingdom and Edom to
that of Judah.

Five years after the accession of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, the
kingdom of Judah seemed in danger of perishing altogether. Shishak, the
Egyptian Pharaoh, invaded the country and sacked Jerusalem itself. But
Jeroboam lost the opportunity thus afforded him of extending his rule
over the south; his own territories had been partially overrun by the
Egyptians, and he was probably not in a position to commence a war.
Judah had time to recover; the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt, and the
Arabian trade soon supplied it with fresh resources.

The long and prosperous reign of Asa, the grandson of Rehoboam, placed
the line of David on a solid foundation. The Jewish kingdom was compact;
its capital was central, and was not only a strongly-fortified fortress,
but also an ancient and venerable sanctuary. As time went on feelings of
respect and affection gathered round the royal house; the people of
Judah identified it with themselves, and looked back with pride and
regret to the glorious days of David and Solomon. Religion, moreover,
lent its sanction to the Davidic dynasty. The Levitical priesthood had
its centre in the temple which had been built by Solomon, and was, as it
were, the private chapel of his descendants; here were preserved the
rites and traditions of the Mosaic Law, and the ark of the covenant
between Israel and its God. The northern kingdom, on the contrary, had
none of these elements of stability. The first king was a rebel, who had
no glorious past behind him, no established priesthood to support his
throne, no capital even, around which all his subjects could rally. The