THE IDOLATRIY AND AMBITION OF JEROBOAM
And Jeroboam built Shechem in the mount of Ephraim, and dwelt there; and he went out from there, and built Penuel.
And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now the kingdom will return to the house of David.
If this people go up to sacrifice in the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, the heart of this people will turn to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they shall kill me, and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.
So the king took counsel, and made two golden calves; and he said unto them, It will be much work for you to go up to Jerusalem; You see your gods here, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
And he put one in Bethel, and put the other in Dan.
And this deed turned into sin; for the people went to Dan to worship the calf.
It also made a home in the high places; and he appointed priests from the lowest of the people, who were not of the children of Levi.
And Jeroboam made a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast that was held in Judah, and sacrificed on the altar; similarly he did at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made; also at Bethel he established priests from the high places he had made.
And he sacrificed on the altar which he had made at Bethel, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, which he had imagined in his heart; so he made the feast to the children of Israel, and sacrificed on the altar, burning incense. 1 Kings 12:25-33
1 Kings 13:1-10
1 And behold, at the command of the LORD, a man of God came from Judah to Bethel; and Jeroboam was at the altar to burn incense.
2 And he cried against the altar at the command of the Lord, and said, Altar, altar! Thus saith the Lord: Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, whose name shall be Josiah, who shall sacrifice upon thee the priests of the high places, which burn incense upon thee, and the bones of men shall be burned upon thee.
3 And he gave a sign that very day, saying, This is the sign of which the Lord hath spoken: Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out.
4 And it came to pass, when the king heard the word of the man of God, who cried against the altar of Bethel, that Jeroboam stretched out his hand from upon the altar, saying, Take him! But his hand, which had stretched out against him, dried up, and he could not bring her to him again.
5 And the altar was torn, and ashes poured from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had pointed out by the command of the LORD.
6 And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Plead to the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me. Then the man of God pleaded with the Lord, and the king's hand was restored to him, and he was as before.
7 And the king said to the man of God, Come home with me, and comfort yourself; and I'll give you a present.
8 But the man of God said to the king, Though you gave me half of your house, I would not go with you, neither would I eat bread nor drink water in this place.
9 For thus hath the Lord commanded me by his word, saying, Thou shalt not eat bread nor drink water; and you will not return the way you came.
10 So it was by another way; and he did not go back the way he had come to Bethel.
The Sins of Jeroboam
The stories of the kings of Israel are full of citations of Jeroboam's sins. His wickedness became the benchmark for judging his successors. The records in the two books of Kings comment that others walked, followed, joined, and did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, son of Nebat. Now, nearly 3,000 years after this king's reign, we can still – and must – learn important lessons from his mistakes.
the historical context
Solomon, the third king of Judah, sinned so much against God that the Lord decided to take most of the kingdom out of the hands of his descendants. After the death of this son of David, the kingdom split into two parts. The southern part, known as Judah, came under the dominion of the descendants of David. The greater part, made up of the ten northern tribes, was given by God to Jeroboam, son of Nebat, an Ephraimite already proven a skilful administrator.
Jeroboam had everything he needed to be very successful. When God sent the prophet Ahijah to speak to Jeroboam about the divine plan to deliver the 10 tribes of Israel to him, he promised that Jeroboam's family would remain on the throne, if he was faithful to the Lord: “If you hear all that I command you, and walk in my ways, and do what is right before me, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as my servant David did, I will be with you, and build you a stable house, as I built David, and I will give you Israel” (1 Kings 11:38). What a promise! What an opportunity to establish your dynasty in Israel! But there was one condition: If he listens to orders, walks the path, does what is right, and keeps God's commandments, his dynasty would be established. This condition of obedience was Jeroboam's problem. Let's examine Jeroboam's story to learn how to avoid the sins that led to the failure of his dynasty.
Jeroboam's concern
Despite God's promise, Jeroboam felt insecure as Israel's king. He was especially concerned about the influence of the brothers in Judah. If the Israelites returned to Jerusalem to celebrate the annual festivals, as God commanded in the law given to Moses, they might reject Jeroboam. Priests back in Jerusalem would comment on the temple that was designed by their grandfather and built by the father of the king of Judah. So, thought Jeroboam, the people would consider Rehoboam the rightful king and return to Judah. They might even murder the king of Israel!
How many times do we do the same thing? Instead of relying on God's promises, we imagine all the things that could happen. We get worried and anxious about imagined things when we should just trust the Lord. Peter said that we should humble ourselves "under the mighty hand of God... casting all your anxiety upon him, for he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:6-7).
Jeroboam's innovations
Jeroboam's lack of faith led him to commit a series of sins. In the reading of 1 Kings 12:25-33, we find four innovations that the king of Israel introduced without divine authorization. He changed:
1. The symbols of the religion of the Israelites. True worship involved the ark of the covenant, the altar of burnt offering, the temple in Jerusalem, etc. Jeroboam's innovative religion had other symbols – golden calves and altars at Dan and Bethel. He had some historical backing, as Israel's first high priest had made a golden calf (Exodus 32:1-29). Historical precedent, without divine approval, does not serve to guide our path.
2. The place of worship. When the people were about to enter the promised land, God spoke that He would designate an exclusive place for certain celebrations and sacrifices (Deuteronomy 12:1-14). Jerusalem was the place the Lord chose, and there Solomon built the temple. But Jeroboam had some historical basis in choosing other places, especially Bethel. The word itself means “house of God,” for it was there that Jacob found God (Genesis 28:10-22). Two generations earlier, Abram himself sacrificed to the Lord near Bethel (Genesis 12:8). The fact that God accepted something at one time is no proof that he will accept the same thing at another time.
3. The priesthood. The law given through Moses was clear. The priests of Israel would be Levites. Jeroboam did not respect this limitation and ordained people from other tribes as priests. Anyone who had money to make the sacrifices the king asked for could be a priest. When God gives qualifications for positions of service in his kingdom, we must respect all the conditions he imposes. Despite such guidelines in the word, how many men today continue to act as pastors, even though they do not have all the qualifications that God requires of them? Anyone who has the money to pay tuition for a theology course becomes a pastor, ignoring and disregarding biblical qualifications (1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9).
4. The dates of the parties. God ordained some special feasts, including the Feast of Tabernacles which was commemorated in the seventh month of the Jewish calendar. Jeroboam chose the eighth month for the feast he invented. Our service must be done to please God, never putting our will above His word.
God said “no” five times!
God only needs to speak once, and we must respect his word. Sometimes he shows his long-suffering, giving the sinner many opportunities to see his wrong and repent. In the case of Jeroboam, we can identify five times that God condemned his sin.
1. God said “no” in the law. All of Jeroboam's innovations hurt the principles of the law given to the people 500 years earlier (Exodus 25-28; 30:1-10; Leviticus 23:33-44; Numbers 3:3,44-45; Deuteronomy 12:1-14 ).. If Jeroboam had respected the word already written, he would not have caused the great damage that he caused on his family and on the people of Israel. Also, he would not have lost the support of the Levites and other believers who left Israel and went to Judah, a place where it would be possible to continue serving the Lord (2 Chronicles 11: 13-17).
2. God said “no” through the mouth of a prophet from Judah. God sent a prophet from Judah to Bethel, where he made detailed prophecies (fulfilled 300 years later) about the sins of Jeroboam. The word was confirmed by a series of miraculous signs. Even so, Jeroboam did not repent of his wickedness (read the account at 1 Kings 13:1-10,33-34).
3. God said “no” through the mouth of the prophet Ahijah. A few years earlier, God had used Ahijah to tell Jeroboam that he would be king of Israel. This time, the same prophet, now old and blind, saw clearly the sins that the king had committed. He spoke of the grave consequences: the annihilation of the house of Jeroboam and the captivity of Israel beyond the Euphrates, a prophecy fulfilled 200 years later (1 Kings 14:1-16). Ahijah's word was confirmed by the death of Jeroboam's son, but he has not yet repented.
4. God said “no” through the mouth of King Abijah. Jeroboam was still reigning in Israel when Abijah, the grandson of Solomon, began to reign in Judah. During this period, there was war between the two kingdoms. Abijah was at a military disadvantage, with 400,000 soldiers to fight against the 800,000 men in Jeroboam's army. Before fighting the battle, the king of Judah went to Israel and tried to convince Jeroboam of his mistakes and the futility of entering this battle. He began with a summary of the history of the division of kingdoms, and went on to show the precarious position of Jeroboam and his men. Note some points of contrast he highlighted (2 Chronicles 13:8-12):
Israel Judah
Larger army (800,000 men) Smaller army (400,000 men)
Golden calves made by Jeroboam The Lord
Priests not approved of God Priests of the Lord, Levites
Wrong Worship God's Authorized Worship
Stopped serving God Keep the precepts of the Lord
When Abijah spoke, Jeroboam should have listened. But he was too busy preparing his response – planning military tactics and organizing an ambush to defeat the enemy. How common is the same attitude today. When someone scolds us, do we listen to learn how to improve and correct mistakes, or are we constantly thinking about how to respond to defend and justify ourselves? Jeroboam should have listened to Abijah's words!
5. God said “no” to the crushing defeat on the battlefield. Jeroboam, in his cleverness, tried to gain the decisive advantage over Judah. But Abijah had spoken the truth – God was with Judah. The golden calves and 800,000 soldiers could not resist the 400,000 supported by the Lord. On that day, half a million soldiers of Israel fell dead, and God gave a great victory to the people of Judah, led by Abijah. Jeroboam never regained the strength to challenge Judah again (2 Chronicles 13:14-20).
applications
Let's look at some important lessons from this story of Jeroboam:
1. When God speaks, we must listen. He doesn't need to speak five times. Once at his word is enough. If Jeroboam had respected the law already revealed, he could have avoided much suffering (Proverbs 16:20; 19:16).
2. We must never introduce doctrines or practices into the church without the authorization of the word of God (Colossians 3:17; 2 John 9).
3. We must reject any pastor who does not have all the qualifications revealed by the Holy Spirit in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. Unqualified pastors must obey God and renounce their positions.
4. "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31). On the other hand, “Unless the LORD guards the city, he watches the watch in vain” (Psalm 127:1).
5. We should listen to the one who corrects us, rather than worrying about our defenses and justifications (Proverbs 15:5,31-32;19:27; 27:5). If Jeroboam had listened to Abijah, 500,000 men could have survived that day.
6. We must abandon error and seek a place to serve the Lord according to His will. When Jeroboam led Israel into sin, the Lord's servants left the country and went to Judah. When churches today turn away from God's word and refuse to repent, we are forced to leave them and look for others who respect God's word (2 Corinthians 6:14 - 7:1).
Jeroboam's sins led to Israel's destruction, as God turned away from this rebellious people (2 Kings 17:21-23). Let's avoid this rebellious king's mistakes!
– by Dennis Allan
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SOURCE: https://estudosdabiblia.net/d154.htm
The death of the son of Jeroboam
14 At that time King Jeroboam's son, whose name was Abijah, became ill. 2 Jeroboam said to his wife,
“Put on a disguise so no one can recognize you and go to Shiloh, where Ahijah, the prophet who said I would be king of these people, lives. 3 Bring him ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey. Ask what will happen to our son, and he will tell you.
4 So she went to the house of Ahijah in Shiloh. Ahijah had become blind because of old age. 5 But God told him that Jeroboam's wife was coming to inquire about her son, who was sick. And God told Ahijah what to tell her.
Jeroboam's wife arrived, pretending to be someone else. 6 But as she came in through the door, Ahijah heard her footsteps and said,
"Come in, wife of Jeroboam." Why are you pretending to be someone else? I'm in charge of giving you bad news. 7 Go and tell Jeroboam that the Lord, the God of Israel, sends to say to him the following: “I have chosen you from among the people and made you ruler over my people Israel. 8 I took the kingdom from the descendants of David and gave it to you. But you have not been like my servant David, who was faithful to me in everything, who obeyed my commandments and followed me with all his heart, doing what I approve. 9 You have sinned far more than all those who were kings before you. You rejected me and made me angry for making idols and metal images to worship. 10 Because of this, I will bring disgrace to your family and I will kill all your male descendants, young and old alike. I'll sweep up your family like you sweep up dung. 11 The people in your family who die in the city will be eaten by the dogs and those who die in the countryside will be eaten by the vultures. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
12 And Ahijah said again to Jeroboam's wife,
“Now go home. As soon as you enter the city, your child will die. 13 All the people of Israel will weep for him and will bury him. Your son will be the only person in Jeroboam's family who will be buried because he was the only one that the Lord, the God of Israel, was pleased with. 14 The Lord will put a king in Israel who will finish off Jeroboam's family. And this is already happening. 15 The Lord will punish the people of Israel, who will tremble in fear like green sticks. God will uproot the people of Israel from this good land that he gave to their ancestors and will spread it across the Euphrates River because they made him angry, making poles of the goddess Asherah to worship. 16 God is going to leave Israel because Jeroboam sinned and caused the people of Israel to sin.
17 Then Jeroboam's wife went out and returned to Tirzah. When she set foot in the house, the child died. 18 And all the people of Israel wept for the boy and buried him, as the Lord God had said through his servant, the prophet Ahijah.
the death of Jeroboam
19 All the other things that King Jeroboam did, how he fought and how he ruled, all of these are written in the History of the Kings of Israel. 20 Jeroboam was king for twenty-two years. He died and was buried, and his son Nadab took his place as king.
Rehoboam's reign of Judah
21 Rehoboam, son of Solomon, was forty-one years old when he became king of Judah. He ruled for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord God had chosen out of all the cities of the land of Israel as the place where he should be adored. Rehoboam's mother was called Naama and was from the country of Ammon.
22 The people of Judah sinned against the Lord and gave him more reason to be angry than all their forefathers had. 23 They built altars in the hills for the worship of false gods, and on the top of hills and under shade trees they erected columns of the god Baal and poles of the goddess Asherah for worship. 24 And there were also men and women who served as harlots in these heathen places of worship. The people of Israel did all the shameful things that the peoples that the Lord God had driven out of the land did, as the Israelites were advancing into the country.
25 In the fifth year of Rehoboam's reign, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. 26 Shishak took away all the treasures of the Temple and the palace and also the shields of gold that Solomon had made. 27 To put them in their place, King Rehoboam made shields of bronze and handed them over to the officers in charge of guarding the palace gates. 28 Whenever the king went to the Temple, the guards used the shields and then took them back to the guard room.
29 All the other things that King Rehoboam did are written in the History of the Kings of Judah. 30 All this time, Rehoboam and Jeroboam were at war with each other. 31 Rehoboam died and was buried in the tombs of the kings in the City of David, and his son Abijah took his place as king. (Rehoboam's mother was named Naama and was from the country of Amon.)
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