1 Kings 15:1-8 English Standard Version Abijam Reigns in Judah 15 Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam began to reign over Judah. 2 He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. 3 And he walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father. 4 Nevertheless, for David's sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem, 5 because David did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. 6 Now there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. 7 The rest of the acts of Abijam and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. 8 And Abijam slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his place. For the next portion of the kings of Israel and Judah, there will be very little said about each king and much of it will follow the same pattern as what we see here for Abijam. We'll see when the new king ascended to his throne, often times in the context of what was going on in the other kingdom, so this time we see that Abijam began to rule in Judah during the eighteenth year of Jeroboam's reign in Israel. Abijam had a very short reign of only three years. Why so short of a reign? Because he walked in all the ways that his father did before him (in the foolishness of Rehoboam and the idolatry that he started), and his heart was not true to the LORD his God. We'll see that each of these kings are usually compared to David to help us decide if they are good or bad, and Abijam was nothing like David because David was a good king and Abijam was a bad king. However, the LORD did not forsake the covenant that he made with David on account of descendants that were not worthy of the covenant. For the sake of David and the sake of the Davidic Covenant which had the Messiah in mind, God allowed Abijam to reign so that the promise would be kept that there would always be a descendant of David on the throne in Jerusalem until Messiah appeared.
The writer reminds us that there was war continually between the Southern Kingdom and the Northern Kingdom, and that pretty much summarizes that reign of King Abijam. If we want to find out more about him, we have to read about him in the Book of Chronicles. Abijam continued the war against Jeroboam (the Northern Kingdom) because he was of the house of Rehoboam (the Southern Kingdom) and all they knew how to do was fight each other--probably like the Hatfields and McCoys. Abijam died and was buried with the other kings in Jerusalem, and his son Asa reigned in his place. Asa has a little bit of a longer story because Asa will bring about some measure of what we might call "revival" and he will be a good king like David. 1 Kings 14:21-31 English Standard Version Rehoboam Reigns in Judah 21 Now Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite. 22 And Judah did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins that they committed, more than all that their fathers had done. 23 For they also built for themselves high places and pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, 24 and there were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations that the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. 25 In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. 26 He took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's house. He took away everything. He also took away all the shields of gold that Solomon had made, 27 and King Rehoboam made in their place shields of bronze, and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king's house. 28 And as often as the king went into the house of the LORD, the guard carried them and brought them back to the guardroom. 29 Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 30 And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. 31 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite. And Abijam his son reigned in his place. We're changing scenes now and headed back to the Southern Kingdom of Judah to take a look at the reign of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon. Remember that he foolishly rejected the advice of the older counselors and sought to hear the advice of his peers who told him that he needed to be hard on the people and make them respect him because of the heavy yoke he put on them. He treated his people like slaves instead of citizens, and because of him there was nearly civil war between the Twelve Tribes, but instead the LORD told Rehoboam not to fight the northern ten tribes, for it was His plan to let them follow after Jeroboam.
We hope after reading all the sin that Jeroboam led the people of the Northern Kingdom into that Rehoboam and the Southern Kingdom of Judah will at least do a better job, but it seems that Judah too was quick to turn from the LORD and to turn instead to idols. The author seems to infer that part of this had to do with the fact that Solomon married foreign women who turned the hearts of the their children (and the rest of the people of Israel) towards foreign gods. Rehoboam's mother was an Ammonite, so it is likely that he grew up watching his mother worship her idols and that he also became an idolater at heart. The people followed Solomon's example and built "high places" to worship false gods and put pillars and Asherim "on every high hill and under every green tree" so that the country of Judah was full of idols and people who practiced idolatry. They also worshiped these gods in the same ways that the pagan nations did with abominations such as orgies and child sacrifice. This was the same kind of wickedness that cause the LORD to drive the Canaanites out of their land, destroy them and give their land to Israel, and now the people of Israel are doing exactly the same things. To get the attention of Rehoboam and the people, the LORD is going to send foreign kings to invade and make war with them, and the LORD will not protect them. Countries that were once allies with Israel under Solomon are now the enemies of Judah. Remember that the king of Egypt hid Jeroboam and kept him safe from Solomon for many years. Now he decides to invade the Southern Kingdom of Judah in Rehoboam's fifth year and he took away treasures from the Temple and Solomon's palace (including all gold shields that Solomon had made to adorn the walls of his palace). Instead of going and getting them back, Rehoboam simply made shields of bronze (a stronger, but less valuable metal) to take their place as a system that he thought he could be tougher and harder than his father. Instead of hanging them on the wall for decorations, they were given to the guards who protected the palace (notice Rehoboam seems to only be acting in a way to protect himself right now, as he's not fortifying the defenses of the nation as a whole). Only when the king went to the Temple did the guards not bring their shields with them, for they believed that the kind was safe in the Temple, which they call the house of the LORD here. The end of Rehoboam's story ends much like the end of Jeroboam's story encouraging the reader to read the Book of Chronicles if they want to know more. The other fact the author wants the reader to know is that there was cold war that possibly broke out into hot war from time to time continually between Jeroboam and Rehoboam (the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah). The text repeats for us again as part of the information about his death that Rehoboam's mother was an Ammonite, and then tells us that his son Abijam ruled in his place. No longer are the people seeking the will of the LORD through His priests or prophets to choose the one that is to rule in the place of the father (sometimes the oldest might not make the best king), but the throne is being treated as part of the birthright that goes to the oldest as part of their inheritance. This is going to make for some bad kings in the Southern Kingdom (and the Northern Kingdom too--though there there is less of a tie to lineage and more of an idea that the strongest person should rule. If someone could defeat the king, then he would rule in the king's place.) We'll discuss the reign of Abijam (a very short passage) next time. 1 Kings 14:1-20 English Standard Version Prophecy Against Jeroboam 14 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. 2 And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Arise, and disguise yourself, that it not be known that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Behold, Ahijah the prophet is there, who said of me that I should be king over this people. 3 Take with you ten loaves, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what shall happen to the child.” 4 Jeroboam's wife did so. She arose and went to Shiloh and came to the house of Ahijah. Now Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were dim because of his age. 5 And the LORD said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to inquire of you concerning her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus shall you say to her.” When she came, she pretended to be another woman. 6 But when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another? For I am charged with unbearable news for you. 7 Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: “Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over my people Israel 8 and tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, and yet you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, doing only that which was right in my eyes, 9 but you have done evil above all who were before you and have gone and made for yourself other gods and metal images, provoking me to anger, and have cast me behind your back, 10 therefore behold, I will bring harm upon the house of Jeroboam and will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both bond and free in Israel, and will burn up the house of Jeroboam, as a man burns up dung until it is all gone. 11 Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat, for the LORD has spoken it.”’ 12 Arise therefore, go to your house. When your feet enter the city, the child shall die. 13 And all Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something pleasing to the LORD, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam. 14 Moreover, the LORD will raise up for himself a king over Israel who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam today. And henceforth, 15 the LORD will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water, and root up Israel out of this good land that he gave to their fathers and scatter them beyond the Euphrates, because they have made their Asherim, provoking the LORD to anger. 16 And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and made Israel to sin.” 17 Then Jeroboam's wife arose and departed and came to Tirzah. And as she came to the threshold of the house, the child died. 18 And all Israel buried him and mourned for him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the prophet. The Death of Jeroboam 19 Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. 20 And the time that Jeroboam reigned was twenty-two years. And he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his place. After Jeroboam rebelled and built more high places and commissioned more priests to the false gods he led the people to worship, his son Abijah became sick. Jeroboam sends his wife to disguise herself and sends her to Shiloh where the prophet of God who prophesied that he would be king over Israel lived (Jeroboam was trying to seek out a prophet who he thought would give him a favorable prophecy for he shows once again that he does not understand true prophecy that they only speak the words that the LORD puts in their mouths). It was common at that time to take a gift for the prophet, though knowing the heart of Jeroboam, he probably intended this gift to be a bribe or payment for a blessing and not a curse. When she got to the house of the old prophet, the LORD told her exactly who she was, even though she had disguised herself. He did not need to be able to see with his eyes to be able to know the truth, because the LORD sees and knows all things. Then the LORD gave His message to His prophet to tell to her.
When she arrived at the house of the prophet pretending to be another woman, he called her by name and asked her why she would pretend to be someone she was not. Then he told her that he had not just bad news, but unbearable news for her. Because Jeroboam had rejected the covenant that the LORD had made with him and the ten tribes of Israel that made the Northern Kingdom, and had worshiped idols and let the Israelites into idolatry, the LORD was going to cut off (kill) ever male in his household both slave and free so that there would be no one left to inherit his family's land and no one that would assume they were the heir to his throne. This includes the son that they were inquiring about and it meant that Jeroboam himself was destined for destruction. The prophet says that the any of his relatives that die in the city will be eaten by the dogs (there were only wild dogs that ran in packs back then and they were unclean animals that were only slightly better than pigs to the Jews--they were full of disease because they were scavengers that ate garbage and dead things), Those that died in the open country would be eaten by the birds that were designed to eat carrion like the vultures. They would have their bodies eaten by these unclean animals before anyone could bury them. The LORD tells her to go home and when she does that her child will die. This will be a sign that everything else the LORD has said will come to pass and the LORD promises that very day will be the day that Jeroboam takes his last breath. The LORD would raise up another in his place, and the LORD promises that he will deal more severely with the northern ten tribes from that day forward. He promises to uproot them and shake them like a reed that grows by the water that you have to shake all the water out of. The LORD will will scatter them beyond the Euphrates (to the kingdom of Assyria, which is correctly states as being "Beyond the Euphrates" in every direction from Israel). The LORD explains this would all happen because the people followed Jeroboam as he made false gods for them to worship and that sin would be something that would stick with the people even after the death of Jeroboam. This will be why the LORD will have to punish them so severely and try to "shake" the idolatry out of them by sending them into Exile. The word of the LORD came true exactly as he had spokes as the moment that the wife of Jeroboam crossed the threshold of the door to their house, the son she was sent to inquire about died. Not everything about Jeroboam was written in the Book of the Kings, and the author lets us know there's additional information written in the Book of the Chronicles (we'll be studying this book next after 1 and 2 Kings). It seems that the author if this book expects the readers to cross-reference and see that there is more to the story, but for now, that is as much as important to tell in this book of the history of the kings of Israel. The story of Jeroboam has come to an end with his reign lasting only 22 years. His son Nadab ascended to the throne after his father's death, though we know that eventually the LORD would judge Nadab and all the other males in line of Jeroboam. We just don't know exactly when that's going to happen (the rest of the book of Kings will tell us about that as well as the other kings that come after him). 1 Kings 13:11-34 English Standard Version The Prophet's Disobedience 11 Now an old prophet lived in Bethel. And his sons came and told him all that the man of God had done that day in Bethel. They also told to their father the words that he had spoken to the king. 12 And their father said to them, “Which way did he go?” And his sons showed him the way that the man of God who came from Judah had gone. 13 And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” So they saddled the donkey for him and he mounted it. 14 And he went after the man of God and found him sitting under an oak. And he said to him, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?” And he said, “I am.” 15 Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.” 16 And he said, “I may not return with you, or go in with you, neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place, 17 for it was said to me by the word of the LORD, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.’” 18 And he said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water.’” But he lied to him. 19 So he went back with him and ate bread in his house and drank water. 20 And as they sat at the table, the word of the LORD came to the prophet who had brought him back. 21 And he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the LORD and have not kept the command that the LORD your God commanded you, 22 but have come back and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water,” your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.’” 23 And after he had eaten bread and drunk, he saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back. 24 And as he went away a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his body was thrown in the road, and the donkey stood beside it; the lion also stood beside the body. 25 And behold, men passed by and saw the body thrown in the road and the lion standing by the body. And they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived. 26 And when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the word of the LORD; therefore the LORD has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word that the LORD spoke to him.” 27 And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And they saddled it. 28 And he went and found his body thrown in the road, and the donkey and the lion standing beside the body. The lion had not eaten the body or torn the donkey. 29 And the prophet took up the body of the man of God and laid it on the donkey and brought it back to the city to mourn and to bury him. 30 And he laid the body in his own grave. And they mourned over him, saying, “Alas, my brother!” 31 And after he had buried him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the grave in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones. 32 For the saying that he called out by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses of the high places that are in the cities of Samaria shall surely come to pass.” 33 After this thing Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but made priests for the high places again from among all the people. Any who would, he ordained to be priests of the high places. 34 And this thing became sin to the house of Jeroboam, so as to cut it off and to destroy it from the face of the earth. The LORD had called a prophet from the Southern Kingdom to deliver the message to the king of the Northern Kingdom, and when an old prophet from the Northern Kingdom heard of the message the man of God from the South delivered by way of a report from the old prophet's sons, he went out to search for the man to try to invite him to his home and to have a meal with him. The LORD however had given the man of God from the South explicit instructions to head directly home and to not stop to eat or drink anything along the way.
The old prophet tricked the man of God from the South and told him that an angel had come to him with a message from the LORD to tell him to seek out the man of God and invite him to his house. The young prophet from the South believed the old prophet's lies and went back with him and he ate and drank. The old prophet cursed him on his way out saying that he had violated the LORD's command and that the LORD would make him die away from home so that he would not be buried in the tomb of his fathers. So it was that after he ate and drank and his donkey was saddled, he left and a lion met him on the road and killed him. The body was left there for all to see. The old prophet saw him and said, "It is the man of God who disobeyed the word of the LORD; therefore the LORD has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word that the LORD spoke to him." He told his sons to saddle his donkey and he went to look for the body. When he got there the donkey and lion were still there next to the body and the lion had not touched the donkey or eaten the body of the man of God. So he took up the body and laid it on the donkey and brought it back to town so that his death could be mourned and he could be buried (remember that Jews were supposed to bury a dead body before sundown, and they did not embalm bodies for burial like the Egyptians did). So the old prophet buried the young man of God in his own grave to fulfil the word of the LORD that was spoken through the old prophet that the young man of God would be buried away from the tomb of his fathers. However, the old prophet considered it an honor to be buried next to this young man of God, for the word of the LORD that he delivered about the altar at Bethel was sure to come to pass (that the false priests would be killed there and that the altar would be torn down). Jeroboam did not learn from these events, and returned to his evil ways and set up new high places and ordained more priests. The LORD was so angry with this sin of Jeroboam that the LORD set out to kill the whole household of Jeroboam so that none form his house would be able to rule in his place and continue this wickedness, but this idolatry and wickedness was now engrained in the culture of the Northern Kingdom, and the people will continually worship the idols that he set up as well as the gods and goddesses of their pagan neighbors and that Solomon exposed them to when he built places of worship for his pagan wives. This sin will be generational and we have no indication that the Northern Kingdom of Israel ever repented of this sin. 1 Kings 13:1-10 English Standard Version A Man of God Confronts Jeroboam 13 And behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the LORD to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make offerings. 2 And the man cried against the altar by the word of the LORD and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’” 3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, “This is the sign that the LORD has spoken: ‘Behold, the altar shall be torn down, and the ashes that are on it shall be poured out.’” 4 And when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar at Bethel, Jeroboam stretched out his hand from the altar, saying, “Seize him.” And his hand, which he stretched out against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back to himself. 5 The altar also was torn down, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. 6 And the king said to the man of God, “Entreat now the favor of the LORD your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me.” And the man of God entreated the LORD, and the king's hand was restored to him and became as it was before. 7 And the king said to the man of God, “Come home with me, and refresh yourself, and I will give you a reward.” 8 And the man of God said to the king, “If you give me half your house, I will not go in with you. And I will not eat bread or drink water in this place, 9 for so was it commanded me by the word of the LORD, saying, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water nor return by the way that you came.’” 10 So he went another way and did not return by the way that he came to Bethel. Jeroboam, the king over the Northern Kingdom of Israel has just set up golden calves and set up his own altar to offer sacrifices to them. The LORD then sent a prophet described as "a man of God" to him to tell him that one day at this very altar where he now offered sacrifices, the LORD would send a man from the line of David named Josiah to sacrifice all the priests of these false gods on this altar and then to burn their bones with fire as a sign that there would be no peace in death for them, but that they were destined for eternal damnation and hellfire. In addition to this, the prophet said that the altar was going to be torn down and the ashes of the altar poured out [in the present time] as a sign that this prophecy would take place exactly as the LORD had said.
Jeroboam was angry at the words the prophet had spoken against the altar at Bethel [that it would be torn down and its ashes poured out that day] and ordered that the prophet, the man of God, be seized. However, as he reached out his hand to point to the man of God so that it would be clear who he wanted to have seized/arrested, the LORD caused his hand to dry up (probably causing all the muscles to wither so that he could not move it). Only after Jeroboam sees the power of the LORD to judge the wicked and protect the righteous does he make any plea to the prophet. Immediately the altar was down down and the ashes poured out to fulfill the sign given by the LORD through His prophet, the man of God. Only after all this happened did Jeroboam ask that the prophet pray for him that his hand would be restored as it was before. It is telling that Jeroboam asks the prophet to entreat "The LORD your God" and does not say "my God" or "our God" meaning that he realizes now if he hadn't realized before that he no longer worships the LORD, if he ever did. The king then tries to get the prophet to return home with him so that he can shower him with gifts and possibly bribe him to cause him to heal the king's hand, but this shows that the king does not understand that prophet only speaks the words that the LORD puts in his mouth at the time that LORD puts them there. The prophet cannot just speak words on his own and make a binding promise that the LORD must adhere to. The king thinks of this prophet like his false prophets that are on his payroll and the LORD like the false gods of the Canaanites. That system of worship was all about bribing the people to give enough to the priests and prophets of the false gods so that they would give blessings and not curses. The prophet wisely answers that even if the king were to give the prophet half of his kingdom, he would not go with him to his palace, for the LORD had commanded him to have no fellowship with the king by saying, "You shall neither eat bread nor drink water nor return by the way that you came." So the man of God left Bethel and went home by another way from the way that he came (which tells us that the LORD was concerned that the king and his people would try to kill this prophet on the way home if they could find out by which way he came). We'll pick up here next time as we talk about what happens to this prophet on his way back to Judah. 1 Kings 12:25-33 English Standard Version Jeroboam's Golden Calves 25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel. 26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. 27 If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” 28 So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” 29 And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 30 Then this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one. 31 He also made temples on high places and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites. 32 And Jeroboam appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made. 33 He went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month that he had devised from his own heart. And he instituted a feast for the people of Israel and went up to the altar to make offerings. It is not going to take long for Jeroboam to refuse the offer that the LORD made to him when the LORD promised him the blessings that were promised to David if Jeroboam would obey the LORD's covenant and lead Israel in the way they could go in keeping the LORD's covenant. Instead, Jeroboam makes a "power play" to try to make sure that the Northern Kingdom of Israel never has need or reason to visit the Southern Kingdom of Judah, even to go and visit the Temple in Jerusalem.
He built two golden calves like the ones that the Israelites made at Mount Sinai when they kindled the LORD's anger and He nearly destroyed them for immediately rebelling against the first and second commandments He had given them. He set them up as gods for the people to worship at Bethel and Dan. Dan was already a hotbed of rebellion as the tribe of Dan had left their ancestral land to make a place of their own choosing for their possession and inheritance. Now they will be at the front lines of leading the northern ten tribes into idolatry and all kinds sin and rebellion that goes along with it. Jeroboam assigned to these idols the works done by the LORD and even told the people to call the golden calves by the name of the LORD. He made temples on high places and ordained his own priests to serve in these temples so that he made a counterfeit of everything that the LORD had created in order to show and tell the gospel to the world--his version only showed their sin and rebellion to the world as they made a system of worship that not only would condone their rebellion but applauded and encourage it. Their priesthood would call evil good and would call good evil. So it would be that every king to reign in Israel would be ban and most would be more and more wicked than the previous ones, but it all starts here with Jeroboam trying to make a religion to control the people (dictators today are not that different). He even made up his own feasts for them to celebrate that had nothing to do with the feasts the LORD had ordered them to remember (which looked forward to the gospel of Jesus Christ), and he sacrificed offerings on the altar he had made to these false gods. We have to assume that if the blessings of obeying the Law came for Jeroboam as a result of obedience, that the curses of the Law must follow if he rebelled and led the people to do the same. We then start to cry out in our hearts, "How long, O LORD?" as in "How long will you allow the wickedness of your people to go unpunished?" Surely, they need the hand of discipline to lead them back to repentance. The LORD's timing is perfect though and he will allow them to become so wicked that even the pagan nations will not question His judgment on them when it comes--just like he did with Canaan. I think it is fair to say that the wickedness of the Israelites will exceed the wickedness of the Canaanites and the LORD will even ask the question through His prophets if He won't owe Sodom and Gomorrah and apology on the Day of Judgment if He does not also punish the Israelites for their sin (though He will have mercy on them and will not destroy them all as He did with Sodom and Gomorrah, though that is what they would deserve). The rest of the Old Testament is going to be a story of the LORD using whatever means necessary to correct and preserve His people until the one that can save them from sin and from themselves would appear--the only one who would truly be able to reunite the Kingdom and was worthy to sit on David's throne to be ruler not only over the Twelve Tribes, but of all the Gentiles that would choose willingly to become citizens of His Kingdom. He will be the Righteous One that will lead His people to once again worship the LORD their God and to serve Him only. 1 Kings 12:16-24 English Standard Version The Kingdom Divided 16 And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So Israel went to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. 18 Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. 20 And when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the house of David but the tribe of Judah only. 21 When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 22 But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: 23 “Say to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, 24 ‘Thus says the LORD, You shall not go up or fight against your relatives the people of Israel. Every man return to his home, for this thing is from me.’” So they listened to the word of the LORD and went home again, according to the word of the LORD. Rehoboam's foolishness will quickly lead to a divided nation in juxtaposition to how his father's wisdom had resulted in a united kingdom full of growth and prosperity. Only Judah would follow after him at this time (though Benjamin would ally itself with the southern kingdom in due time, and the priests that served in the Temple would still live in the southern kingdom, though their allegiance was to the LORD). He tried to force the northern ten tribes to be slaves for him, but the people stoned the taskmaster to death, and Rehoboam fled to the safety of his palace in Jerusalem.
This is how the rebellion of the northern ten tribes started and why they followed after Jeroboam. We'll see next time that Jeroboam will not follow the advice the LORD had given to him and will be afraid that if the people of the northern kingdom have to go to the Temple which is in the southern kingdom, then they might change their allegiance. Once Rehoboam returned to Jerusalem, both the tribes of Judah and Benjamin provided him with warriors, so Benjamin must have joined the southern kingdom between verse 20 and verse 21. Rehoboam prepared for war against the northern ten tribes without consulting the LORD first, so the LORD had to send a prophet to Rehoboam and to all the people of Judah and Benjamin to tell them that they were not to go to war against their fellow Israelites and that it was the LORD's will for the nation to be divided like this (as punishment for the sins of Solomon and now of Rehoboam who was following in Solomon's footsteps). So all the people that had prepared for war listened to the LORD and went home. Next time we'll see how the rebellion of the northern tribes quickly turns to apostacy and idolatry. Since worshiping the LORD is part of their identity and they have lost access to the Temple by separating themselves from Jerusalem, they will now try to invent new gods and new religion that will be accepting of their rebellion against the LORD. They will return to the golden calf that they made when coming out of Egypt and once again proclaim that this idol was the LORD--but the LORD has no form that can be cast into an idol. He is spirit. The northern kingdom will also build their own version of the Temple in what we later know to be Samaria (another name that the northern kingdom of Israel will go by). This will be the theological debate that the woman at the well wants to have with Jesus in John 4 about if the Jews of the southern kingdom or the Samaritans who were the descendants of the ten northern tribes were right in how they worshiped the LORD. Jesus didn't play that game but said there would be a day that true worshipers of the LORD would worship neither in Jerusalem nor in Samaria, but that they would worship Him in spirit and in truth wherever they were, for the LORD is not contained by Temples like pagan gods (this was one of the first things Solomon realized when the glory of the LORD filled the Temple after he built it--even though it was large and beautiful, not even the entire universe could contain God, not even if we also added in the spiritual dimension of heaven. Heaven is simply His throne and the earth is His footstool.). |
Daniel WestfallI will mostly use this space for recording my "journal" from my daily devotions as I hope to encourage others to read the Bible along with me and to leave a legacy for others. Archives
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