JEROBOAM (I KINGS 12-14)

IIC. Minor Kings (I Kings 12:1-16:28)

A. King Jeroboam of Israel (12:1-14:20)

1. The kingdom is divided (I Kings 12)

2. King Jeroboam and his evil deeds (I Kings 13)

3. Death of Jeroboam and his son (14:1-20)

B. Kings of Judah (14:21-15:24)

A'. Kings of Israel (15:25-16:28)

3. Jeroboam’s house destroyed (15:25-32)

2. Three kings who walked in the way of Jeroboam (16:1-20)

1. Israel is divided (16:21-28)

We are first introduced to Jeroboam in I Kings 11:26 as one of several men God raised up against King Solomon due to his apostasy. He was the son of one of Solomon's servants whom Solomon raised to a position in charge of all the forced labor used by the king to carry out his massive building projects. Verse 28 describes him as being very capable at his job.

I Kings 11:29-39 next tells of Jeroboam's encounter on the road with the prophet Ahijah, who proceeds to tell him of God's plan to take the kingdom away from Solomon's family. The prophet presents Jeroboam with 10/12's of his torn coat representing the ten northern tribes of Israel that will be his upon Solomon's death. In addition, Ahijah tells Jeroboam that God will continue to bless him if he takes care to walk in His way.

Apparently, Solomon somehow gets wind of this development, and so he sought to kill him. He probably would have been successful in his attempt, except Jeroboam flees to Egypt and eludes him (v. 40). Jeroboam returns from Egypt when he hears of Solomon's death, and so he is on hand when Solomon's son Rehoboam assumes the throne. Rehoboam consults with his father's old advisors as to how he should rule, and they suggest that he lighten the huge load that Solomon had put on the people. But to demonstrate to the reader that Rehoboam had certainly not inherited his father's famed wisdom, Rehoboam ignores their advice and announces that he is going to be even harsher than his father with the people (I Kings 12:1-15).

The results are predictable. When the new taskmaster tries to lay down the law to the Israelites working in Judah, the people stone him and depart for the northern territory where they set up Jeroboam as their king. Only the territory of Judah then remained true to the line of David (I Kings 12:16-20).

Next, to further consolidate his power over the Northern Kingdom, Jeroboam built the cities of Shechem and Penuel. But he began to worry that the people would continue to travel to Jerusalem to sacrifice at the temple, and so he constructed two temples of his own located at the northern (Dan) and southern (Bethel) ends of his kingdom. And if that were not enough, he placed a golden calf in each for the people to worship; appointed non-levitical priests to officiate there; and instituted feast days to compete with those observed in Judah (I Kings 12:25-33).

I Kings 13:1-10 relates the story of Jeroboam burning incense at Bethel when an unnamed “man of God” rails against the temple. As the king stretches out his arm pointing for the guards to stop the man, his arm is immediately withered and the altar is torn down miraculously. At this point, Jeroboam entreats the man to pray to God that his hand be restored, which indeed happens. The holy man turns on his heels and leaves Bethel after refusing to stay and eat with the king.

The story of Jeroboam is resumed in I Kings 13:33-34 where we are informed that the king has resumed all of his old unorthodox religious observances despite what had happened to him. But when (I Kings 14:1-20) his son Abijah becomes sick, he dispatches his wife to visit the prophet Ahijah incognito and to seek help for their son. The prophet immediately recognizes her and prophesies that God will wipe out Jeroboam's entire line due to his evil deeds. Thus, the son dies as she reenters the city and Jeroboam later follows.

Lessons

1. The first things that struck me as I reviewed this sad story were the echoes of the reigns of Saul and David it contained. David, as Jeroboam, was elevated to a higher position by the king and said to be very efficient at his job. Both were also secretly anointed to be the next king of Israel when the present king died. And Saul similarly became jealous of David just as Solomon feared Jeroboam's power even though neither king had reason to fear being displaced while they were still alive. Thus, David and Jeroboam had to temporarily flee from Israel. Both David and Jeroboam saw their sons die due to their sins even though they attempted to approach God to ward off the evil. In their desperation, both Saul and Jeroboam utilized a disguise in hopes of gaining a favorable word from God.

Additionally, G.H. Jones says, “To gain recognition as king over the northern tribes, Rehoboam's visit to Shechem was essential. 2 Sam. 5:1-3 relates how the elders of Israel acclaimed David as their king at Hebron, and even in the time of Saul there was an acclamation at Gilgal. (I Sam. 11:15).

The above “coincidences” might rightly be said to demonstrate the sad fact: “Those who do not learn from the lessons of the past are doomed to repeat them.”

2. One could even view the evil Jeroboam as a dim type of Christ in that both had to flee from Israel due to a hostile king who was out to get them. And they only returned when they received word of that monarch's death. This may seem like an unlikely comparison, but just recall Jesus' own words comparing his future death and resurrection to the three days the rebellious prophet Jonah was inside the fish before being released.

3. In the first verses where Jeroboam is introduced, it becomes obvious that circumstances blessed him tremendously. He rapidly rose from a servant's son, to one in charge of large building projects for the king, to being chosen by God to head up most of the territory formerly under Solomon's control. And yet, instead of thanking God for these undeserved blessings, he turned against Him at the first opportunity. This can be the temptation of “self-made” men who feel that they can best do everything without outside help or control.

4. And yet, we must admit that Jeroboam was efficient at the first job he was given to do, and that was partially responsible for his future success. It may be reading too much into the text, but keep in mind that he had been in charge of a large contingency of “slave laborers” from the northern part of Israel. We can infer that Jeroboam treated them fairly at that point since they were the very same group that supported him when he made a power grab later on. It goes to prove the old practical adage that we should always treat the “little people” in our life well since we may need their help later in life. And more importantly, it is the godly thing to do.

5. By contrast, Rehoboam decided to put even more burdens on the workers than his father had, and that led directly to the split in the Kingdom. In doing that, he totally ignored the advice of his older advisers even though he had asked for it in the first place. What is it about some people, that they will seek out your advice and then totally ignore it when given? I have had that happen to me several times, and it appeared obvious that they really didn't want my opinion at all. They were just hoping to get confirmation of their own preconceived notions. I even had one man ask me what I thought he should do in a given situation. I gave my opinion, and then in less than an hour he came back to me and said that he was going to do what I had suggested. But his description of that action was the exact opposite of what I had advised. He really didn't hear a thing I said, just what he wanted to hear.

6. Another negative lesson we can gain from Rehoboam is that he, as a young man, ignored the advice that his “older” counselors gave. There is indeed something to be learned from the broader experience of your elders, even if we may not be able to play video games as well or download an app as readily as those who are younger. And the converse is true also. It is just as easy for those of us who are, hopefully, “more mature” to dismiss any of the pronouncements or notions of others as “the arrogance of youth” without first considering that they may actually be correct.

7. The action of Jeroboam in setting up two altars within the territory of Israel provides another warning to us. We should beware of those church leaders who attempt to make our worship experience “more convenient” for us while at the same time ignoring the basic commands and teachings that God has revealed to us.

8. One last important lesson from the sad history of Jeroboam is the fact that our sins may outlast us. As the first king of the Northern Kingdom, Jeroboam had the opportunity to set an admirable standard for future rulers of Israel to follow. Instead, his example was so despicable that no less than 22 times after his reign, the careers of subsequent rulers in the Books of Kings were summarized as saying that they “followed (or 'departed not') from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat.” What a legacy by which to be remembered!