Jeroboam King of Israel

2022-05-03

Because of the sins of King Solomon, the northern kingdom was going to break off into a separate kingdom. Jeroboam, a mighty man of valor, would reign over the northern ten tribes, according to the word of the Lord by Ahijah the Shilonite. He fled to Egypt until Solomon was dead. He then led the people of Israel to confront Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, to lighten their burdens, and when he refused, Jeroboam led the people of the northern tribes to forsake the king of Judah. The Israel-Judah divide remained until the fall of the kingdoms. Jeroboam and Rehoboam fought their entire reigns.

Because Judah was home to the Temple, Jeroboam saw it as a threat to his power, that he might lose control if his people returned to Jerusalem to worship. He set up golden calves in Bethel and Dan, the extremes of the kingdom, in lieu of the Temple. It was for the sake of “convenience”! He set up base men to be priests and made up his own holiday.

The man of God from Judah cursed the new altar, and it broke and spilt the ashes. He also said that a future king, Josiah, would defile this altar in his zeal. When Jeroboam called for the prophet’s arrest, the king’s hand withered. Though the prophet called for the Lord to heal the king, the king never turned from his ways.

When the king’s son Abijah fell ill, Jeroboam’s wife disguised herself and went to Ahijah the Shilonite for guidance. However, the ruse failed, and the prophet pronounced the falling of Jeroboam’s reign because of his idolatry. All his kin would die and be eaten by dogs and scavenger birds. Abijah would also die, but would be properly buried, unlike his kin. Ahijah also alluded to a future fall of the northern kingdom: “For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger” (1 Kings 14:15).

Likely, if Jeroboam did not see the worship in Jerusalem as a threat, he likely would have had a lasting dynasty of the northern kingdom. Doing what is right is better than doing what seems right.

His name is used throughout the Old Testament as a byword for those who were disobedient to the Lord.

This is a part of the Kings of Israel series. To go back to the table of contents, proceed here.